Busy Week!

T'was a busy week around here...
The goat vet came Wednesday afternoon... gave the boys a rabies shot, an 8 way shot that includes tetanus and a shot of ivomec dewormer. I had noticed they had tape worms, so I mentioned it to her and she hadn't brought a dewormer that would kill tapes, so we arranged that I would go to the clinic in Pakenham and pick it up. (I did that yesterday afternoon).

Because of mass parasite die off issues, we wouldn't have given them both dewormers that day anyhow, so this weekend I'll give them their first dose and then once a month for 4 months and they should be clear after that.

Really liked the vet... she was friendly, competent and efficient and was a wealth of goat information. Talked to her about dehorning the boys and after we thought about it we decided that if it wasn't too expensive, we'd go ahead and do it... they really should've been disbudded when they were like a week old, but the person we got them from doesn't believe in that... she believes they need their horns for defense purposes.

Dehorning them now is a bigger deal... the process is pretty much the same as when we used to dehorn calves years ago... (I bet there's one or two of you reading this that can now smell THAT smell, right??) and is more dangerous to the animal as time goes on. So while I was at the clinic yesterday, I asked about cost... it'll cost approximately $50 each... which seems really cheap to me... so I set up an appointment for November 5th.

The vet prefers to do them at the clinic, in case they run into problems (uncontrollable bleeding, etc) so we'll take them up there in the morning, drop them off and pick 'em up at the end of the day. She also sedates them a bit and gives them painkillers as it IS quite painful... (those of you that were smelling THAT smell are also likely hearing the calf screams in your ears now???)

I'm happy with this idea... I'd rather not have to be responsible for holding the little buggers down and still... they are little, but they are strong enough and definitely quick enough that it could go very badly... being so small is almost worse than 400 lb calves because if you use too much body weight to subdue them, you'll crush 'em!

Dehorning them means they'll be safer to be around... no more worrying about getting a horn in the eye... they wont be able to be destructive to buildings or fencing as they grow and it wont hurt if they learn to butt... they also wont be able to cause any damage to any other livestock we might acquire over time. Mostly, I can't think of any good reason to keep them. And by doing it now and at the clinic, we'll be able to minimize the risk to them as well.

I imagine they could easily cost you more than $100 over their life time in damages to stuff, people and other stock... seems like a good investment really :) Plus putting them back in Pixie's crate and driving them 30 - 40 minutes away in the mini van first thing in the morning, just sounds like a blast to me... haha!

For their 3 shots, I just picked them up and held them tight and reminded the vet that *I* did not need a rabies shot... or deworming ;) She was quick and the boys struggled, but nothing I couldn't handle... though I bet next time they need shots I won't be picking them up to do it!!

The goats are doing well... Ernie is a wild man... he jumps and bites (which technically shouldn't hurt as they don't have top teeth at the front) but he is very quick about getting your fingers to the back of his mouth and chomping down... even the vet was... surprised! We refer to Ernie as the "bad goat"... he's also the one that while trying to halter break him will have a temper tantrum and throw himself onto the ground in protest. Our little ADD /ADHD goat!

Often all you hear when I'm trying to work with the goats or clean up is "ERNIE...NO!! BAD GOAT!!" In spite of all this, he's still cute and I'm really hoping he'll outgrow some of this stuff. The joke HAS been made in his presence about tasty he looks ;)

Bert is a lot more even tempered... he jumps up, but not like a wild man.... he mouths you, but it doesn't hurt.... he doesn't like the halter on him, but he reluctantly follows. He doesn't mob you when you're giving out little treats of sunmaid raisins (they LOVE them!).

It's funny how different they are from each other... they definitely have their own unique personalities!! (the little buggers!)

Anyhow, my big job today is having a nap and catching up on lost sleep. I'm not feeling as well as I was last weekend... I'm a bit sick again... I think it wasn't enough days of antibiotics to get rid of the bronchitis... only 5 days of zithromax. Shawn's not 100% either, but I think he'll be able to fight off the last bit on his own, with his super human immune system. I'm hoping I will too, especially if I catch up on sleep... but I'm suspicious I may need another doc visit to get 'er done!

That's it for now!!