Sad news to report from the Mansion today. One of the twin baby goats has died.
We arrived home from school, and The Pony dashed outside to check on the goats and his favorite rooster, Survivor. Only yesterday, The Pony found Survivor in the chicken coop with all his tail feathers gone, and a chunk bitten out of his chicken butt. Farmer H put Survivor in the old rabbit hutch to heal. He tried putting a banty hen in there with him to keep him company, but Survivor was having none of that.
The Pony was pleased to find Survivor still kickin', but saddened to find the black baby goat laying beside a tree trunk and unable to get up. Nellie, the mama, had her head stuck in the fence again. Farmer H arrived home and freed Nellie. Who knows how long she'd been there. It could have been since last night. Farmer H doesn't check on his goat children before leaving for work anymore.
Einstein H let Nellie out of the fence before trying to feed the dying baby. He sent The Pony back to the Mansion for an old bottle and some warm water and milk. I asked The Pony why we were giving the baby goat cow's milk when he had perfectly good goat's milk inside his mama. The Pony replied, "Dad can't catch Nellie." Duh.
After a 15-minute struggle to slip some milk down that baby goat's throat, the poor kid expired. I blame Farmer H and his inattention to the fence/goat horn situation, which has been going on all summer. Now it has returned to bite Farmer H on the butt.
At the expense of a baby goat. Which might have survived if it had a mama to take care of it and nurse it over the past 24 hours. Farmer H denies any wrongdoing, stating that Nellie had a bag full of milk, so it wasn't due to her inability to feed her kids from being starved and dehydrated with her head in the fence. But it kind of proves my point that the baby hadn't been nursing that bag full of milk. Maybe he needed a good lickin' or other encouragement.
The Pony is devastated. But the baby white goat is kicking up its heels.
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5 comments:
Sorry to hear the little fella died! Do you think Farmer H will fix that fence now?
Sounds like baby goat didn't know to go to momma goat with her head stuck in the fence, especially if baby goat went wandering off and couldn't find momma because she was stuck. Goats can't reason the same way as people...well, most people.
Did the fence finally get fixed?
Kathy,
Farmer H refuses to take responsibility. He says maybe that baby goat got stepped on by something. I would like to think that a baby goat can withstand the stepping on by another goat. It's not like they are made of balsa wood and gossamer. It's not like we run champion Hereford cattle with those scrappy goats.
Chick,
That's what I'm thinking. The mama goat puts the baby somewhere safe to nap, and then comes back for it to nurse and follow her. Unless her head is stuck in a fence. Looks like half of those head-fence genes are not going to be passed on.
The fence is not fixed. There will likely be a repeat performance tomorrow. I hope Farmer H does not appear on the news as a crazy Missouri goat-HORDER.
poor baby goat.. poor pony!
Goats are crazy creatures. Sounds like a fence/feeder needs fixed so that goats can't get stuck in it.
course Farmer H is probably like my Dad and stubborn as all get out and it's his way or no way.. even if the truth is staring them in the face.
Jennifer,
You know Farmer H well.
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