I've taken a break from writing because once we brought home our two little doeling twins, it's been one thing after another.
Firstly, the good stuff: we drove up several time to a wonderful Nigerian Dwarf goat breeder in Sevierville, TN - Fields of Grace. She takes fantastic care of the goats and for newbies like us, she has been providing tons of support. She is super fantastic and understanding, and, in our case, patient.
We spent lots of time researching and trying to figure out what type of goats made sense for us.
Nigerian Dwarf goats were finally our pick because of their sweet milk, their size, and year-round ability to breed and give birth. Some types of goats have more restrictive timeframes, which might have caused problems for us later. We needed to be able to work with the timing, in case one year we needed to change it.
Our fiery redhead is called Katharine Hepburn after one of my favorite actors. The little black and white one we named Audrey Hepburn, though we knew there would be many people that would remind us the real actresses were not sisters...
um...yeah. I know...I have Google.
We all loved how sweet the two of them were, slipping easily through the bars of their new pen - back to Tractor Supply for us.
They could be herded around, but they were not ready to let us do anything bizarre like pick them up. That was until we discover raisins. Suddenly, we all had new best friends. Even now, Kate follows Big Daddy around hoping he'll have a few he's forgotten to give her.
Within a few weeks, though, we noticed Audrey was her happy self. When the new puppy, Scout, came around, she hardly noticed him, as though she were on drugs. She was lethargic and only ate if you brought it to her mouth.
We were still trying to track down a goat vet - hard to find anywhere, so I read what I could and tried to give her things to help boost her immune system. Finally, we tracked down a livestock vet in the next town over. And both vets at this clinic had own goats themselves.
After a quick test, we found both goats had coccidia. We've been told it's fairly common amongst young goats. They were put on an antibiotic and we fed them lots of B12-enriched water. Audrey's tiny frame was only 5.5 lbs.
Kate got better right away and took every chance to bound around the pen. Audrey still struggled, but seemed to be improving.
Then one day, Audrey couldn't stand up on her own. I was noticing she was losing weight though she ate like crazy. Soon afterwards, she started have diarrhea or scours. We took her back in. This time it was tapeworm.
That meant a week of iron supplements, dewormer, B12, a heated room, and lot of cuddling.
After about four days indoors, she seemed better and started standing on her own again. She was still a little weak, but very much improved. We were told there wasn't much we could do to help her along other than give her supportive supplements like the iron and the B12.
Though she struggled to stand most days and sometimes got stuck on her front knees, she seemed to be getting stronger.
But as Saturday came, she was barely able to hold her own head up. Her breathing was erratic and shallow. We called the vet and he said to get her in right away.
He took her temperature, shook the thermometer, tried again, then went for another one. He shook the second one, let it stay a little longer, but got wide-eyed when he pulled it out.
"I thought there was something wrong with my thermometer's battery," he said. "But her temperature is consistent. It's only 91.3."
To put this in perspective, a goat's regular temperature should be 102-103. At 91.3, it was like if we had a temperature of 87 degrees.
"It's not consistent with sustaining life," he told us. "You need to be prepared."
He gave her a shot of steroids, an antibiotic, and some intense B12. "We should know something within 2-4 hours," he said. He told us to put her out in the sun so she could warm up and keep an eye on her.
While we waited to be picked up, we sat with her on the front lawn, getting excited when she nibbled on some of her food, but just as quickly, she became uninterested.
Once home, we situated her in the full sun while Kate free ranged with the chickens and tried to entertain us all. We got excited again when Audrey began nibbling on raisins, but just as quickly, she was disinterested.
Elsa, our 14-year-old daughter, took Audrey inside, wrapping her in a warm towel and feeding her B12 water with a medicine plunger. The vet had recommended some JumpStart Plus from Tractor Supply, so we raced out to get it.
One mile away from the house, Elsa called, sobbing uncontrollably. Audrey had stopped breathing and they couldn't get her to respond.
By the time we walked back in, the poor little thing was gone.
She had rallied so many times, we all believed she'd come back from this, too. It's was heartbreaking to know she couldn't.
I carried her still-warm, but lifeless body back into the tree-covered section of our land. Big Daddy took a shovel and, in spite of the oncoming rain, dug deep into the ground. We spread straw for her new bed, laid her down, a little extra for under her head, covered her to make sure she'd be warm where she was going. While we chanted for her, they covered her back up. Behind us, we could hear Kate pitifully bleating for poor little Audrey.
It's barely been 24 hours. None of us can shake it just yet, but we have to. We have to take care of Kate and find her a companion quickly.
Goats are extremely social, and without one, she may slowly become so stressed that her immune system might be compromised.
We knew there would be death when we started this. We knew that allowing these tiny things into our hearts we risked cracking the thin shells around our hearts. We knew some might think our love for them was too great for animals, particularly farm animals, but we knew we could not love them less just because they would provide us a way to sustain our lives.
Maybe we are not cut out for this. Maybe we will never be the people who are comfortable with them dying. Maybe we will never be hard enough to simply continue on, mark them off a roster, and move on to the next. But I like that we're not like that. I like that we care for them as much as they provide for us. I like that their contribution does not lessen them in our eyes.
And maybe...maybe this is the way it should be done.
copyright - All rights to the work posted on this site are retained by Cass Van Gelder. If you'd like to use some of my work, please ask. To do so, the permissions must be spelled out in writing...from me...I mean it. I have horribly mean cats; don't make me use them.
