While there are many different illnesses that goats can come down with, it's hard to diagnose. Due to the drop in homes having goats, there has been little research done to continue finding what illnesses goats experience and ways to cure it. I finally recovered from a week long runny, stuffy nose accompanied by a sore throat. I've been cautious not to touch the goats, cough or sneeze, blink in the direction of the goats. Following the cold sickness, I ended up with the flu for two days that knocked me right down. No more goat time for at least a few days! Now that I'm on the mend, I wanted to talk about some illnesses that have come around in the past month. Not only had the baby goat become ill, we had a chicken take sick as well. Though, while the goat made a full recovery, we have lost poor Elsa to some parasitic invasion. I'll discuss the chicken in a bit.
FIRST! Baby Goat was sick! She was cowering in the corner. Face smooshed to the wall. Secluding herself from the rest of the herd so she can fight off whatever was giving her grief.
Upon discussing with a family member who works in a vet office, we decided to maybe worm the goats since they've never been wormed before.
It's pretty pitiful if you see how she was prior to this.
Once we discussed what we should do with a family member, we decided to take her temperature before we wormed her. We took a rectal temperature on her to see what her core temperature was. In goats, higher than 105 degrees Fahrenheit is considered febrile (feverish). Our baby goat was at 107 degrees! No wonder she didn't feel good!
After not knowing exactly what to do for our poor baby goat, we decided a trip to the vet was our best option. As an emergent case, we were able to get her into Kern Road Vet office quickly. Matthew left work early, loaded her into the trailer and hauled her to the vet. Matthew said the vet was very nice, super helpful, and really caring.
During the vet visit, the goat was panting and looking real down. Per the veterinarian, goats are really hard to diagnose as there is not much research completed on goats anymore. More homesteads are no longer keeping goats so research is slowing down. This type of illness is common among goats. The vet did a fecal sample as well as some blood tests.
The white blood cell count was high indicating infection.
The fecal test showed bacteria count that should normally be in the hundreds... was in the THOUSANDS!
For 5 days following the vet visit, we gave oral antibiotics as well as increasing electrolyte water since she was a little dehydrated as well.
We are now a few weeks out from the end of the antibiotics for baby goat. She's eating, running around, and being a baby goat!
We are still going to add a dewormer to their schedule as a precaution.
The last sick animal we had was Elsa, the elusive white chicken. For a while, she was picked on by the other hens and she would stand in the corner with her head outside the pen so they couldn't get her head. My last straw was while it was raining, she was standing outside alone as the other girls would not let her into the coop. THAT'S IT! YOU'RE GOING IN THE BARN!
Elsa lived in our barn for about a week before we noticed she wasn't eating anymore.
During her stay in our barn, she had free reign and was queen hen in there!
Unfortunately, she started getting really weak, losing weight, and swaying when she was standing. One morning, I went out to the barn and she was standing near the stalls and had a really light colored comb. Normally, as you have seen from other hens, the bright red comb is what you want. The color was such a light pink, I knew something was wrong. After calling Matthew and asking that if she was still alive when he got home, we would need to figure out a way to end her suffering. Lucky for us, and I'm glad she's not hurting anymore, Matthew found her in the crate when he got home, passed on. He was able to move her out of the barn and on to a life of no more hurt.
Rest easy, Elsa. ❤
Let's get this blog back on happy terms!!
We have been getting about 8-10 eggs per day! Still waiting on one of my little girls to lay!
Our garden is slowly coming to an end. While we are being buried in tomatoes, all of the peppers are finally turning their bright beautiful colors!
Are you ready for updated pictures of the funny farm?!
OH YES, YOU ARE!
The goats got an enlarge pen, too!
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| I think Georgia likes the new dog house! Fill that bad boy with hay and we are set from the rain! |
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| Georgia Kisses! |
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| All the Goat Kisses! |
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| Have to pull the branches down to get some leaves! |
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| Giving Georgia some brushing! They all love to be brushed! Feels so good! |
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| Blanche! |
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| "Are you talkin' to me?!" |
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| And of course the boys! Sargent ready for fall! |
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| Chief in his clean room! Until next time everyone, cheers to October. May the harvest season be fruitful. |
❤Matthew&Melissa
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Yummy Fall Soup::
21 Day Fix Stuffed Pepper Soup
- Step 1 - In a large pan, brown your turkey on medium heat.
- Step 2 - Add the peppers, onions, and garlic to the turkey and saute for five minutes.
- Step 3 - Stir in the tomato sauce, diced tomatoes (with juice), beef broth, honey Worcestershire sauce salt, and pepper.
- Step 4 - Reduce heat to low, cover and simmer for 45 minutes.
- Step 5 - Stir in the cooked quinoa and Italian seasoning.
- Serves 10, about 2 cups each
- Day Fix Containers: 1 Red, 1 Green, ½ Yellow
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