Special Ed

When Prudence and Mercy kidded in May, we intended to keep only one of the boys as a wether, along with Temerity, the single doe. Then when it became clear that we'd probably be stuck with little "Dumbo", we decided not to pursue selling the third buckling, who by then had been nicknamed Fawn for his spotted coat (that nickname has, of course, stuck, but my husband neatly fitted it into the theme of virtue names by coming up with Euphony). For over a month we struggled to feed Dumbo, changing his nickname to Special Ed (hat tip to cousin Jen for that one) and expecting every day to be his last. He just never seemed to catch on to the knack of sucking, and would eat less than half what the other two gobbled down. Consequently, he grew hardly at all, and appeared to be in gastrointestinal distress most of the time, hunching his back and clamping down his tail.

We'd nearly given him up for lost when my mother hit upon the idea of trying solid food, since we'd seen him nibbling on hay with more interest than the other two. For several days we fed him a mixture of oatmeal, molasses, and milk, from a container on the ground. He began to eat with increasing enthusiasm, and after a few feedings we cut out the oatmeal and then the molasses until he was drinking plain milk from the same container. Now he gulps down every drop, usually finishing first of the three, and has even begun nosing at the others' bottles before they're through. He's still Special, but is clearly healthy and happy and making up for lost growth time.

I had read about the option of pan-feeding kids, but as it seemed less natural than bottle-feeding, didn't even consider the idea. For Special, however, it's the only possibility, and I'm so thankful we stumbled across it. Ever since we started this farming venture, I've been frustrated by the available books on livestock, which cover all the same ground and state obvious facts (does anyone really need to be told to give their animals fresh water and a clean barn?) without answering all the odd little questions that must come up in every farmer's experience. After solving Special's problem by sheer luck, I'm seriously considering writing my own farming tome that would address more specific issues and share our thoughts and solutions.