Suggs4
Chillin' with the herd
Hello everyone! My family and I are new to this so called "farm life." Last March, we received our first chicks as a surprise birthday gift for my 6 year old daughter. We weren't expecting to get hooked, but here we are, 8 chickens and 3 goats later!
The chickens have been very easy and low maintenance, but our goats have been much more challenging and we have had some troubling times. We currently have Nigerian Dwarfs: a 6 month old wether, Ares, and a 9 month old doe, Athena.
Our wether is recovering from Urinary Calculi surgery and seems to be doing great! He is about 3 weeks post op and healing nicely. We now know that wethers do not need grain and feel quite guilty for making this huge mistake. We lost his twin brother, Zeus, last week from what we believe was Listeriosis. This was the hardest thing I have ever witnessed. I have done my research and am still puzzled as to how this could have occurred. We have, what I believe, a very nice set up for our goats. But again, we are new to this and looking to learn everything we can. Since our loss, we have gained a new playmate for Ares. Her name is a Athena and I think she will be a diva! lol She is coming from a bigger herd so she isn't used to all of the interaction or attention, but she is warming up to us a little more every day.
I am so happy to have found this group and only wish I had earlier. Goats are not a popular thing around here and I have had trouble finding others to bounce ideas or questions off of. We are new at this and LOVE our new animal friends. Any suggestions or advice is always appreciated!
The chickens have been very easy and low maintenance, but our goats have been much more challenging and we have had some troubling times. We currently have Nigerian Dwarfs: a 6 month old wether, Ares, and a 9 month old doe, Athena.
Our wether is recovering from Urinary Calculi surgery and seems to be doing great! He is about 3 weeks post op and healing nicely. We now know that wethers do not need grain and feel quite guilty for making this huge mistake. We lost his twin brother, Zeus, last week from what we believe was Listeriosis. This was the hardest thing I have ever witnessed. I have done my research and am still puzzled as to how this could have occurred. We have, what I believe, a very nice set up for our goats. But again, we are new to this and looking to learn everything we can. Since our loss, we have gained a new playmate for Ares. Her name is a Athena and I think she will be a diva! lol She is coming from a bigger herd so she isn't used to all of the interaction or attention, but she is warming up to us a little more every day.
I am so happy to have found this group and only wish I had earlier. Goats are not a popular thing around here and I have had trouble finding others to bounce ideas or questions off of. We are new at this and LOVE our new animal friends. Any suggestions or advice is always appreciated!
