My Ameraucana rooster sure got himself in a pickle yesterday.  I still haven’t quite figured out how it happened, but somehow the genius got his foot entangled in the rope that is hanging from the ceiling of my chicken coop.  The rope is there to hang my auto-feeder from but the auto feeder broke so it is not being used at the moment.  Who would have thought a simple rope, attached to nothing except the ceiling, would be a danger to a chicken.

I also don’t know for certain how long he was hanging there, which was a bit scary to think about last night.  I left home for work yesterday morning at about 7:30 and all was well then.  I did not get back home until almost 9:00pm however.  I was doing my evening critter check when I discovered him hanging upside down, from one leg, because the rope was wrapped around it.  

The poor guy was understandably a bit woozy.  He really didn’t seem to be in much distress however.  I’m not sure whether he had been hanging there long enough to give up, or if maybe he had calmed down because it was dark, or maybe he was actually cool with “hanging out” in that position.  I know most chickens can be put into sort of a trance when held upside down by their feet, but one would think that hanging like that for a while would still be upsetting.  He didn’t squawk or fuss when I rescued him.  I offered him fresh water and he did not protest me dipping his beak, but he didn’t want a drink either (that alone makes me think he was not there for hours).  He had no feeling in that leg however, so I rubbed it some to help the circulation and put him to bed for the night.

This morning’s check brought good news.  He was very much able to get where he wanted to go, and could stand on both legs for short periods of time.  He has a terrible limp, and I think it may take a few days for the affected leg to fully recover, but I believe he is going to be fine.  I have removed the “dangerous” rope so that he, nor any of his hens, can entangle themselves again.  I’m not sure what I’ll do about hanging the auto-feeder once it is repaired, but I’m open to suggestions!

                                                                       ***Update***
I checked on the rooster again this evening and, as you can see from the photos below, he is doing much better.  He still has a noticeable limp, but he is standing for long periods of time, like any normal chicken.  I'm convinced he will continue to improve, and be back to his old self within just a few days.  And the girls may get a reprieve during that time as well!

I am conducting a survey of goat owners and their deworming practices.  If you currently own goats, I would very much appreciate it if you would participate in the survey.  If you have friends who own goats, please encourage them to participate in the survey as well.  If you do not own goats, the questions really won't apply to you - I'm sorry!
 
No identifying information will be asked in the survey, and all responses are anonymous.  You will not be contacted based on any response given in the survey.
 
The survey can be found at https://survey.zohopublic.com/zs/8FBVuX
 

Thank you so much for your time!

All the wet weather we have experienced this year seems to wreaking havoc on the local caprine population.  It is widely accepted in the world of goat ownership that excessive deworming is counterproductive, so common practice is to only deworm as needed.  Each goat owner has their own methods for determining what "as needed" means.  Some have their vets run routine fecal exams.  Some have the ability to do their own fecal exams.  Some rely on regular FAMACHA exams.  Many use some combination of these practices.  I fall into that later group.  Those of you who have attended my goat workshops know that my usual practice is to do frequent FAMACHA exams, and periodically confirm the effectiveness of my dewormers by having my vet do a fecal exam.  Many of you know that I prefer to do everything as naturally as possible, including avoiding chemicals unless absolutely necessary.  Unfornately, I have not been able to avoid chemical dewormers, however I have been able thus far, to use them only sparingly.  Generally, I deworm with a combination of pyrantel pamoate (brand name: Strongid) and moxidectin (brand name: Quest).  In the past, this method has worked exceptionally well for my herd, and was an infrequent necessity.  This summer however, my usual practice just isn't cutting it.

