Looked at a herd of (unhealthy) goats

[HilltopDaisy]

There was an ad in our local paper for goats, so after speaking to the woman on the phone a few days ago, I went today to take a look.

There were about 20-25 does and doelings. No breeding plan, all had been bred by brothers and sons. No vaccinations other than rabies. There was very, very loose poop; two goats were noticeably limping; one had a swelling on her jaw the size of a golf ball. They all looked pretty unthrifty to me. The wife was out of town, and although he was very friendly, the husband wasn't sure about a lot of things. When I asked about the two who were limping, he said they had brought hoof scald home from the county fair. The swelling on the jaw? He'd never noticed it before, but didn't seem at all concerned. I told him I wanted to do a bit of research on the scald before I decided, and I left. I came home and sprayed my boots with bleach water and threw my clothes in the washer.

My goats are bright-eyed, bouncy, happy, and healthy. This situation makes me very sad. Honestly, the man was as nice as can be, and although the farm was pretty messy, he really had a lot of great things going on there. I think maybe too many irons in the fire. There's really no question here, I just needed to vent, I guess.

[CJ]

Isn't that awful? I've visited a few farms in this area over the years where you just want to cry, or shoot the farmer. Deaths and such happen, but one should be willing to work as hard to provide their animals a decent home as they do their families.

[sancraft]

I hate to see an animal suffering. It just breaks my heart. Hopefully he'll sell them to someone who has the time and money to get them healthy.

[Tango]

I've seen herds like that too Last year I thought I was going to look at either Nubians or Boers but the entire herd turned out to be "wood goats." He said this one or that one was a Nubian or a Boer or something else but they all looked like the same thing to me. There was no breeding plan and young doelings were pregnant. Everybody all together in about 20 acres that had already been digested several times I would have taken everybody home with me but I can't do that so I say a little prayer for them .