Poor Mr. Tumnus!

First we iced and soaked his leg.
1. To reduce swelling
2. To be sure his leg was clean before wrapping

Mr. Tumnus is our new little buckling. We got him a few weeks ago and he is only 3 months old. He will eventually be the buck for the next group of does that we are currently raising. Most of our does are around 6 months of age, which is almost completely grown, so they are bigger than Mr. Tumnus (for now). Most of our young does bully Mr. Tumnus, but he is probably safer with them then the full grown bucks, and once he is full grown he will be living with the other male goats.

Our first aid supplies for this task. 

Suzy has been his stall-mate at night and that has been working out great. But the other evening Hazel got put in with Suzy and Mr. Tumnus by accident.

Now, before you start hating Hazel, bullying and butting is very common with goats. They seem to find a buddy or one of them tries to become boss . . . it just is the way things are with goats. So anyway, need less to say, Mr. Tumnus must have been butted in the night or early morning and when we found him he seemed to have a broken leg.

How did I know it was broken? He was walking on it . . . but it was in the wrong direction. I wish I had thought of the camera to show you before pics, but I was more concerned with Mr. Tumnus. I tried not to freak out and I could have quickly called our veterinarian. But when your a homesteader you try to do as much yourself as possible. I have many books on goats and there is always the internet. Let's give it a try!

Rubbing liniment gel on the injured leg.

It is actually very common for goats to break legs from jumping off of things or from fighting with another goat and they seem to heal very quickly. I have splinted chickens in the past (don't ask) and have cared for one of my other does bad sprain. Here are the pics of what I did and I will keep a close eye and if I need to call Dr. Dennis (my vet) I certainly will do so!

The first thing I had my son do while I was still milking the other goats was to hold an ice pack on it. We also let Mr. Tumnus eat during that time so as not to upset his usual routine too much. After all our other chores were done we got Mr. Tumnus nice and comfy with my daughter while soaking his leg. That gave us some time to get our supplies gathered. My other son made small splints out of some scrap wood we had and covered them with duck tape so they would be more comfortable.

Supplies used were: frozen gel pack, epsom salt with cold water, 4 wooden splints, cotton gauze wrap, liniment gel, vet wrap, medical tape and a plastic juice cap, and duck tape.

Wrapping his leg with cotton gauze.

I made sure his leg was completely dry and then I rubbed Mr. Tumnus's leg with liniment gel. This will help aid healing and also numb it a little for the pain. I have since learned you can make a poultice out of comfrey leaves. I will probably do that if there is another time, but this liniment gel is great to have around. Goats are always bumping and bruising themselves.

Next, I wrapped his leg with cotton rolled gauze for cushion. I taped it off withe the medical tape to make sure it held. I also started higher than the actual break to make sure it had complete support.

Positioning the splints.

Many hands in this case make the job easier!

His buddy Suzy checks out his new cast
while our dog Giuseppe watches.

Remember my daughter was still holding him and keeping him calm. He was such a good patient, we treated him to little sips of molasses water. But for the next part I needed more hands. Positioning the splints and wrapping them with vet wrap (it can be found at Tractor Supply in the horse section. You can also find it at Walmart listed as sports wrap for humans but it is more expensive. If you have goats you should have this on hand. It comes in all colors we have blue camo for our boy goats and pink for our does.

We ended by adding a plastic juice bottle cap on the bottom. This would be to keep dirt out of the homemade cast and make it even for standing. We covered that in duck tape and added a little duck tape on the top for added closure. It came out pretty good (if I don't say so myself) and seems to be holding up still on day 2.

He was back to grazing in the pasture with the others right away! Hopefully he recovers quickly.

Do you have goats? Please comment if you found this post useful.

Meet Bilbo Part 2

Continuation from previous post Meet Bilbo Part 1.

Bilbo takes a minute for a hug and a pose.

I regained my composure and then realized my kids (human not goat) were just as bewildered as me.  We processed in like a mother duck with her ducklings and somehow managed to find some seats. They were amongst the rows of folding chairs toward the back of the auction. A man with a homemade, electronic, smoking pipe smiled. I smiled back trying not to stare at the strange contraption he held in his lips. Our seats beheld a wonderful view of the kid goats.

