Tuesday Spotlight: Vanilla Bean Dream

Click to Save 25% On Vanilla Bean Dream

This week, dear reader, our spotlight is shining on our soap family favorite, Vanilla Bean Dream. Vanilla Bean Dream has a warm, rich, deep vanilla scent, has ground, dried vanilla beans in the base for gentle exfoliation, and has a gorgeous, rich lather. You all have made this one of our best-selling soaps and moisturizers.

I was hesitant to create a vanilla-scented soap because a true vanilla scent will always turn cold-process soap brown. We all know my proclivity for pretty soaps, and I could not wrap my mind around making a brown soap beautiful. Although Vanilla Bean Dream is not the most beautiful soap we make, it does smell amazing, has nourishing properties for your skin, and has all the benefits of a luxury goat's milk soap.

This week, only on the website, save 25% on Vanilla Bean Dream soap and moisturizer. Now is a lovely time to stock up on a favorite, try something new, or purchase an affordable gift. No promo code is ever needed to save on our weekly special. The discount will be applied at checkout. On this gorgeous fall-like day, stay safe, be smart, enjoy the savings, and keep washing your hands.

Peach Taffy

Welcome to Thursday, dear reader. I am preparing for our final weekend at the Shaker Woods Festival in Columbiana, Ohio. The Bean and our dear friend, Janet, will be at the Ligonier Country Market this Saturday. I am pleased to share that if you can't make it to either of the live shows we are attending, our latest seasonal creation, Peach Taffy, is now available online.

Peach Taffy has been very popular at Shaker Woods. I believe, dear reader, if you like sweet, fruity scents, you will love Peach Taffy. This year, I followed the seasons and created Honeyed Strawberry for June, Blueberry Verbena for July, and now, Peach Taffy for August. I can't think of a better way to end the summer season than with a fresh, fruity, happy-scented soap and moisturizer.

As with all our seasonal scents, Peach Taffy is only available for a limited time, while our inventory lasts. If you would like to experience this lovely soap and moisturizer, don't dilly dally. We made our second batch of moisturizer yesterday because our soap family, who were in attendance at Shaker Woods, depleted our inventory. Yes, it is that popular. I do believe this scent is a winner.

I have created a link below for easy access to the Peach Taffy products. On this overcast summer day, stay safe, be smart, try Peach Taffy while you can, and keep washing your hands.

Peach Taffy

Frustration

A picture of Boo and Teenie before Boo passed

Welcome to another Wednesday, dear reader. This week marks the first week of school and the last week of our Shaker Woods show. The Bean and I had a wonderful time together in Ohio. While we kept things going in the woods, The Bibbed Wonder held things together at the farm. He has been working tirelessly to ensure that everything and everyone is safe and healthy. Sadly, we lost yet another little one over the weekend. Our little bottle baby, Larry, passed away. Larry was in the coccidia quarantine stall. However, we don't believe it was just coccidia that took his life.

Eric has been researching, talking to other farmers, and consulting with our vet, and he finally thinks he has an answer to what is going on in our herd. We have identified a parasite called liver flukes, and the symptoms we're observing in our herd seem to match this horrible parasite. Below is the Google AI synopsis of liver flukes.

Liver flukes are a common parasite in goats, particularly those that graze on pasture. According to the Goat Journal, these flatworms, especially Fasciola hepatica, can cause significant illness and even death by damaging the liver and bile ducts. Goats become infected by ingesting metacercariae (infective larvae) encysted on vegetation, often in wet, marshy areas. 

Life Cycle and Transmission:

• Liver flukes require a snail as an intermediate host to complete their life cycle. 

• The fluke eggs are passed in the feces of infected animals and hatch into larvae (miracidia) in the water. 

• These larvae then infect snails, developing into infective larvae (cercariae) that emerge from the snail and encyst on vegetation. 

• Goats ingest these cysts (metacercariae) while grazing, and the larvae migrate to the liver, causing damage. 

Symptoms and Impact:

• Subacute fasciolosis:

  Jaundice, anemia, and potentially death. 

• Chronic fasciolosis:

  Anemia, loss of appetite, bottle jaw (swelling under the jaw), and reduced weight gain. 

• Black disease:

  A severe, often fatal, secondary bacterial infection associated with fluke migration through the liver. 

• Reduced Productivity:

  Liver fluke infection can lead to decreased milk production, poor growth rates, and reduced overall productivity. 

Diagnosis and Treatment:

• Diagnosis:

  Liver fluke infection can be diagnosed through fecal egg counts (although this may not always detect all types of flukes), blood tests, and potentially liver biopsies.

• Treatment:

  Flukicides (dewormers effective against liver fluke) are used to treat infection. Strategic treatments may be needed depending on the severity of the problem. 

Prevention:

• Grazing Management:

  .

  Avoid grazing vulnerable animals (young, pregnant, or lactating goats) in wet, "flukey" pastures, especially during high-risk periods (autumn and winter). 

• Fence off wet areas:

  .

  If possible, fence off areas where snails are likely to be present. 

• Strategic Deworming:

  .

  Consult with a veterinarian about appropriate flukicides and treatment schedules. 

• Vaccination:

  .

  Vaccination against black disease can help prevent this secondary infection.

Sigh.

Unfortunately, we cannot find the flukicide that is vet-recommended locally. We had to order it from an online supplier, and to date, they have created a label but not shipped it. The medicine we need is out of stock countrywide. From the East Coast to the West Coast, none are available. We are anxiously awaiting a response from our veterinarian to advise us of a different medicine we can use. It is all very frustrating, dear reader.

Eric is the most hostile of the two of us, and he declares that we are living in the equivalent of a third-world country regarding getting the medicine we need, high-speed internet, and our education system. I understand his frustration. Unfortunately, he is the one at home dealing with our sick goats and dying little ones. He cares as deeply for our animals as I do, and he has to do all the hard things. So I let him rant and feel angry over the situation without trying to reason with him. At least he is dealing with his feelings.

As for our little bottle baby, Larry, we feel it was probably a combination of coccidia and liver flukes that took his little life. The other babies have responded well to the coccidia treatment. Two of the babies were released back into the herd yesterday because they are having regular bowel movements and have been symptom-free for several days. We have two more who are well on their way to being healthy, but we added a new little one with loose stool the day before yesterday.

So, dear reader, the battle continues. We are tired, fearful, and frustrated. Fortunately, no one is showing signs of illness, but it haunts me that Mama Boo and Boo did not show any symptoms before dying. Poor little Tiger Lily fought the good fight, but it was too much and too terrible to watch. I will feel better once we receive directives from our vet and can treat everyone as a precautionary measure. I will also feel better when our little boys go to market and we can lower our herd numbers. Add to this moving the girls to the pasture across the driveway, where the grass is taller than they are, and we don't have to worry about liver flukes and over-grazed fields. I just need this weekend to be over with so we can put all our efforts into getting everyone healthy and focusing on taking care of business at our farm.

Dividing and conquering sounds good in theory, and it has worked well for the situation, but I really just want to be home. I feel home is where I am most needed right now. Not that I can help or do anything to save my goats without the proper medicine, but at least I can be with them. If you are so inclined, please continue to send healing thoughts, and maybe a thought that the medicine we need becomes available sooner rather than later. Sigh. It's so very frustrating.

On this overcast and rainy August day, stay safe, be smart, do what you can, send healing thoughts, and keep washing your hands.