Last night, Awesome Vet Lee Ann and Fabulous Vet Student Kim came over and brought two little month-old Boer goat doelings along with them. This was “SQUEE” territory for me, because, YAY! Babies!!! 
The little girls were born in January while Lee Ann was out of town, and as such, they didn’t get their disbudding done within the first week, which is really the ideal, but sometimes, that just doesn’t happen.
As I’ve discussed here in the past, removing the goat’s horn buds while they are still young is important for the safety of the animal, its herdmates, and its humans, so that all can avoid the injuries (some of which can be fatal) that horned goats can inflict on themselves and others. We videotaped the procedure for an educational project we’re working on, and I will discuss here further when it’s ready for prime time, which should be soon!
I thought you’d like to see some photos of the little darlings, Serena and Darcy. They were champs during what we’ll call the “advanced disbudding process.” I say advanced, 
because they had to be put under general anesthetic since their horns had grown too much for the usual quick cauterization, which generally takes just a few seconds. When we got our goats Heidi, Gidget, and Winter (now Blossom, living at Paw Paw Farms) last year, they had not yet been disbudded by the breeder, and so they had to go through this same process. When they wake up, they are not happy critters, and sure aren’t afraid to complain -loudly- about their muddlement, but they do seem to be comforted when they are petted and snuggled as the drug wears off.
Even though I woke up to a migraine this morning (no doubt thanks to my fractured tooth) I’m still riding on a 
happy-high from their visit last night. I can’t wait for our girls to have their own babies in a few weeks! We are hoping that the frigid temperatures that we’ve been plagued with this winter are over for the year, and that when the kids arrive, we won’t have to worry about losing any to the cold. Of course, our barn provides pretty good shelter from the elements, but I just don’t want to worry about them shivering out there! We have some preparations to make for the births, including CDT vaccinations (which will benefit both the mothers and babies) and Bo-Se boosters, because the Great Lakes region has a selenium deficiency in the soil, and that is an important nutrient, especially for goat mommies. 
The temperature is supposed to reach around 50 F today, and I’d love to get the goats out for a walk, but the small areas where the snow is gone are just mucky mud, and there’s not much for them to browse, anyway. I just can’t wait to take them out for their eating excursions again, and I’m sure they probably agree. Hay has to get pretty boring for them!
Lee Ann and Kim took our barn kitty/wannabe goat Malcolm with them, who is going to get…”tutored” (fans of The Far Side will catch my drift)…and will be back with us on Friday.
Well, here’s hoping that the sun shines bright and this migraine of mine continues to retreat. Have a great day, everyone! 🙂
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