All Guild members are welcome to come and introduce themselves to the new baby girls.  K-4 and K-5 are waiting for their official names. Contest ENDS on May 28 at 5 p.m. 

No time to visit this week? You may make a submission on the GGG Portal by clicking here if you have ideas based on these glamour shots of the girls.

One of the most difficult aspects of having goats is dehorning the babies.  This little girl is the only one of the triplets to have her horn buds burned.  The boys will be sold at 12 weeks and  I do not feel that they need such trauma. 

Safety is the major reason we complete this task in the first 10 days of a doeling (female) life.  Horns in the city cause the animal to catch in the fence or other objects, to hurt other animals in close quarters, and possibly to accidentally hurt people.

Her little horn buds were shaved and then the hot iron was placed on the spot.  The color red is from the wound spray on her round spots, so she is not bleeding.  After this experience She ran and drank some milk, then bossed her brothers around. 

We have been fostering a baby chick for about three weeks.  She needed a forever home and we found one with Cheryl Munoz. I emailed Cheryl and this is her response:
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"Penny is just fine. :) I brought her inside yesterday to hang out with me in the kitchen for a few hours. She napped and ate and drank and was so content. She seems like a little pet more than a yard bird!"

On May third, Dr. Vigil came twice as we were all perplexed with Esther's deterioration in less than 12 hours.  She just had her triplets on Sunday.  I called my mentors in Wisconsin  several times to obtain perspective and treatment options.  Dr. Vigil searched for answers as well with other vets.

At 11 p.m. Tuesday night, this mommy hauled herself to her feet to feed three babies when she was so weak.  Esther was so still at 4 a.m. Wednesday morning, I thought she had died.  At 6:30 a.m., I was afraid to go to the garage to see her dead body.  Miraculously she had moved and then stood.   I was very thankful for her survival and began searching for food that she could eat.

It was  later this  morning when I brought her romaine and grapes.   Esther is a voracious eater of greens, but was not able to swallow a lot. 

I am calling the condition postpartum choke.  She had an obstruction behind her molars and possibly at the base of her throat.  For a goat to live it must cough up the cud to chew it.  Esther was spewing it and unable to digest, which can be fatal.   Her tongue was swollen allowing little to go down.

Dr. Dr. Vigil found a similar case in his research  and  says we have about 6 more days to watch and provide a variable soft diet to an animal that must have 15 pounds of vegetables a day.  He recommends  little hay until she stabilizes her throat.  Meanwhile, sludge comes out her butt due to the stress.  Even with this last complication I am thankful that God is gracious to us.