Phineas Died Suddenly

I was so busy today I didn’t even count heads. With the green grass coming in the goats come out of the barn at dawn to start grazing. This evening when Scott went out to milk there was Phineas laying there in the barn dead. He was to be a new herd sire. Addie’s last kid since she’s too old to carry another without risking her life. Oh I was as excited as a teenager dreaming of their first car thinking of the milking potential of combining Addie’s bloodline with Fauna’s twin girls. I know may sound silly to some of you but wow how wonderful it would have been. I can’t believe it. I can’t bare to even look at his body. I begged my hubby to look after it. A thunderstorm is moving in so he can’t exactly dig a hole with a shovel in a lightening storm. My mind is torn. Why? Why?! Why would a perfectly healthy 3 week old buckling just die with no symptoms. He had just now gotten large enough not to squeeze through the cattle panel on the gate to beg me for a cuddle or try to convince me he needed his bottle early. After some research I think my best guess is http://www.goatworld.com/articles/enterotoxemia/enterotoxemia2.shtml We didn’t hear him screaming though but I was gone a lot today. It was sudden. And we hadn’t vaccinated him yet. We had heard 6 weeks old somewhere but this says otherwise. From now on I’ll vaccinate the pregnant does the way this article suggests too. I mean I might be wrong but it just seems like this must be it. Going to go get vaccine tonight and get everyone. I just pray we don’t loose another before then.

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