Goat-O-Rama Kids of 2019

[Nanno]

Well, the kids are doing great but Petunia crashed hard core today. I found her so sick she could hardly stand this morning. I had to drag her back to the shed where she lay with her head down all day. She had terrible, raspy breathing so I thought it was pneumonia and treated for that, but it turned out to be milk fever, which is a severe and sudden calcium deficiency. We're not sure if it was caused by too little calcium in her diet or too much because both can cause this problem. Anyway, I thought we were going to lose her all day. She was too sick to transport to the vet in Pueblo, and the only mobile vet in our area right now takes Thursdays off completely. I had to wait until my neighbor vet got home from her job at the zoo. We spent a couple of hours pumping IV fluids and calcium into Petunia's veins. She's perked up since earlier but she's not out of the woods yet. I have to administer more calcium at midnight. The raspy breathing was pulmonary edema caused by an extremely low heart rate. Poor little gal! She was looking so sleek and healthy just before she kidded.

Besides that, I'm happy to report the kids are thriving. They're taking their bottles like champs and they're full of bounce and energy. They're living in a makeshift pen in our basement for now since their mama is too sick to care for them and I'm afraid if she tries to get up she may fall on them and be unable to get off. She's very weak right now and a little loopy.