Fall Break!

    I'm sure all the college students out there feel the same way as I do about Fall Break - it's wonderful! It's not as good as Christmas Break, but it's nice to have a few days off to clear your mind. One of my seven week courses just ended (though I am afraid I must admit that I underestimated the final exam, and probably did not do so great. Ah, well.), but my other seven week course begins Wednesday. In any case, I'm enjoying having a bit of time off. 
    Yesterday I did have a bit of unpleasant excitement. As I was turning into my driveway (from the left), I had to come to a complete stop because another car was coming. (My turn signal was on, just in case you were wondering, and we checked - they are working.) I just happened to look in my rear view mirror to see a man in a HUGE Dodge pickup (I drive a Ford Ranger - very small), who was obviously not going to be able to stop. The truck was weaving back and forth and I could tell he had had to slam on his brakes. I immediately floored it to move forward out of the way, but the guy still had to take the ditch. It's a good thing his truck was so big, because if he was in a car it would have hurt him. He actually went behind and around my mailbox, and the ditch there is pretty steep - it's a flat shoulder kind of place. I pulled into a drive a little past my house to turn around, and waited to be sure he could get his truck out and wasn't hurt. He pulled out and actually drove to where I was to apologize, which surprised me, but was a very nice thing to do. He said he and his truck were fine. It was a really frightening experience, and is the closest I have ever come to being in a wreck. It's a miracle that I looked in the mirror. I always do when I know someone is behind me, but when I had last seen him he was pretty far off. He wasn't tailgating or anything, I guess he was just going to fast and didn't see me. I know if I hadn't of seen him that I would have been hit, especially judging by his tire marks in the ditch. It's only by the grace of God that I'm not in the hospital right now! 
    Unfortunately, there was more unpleasant excitement. The night before last, I realized that Trouble either had pneumonia or a bad cold. He had coughed a bit earlier while eating, and I thought something had just gone down the wrong way, but when I checked on Clara (his pen is near hers), he was coughing again and I knew something was wrong. I grabbed him up and took him inside (he is only 4 months old, so is still somewhat of baby - I wouldn't have brought him inside if he were an adult). He was quite snotty, and coughing every so often, but the he had no temperature and the snot was clear, and all his bodily functions were - and are - normal. This is the third day, and he has two shots of antibiotics, Probios to counteract the toll the antibiotics can have on his tummy, and Immunity Support Tincture every few hours (this particular tincture was purchased from Molly's Herbals, but I intend to make my own next time using the ImLife herbal tincture mix from www.bulkherbstore.com. LOVE that website, you should check it out.) His nose is remarkably clearer, he is coughing and snorting a lot less, and he is acting more perky than he was. I really think the herb tincture has done more for him than the antibiotics. The tincture contains, among other things, Echinacea Root, which is one of the best immunity supporting herbs. Now, I am not saying that, if this is to ever happen again, I would skip the antibiotic. I would not change the way I have done things. If it were myself getting sick, or different symptoms in the goat, I would have put off the antibiotic until it was clear it was absolutely needed. However, pneumonia is a very serious illness in goats, and everything I have ever read and all the advice I have ever gotten is to hit it hard and hit it fast, and to not play around with it. I did not want to take any chances considering that Trouble is still young, so his immunity isn't as strong as an older animals, the seriousness of pneumonia in goats, and the fact that his coughs sounded so bad and raspy. If it had just been a snotty nose with no cough, and he hadn't been acting "off" as he was, things might have been different. In any case, I'm pleased to see how well he is doing, and am positive that the herbs have a lot to do with it. He will get one last antibiotic shot tonight, and I will worm him tomorrow and again 10 days later just to be on the safe side (especially since a cough can indicate lung worms, though I do not think that was the cause). I am waiting to worm until after the antibiotic round is done to try and take it a bit easier on his rumen. He will be going back outdoors tonight after his last shot, and I will be cutting the Immunity support down to 3 times daily for a few days, and take him off of it from there, assuming he keeps showing improvement. If he starts seeming ill again, I am taking him to the vet. 

    As for Clara, I am still waiting on her babies. Her ligaments are pretty much gone as far as I can tell, and her bag is getting fuller by the day it seems, but she just keeps me waiting. I swear, she knows what I want is bound and determined to deprive me as long as possible! Evil, calculating thing she is! ;) I am sincerely hoping she'll go while I'm on Fall break, though...preferably on the weekend while my mom, the nurse, will be here. Yes, I am a chicken, and the idea of having to assist a labor with no one around to help scares the bajeebers out of me. Hopefully the delivery will be smooth and she won't need help, though. I've got her on Red Raspberry leaf, so that should help. It tones the uterus. I know I will be keeping a doe from her, so I hope she gives me a nice one! I only plan to breed Clara one more time after this. She is only 7 years old, and does can normally be bred safely until around 10, depending on the individual doe. Of course, they can breed until they die, but that doesn't mean they should. I do not feel that it is humane to breed them until they die, and if you do that you might just bring their death on quicker. Anyways, Clara has become such a sweet pet, and the fact that she has a history of really large litters makes me worry so much. I would rather have a couple of daughters from her to continue her line, and have her around for company, than continue to breed her until she's 10 and something bad happen. 
    Oh, I have some good news from Nature! We bought some beautiful purple annuals to go on our porch for Fall decorations, and honey bees have been flocking to them! I'm so happy to see the sweet little buzzers flying around, because a lot of the wild honey bees have been disappearing. We depend on these little guys to pollinate for us, and make the miracle that is honey. (Did you know that honey has antibacterial properties, is a great natural sweetener, can help with allergies, is good for your skin...well, it's just a great food. Check this out - http://www.bulkherbstore.com/articles/honey?s=honey , and use Google to find even more articles about its benefits.) So, needless to say, I was very happy to see some honey bees flying around in the wild. These guys are docile, and they won't sting you unless you give them just cause. I was inches from them while taking pictures, and they didn't bother me at all. So, if you see some honey bees or find a nest, please don't kill them! They're very important, and there are bee keepers who can safely remove them if they are swarming or nesting somewhere that they shouldn't be, without harming them. This time next year we should have a hive of our own in our backyard, but we still need the wild ones to stick around. ( http://abcnews.go.com/Technology/honey-bees-dying-scientists-suspect-pesticides-disease-worry/story?id=10191391 , http://environment.about.com/od/biodiversityconservation/a/honeybees.htm , 

http://news.discovery.com/animals/honey-bees-disappearing-still-a-problem.html )

    Enjoy your Fall Break, if you get one!

  -Rach in Wonderland