Kamel
It’s been a rough week. Kamel has been sick. That has taken up most of my time, since I found her on Thursday.
I wasn’t there on Wednesday, but they’ve told me that she was fine then. When I opened up on Thursday she was sitting in the hay. I figured she was just tired. Until the kids started jumping on her and Herman started butting at her and she didn’t get up, she just sat there and moaned. Then I knew something was wrong. I let the other goats out in the pen and sat with her. She couldn’t stand up. She tried a couple of times but just moaned again and had to give up. At that point Dennis arrived to open everything. I went and got him and he called Alice and then the vet. I’m glad there wasn’t any discussion about waiting and seeing. She obviously wasn’t feeling well. Very unresponsive.
When the vet arrived she examined her. She had a fever. I forget now exactly what was said. We thought it might be an infection. And Kamel’s old age. We don’t know exactly how old she is. The vet kind of asked if we wanted to treat her or just… see what happened. That upset me. Bodil later made realise that the vets here don’t usually see goats as pets or something that people are so attached to. I’m as attached to these goats as anyone is to their cat or dog. They’re not expendable livestock to me.
So we got started on the treatment. The vet gave her some injections. Antibiotics, vitamins.. things like that. And more medicine for us to give her later and recipes for some high energy food to get in her.
Since then it’s been slow progress. Friday she was able to stand up on her own. Saturday she was already standing when I opened up in the morning. Sunday, thankfully, she started eating again. That was what I was waiting for. I kept seeing signs of her old personality coming back. Acting more and more like Kamel. Even with her tail pointing up at times. But starting to eat on her own was the really important thing. Now I’m starting to believe she’ll be okay. Hopefully she’ll keep getting better. Nothing is sure yet, but I do think she’ll be okay.
I had lots of plans for this weekend, but had to change them all so I could spend time with Kamel instead. If I hadn’t gone during the weekend she would barely have had any time outside. She hadn’t eaten any of the stuff we put inside for her. So I think it was very good that I was there to spend hours with her, getting her to walk around and be active. And start eating leaves and grass. And sitting with her when she was too tired. Hugging her and crying a little. Me, not her.
It just all reminded me too much of when Magnethe died. The same walking around slowly, the same having to help her stand up. Trying to get her to eat. It felt like deja vu. But hopefully the fact that we go treatment started right away and that she isn’t weakened from pregnancy will make the difference. Sweet, old Kamel. I don’t want anything to happen to her.
We’ll end with the usual smattering of goat photos to cheer things up. Most of them taken before Kamel got ill. I have missed just sitting around in the sun with the goat boys. They sure are growing.
Starting off with a funnypic I made of Palle. With a little musical quote. People on Facebook seemed to quite enjoy it. I just love goat ears.
Bruce keeping his eyes on the prize.
Bruce and Clark, one month old.
Three’s a crowd.
Clark looks like a little anime princess here. Kawaii!
Little cutiepie.
Herman the twain-eared.
Herman occupying the bench.
Kamel before she got sick. Always the goofy looks.
Eye of the Mio.
#Palleface.
Silhouette of a Palle.
Those mighty ears.
Palle spotted the camera before Mia this time.
Moody Bruce.
I love the white stripe down Bruce’s chin.
Mia can stand on the platform too.
Bruce is mastering the funny goat looks already.
The family sitting together. Mio with her little babies, Mia with her big one.
Kamel looking in at the other goats, when she first got up and walked around again.
And a goatlog. Only with cheerful things, most of it from before Kamel got sick.
And that’s all for this week, folks. Hope the next one will be better.
September 22nd, 2014 at 2:53
Oh, Kamel! I like her so much. I hope she is doing much better now. It is so scary when one of them gets sick and you don’t know what is wrong with them.
Yes, we are very close to our boys – maybe even more than with our dogs and cats. I forget that some people view them as livestock instead of pet friends. So glad you were around to alert the playground people about her illness. Get well soon, Kamel!
Those goatzie babies are growing up so fast. They are sooooooo cute. I want to come over and hold them in my lap. I see their little, tiny horn buds are starting to show already. Wow they are so precious. Please give them and Kamel a hug and some scratches for me.
September 23rd, 2014 at 19:27
Ah Deb, I was almost about to email you and ask if everything was okay since I hadn’t seen you in a while. I’ve had so much going on with the goat babies and Kamel getting sick. She’s doing much better now thankfully. Eating again and almost her old self. So hopefully everything will be okay. It was scary for a while.
Many hugs!
September 28th, 2014 at 19:32
Everything is ok here, we’ve just been working crazy hours. We started inside painting at a convenience store one evening at 6:30 pm and didn’t leave till 2:15 am! That was a long night.
We’re done with that job – Hooray. We’re working on applying the second coat of stain to a deck this afternoon and then we have a whole pile of new casing and baseboard and doors/frames to stain and varnish in the shop.
Glad we have work, but working on three different jobs in one day is tiring and confusing. I though I had lost the key to the car one day and then lost the car! It wasn’t at the shop, but I had forgotten I’d driven the car home and left it and the key there.
We had driven our work truck to another job and I sort of forgot when and what I had been driving.
I wish I were a goat sometimes. I’m ready to sit out on the pyramid with the boys and donkey and bask in the nice fall sunshine and take a little nap.
Our trees are just starting to show a little autumn color. Are yours turning color yet? If so, send some pictures for us “leaf peepers”.
September 28th, 2014 at 21:59
Phew, that sounds like hard work! A goat’s life is probably somewhat easier. Especially when you have nice humans to take care of you. I shall have to check the leaves. Some of them have started falling, so surely they’re changing colours too! Wonder if the goats will start chaning colours.. hmm…
September 30th, 2014 at 3:02
We don’t have to worry about raking up leaves in the back yard and the goats eat them up just as soon as they fall from the trees.
Our dear Frankie used to love eating those dropped leaves. He was like a four-footed vacuum when it came to eating leaves!
October 6th, 2014 at 7:02
What’s better than fallen leaves? Food dropping from the sky!