Greedy Horses and Conniving Goats

Yesterday morning Darlin' the Greedy Horse discovered that not only is there a huge round bale of hay in the barn, but there WAS a bag of alfalfa pellets in the loft.

After that discovery, all that is left is the bale of hay. The bag of pellets was about a third full, and when she pulled it down, the goats probably helped her eat it, so I am not sure how much she actually got. Now, I have to use an elaborate gate/chain/rock system to keep her out of the barn! If I set it up just right, the goats can go in and out, but she can't get in, no matter how hard she bangs on the gate.

Last night Scarlett, the goat who I thought was due to kid Nov 30, finally started acting a little "off". I had a stomach virus, and since I could still feel her ligaments I did not check on her again until early morning. She was acting even more off this morning, but I could still feel ligaments. None of the usual signs of kidding... just acting miserable, and since I was EXPECTING kids, it took me a while to realize she was sick. I took her temp and it was 95*!!!!! YIKES! That is dangerously low. So, I piled towels on her, and forced her to swallow warm water and kombucha using a syringe. The insides of her eyelids were WHITE which indicates anemia probably from worm overload. I gave her a shot of B12 and called the vet and he was worried too - he is a great vet who almost always tells me how I can treat the problem at home and not have to pay for the vet visit. But, this time he suggested I bring her in. He gave her two "gentle" wormers which I don't have on hand and said that as soon as she kids I can give her the heavy duty stuff. He did an ultrasound on her and there was NO sign of kid movement. Not good. We still aren't really sure what is wrong with her, but he said the kids may be ok. It's not terribly uncommon to not see a kid move at all, and have it be born just fine. She wasn't dilated at all, so there'll be no kids today.




Where do these heathens get this bad habit of covering their faces when the camera comes out?

Aha! That's WHO they get it from! :o)