A family farm

Monday, July 12, 2010

Ok, Here We Go Again

I think Nanny is in labor. If she is this would truly be a miracle baby! We bought her real cheap ($20) from a farm up in Grant about 2 months ago. She is older, about 4 or 5 years. The previous owners kept her as a free-range goat and had gotten pregnant by a boer billy goat that she went to visit. They said she aborted 3 babies. She was fat and has been struggling with mastitis in one of her teats since we got her. I hunted down a couple of remedies, but ended up calling the vet and getting their recommendation. Chris and I finally got the medication from TSC (it's the same stuff you use for cows, turns out), and inserted the piece into her teat. I can tell you it didn't go in far. The amount of milk I was able to squirt out was incredible! I thought her teat would have gone down in size more than it had, but it only reduced itself by about 1/2. The past couple of days she's been real sluggish. I had sort of attributed it to the penicillin in the Go-Dry, but Saturday, I noticed her backside had opened up a bit. And then she stopped when I had her on the leash leading her back to her pen and started to strain. I didn't check much on her yesterday, as we were busy with church and the Hume home service, but she did seem a little more animated. This morning, however, I saw her straining harder and it seemed as if she was constipated with a white discharge coming out her rear. I went inside to grab a plastic glove and reached down and felt something hard, like a small hoof. I had to get to work ... I was late! Chris looked in on her before and after his interview. The first time, she didn't respond much to him, but the second time she got up and walked toward him and he saw her left side just move around. We now have Kellie looking in on her every hour or so. Last time she checked on her, she was fine. She just grunted. So if she is preggers and about to give birth, and if the baby survives, then, well, I do believe it will be a miracle!

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