Meanwhile, over at the barn, I wasn't expecting any does to kid until next week. Surprize! I had one doeling that I never did catch in heat...... She is an Oberhasli/Saanen cross doe that is probably my least favorite doe in the herd. She was dam raised and wild as a deer. I planned on selling her but...I got busy and she is difficult to catch, etc, etc.
I noticed her laying down inthe back of the barn when we were putting hayin their rack but.... I had lambs to feed and we weren't expecting any kids...... Later that afternoon as I was heading to the house, I heard a kid cry. My boys tried to convince me that it was just the lambs--- but I KNEW that it was a goat kid.
Sure enough, lying right where she had been that morning were two kids. One was horribly deformed and obviously premature. The other, a tiny little doe, was still alive but too premie to stand up. I took her to the house, cleaned her up and got some colostrum down her.
We went back and caught the doe and penned her inside the barn with the kid. I put a heat lamp on the kid and hoped for the best.
I checked my calendar and found where my Saanen buck had escaped exactly 145 days ago. Guess we know what he was doing out..... I have learned the hard way to write nearly everything down.
This morning, she is still with us but cannot stand up yet. I held her up under her mom and she tried valiantly to nurse but it just was too much. I milked out the doe and bottle fed her again. The doe is having problems cleaning off so I will be treating and watching her closely.
Meanwhile, I am still watching Ellie.....
I hope this isn't too personal of a question, but how do you "take care" of the obviously hopeless kids? We've had four years of kidding (and eight different births), but I've always wondered what we would do if there were a situation where a kid obviously was not going to make it or be deformed.
ReplyDeleteIf you feel it's too touchy of a subject to post here, I understand.
Thanks! And good luck with the rest of your pending kiddings!
Carolyn, even after all these years, I am still a big softy. I give everybody a fighting chance but sometimes if the deformity is just too horrendous it would just be cruel to not step in. I have heard of people who have just put the newborn in a 5 gallon bucket of water before they ever take a breath. I am happy to say that I have never had to do that. This kid was already dead by the time that I found it and only the second deformed kid I have ever had out of hundreds of births. The first was mercifully born dead, too.
ReplyDeleteIt is a touchy subject but not talking about it doesn't make it go away......unfortunately.