Goat people are crazy! It's okay. I can say that because I am one of them.
Sunday at church, my kids were laughing and passing John's phone around to show folks the picture below. That was when I first realized that I am undoubtedly a crazy goat lady. Sure, I've had inklings in the past that I might be morphing into one of these folks. But it turns out that napping with the goats out in the field is a definite qualifier.
If you've ever met a crazy goat person, you'd know it. Ask them one question about goats and prepare yourself for an earful and perhaps and eyeful if they've got photos handy. And, get two crazy goat people together and you'll have a hard time getting them apart. Words like "teat placement" and "worm load" and "selenium deficiency" will be flying, and it's likely to go on for quite some time.
We've got a sick goat right now. Star (the smaller goat in the napping picture above) is under the weather and has required a pretty close eye lately. Her temperature is up, indicating infection.
Goats' bodies run warmer than ours do, but even their temps can vary slightly. One website I consulted said that the only way to know whether your goat has a fever is to know what her average temperature is and that the best way to do that is to keep a DAILY RECORD of her temperature. Rectally check the temperatures of every member of the herd EVERYDAY? Clearly this was written by a crazy goat person.
I'm pretty sure that Star herself is out of the woods. Since I've begun treating her, she's rejoined the herd, begun eating again, and run less fever. However, her pregnancy may not have fared as well. I'm still monitoring things, but it's not looking good.
Razz, on the other hand, (pictured above) is fat and happy! Her babies (fingers crossed) are pretty active and easy to feel by placing a hand on her ever-expanding mid-section.
Based on when I think everyone was bred, Izzy is scheduled to kid first and we are looking for that to happen mid-week NEXT WEEK! That means this crazy goat lady may be sleeping with the herd again very soon so as not to miss the big event!