What a week!

Well, it has been a busy two days! Yesterday morning, we picked up our 2 goats, Julia and Tripoli, and our dog Cinderella from the vet's office. My bucks' fecals finally came back clear, so it seems I've got a good management plan down for them! Yay! Hully, the newest doeling, however had higher levels of coccidia and giardia. This is new. We've never had giardia! So I have meds for her and she will be put on a management plan much like our bucks once the meds are completed. It seems to be an age thing. I can't figure out why it is just now showing up with Hully, other than maybe the immunity she received from her mother's milk is just now wearing off....?

Anyhow, Tripoli and Julia now have some ugly heads, and Tripoli has one side where there is a dime-sized hole in his skull where so much had to be cut away to remove the scur that was growing. It's pretty gruesome to look at with these giant burns anyway, but seeing down into his sinus cavity is a little more than I was prepared for. It should cover over with tissue in about 2 weeks, provided nothing gets infected, and will eventually be a pretty, smooth head. I'm so thankful that fly season is over! Apparently when the flies are out, I would have to watch for maggots in the sinus cavity. Yuk! I dread having to have Jarlath done next month, and I'm a little concerned about Jillian's scurs as well. Hers look minor, but so did the side where Tripoli has the hole. I wasn't even sure that side needed to be done! Apparently, though, when a disbudding job gets botched, scurs can grow in some interesting directions, including inside the head, rather than outside where a horn would normally grow. Jill's loud breathing makes me wonder if there's an internal scur obstructing anything. Hopefully, it is nothing!

Cinderella is to remain in a seperate stall for a week, and while a bit lonely, she seems to enjoy the privacy of that stall while not feeling great. I spent some time with her this morning, and she is such a love! She relishes all the hugs and kisses she can get. Then, Snow White got jealous and wanted my attention! Snow White never wants attention, so this was a welcome and amusing first! :)

Then yesterday afternoon, we took Samuel to the doctor because he seemed to have an ear infection. Sure enough, not only an ear infection, but lots of wax build-up. He had to have his ears irrigated just like David does and is now on antibiotics. He has to return in 10 days to be checked before they will clear him to go to swimming lessons again, and he's to wear some special ear plugs in the pool from now on, particularly since he has his Daddy's ear wax issues! The pain in his ears caused him to have an upset stomach, and he didn't keep his first dose of antibiotic down. Thankfully, some anti-nausea medication and another dose of the antibiotic (per Dr.'s instructions) helped. At 3 am, he said to me, "Mama, my ears feel so much better. Thank you for helping me. You're amazing." Then he went back to sleep. Awwwww!

Last night, David and I moved the chickens from the buck barn to the under-the-deck coop to cut down on any dust around Tripoli's head. We then put some gauze over his hole to help keep out debris. It was kinda fun to do our chicken wrangling by flashlight... chickens are pretty docile when it's dark and chasing them down only amounted to doing a bit of climbing to take them from their perch. Tripoli wasn't as compliant, but thankfully he doesn't seem to be in any pain. This morning, his gauze patch was missing, and I really do need to find that before he or Jarlath eat it!

This morning, we awoke with a phone call from the post office. The 31 chicks we ordered arrived a day early! And I thought I was going to get to rest today before having to deal with them tomorrow! The heat lamp in our brooder isn't working properly so I have to run up to my mom's and get her lamp. The chicks are in our tub... Just when I was looking forward to cleaning it out after Noah and being able to have a nice long soak!

The house is a mess and needs some care after a couple days of neglect. The kiddos need a snack. Hully and Cinderella need some medication. The chicks need a heat lamp. The dishes need to be washed, and the laundry is calling my name. Best get to work! Maybe then I will rest.