Little kids (the goat kind) are having it rough this season. The rejected triplet from a week or so ago is doing well, still not accepted by its mama but thriving on the milk from my girls. I received a panicky phone call yesterday from a gal who had purchased three kidlets that had developed severe diarrhea in just two days. It turns out the babies were less than three weeks old and the breeder (not from around here, thank goodness) had airily told the new owner, "Oh, just feed 'em cow's milk. They'll do fine." This breeder also sells babies at one week. In my opinion, this is the caprine equivalent of a puppy mill. Unless I know a kid is going to a home with a milking adult goat in residence, I don't think a little one should be sold until it is weaned. I was able to scrounge up a gallon of milk for this trio of kids because one of my regular customers is out of town for a couple of weeks. Scours (diarrhea) and the resulting dehydration can kill a goat quickly. I'm hoping for the best.
On the home front, there is peace in the valley (make that hill top) again. One thing about goats, once the war is over, no grudge is held. Ruth and Cindy got along as if they'd never fought or even had cross words. There's a lesson in that.
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Fingers are crossed that you can supply the poor sick triplets with enough milk to get them well again. Boo to the thoughtless Caprine Kid Mill person! And yes, what a great lesson that would be if we could all forget our grudges or past altercations. Guess it kind of depends on how much love is there to begin with. Summer day here in Southern California - Mother Nature has a short-sleeved light blue dress on today!
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