State of the Homestead

Lucy's baby girl

It all started with a bunny foundling...and ended with baby goats.

I don't even know what day it is (this happens when you get very little sleep) but I'll try to run down what's happened in the last few days.

Thursday morning I went out to feed animals with Nana riding shotgun in the golf cart. As I made my turn, she jumped out to investigate something in the brush. When she didn't return I had to find out why. I go over there and she has this sopping wet pile of fur in her mouth. I make her give it to me and it turns out to be a wild baby rabbit.

Bad Nana!

I feared for the baby's life so I took it in determined to nurse him back to health. My internet search said that domesticated orphans can drink kitten replacement milk, but wild bunnies should only drink goat's milk. Lucky me. I happened to have two goats with udders full of milk.

I make him a nice warm bed and go off to finish my chores and get a teaspoon of milk from one of the goats.

That's when I found Heidi going into labor. I led her to the birthing stall and gathered my supplies. Hard labor lasted two hours but that kid wouldn't budge. I slathered Heidi in KY jelly. In the next contraction the head finally pushed out.

Seconds later, the rest of the baby came out. Whew!

I barely had time to clean him off when I started hearing a grunting noise in the outside pen. Now Lucy was in labor! No time to get her in the shed. She was having her baby NOW. 

Lucy was amazing! That birth was pure textbook delivery. The first baby barely wobbled on its legs when the second one decided to come out.

Meanwhile, Heidi was not doing well. I scoured the internet and contacted my experts on the goat forum. A shot of penicillin and Vitamin B and she started to feel better. But baby had not improved. 

I trust my gut when it comes to animals. That newborn just wasn't right. He  should've lifted his head and followed his mama but he didn't. That could mean one of two things. If it was a selenium deficiency his muscle tone would be impaired, but the other prognosis floored me.

He was blind. 

My friends on the goat forum assured me that it was possible it could be temporary if it was caused by trauma in the delivery. In the meantime, I have to help him nurse every couple of hours. He's maintaining but still not as active as his cousins.

By the time this post airs I'll be at a vet's office to see if they can sell me a drug I couldn't get elsewhere. It's next to impossible to find a vet who treats goats, but I'm going to try the equine vet down the road.

Da Dogs: Tank has been having a bad few weeks. He's lived far longer than we expected, but some days aren't as good as others. It breaks my heart when he's not feeling well. I am not going to take his death well.

Me: I'd been sick for a while, recovered, got sick again, recovered.... I'm well now, but in dire need of a good night's sleep. I've been on call around the clock with the goats since Thursday.

Orphan Bunny: More web surfing informed me that wild baby bunnies are often left alone almost all day by the mother. She only comes back to feed them at night. I waited until dusk to return him to his nest. When I did, one of his litter mates made a run for it. Good thing Nana wasn't with me. 

I also learned that it's a myth that a mother will reject a bunny if it has human scent. I feel relatively secure that the bunny will be fine--as long as he stays out of Nana-radar.

The Homestead/Casa South: On top of everything else, my main water line leading to the animal pens blew out. There was water EVERYWHERE. So now I'm hauling water to everyone.

Casa South should've been put on the market by now, but we've had endless delays. I need to be at both places at once. I am way past stressed about the other house. It haunts me even in my sleep.

The Husband: And where was hubby when disaster after disaster kept crashing down on my head? Not here, that's where. I'm resourceful, but sometimes what you really need is another pair of hands. Try giving an injection to a goat who doesn't like needles.

Despite all my woes, lots of things went right. We had good weather when the girls went into labor. The bunny returned to his mates. Lucy has two healthy babies (1 girl and 1 boy). Tank still gives me kisses every time he sees me. And although I'm exhausted, I survived all by myself.

Believe it or not, this was only the tip of the iceberg when it came to crises. If I listed any more I'd have to break down and start crying. It's been a bad few weeks.

Hopefully Greg will be back next week. I could use a break.