On Thursday, our goats got into the grain. Somehow they managed to access the storage container, tip over a barrel of grain, get the locking lid off of the barrel, and polish off about 100 pounds of rolled barley. That much grain can kill them. Last year, Guy died from grain poisoning. So we had visions of losing the whole herd. We treated them preventively: charcoal, and penicillin for the non-milkers. Charcoal for the milkers, Five of our milkers developed symptoms, so we treated them with Therabloat and penicillin. We don’t like to use antibiotics. For one thing, overuse can contribute to antibiotic-resistant infections. For another, we have to discard the milk from the treated does for several days after treatment. But we didn’t want to chance losing any of them, especially our best milkers.
Sati, one of our yearlings who didn’t kid this year, seemed fine until Saturday. Then she rapidly developed pain in her abdomen. Her temperature dropped and she wanted to hide from us. Being a very personable goat, this was unusual behavior. I gave her charcoal, banamine, penicillin, and TheraBloat. There was no improvement so I called the vet. More pain killers followed, as well as more charcoal. Then we made the decision to operate.
Unfortunately, Sati had already gone toxic. The vet saw evidence of that as soon as she got inside. She did what she could, but wasn’t very hopeful. A few minutes later, Sati was gone.
This has been a year of losses. Sati was a lovely, friendly goat with a distinctive personality. She follows Henna and Sam, two of our dogs who died this year. We miss them all.
