WOW! I didn't know if this day was going to end. It started out with about 4 inches of wet heavy snow on the ground and more on the way. School was 2 hours late and then closed along with all the area schools.
So we headed out to check on Gunnie, our sick doe. She was laying down in her stall, still unable to stand. So I did an exam to the best of my ability and came up with nothing except that she was terribly uncomfortable and I don't know what to do about it. So a phone call to the vet, a trip into the ditch (yeah, that was fun, not) a visit to the vet later, we still have a live pregnant goat. We are all fine from the ditch incident... snow does make a wonderful cushion, lol.
Anyhow, Alex (vet) examined Gunnie. She decided it was pregnancy toxemia after smelling ketones on Gunnie's breath. She also noted that Gunnie's cervix is closed but the kid(s) are in the birth canal with a bubble. She wasn't sure if that was because she's getting ready to kid or if the kid(s) are there because of Gunnie's weaked state.
So Alex gave her Dextrose, Propylene Glycol, a shot of Penicillin and Dexamethasone to induce labor. If Gunnie survives, we should have kids within 36 hours, whether they will be alive or not we will have to see. Oh, I so hope this goes ok. Its still a great learning experience.
So we put Gunnie in her pen and I have a box full of goodies from the vet to treat her with at home. 3 times a day I'll be repeating the dextrose and Propylene, penicillin daily and watching and waiting. I did some reading and have decided that I'm going to drench her with 15-16 ounces of water with each treatment to keep her hydrated and hope for the best.
After getting Gunnie settled, we headed off to the city to buy a security cam to watch Gunnie and pick up some Papa Murphy's pizza. Pizza was a treat for us for surviving the day! LOL and it was delicious! Oh yes, while picking up colostrum (just in case we have live babies and no mama) we spotted the ducklings. So we now have 8 little quackers to raise!
Well, I'm off to do Gunnie's final treatment and off to bed. Wish us luck!
Carol | 
• Saturday, April 12, 2008 - Untitled Comment
Garlic-I don't know what kind grows best in Minnesota. I picked a fast maturing type, organic from Johnny's. I don't remember the name of it. I've tried growing garlic a couple of times before, but always planted it in early spring. Doesn't get big enough. If this works, I plan on planting a lot more next fall.
Stay warm,
Rhonda