I am doing FAMACHA exams approximately every 10-14 days right now.  When I find that one of my animals needs to be dewormed, I do so and recheck FAMACHA 7-10 days later.  I am finding that my goats are needing to be dewormed much too frequently for my comfort.  This year I  dewormed in the spring when they needed it.  Most of them required a second dose when I did the recheck.  One of them required a third dose.  My one sheep required a forth dose.  I'm sure I'm not alone in thinking this alone was excessive.  In doing the FAMACHA exams, I am seeing anemia creep back in with record speed.  Some of my goats needed to be dewormed as quickly as 6 weeks after the initial deworming, and while this may be common for some, it has previously been unheard of for my herd.  Recently I checked my saanen doe's eyelids and, according to the FAMACHA chart, she was in that borderline area, where one basically makes a judgement call - either deworm now, or watch closely in case deworming is needed in the near future.  She has some other health issues going on right now as well, so in the interest of checking out every possibility, I asked my vet to run a fecal exam.  His reaction to what he saw was, to question whether I had dewormed her at all.  That tells me the worm load was much higher than my FAMACHA exam indicated, which means the rest of my herd is likely in the same condition.  At the suggestion of my vet, I administered a different deworming medication to my entire herd and he is going to recheck the fecal in 10 days.

I still stand by using FAMACHA as a tool when determining whether to deworm or not.  However, normal circumstances allow for a bit of wiggle room if the eye membrane color falls in the middle of the spectrum (example C(3) on the FAMACHA card).  I am recommending that, if your goats do not resemble example B(2) or better then consult your vet.  Do not assume that what has worked for you in the past is still working.  Do not assume that because you usually only need to deworm 2 or 3 times each year, that you can get by with doing FAMACHA once per season.  Ask other breeders, local to you, what they are experiencing this year, and for the sake of your goats, talk to your vet.  Wet conditions like we have experienced in my region this year, promotes parasite proliferation.  In talking to other breeders local to me, the parasite populations this year are out of control, and are not responding to the usual treatments.  So I will repeat: for the sake of your goats, talk to your vet!

As I learn more information, I will share it with you here, but do not rely on me as your only source of information.  I am only one person, and I admit to being wrong sometimes.  Check your goats often, and talk to your vet!

I had to buy milk.  It's insane, I know.  But we use milk for so many things, that it has become an absolute necessity in our home.  I just hate when I am required to buy milk.

Fresh, raw, goat milk is the norm for us.  We prefer the taste, raw milk is healthier, and having a milk goat means I always have the good stuff in our fridge.  Except right now, I don't.  And it hurts.  It makes me sad.  Store-bought milk is pasteurized, homogenized, and it tastes funny.  And oh. my. goodness. look at the expiration date on that jug that I bought yesterday - August 22nd.  This stuff doesn't expire for two solid weeks - and I have no idea how long it has already been in the store.  Something just seems terribly wrong about that.  Granted, my raw milk will often last up to two weeks as long as it is handled properly, but we generally use it much faster than that so I really don't know for certain just how long it would keep.  Maybe two weeks really isn't all that strange.  Maybe seeing it in print is what is strange to me.  *shrugs*

Right now, we only have one goat in milk, and that is Molly.  Molly may have mastitis - we're waiting on the lab results to know for certain.  The at-home test results have been negative every time we have tested, and there are no visible symptoms.  Something is wrong with the milk however.  After about three days, it tastes awful.  It should taste creamy and maybe a little sweet.  It should taste like the best, most awesomely rich, fresh milk you have ever experienced.  It should taste that way for a minimum of a week, but as I said above, it usually stays fresh for two weeks if we actually keep it around that long (which doesn't often happen).  Nothing has changed about my milk handling practices.  I make sure my hands are clean and I thoroughly wash the udder and teats, using the same udder wash I have always used.  I use clean glass jars that have been through my dishwasher for sterilization, and I chill the milk as quickly as possible.  After milking, I dip each teat in the same teat dip I have always used.  Not one single part of my usual routine and handling practices has changed.  But the milk has changed, so the first logical thing to do is have the milk tested.  The samples have been delivered to the vet and all we can do now is wait for the test results.  And buy milk if we absolutely cannot get by without it.  Yuck.