A fighter

In the late afternoon on a cold March day, one of our mama goats gave birth to her two kids.  Both appeared to be doing well, but by 9 a.m. the next morning one had taken a turn for the worse.  He was having trouble latching onto his mother to nurse.  When I walked into the pen, I saw him lying there with his heart barely beating.  I quickly wrapped him in my jacket and took him inside.  In those moments, I began to feel my anxiety set in because I had a doctor's appointment and needed to be on my way.  I then prayed to God to ask forgiveness of my selfish thoughts and asked that He help see this little one through. 

My husband quickly came to our aid and milked the mama by hand since we did not have any milk replacer.  We bottle fed him on and off for the next few hours.  He spent most of the afternoon inside with me, while I worked on the computer.

Two days later, we were blessed to report that our new addition has made a tremendous recovery.  He returned to his pen with his sister and is nursing from his mama all on his own.

Taking care of animals can be challenging, especially since occurrences like this tend to happen at the worst possible times.  However, they rely on us as farmers and we have to do what is right by them.