Monday, February 08, 2016

Poor Kevin!

Poor Kevin!


He loves a good scratch between the horns. But horns, argh... I noticed some blood on his rear leg yesterday, so the vet came today to take a look at what I thought  was a small boo-boo up near his scrotum (or the remains thereof - he was neutered in December!) Turns out he has a nasty gash about 4" long, courtesy of (no doubt) Geoff's horn (that's Geoff behind him in this picture.) He was being very stoic and I didn't realize there was a serious issue! The wound is deep, but fortunately the gash stopped a centimetre or two shy of the muscle layer.

So the vet scrubbed the wound clean (which I will be doing twice a day with Chlorhexidine) and gave Kevin a shot of Metacam for pain relief and a shot of some strong antibiotics. If things aren't better by the end of a week, the vet will come back. I also have to make sure everything is very dry after cleaning, so that Kevin doesn't get frostbite outside. Poor Kevin! He's really a very sweet goat, impressive for a buck (well, technically he's a wether now.) He's quite affectionate, easy to lead on a rope, and a very nice boy. He was so good for the vet. Here's hoping he heals up well with no complications!

I mentioned to the vet that Henry the pig needed another hoof trim (his hooves were terribly overgrown when he came and we are working them back.) It was done with sedation last time but the vet has done pot-bellied pigs before and figured we could do this. So we somehow managed to catch Henry (who is big and VERY STRONG!) and I held him sort of in my lap as he screamed non-stop in my ear while the vet gave him a pedicure! For the record, pigs scream when restrained. It's just what they do. Perhaps some pampered house-pet pigs learn not to scream, but I have ten screamers! It's a joy on vaccination day! ;)

As soon as we let go of Henry, he stopped screaming and was perfectly calm, and his hooves are looking better too.

And here is Annabelle looking adorable, as she does...



And this morning's goat-kid video!


I suddenly now have FOUR people helping me with barn chores and they are all amazing! I have really lucked out with this crew, especially since they keep telling me they'd do it for free (but of course we pay them.) After the goat kids arrived and I was bottle-feeding three times a day, I realized how exhausted I was and asked for help. And I hadn't realized how much time we spent on barn chores until other people started doing them! I am hoping to use the time I no longer spend scrubbing buckets and shovelling manure to do some art. I have not worked on a real art project in ages, although I do write a poem a week for my poetry course, and am working on other writing. But I am itching to do some drawings of the goats, and maybe now I will have some time. I feel really fortunate that I have found such great people to help out. They all love animals and are so kind to ours! This is freeing up a good four hours a day of our time, PLUS one of them is working with Finney to break him to ride, which is so much fun.

Please think good thoughts for  Kevin, and for Alex the cat who had half his thyroid removed last week (no pathology results yet!) Truly there is never a dull moment around here, but I would not trade it for anything.

15 comments:

  1. poor Kevin....hurts just thinking about it. and purrs to Alex

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  2. Natalie, I often wondered how you got everything done. So glad you have help now.
    Sending healing thoughts to Kevin and Alex.

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  3. Hey, mama, rock me! Hope all improves with the gang and that there are no new surprises... except good ones.

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  4. I'm with Cat Lover - live there looks like endless fun but also endless work.
    Hip hip hooray for the helpers!

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  5. Yes, so glad you have some help. Hope Kevin heals well... and the kids are adorable!

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  6. Hope all goes well for both ! Like the cattle we used to have the horns cut down and filed so they didn't harm each other , WOW ! Have the kids ever grown and they are soo cute . If I lived closer I would be there helping every day for nothing to , I do miss being on the farm and with all the animals . I am glad you found good farm hands to help and who love the animals it is a tuff job for one to take care of every day but like you said you wouldn't trade it all for anything . I second that ! Thanks for sharing , Have a good week !

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  7. Kevin is a handsome boy and I hope he heals up quickly. Your posts entertain me so much! It is so different from my life and I find it fascinating!
    hugs,
    Linda

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  8. Sending healing thoughts for Kevin and Alex. Kevin must be a good boy to hold still for treating a wound where he has it! Annabelle is just beautiful with those sweet eyes.

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  9. I always wondered how you managed to look after this crew. Good eye to see that the goat was injured.

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  10. sending purrs and prayers to Kevin and Alex. Darn, wish I lived near you...I would LOVE to help too!! catchatwithcarenandcody

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  11. I hope Kevin makes a speedy recovery. I feel so badly for Alex. He seems to recover from one health issue and then another appears, but he seems to be a survivor. I am so hoping that his pathology reports shows no cancer & if it is thyroid disease that he responds well to treatment. It no fun being sick whether your man or beast. I'm so glad to hear you have hired great help to give you a break from all chores. It will be wonderful for you to be able to do some fun art projects and have a tiny bit of "Me time". You deserve it & if your less stressed, the animals will be too.

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  12. Sending healing thoughts for Kevin and Alex.

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  13. Poor Kevin. Hope he's better soon.

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  14. Oh no! Poor brave Kevin indeed. Do hope he will be okay. Sounds like you are very busy there! x

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  15. Poor Kevin AND poor Alex! I hope they are healing well. I am glad you got some help with the animals - I can't imagine HOW you managed to do all of it yourself. Now, hit the drawing board! One of my favorite things to do is sketch animals. Except chickens - they move around so much I have to be content with photos for reference!

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Thank you for all your comments, which I love to read!