Just than a big man, with a loud voice began to yell. He sat up high, on a high desk, just like a judge. He made jokes, tossing items about while adding the occasional, mild cuss word. I thought he was crazy, I thought he was rude and hilarious. I liked him. He had a bunch of guys running items around to people as he shouted numbers and people raised their hands. Some how I ended up with items surrounding me; some tie raps, Little Debbie cakes, some nasty not real juice jugs, paint trays and rollers and some animal cages. Wait a minute, didn't I come here for a goat!?!

Baby Bilbo looking for some love.

"The animals come after intermission" the electronic, pipe-wielding gentlemen remarked to me. He must of sensed my anticipation. "You can go to their pen and have a closer look at them".  I walked over to the pen that had a small group of men around it. One old timer spoke to the goats "turn around little goats so we can see if your a buckling or a doe." As he said this I found myself too curious to wait. All of a sudden I found myself reaching behind the baby goat and up between it's legs, and then again on the second one. "Their both boys," I yelled with excitement. Proud of my farm like action I turned to see the small group of men. Some seemed shocked, others chuckled and others smitten. I must have one of these long-eared cuties. The goats not the men.

Charlotte giving lovin' to baby Bilbo.

The electronic pipe guy then followed me back to my seats. He than proceeded to give me advice on the best way to win my little goat prize. My excitement grew as the time got closer. Chickens and small animals got tossed about and sold. The occasional rake and hoe. Finally, the goats, "going once, going twice sold to the young lady in the bandana". "You want both?" "No thanks, just one . . ." I yelled.  . . . the tan and white one". A runner came up took my money and plunked a little baby goat into my arms. "It's okay, little buddy your coming home with us now."

The man with the electronic pipe was excited for me. He told me how he had lots of goats he won at different auctions. "Okay, I gotta go, thanks for all the advice." I spoke and walked quickly to the Suburban, praying he wouldn't follow us. "Do we have all our stuff? I asked the children "Do we have room for the goat?" "He will sit with us" squealed my daughters.

Gigi laughs as baby Bilbo does a little pose for the camera.

We began to drive home. "What should we name him?" "Bilbo of course" my kids replied in unison. "Just like the Hobbit".  It was just then that I realized I wasn't prepared for a baby goat. Didn't he need a bottle and goat formula. Where was I going to get bottles and goat milk at 9:30p.m.? Walmart was open, but Tractor Supply closed at 8:00pm. Oh, Mickie, like usual, you have gotten yourself into a pickle.

Good thing, God has blessed me with great friends that are just as crazy as me. I dialed.

"Hello, sorry I'm calling so late, do you happen to have some formula or milk from your goats?" "You see I have this baby goat I just picked up at an auction." "Thanks your the best!" (and they are). We went to their house and got some frozen goat milk. "This should be good for tonight until you get to Tractor Supply in the morning."  I then proceeded to Walmart for some baby bottles.

It was late and surely I could not put this baby goat in the barn with the other goats. Who knew how the other goats would react to him. Besides he needed a bottle and he might need me in during the night. We set up a cage with hay in the kitchen.   It was just for the night. He slurped his bottle down and was just getting settled when Rob called from California. "Yeah, he's cute, he's great, he's a Nubian" I said excitedly. "Wait, Rob interjected, isn't a Nubian a standard size goat? I thought you wanted to a goat for mating?" "I did, but he was cute, and I always wanted a Nubian, remember I always wanted a Nubian." I replied. "Yeah, yeah I remember . . .So now what?" Rob asked. "I guess we will just have to get a standard sized baby doe".!!!!!!!

Bilbo gives me a kiss! 

And so that is how Bilbo came to be here on Sanctae Familiae Villa. He now is a year and a half old and spends his days munching on grass and brush. He loves sunbathing and head-butting his barn-mate Butch. When I yell his name he yells back MAAAAA just like that little kid in the pen. Even though he is now the proud Daddy to some of his own kids, he'll always be my little buckling.