Yesterday was a very rough day for me. I have never been so scared. It was a very hot day with no wind and here on the prairie that is very unusual. Not only are we used to the breeze but it also helps cool things down a bit. We always check the barnyard and everything in it 3 times a day and fill all the water troughs at those times. We have fans moving air in the chicken show pen and the sheep and goat shed. We are doing all the normal things we do in Oklahoma to fight the heat but to tell the truth this heat normally doesn't come until Aug or Sept. And Yesterday it turned out not to be enough. Anyway, on our regular trip to the barn yard to fill water troughs and check everything we found Statler laying on his side thrashing his legs. Mom got him up and noticed his Who-Ha was dirty. Scours!!! But how?? We didn't take time to figure it out. Mom said we had to act fast or this heat and scours combine would kill my babies. Instead we focused on all the animals. Mom went into Mom mode, as I call it, and we pulled everything that had dirty butts and drenched them with a mixture of Pepto and Electrilytes. We filled all the water troughs and then added electrolytes to them for everyone as well. Then Mom went to the house and set up our winter calf pen in the kitchen while Dad and I scooped Statler up and got him into the house. He got 2 shots of 12ml of Saline Solution under his skin an hour apart to fight dehydration (he would have gotten one every hour until we saw him pee but he peed within the first two hours), a shot of Penicillin to fight any infection he might have and alot of cooolll Air, topped off with all the Sericea Lespedeza he could eat. Sericea Lespedeza is a weed we use to control worms naturally. Goats love it and it works better then anything on the market. Will all the bases covered we kept watch and tried to figure out how this happened.
Upon examining the pen we could have kicked ourselves. It was our fault that this happened. We didn't do it on purpose but it has to do with the drought and the way we irrigate. We have an old well that was contaminated in the flood of 2007 and when the drought conditions set in (and the always do) we use it to irrigate our Hay crop and the pens to feed the animals. (It can't be used for anything else anyway so why not , right?) Without even thinking we did just like we always do and started the pump. We were fine until the mosture got to the goat and sheep pen. The mosture makes the grass act like spring, making it, what we call, HOT. Cattle can handle it just fine and we have never had any problems because they go to the pond and drink tons of water. The goats and sheep however are smaller and all it took was one to not drink enough and we have a problem. Yesterday that Problem was named Statler. He is my littlest guy and he is the weakest for that reason. Mom says she should have caught it but with Vacation and everything going on she just messed up. Mom can't think of everything, you know and since it has never been a problem before we just didn't think of it.
This morning Mom got us up early so we could take steps to fix everything for the sheep and goats. First the pump was shut off for now and the irrigation hose removed from the pen area. That will stop the hot grass. The Goats and Sheep where then put on a diet of Hay and water for the day time hours. Next Mom put in a sprinkler system in the goat and sheep shed. Sprinklers shouldn't harm the fleece due to the light misting it does but Mom says she would rather have live animals with bad fleece then great fleece from dead ones. She has a point and she is stubborn when it comes to animals so no matter what anyone says she says it is staying and that is that. The sprinkler will lower the temp in the shed by about 10 degrees and the shade it provides already keeps it cooler in there then the 100 degree weather outside. Don't forget the fan moving the air and all in all we are shooting for about 90 degrees or lower if we can get it (Mom wants it no higher then 80 but we will see, you can only do so much in this heat). Mom thinks all the stuff we have done will get the temp down to at least 90 easy. For now we are watching very closely to make sure all the Goats are out of the woods so to say.
I know it is not a great thing to see but here is Statler Yesterday. You can see he is in bad shape.
Upon examining the pen we could have kicked ourselves. It was our fault that this happened. We didn't do it on purpose but it has to do with the drought and the way we irrigate. We have an old well that was contaminated in the flood of 2007 and when the drought conditions set in (and the always do) we use it to irrigate our Hay crop and the pens to feed the animals. (It can't be used for anything else anyway so why not , right?) Without even thinking we did just like we always do and started the pump. We were fine until the mosture got to the goat and sheep pen. The mosture makes the grass act like spring, making it, what we call, HOT. Cattle can handle it just fine and we have never had any problems because they go to the pond and drink tons of water. The goats and sheep however are smaller and all it took was one to not drink enough and we have a problem. Yesterday that Problem was named Statler. He is my littlest guy and he is the weakest for that reason. Mom says she should have caught it but with Vacation and everything going on she just messed up. Mom can't think of everything, you know and since it has never been a problem before we just didn't think of it.
This morning Mom got us up early so we could take steps to fix everything for the sheep and goats. First the pump was shut off for now and the irrigation hose removed from the pen area. That will stop the hot grass. The Goats and Sheep where then put on a diet of Hay and water for the day time hours. Next Mom put in a sprinkler system in the goat and sheep shed. Sprinklers shouldn't harm the fleece due to the light misting it does but Mom says she would rather have live animals with bad fleece then great fleece from dead ones. She has a point and she is stubborn when it comes to animals so no matter what anyone says she says it is staying and that is that. The sprinkler will lower the temp in the shed by about 10 degrees and the shade it provides already keeps it cooler in there then the 100 degree weather outside. Don't forget the fan moving the air and all in all we are shooting for about 90 degrees or lower if we can get it (Mom wants it no higher then 80 but we will see, you can only do so much in this heat). Mom thinks all the stuff we have done will get the temp down to at least 90 easy. For now we are watching very closely to make sure all the Goats are out of the woods so to say.
I know it is not a great thing to see but here is Statler Yesterday. You can see he is in bad shape.
This morning Statler was the first one up and to the feed trough and Mom says that is a great sign. Here he is today. What a difference a day makes huh?? I think with Mom, Dad and me, we will be Good Shephards and now I know we can handle just about anything.
In closing, Chief and I are off to VBS to teach others about Being a Good Shephard and being one of God's Flock!!
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