Liechty Family: Sad Day but turned out okay

Thursday, May 28, 2009

Sad Day but turned out okay

Our goat got into the grain on Sunday and had as much as she wanted. She ate it all day until we found her in the evening and secured the lid. She was so sick on Monday with throwing up and diarrhea. If goats eat too much grain it can kill them. They get really bloated. She seemed to get a little better on Tuesday and then started acting weird on Wednesday. She had all the signs of going into labor but it was a month early. We didn't know if she was going to live and the only goat vet in Utah couldn't come until the next morning. She ended up having the babies last night, one boy and one girl. They only lived a few minutes. We are so sad : ( This was a dumb accident and could've been prevented. I know... bring on the guilt trip. Pepper (our goat) is doing better and we are relieved that she made it through this. She is so sad though and doesn't know what happened to the babies. She's been crying all day and looking for her babies. I called a friend, who raises goats, to see if she had any babies that Pepper could adopt. I just can't stand that pitiful cry any more. My friend brought over two babies about 30 min. ago. We held Pepper and let them nurse. The babies would be happy to have her as a mother but she isn't cooperating. We're letting them have time to see if she will give them a chance. As I look out the window, the babies are sleeping a couple feet away from Pepper. Hopefully, that is a good sign. The babies are cute and they love sucking on the kid's fingers.

Update on June 1st:
Pepper never excepted the babies as her own. We are going to keep the female for a companion but the billy is going home today. He's so cute but Pepper doesn't give enough milk for both. We'll bottle feed the female for another 6 weeks and then we'll start making cheese and stuff out of the milk. I want to name the baby Princess. She's very sweet and pretty.