She's A Witch!

No, not Ysolda - she is perfectly charming! Although we got to YDK too late to join in the weekly Knit Night, we were able to tag along as Dixie and her gang took Ysolda to The Livery for snacks and drinks afterward. We ordered up a plate of smelt for Ysolda to try, because you can't come to Wisconsin and not eat smelt, right? She gamely tried them and even took a couple more on her own.

No, I refer instead to our poor dear Delilah, who is recovering well from her surgery yesterday.



You can click the pic below if you have an interest in seeing the actual surgical amputation site (clean, but not for the meek).



Dr. Bender in Whitehall did an excellent job. We are truly grateful that we can always rely on him. Delilah was feeling so much better after the operation that she attempted to gallop out to pasture with her herdmates! No more "dead weight" (ugh) holding her down and making her wobbly.

"Whoa, there, Nellie, you're supposed to be in recovery in the box stall for three days!" We finally caught our girl (a little loopy on the pain medications she'll be on for a while) and convinced her that there were fresh dandelions aplenty - along with hay, mineral, kelp, and a cool bucket of water - waiting for her in her private chamber. She's enjoying her pampering and the hand-picked weeds being delivered to her door. Her appetite is very good, which is a great sign.

Thank goodness Dr. Bourdon had come out as soon as we noticed Delilah limping. He got her on penicillin therapy right away, so that we were able to halt the progression of the disease through the tissue as quickly as possible, saving Delilah's life! Again, we are so blessed to have yet another good on-farm goat doctor - they are really few and far-between.


Delilah Just After Birth


Baby Samson and Delilah


Delilah and Samson, One Day Old


Mama Tulip, Baby Delilah, Jeff

After consulting three vets and doing research on our own, Jeff and I were still stumped about what caused Delilah's leg to go bad. There was no sign of injury in a fence or by another animal; the illness didn't present correctly for "blackleg" (a tetanus-type infection); and everyone was scratching their heads as to what caused the blood clot that destroyed her leg with no warning... until Dr. Bender mentioned something to Jeff.

"I've never seen it in practice, but I remember studying it in vet school - ergot."

"You mean like rye and witches?" asked Jeff.

That's exactly what he meant (and if you are Dianne RJ, you get bonus points for knowing what I was talking about when I ran into you today!) But for everyone else, I will "'splain, Lucy"...


Samson and Delilah at Two Months, with Mama Tulip


Baby Samson and Delilah, nibbling on my scarf.

Remember the Salem Witch Trials? And how young girls were murdered for "being witches" - having tremors, being possessed, seeing visions, going spastic? One theory which explains their behavior is that they had ergot poisoning. Though I see on Wiki that that's disputed, what isn't is the effects of ergot poisoning on animals.


Delilah at Three Months

We won't ever know the source (pasture, hay, grain, oat straw used for bedding), but thanks to Dr. Bender's recollection we were able to look it up in our copy of The Merck Veterinary Manual (thanks forever for that, Pamela! We use it ALL the time!), confirm Delilah's symptoms and progression, and solve our little mystery.


Samson, Delilah, Mama Tulip

I guess if something completely odd and out of the ordinary will happen, it's going to happen at Tuppinz Farm.

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In other farm news, due to the ground being litterally covered with fledgling birds, barn cat Barley is being held prisoner in the house (confined due to his penchant for beating the crap out of the other cats). He'll remain indoors until the birdlings can actually fly on their own. The chickens are quite amused by all the little ones and seem to think they are baby chicks that they are supposed to guard.


Baby Blackbird with Sumatran Rooster

Animals are just so... odd.

Have a great day! I get to sit and knit with Ysolda at Michelle's tonight!!