So FatBoy85 and I broke down, at the pleas of a very sweet 4 year old, this weekend and brought home some projects. I say projects because these girls are most definitely going to take some work. We have wanted goats, yes. We did not necessarily think we would bid on goats that would immediately need hospitalized, but FatBoy85 knows thats kind of how I roll. In the years he has know me I have always had some kind of sick thing Im fostering so nothing is new there. We wanted to see what goat prices were before we bid on this pair but they came out 1st. Starting bid was $150. Knowing how Auctions go we both kept our cards down. They backed down to $60 or $75 before someone bid. We went for it. Knowing full well these girls would cost us a hell of a lot more, we bid up to $135 before our secret competitor in the corner gave up. We sent my sister, and our new 4yr old goat mom, home to get a giant dog crate in the back of the SUV while we paid her bail. We have waited to share details because a lot of things are still pending. We brought them to my clinic on Sunday. We began treatment and Labs on them then. Mom, Flamingo, is severely anemic, was covered in lice, has whipworms, coccidia, strongyles, amoebas, and has changes in her chemistry due to severe neglect and starvation. A test on the amoebas and a biosecurity test on infectious diseases are pending. It is extremely surprising that her 1 week old baby, Glitter, is still alive. She was only a few days old when we got them on Saturday. With the lice load alone that would have been enough to kill her. Despite her mom not producing enough milk and being extremely emaciated she has managed to stay strong and feisty. These girls are not out of the woods but they have already improved and today we had our 1st semi normal looking poop! We have high hopes for these girls and we are so grateful that we have the ability to give them the care they need and keep them at my work where they have Drs and vet staff watching over them 24/7. And now pics... I warn you they are not all cute.
That was still a pretty strong price for the condition they were in. You are a vet? If not, I bet the vet bill will more than double their price of admission. Good luck, looks like you are on the up swing with their situations. Good luck and keep us informed. Kids and goats, go together like PB&J. Just be careful with the horns, little fingers get pinched so easily while standing and holding the gate watching them.
We agree it was slightly steep of a bid but since most of people there were were buying livestock for consumption, this was not our goal. If someone was upping the bid, I had doubts it was truly competition. My daughter has been interested in animals and I wanted to give her the benefit of seeing how she would care for the little one. She’s indeed watchful and prepared for such a task. For right now I’m thankful where they are at. The care they are getting plus love is second to none.
It wont be a cheap fix, but I'm a vet tech for a farm vet who is basically my second family. We are all in good hands. The price of goats around here is pretty high. Even healthy ones are selling over 4-500... and the baby will be disbudded soon and mom will be dehorned as soon as she is healthy enough to handle the sedative. We do not want horns ending up damaging little ones by accident.
Wow! I guess that little wether goat I bought at the auction for $1 back when our FFA class went for a field trip back in high school was a real steal! Hey mom, look what I got at school today!
Most definitely! She is luckily a very sweet girl and her baby is full of personality. Her price really didn't mean anything to us. Once we decided to actually buy her it didn't matter at that point. It was about getting her better and giving her a good life.
Yesterday FatBoy85 and I received devastating news. Our girls tested positive for Johnes disease. This disease would eventually slowly kill them. In addition to the multitude of challenges they already faced we made the choice to put them to sleep. We struggled greatly with it. We tried to think of ways to make it work. But the risk to current and future livestock on the land was too great. We would never wish them to get it as well. It was crushing for our whole family. His daughter's only request is that we dont let her go on with tags in her ears, of course not. She is far more wise and understanding than any 4yr old I have ever known. She wanted to know why they have it and how it works. We explained how the disease spreads in poop and how the "bug" lives in poop and there is no way to get rid of it. It of course made her very upset but she didnt want them to suffer either.
Its most crushing for us to think that in her short life she has likely never been healthy, knowing now what we know of this disease. And until a 4yr old saw her in a auction yard, suffering, she likely meant nothing to anyone else. It was the worst thing explaining to her that she loved them most and that she never failed them. She blamed herself and said she wished she didn't pick sick ones. We told her that she picked the ones that needed her the most and it will never be her fault that they were sick. She did everything she could for them and she should never feel bad about that. We did end up talk with the auction house and the refunded us the purchase of the goats. We used the to go towards our geese we have been wanting. We have been going to the auction every weekend wanting geese. This weekend we finally got lucky on some. My sister even got lucky on some Peking hens for her lonely drake. FatBoy85 s daughter is thrilled about the hens. They are calm and she can hold them. Haha.
So sorry to hear about the goats. FatBoy85 has a precious daughter. Look at that smile while she is holding that hen.
I am a firm believer in children having animals in their lives. My oldest daughter and I sat and cried together when her App 4H horse had to be put down due to twisted intestines due to colic. Youngest daughter raised pigs, sat with her when a sow laid on her litter and crushed all of them. These are just two examples of us crying together. Anyway, kids with critters face the facts of life more often and with adults on hand. They learn life goes on and as said in an earlier post, one door closes and another opens. So sorry to hear of your loss of the goats. It is a rough lesson.
We all agree. It sucks and we hate to see them feel that loss and feel it ourselves also, but we have all learned and will continue to learn and grow with more projects. Not all rescues can be saved, after all these years of rescuing things I still struggle with that reality myself.
So sorry for your whirlwind adventure. You did everything you could, and obviously more than the previous owner did.
