Okay. . .
An acquaintance was looking to buy two wethers from a tested herd.
Another acquaintance I’d purchased doelings from in the winter that came
With the whole herds CL/CAE/Johnnes testing had so many bucklings born
(she has 100 or so), she offered me a few free NIGI bucklings out of a Ch Buttinheads
buck. I was very happy to get them. She said she’d like to find homes for a few more –
I told acquaintance #1 that I’d recommend emailing this woman because I knew they had
Clean testing, I was thrilled with my doelings from them and was getting 2 bucklings myself.
I told her they would be low cost or even free.
Because they had never had bucklings, I offered to let the fellow HT friend picking up mine
Bring back some for acquaintance #1 and getting them onto the bottle (none were bottle babies)
For her. She said she’d rather pick out hers and made plans to meet the breeder at her farm 3 plus hours
Away.
That was that on my end, I thought.
Sooo I thought.
I get mine right after and they are thin and have the snots. The condition wasn’t what I expected, but they
Were from a clean herd and very well bred and well made. . . I knew I could turn them around without much issues
And have done so.
I honestly didn’t expect all of the kids to be like that and didn’t even get in touch with acquaintance #1 because she
Said she was going there to pick her outs. I figured she’d pick out what she wanted. She went about 2 weeks later.
I’d seen photos of the herd – the does and kids all looked nice, and of course, I’m recalling how nice my doelings from last
Winter were, and the HT friend of mine that went to the breeders farm said there were tons of goats but that
The barn and area was clean and nice.
So I get a text from acquaintance #1 that she got 6 kids – 6!!! She’d paid $250 for all.
She bought a doeling and got 5 bucklings – thinking she’d
Wether the boys. The 6th was for a HT friend of mine here – acquaintance #1 didn’t know her, but the breeder remember
The friend asked for one and sent the extra one back.
I get an email the next morning that says the kids don’t look healthy. I offer to come over the hour trip to bring a med bag and
See what I think.
The condition was poor on all, very bad on 2 in particular. The HT friend said she didn’t want the kid if he was sick –
He was sick, but he was better than the rest. . . I told acquaintance #1 the Homesteading Today friend hadn’t wanted him if he
Was still sick and the breeder wasn’t really supposed to send him if he was – I told her since the kids were for her children –
She might want to hang onto him incase the 2 very sick ones died. I told her it was coccidia and brought dimethox powder – gave
Her bo-se for all, wrote down a to do list, including get a fecal. Trimmed some of their hooves, too. I showed her how to get the non
Bottle babies to take the bottle and told her to go to a local herd for real milk – cae free- instead of whole milk. I have her about $40 worth
Of meds and declined any money until she insisted a few times and took the $50 for the gas and meds.
I did feel very bad about their condition – that WASN’T what I expected or she expected. . .
So it has went on for 2 weeks – texts and emails about this being my fault – ½ said in jest and ½ quite serious, and I didn’t know what to say.
She’d say how this had brought disease to her farm and I’d explain cocci is everywhere and need controlled and it was nothing her chickens and horses could get
From them. . . Didn’t matter what I said. She was mad a few had scurs - decided that made the breeder terrible too - no excuse for scurs. I explained with bucks - it does happen.
I have offered many suggestions – the kids are improving.
She’d asked me to band them. I said I would and would bring banamine.
She then sent a message about realizing it wasn’t humane and that she’d take them to a vet. But the costs already incurred were brought
Up over and over in the past few weeks, and I hated for her to be out more money and tried to explain the banding is really quite fine. . .
She opted to have them surgically done yesterday. . . the vet wouldn’t do the one because he is so anemic and did another fecal
And said the cocci is still out of control.
I got a message that blamed me for all of this and how she had trusted me and should have known better and so on. . .that she’d been stuck with the 6th one even though I
Texted her the next day and told her I’d take him myself and she declined because the kid wanted to keep all of them. She said the breeder said she’d give the money back and take
Them back, but she didn’t think the breeder would keep them alive. She wanted me to message the breeder and tell her how sick they were. . .so she’d stop killing goats. . .
I finally went into a whole thing about having recommended them based on what I knew of the herd and my experience at the time and that she had made the trip
And opted, after seeing the condition (though she met the breeder somewhere, I found out, not on the farm), to get all 5 (6) . . .I didn’t feel it was fair to blame me or
Act as if I can’t be trusted or that my judgment is off, and I recommended she return them –
My question is . . . Is this my fault? I have no idea – but I don’t feel I should be blamed, esp. in this way. . . though I do feel bad it didn’t go very well. . .
Here are the photos of my doelings from her last winter and followed by the photos I received on the kids in question - now they didn't look like this
when they arrived, but she all but gave them to the woman - and she did give me mine for nothing.
Who would have thought they would end up being so unhealthy so quickly?
ugh
then some of the kids in question
If anyone recognizes the photos - please do not mention names. I believe the breeder
is a nice woman that simply had too many kids this year to handle - don't want her feelings hurt at all
. That is a real shame. No good deed goes unpunished... as the saying goes. But don't withhold your kindness and gift of helps in the future because of one persons inability to show thankfulness and appreciation for what you have done. I always need friends like you because I am a real dork sometimes. Maybe move here
