Nanny Berries & Other Things That Will Make You Laugh

We’ve come to a unanimous decision here on the farm.

Nanny Berries (look like little raisin chocolate drops) are preferred over cow pies and even chicken poop!

Don’t you agree?

Little Izzy wasn’t putting out nanny berries last week, anything butt. In fact it was the same day that we hauled Josie away. Thank goodness, really. It was a distraction. If it weren’t for Izzy and her diarrhea, I think I’d still have my head in the toilet vomiting. I just couldn’t stop vomiting & crying after getting back home from dropping Josie off at the meat locker. But I smacked myself upside the head and pulled my face out of the toilet realizing that if I didn’t get outside and treat my little Izzy I could loose her.

I started off my livestock days….way back…you know….way back last May! Yep, only been doing this livestock stint since May 2009. Oh, it feels like a lot longer. I mean, if it could go wrong it did go wrong. I won’t go into it now…but trust me. If I wasn’t having bad luck back then, I wouldn’t of been having any luck at all!!! I wasn’t just getting my feet wet….I was clean up to my neck!!!

Well, I learned way back then to live by the Boy Scout Motto…and by the way….Happy Birthday Boy Scouts! Right….“Always be prepared”!

And so I am.

I have what I call The Cow Cupboard. I had cows before I had goats, so it’s named for the cows…..cow.

It’s just an extra pantry cupboard in the kitchen and in it I have everything from my Surge Milker to homeopathic pellets, rectal thermometers with string to cow size pills.  Just a note: always tie a string to the end of a cow rectal thermometer!!! YOU DON”T WANT TO GO IN AFTER IT!!!

In my attempt to “always be prepared” I have herbal remedies for parasites. I called Sally, the lady I bought my goats from and she seemed to think that Coccidiosis was making it’s rounds due to our weather conditions and she’d seen it making it’s rounds…get it…parasites…rounds….forget it….on her forum boards. She gave me some suggestions and I tucked them in my hat. Then I pulled up my big girl panties and got in my car to take Josie to the meat locker. I’d deal with Izzy later.

One recommendation was to give Izzy some Pepto to stop the diarrhea…after 2 doses she had no improvements so I stopped it. I decided that since I had the herbal worming blends from Molly’s, I would start treating my goats with Molly’s Herbals and hope and pray that Izzy’s diarrhea would stop quickly. She was already lethargic and wasn’t eating or grazing. However, she was drinking.

I mixed up Wormer #1 according to Molly’s recipe for making herbal balls, but Izzy wouldn’t take the herbal medicine. So I whipped up a combo of Wormer #1 (1/2 tsp) for her probably 30-50 lb body weight, a dash of molasses which they love, another dash of kefir for probiotics and the recommended dosage of Molly’s Immune Booster for Izzy’s weight.

I put all of it in a syringe minus the needle (however using a needle helps to draw up the liquid in the syringe….then dispose of the needle VERY carefully) and gathered her into a head lock.

Here are Instructions On How To Put a Kid In a Headlock!

First make sure it’s NOT a human kid.

Then sit down close to the ground…(2 pallets work well), with kid close by.

Grab kid by the collar. (Good reason to have collars on kids)

Then put the kids head between your legs.

Close your legs so the kid doesn’t escape.

Wrap one leg over the neck of kid….preferably with kids face toward you.

Hold tight.

Force syringe into the side of kids mouth and gently squeeze syringe.

Make sure syringe is NOT bigger than kids mouth or it won’t work!!!

Speak quietly and sweetly to kid.

Make sure you get most of it in the kid and NOT on you!

Release!

You will find that in owning livestock the most important end is the rear-end! I’m forever lifting tails and looking at poop. Udders are inspected and admired. Mucus is inspected for heats. It just never ends!!!!

“Oh she’s got a nice bag.”

“He’s hung like a race horse.”

” She has great teats!”

“Nice long teats to get a hold of.”

“Great Udder.”

“Look at her poop.”

“Popping a squat.” (goats do this A LOT!)”

“Boys will be boys!”

My observations have turned up dead parasites on the rears of my goats, not just little Izzy. Molly’s herbs worked. Parasites are preferred dead and not wiggling and looking for a new host.

Molly’s herbals are given on a schedule to hopefully avoid what poor little Izzy had to endure. We’re now on our schedule and everyone will be treated the first Wednesday of each month with Wormer #1 and the remaining Wednesdays with Wormer #2 as recommended by Molly.

That’s a new one; Worming Wednesday. Top that Wordless Wednesday!

It’s a great life!!!

If you don’t weaken.

But who wants to be strong!