Saturday, April 8, 2017
Baby Goat Nutrition
The first few hours of a baby goat's life is crucial. I have been very involved with kid's (the name of a baby goat) at the farm because of all the pregnancies going on. I feel that this video is a very great and informal video on the nutrition of a baby goat. We actually have some baby lambs that are being bottle fed right now at the farm, because they can't nurse with their mom. Some mom's don't cooperate with nursing, or their nipples do not fully drop down to the level of reach for the newborn. Because of these reasons bottle feeding can save a baby's life. Yes, it is cute but more importantly it needs to be done timely and correctly. For our bottle feeding lambs at the farm we bottle feed them every two hours. Not feeding on time can result in malnourishment and can risk the life of the baby goat or lamb.
Arnold's Injury
Injuries can happen on a farm all the time. Some goats can be extremely aggressive. We have one goat that is always aggressive with the other livestock, his name is Carl. Carl has hurt a few animals in the past and this time it was Arnold.
I try to not get attached to animals at the farm because a lot of the time they will get sold, or eaten. However, as weird as it sounds I really connected with Arnold. My boss told me the farm was keeping Arnold for breeding purposes. This made me connect with Arnold even more! I started to take him for walks around campus, and I even made a Christmas card with Arnold in an elf suit that I sent out to my friends and family. So you get the point that I love Arnold the goat. So when I found out he had a bad cut and wasn't doing good, I rushed over to the farm.
Arnold's cut was pretty deep and had pus coming out. I sat with Arnold for about one hour, watching him walk. He was limping, so I was concerned on the status of the cut. He was eating which was good, but not drinking water. Arnold sat down because his leg was obviously hurting. Because he was sitting, he couldn't reach his water. I got him his own smaller water bucket so he was staying hydrated.
The next day my co worker and I bandaged Arnold up with gauze. I have been cleaning the cut with warm water to prevent infection.
Keep Arnold in your thoughts!
I try to not get attached to animals at the farm because a lot of the time they will get sold, or eaten. However, as weird as it sounds I really connected with Arnold. My boss told me the farm was keeping Arnold for breeding purposes. This made me connect with Arnold even more! I started to take him for walks around campus, and I even made a Christmas card with Arnold in an elf suit that I sent out to my friends and family. So you get the point that I love Arnold the goat. So when I found out he had a bad cut and wasn't doing good, I rushed over to the farm.
Arnold's cut was pretty deep and had pus coming out. I sat with Arnold for about one hour, watching him walk. He was limping, so I was concerned on the status of the cut. He was eating which was good, but not drinking water. Arnold sat down because his leg was obviously hurting. Because he was sitting, he couldn't reach his water. I got him his own smaller water bucket so he was staying hydrated.
The next day my co worker and I bandaged Arnold up with gauze. I have been cleaning the cut with warm water to prevent infection.
Keep Arnold in your thoughts!
Monday, April 3, 2017
How to Tell a Sheep is About to Give Birth
One of our sheep's at the farm is pregnant. This sheep, Katie is approaching her due date. When any animal is about three weeks from her due date we move them to their own small separate stall to feel comfortable and secluded from the other animals.
There are physical characteristics that is vital to check on daily. The basics of course, would be to make sure the animal is eating and drinking.
In the pictures below, you can obviously tell the sheep's stomach is swollen and large. Next, you need to check the backend of the sheep. If the backend of the sheep is red and swollen, they are close to delivery. In a picture I included you can see the sheep's mucus plug started to come out, it is not very large yet but it is showing growth.
Humans have ultrasounds machines that can quickly and easily check the health of the mom and baby. On a farm, you need to get hands on to check the status of the pregnancy, by checking the tightness around the lady parts of the sheep. You need to pinch around, and if the area around the backend is tight, she is not ready, but if the area starts to get loose, she is probably closer to delivery.
There are physical characteristics that is vital to check on daily. The basics of course, would be to make sure the animal is eating and drinking.
In the pictures below, you can obviously tell the sheep's stomach is swollen and large. Next, you need to check the backend of the sheep. If the backend of the sheep is red and swollen, they are close to delivery. In a picture I included you can see the sheep's mucus plug started to come out, it is not very large yet but it is showing growth.
Humans have ultrasounds machines that can quickly and easily check the health of the mom and baby. On a farm, you need to get hands on to check the status of the pregnancy, by checking the tightness around the lady parts of the sheep. You need to pinch around, and if the area around the backend is tight, she is not ready, but if the area starts to get loose, she is probably closer to delivery.
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