One Last Farm Update

The Bean captures the best shots!

My hope is that today is the last farm update I have to share with you regarding the horrible past month. Never, in the nine years we have owned goats, have we experienced the litany of issues that we have this past month. From losing six of our beloved herd, to pink eye, to coccidosis, and one final kick to the stomach while we are down, respiratory issues. It has been a rough road. In the grand scheme of things, I can't complain. We have been exceptionally fortunate to have such good health and well-being of our farmyard family. I am trying to remain positive and grateful for those good times, while also remembering that storms are periods of learning and growth. This storm is a doozie. I had better come out on the other side of this one with a doctorate in whatever the Universe is trying to teach me. Sigh.

While at the last weekend of the Shaker Woods Festival in Ohio, we lost yet another little one. Making the total count for lost herd members six. Six goats gone, just like that. Our herd seems so small without them. I am sad for the loss of my original girls, our Tiger Lily, and the potential that each of the three little ones held. Most frustrating was the feeling of helplessness that I didn't catch it in time, that it wasn't diagnosed, and that we couldn't readily get the medicine we needed. I am kind of the queen at beating myself up, so at this point, I think I need emotional triage.

Let me share with you our search for a flukicide to treat what we believe is a liver fluke infestation. Seriously, dear reader, it went from worrisome to ridiculous. Valbazen is a broad-spectrum dewormer that is one of the few medicines to treat liver flukes. Valbazen was nowhere to be found nationwide. After an intensive online search, Eric found it through a company in Florida. He called the company, placed an order for enough medicine to treat our herd for at least two years, requested rush shipping, and anticipated it would arrive by the end of last week. That optimistic outlook did not serve us well.

The medicine was supposed to arrive on Monday, but it did not arrive until yesterday due to a "mechanical issue" with UPS. If I had to guess, the mechanical issue was that there were not enough drivers available. We have two little ones who are showing signs of coccidia, one of whom is not responding to treatment, which leads us to believe she, too, has liver flukes. I was sick thinking that we were not going to receive the medicine in time, and we were going to lose another little one to this terrible parasite. The delivery time changed from 10 a.m. to 7 p.m. At this point, it felt like a tragic comedy. Seriously, what else could go wrong?

Lo and behold, the medicine arrived around 4 p.m. We went to the barn, and Eric treated the sick babies. We treated the ones with sore eyes and administered antibiotics to those showing signs of respiratory issues (thankfully, I believe we caught it early). At this point, all we could do was wait and hope for the best. This morning, the little sick baby that I was so worried about was up and crying to be let out of her stall. She has been lethargic for almost a week, so I pray this is a good sign and she is on the mend. We will continue to monitor her closely, and if she continues to improve, we will release her from her quarantine.

The plan for today is to pack the orders that came in overnight and then spend the day in the barn. Everyone will have their hooves trimmed, receive a dose of Valbazen, and be treated for pink eye. Some of this is precautionary treatment, but it is time to take measures and reduce the opportunity for infection. Once everyone receives a clean bill of health, fingers crossed, we will move everyone to the new, fresh pasture across the driveway in a week or so. It is my great hope that this will be the end of this cycle of illness, and I will go back to posting happy, funny stories for nine more years.

Once things settle down a bit, I have asked The Bean to create a memorial video for Mama, Boo, Tiger Lily, Woody, and the babies. I am also going to ask my talented friend, Ashley, to paint portraits of Mama, Boo, and Tiger Lily for me. She painted a beautiful picture of Red. I think it's only fitting that I have portraits of my five original girls. I hope they know how much they are loved and missed and how much of an impact they have had on our lives.

In the meantime, once the barn is empty, I plan to pressure wash the barn and stalls, use a heavy-duty disinfectant, and treat for mites. Again, it is all precautionary, but an ounce of prevention is worth a pound of cure. It will be a lot of work, but I will at least have some peace of mind that we did everything in our power to create a healthy, safe environment. In the meantime, dear reader, please continue to send out some healing thoughts if that is your thing. We all appreciate the words of sympathy, kind thoughts, and prayers for healing. Your kindness during this mess has been overwhelming. Thank you all.

As I stated, I hope this is the last update I will have to make. I hope that by the end of the week, everyone and everything is healthy, stable, and on the mend. I am appreciating the cooler temperatures, the big puffy clouds, and the fall-like feel. This life is such a gift. On this lovely fall-like day, stay safe, be smart, appreciate the good times, learn from the storms, try to live in gratitude, and keep washing your hands.