Edna has now been home a week! After all of the "excitement" yesterday, it was a wonderful, peaceful day! Although it rained a lot, Edna enjoyed exploring inside the barn. She especially enjoyed playing on some metal car ramps; it looked like she was standing on a mini-milking stand.
I can climb!
Off she goes!
Although Edna doesn't have a fever anymore, the vet gave me two more doses of antibiotic and anti-inflammatory to give her. The process of giving a muscle shot is fairly simple. The most challenging aspect is finding where to stick the needle in. My sister held the goat, while I felt around for the muscle above her leg (it seemed like a "thigh" muscle). After I found a good "chunk," I pushed the needle into the skin. Edna gave a little squawk! I pulled the syringe back a little to see if there was any blood. This was to make sure I had not put the needle in a vein. Then I squeezed the syringe down to inject the medicine.
Milking Report:
Thursday I had the opportunity to milk the breeder's goats. I got to milk three does: one was the breeder's best goat with huge teats, another was a first freshener (first-time mama) with small teats, and the other was Edna's mother with average teats. To milk, I first squeezed around the teat with my thumb and forefinger to trap the milk in the teat so it could not squeeze back up into the udder. Then, I squeezed my other fingers around the teat to move the milk down and stream into my jar. My previously acquired cake-decorating skills came in handy for this process. I can't wait until Edna is ready for the real milking stand!
One thing I've recently learned about shots, vets and long time goat experts. I've always known that vets tell you to do "IM" shots. And I've always known that long time goat folks say to do "SubQ" shots. I think I have finally figured it out. Dairy goats in particular have much less muscle mass than meat goats, and goats in general have a high metabolism. Vets who don't specialize in dairy goats aren't as aware of these things. So go with the goat owners - do the shots SubQ. Easier on you, easier on the goat. Nearly everything can be given this way!
ReplyDeleteThanks for the insight! I like your theory on IM vs. SubQ shot for goats. It is amazing how dairy and meat goats are subtly different, thus requiring different methods of care.
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