Callie gave birth to a beautiful spotted doeling. A new kid on the block just a few days old. Unfortunately, the baby that we haven't named yet has a condition we've seen on Our Maker's Acres Farm previously - selenium deficiency. Selenium deficiency presents itself, at least in our limited experience with it, with a couple of symptoms: weak tendons in the legs making it difficult to walk or stand. Between the hoof and the "knee" on the front legs, there is no strength. No rigidity. In the past, we made braces, but that's just treating the symptom.
The other issue is a failure to thrive. The little goat just doesn't have a strong sucking reflex, making it difficult to nurse and get nourishment from Callie. As a result, Tricia is having to milk Callie and collect the milk in a bottle. Then she works to bottle-feed the little baby goat. She'll drink with encouragement and as a result, she's had meconium poops and has energy. We gave an injection of BoSe the day she was born and another smaller shot the next day.
We will keep working with her. Ahem... I better correct that. Tricia will continue working with her. You can see she's got the little girl with her in some grass outside the pasture and she has her morning bottle.
The other baby goat that Mocha had the day before is strong and jumping around and growing. It's sad to see the difference in the two. Things often don't go as planned. We'll see what happens in the upcoming days for the little spotted girl of Callie.
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