Are Goats Really Drama Queens?

YES, YES, and most emphatically YES! A little history here. I was working Sunday afternoon and I get a call from Ted. "Corina is limping on her right front hoof and won't put any weight on it." Now, going through my head is. "oh crap, has she broken her leg, gone lame, or developed some horrible foot disease?" What was going through Corina's head was "Watch this girls and learn. Oh, Ted, I can't stand. It hurts so badly. I think I'm going to die. Go call Goatmama and tell her I need to be taken care of immediately." When I got home from work, around 8:30pm, we checked on Corina and she was laying down with the other goats. No distress. She just looked up, chewing her cud blinking her eyes to the sudden light. Monday morning we went out and she still wasn't putting weight on her leg and limping around like it would fall off any minute. I felt up and down her leg and shoulder. No swelling, no blood or open wound. She just wouldn't put any weight on it. I did the next logical thing. I called Janice from Stony Knolls Farm. Remember Goat School? Well, she is a wealth of information. Good information that every goat owner needs to know. She verified that goats were definitely drama queens. She then went on to educate me on goats and hoof trauma. Evidently, they can get anything poked up in the soft tissue between their hooves and this will initiate the drama queen mode. I was to look for any signs of infection, foreign objects, swelling or small specks of hay. Anything that may cause pain or even the thought of pain.
I felt between her toes and found nothing but a little bit of stink. I cleaned the area and applied Dr. Naylor's Hoof 'n Heel liberally as instructed. Corina thought this was a hoot.

Then I let a baby aspirin, 81mg, dissolve in a small amount of water and drew it up into a syringe without the needle and gave it to her. She knew we were serious with this. She gaged, shook her head and gave an Oscar winning performance.

After her treatment she was given a bit of grain. After all, sweet feed makes the medicine go down, the medicine go down............

Happily, Corina is back to her pushy self. We treated her foot for a couple of days and all is well. She is keeping up with the other goats in the mad rush for hay. Don't you just love her beard and wattles?

Yep, that is my Diva. What a girl!

Learning is an every day process here on the farm. We have gone back to square bales. There was just so much waste with the round bales. We will look into a better feeder system in the spring. The goats didn't like going out into the weather to eat and drink. Now we have the water in the barn along with the hay. Everyone seems happier. In their defence the snow is up to my hip and difficult to walk in. We have been having at least one snow storm every three to four days. It is really building up. Then again, we may have spoiled them a bit. Still working out the kinks.

Much Love and Prayers from Mainely Ewes Farm.