Saturday, December 12, 2009

Echo and the bunnyhops!

A couple of days ago, in my infinite wisdom, I decided to wean the six month old kids off their mums. It seemed to go alright the first night, I didn't hear a thing but then they were in the bays behind the barn and we are on the opposite side of the house furthest away from the barn. So it would have been pretty difficult to hear them! Having said that the mums were in the paddock right next to the bedroom window and they never made a sound. Who can blame them really, after all who wouldn't get fed up with a kid goat nearly the same size as you hanging off your boobs?
Next morning was a different matter and udders must have been pretty full and uncomfortable by then. So the calling started, 'Baaaaa'....'Maaaaaa'...... 'BAaaaaaaaaaaaaa'......'MAaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaa'....
BAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAA!'.....'MAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAA'.. you get the idea, now imagine that building like a crescendo of sound until you feel sure your eardrums will burst. It's enough to drive you to drink!
I managed to ignore it and the pleading faces of the kids who wanted mum and the mums who wanted relief and I went and hid in the house, with earplugs under the pillow, under a blanket in a cupboard under the stairs...move over Harry Potter!
A little while later it went quiet, phew! That was easy I thought! I really should stop 'thought-ing'..
Not long after that I went to feed the animals and as I made my way to the barn I realised why it had gone quiet, all but one of the kid goats were back with their mums! "Sod it!" I said or words to that effect. I did notice one kid still laying down and normally they are all up and pushing their heads through the gates, bellowing..'MAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAA', you remember that bit...but now they are yelling at me because I starve them all day and there's nothing else but grass to eat...bless them and they desperately NEED some grain!
I digress....one kid still on ground, so I investigate and discover a broken leg, not just any old break! OH NO! A great big snapped right across flippy floppy dingly dangly wobble in your hand kind of break. Now I'm built of a cast iron constitution, I keep it all in my hips. I can stomach most things, blood, guts and gore, have a morbid fascination for surgery programmes on TV and used to run a pre-school and pre-schoolers can be pretty revolting....But BONES...now there's the thing, they don't do it for me....I go a bit wobbly, rather like Echo's leg actually.
So in my best goat impression voice, I yelled 'JOOOOOOOOOEEEEEEEEEEEE, I NEEEEED YOOOU!'
After a phonecall to the on-call vet we put Echo in the car on the back seat with me and we met her at one of the surgeries. Echo was sedated and had her leg wrapped in a big sheet of cotton wool, bandaged with that sticky horse tape stuff then had a plastic splint (used for calves with contracted tendons) placed over the bandages and had that all taped too. She now has a bionic leg that once she knows how to use it will end up as a dangerous weapon. Although cumbersome and not particilarly pretty, I would have liked to see it available in pretty girl colours, like pink, it's not slowed her down or even bothered her in the slightest. She's getting around just fine, Echo and her bunnyhops!





4 comments:

  1. Poor baby - how did she manage to do that.

    I am told goat bones heal very well though.

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  2. I dunno to be honest, but she had 2 metal gates to get over or round and some post and rail yards. Perhaps she got herself all caught up! She's ok though and I hope so about the bones! xx

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  3. Anonymous5:49 am

    Poor thing. I hope she will be ok.

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  4. Thanks Melanie, I'm sure she will, she's a tough cookie, in good health with young bones so as long as they knit together properly then all should be good..fingers crossed.

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