June already!

This past week sure flew by - must have been because it was a short work week.  I finally have some of the garden planted.  Not all of it yet, but will just keep plugging away at it.  I told Kevin that sometimes I feel like I am in a race that I cannot possibly win, but then I had to remind myself that this a garden, not a term paper.  There is no deadline and if I plant the carrots a week or even two too late, so what?

Deep breaths help.

Kevin wanted to show me the rye field - it's already headed out and is quite tall this year.  I couldn't resist staging a photo:

Catch In the Rye, Ole Lake style!

We have only a week to go until the kids move on to their new families.  They are robust youth, and have a way of finding mischief.  In the photo below David has figured out how to climb into the feeder and launch himself up onto the door that is held up by a piece of twine.  The kids are in their "creep" area, which has a small opening that the bigger goats cannot access.  There is some food and water there for them, and that is where they are shut up at night. 

There is a lot going on in this photo!  David looks like he is poised for a high-dive, Phil is about to climb into the feeder, Stewart is doing a little wall-climbing.  That's Echo looking over the fence while waiting her turn for supper and you can just see Vinca's head - she's on the milking stand.

Now I have a little story for you, but if hearing about my goats internal parasite problems will disturb you, read no further.  Just skip to the Be Well at the bottom.   

You have been warned.  Here goes.

Imagine yourself sitting in the waiting room of your veterinarian’s office.  It’s a busy place, people and pets coming, going, and patiently waiting and scrubs-clad staff bustling here and there, answering the phone, checking people in, checking people out, and fetching pets from treatment rooms.  One of the docs comes out now and then to explain treatment or medication to someone.  So anyway, there you sit taking this all in while you wait for your pet to finish with her teeth cleaning, or whatever.  One of the staff tells the nervous looking woman next to you that they are ready for her animal.  She rushes out to the parking lot and returns with her husband, and a goat. 

Vinca stepped cautiously but still daintily across the floor, and as directed got on the big scale that is just a couple of inches off the floor.  Then she peed.  And peed.  And peed.  Then, just for a change of pace, pooped. 

Guess we should have taken her for a stroll around the parking lot!  Vinca visited the vet on Friday because she was showing many of the same symptoms as Daisy did.  If you read this blog regularly, you know that Daisy died a couple of weeks ago.    We suspected some kind of internal parasite and were worming, but the does continued to lose weight.  Then Vinca lost her appetite.  Off to the vet we went. 

The result of the vet visit was that our does do indeed have the usual worms that most goats have in manageable quantities.  They also have tapeworms.  That’s a whole different deal.  Now all of our adult goats are on a five day medicine routine.  We have to go without their delicious milk during this time and for a week afterward.  The kids (goat kids) and pigs are ok to have it though, so it won’t go to waste.  The pigs of course, are delighted with this arrangement.

So, that is the story of Vinca’s trip to the vet.

Until next time, be well folks.