Firstly, the good stuff: we drove up several time to a wonderful Nigerian Dwarf goat breeder in Sevierville, TN - Fields of Grace. She takes fantastic care of the goats and for newbies like us, she has been providing tons of support. She is super fantastic and understanding, and, in our case, patient.
 |
| My little Katharine Hepburn doeling - about 4 days old |
 |
| Fields of Grace curious resident |
We spent lots of time researching and trying to figure out what type of goats made sense for us.
Nigerian Dwarf goats were finally our pick because of their sweet milk, their size, and year-round ability to breed and give birth. Some types of goats have more restrictive timeframes, which might have caused problems for us later. We needed to be able to work with the timing, in case one year we needed to change it.
 |
| Samwell, the Great Pyrenees/Andalusian puppy...that's right. He's a puppy |
um...yeah. I know...I have Google.
We all loved how sweet the two of them were, slipping easily through the bars of their new pen - back to Tractor Supply for us.
They could be herded around, but they were not ready to let us do anything bizarre like pick them up. That was until we discover raisins. Suddenly, we all had new best friends. Even now, Kate follows Big Daddy around hoping he'll have a few he's forgotten to give her.
 |
| Our little Audrey Hepburn too busy playing to be bothered being petted |
We were still trying to track down a goat vet - hard to find anywhere, so I read what I could and tried to give her things to help boost her immune system. Finally, we tracked down a livestock vet in the next town over. And both vets at this clinic had own goats themselves.
After a quick test, we found both goats had coccidia. We've been told it's fairly common amongst young goats. They were put on an antibiotic and we fed them lots of B12-enriched water. Audrey's tiny frame was only 5.5 lbs.
Kate got better right away and took every chance to bound around the pen. Audrey still struggled, but seemed to be improving.
 |
| Green in their ears from their tattoos |
Then one day, Audrey couldn't stand up on her own. I was noticing she was losing weight though she ate like crazy. Soon afterwards, she started have diarrhea or scours. We took her back in. This time it was tapeworm.
That meant a week of iron supplements, dewormer, B12, a heated room, and lot of cuddling.
After about four days indoors, she seemed better and started standing on her own again. She was still a little weak, but very much improved. We were told there wasn't much we could do to help her along other than give her supportive supplements like the iron and the B12.
Though she struggled to stand most days and sometimes got stuck on her front knees, she seemed to be getting stronger.
But as Saturday came, she was barely able to hold her own head up. Her breathing was erratic and shallow. We called the vet and he said to get her in right away.
He took her temperature, shook the thermometer, tried again, then went for another one. He shook the second one, let it stay a little longer, but got wide-eyed when he pulled it out.
"I thought there was something wrong with my thermometer's battery," he said. "But her temperature is consistent. It's only 91.3."
 |
| Arrived home - Kate and Audrey |
To put this in perspective, a goat's regular temperature should be 102-103. At 91.3, it was like if we had a temperature of 87 degrees.
"It's not consistent with sustaining life," he told us. "You need to be prepared."
He gave her a shot of steroids, an antibiotic, and some intense B12. "We should know something within 2-4 hours," he said. He told us to put her out in the sun so she could warm up and keep an eye on her.
While we waited to be picked up, we sat with her on the front lawn, getting excited when she nibbled on some of her food, but just as quickly, she became uninterested.
Once home, we situated her in the full sun while Kate free ranged with the chickens and tried to entertain us all. We got excited again when Audrey began nibbling on raisins, but just as quickly, she was disinterested.
Elsa, our 14-year-old daughter, took Audrey inside, wrapping her in a warm towel and feeding her B12 water with a medicine plunger. The vet had recommended some JumpStart Plus from Tractor Supply, so we raced out to get it.
One mile away from the house, Elsa called, sobbing uncontrollably. Audrey had stopped breathing and they couldn't get her to respond.
By the time we walked back in, the poor little thing was gone.
She had rallied so many times, we all believed she'd come back from this, too. It's was heartbreaking to know she couldn't.
I carried her still-warm, but lifeless body back into the tree-covered section of our land. Big Daddy took a shovel and, in spite of the oncoming rain, dug deep into the ground. We spread straw for her new bed, laid her down, a little extra for under her head, covered her to make sure she'd be warm where she was going. While we chanted for her, they covered her back up. Behind us, we could hear Kate pitifully bleating for poor little Audrey.
It's barely been 24 hours. None of us can shake it just yet, but we have to. We have to take care of Kate and find her a companion quickly.
Goats are extremely social, and without one, she may slowly become so stressed that her immune system might be compromised.
We knew there would be death when we started this. We knew that allowing these tiny things into our hearts we risked cracking the thin shells around our hearts. We knew some might think our love for them was too great for animals, particularly farm animals, but we knew we could not love them less just because they would provide us a way to sustain our lives.
Maybe we are not cut out for this. Maybe we will never be the people who are comfortable with them dying. Maybe we will never be hard enough to simply continue on, mark them off a roster, and move on to the next. But I like that we're not like that. I like that we care for them as much as they provide for us. I like that their contribution does not lessen them in our eyes.
And maybe...maybe this is the way it should be done.
 |
| Sweet little Audrey Hepburn |
copyright - All rights to the work posted on this site are retained by Cass Van Gelder. If you'd like to use some of my work, please ask. To do so, the permissions must be spelled out in writing...from me...I mean it. I have horribly mean cats; don't make me use them.
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