Posted by Farm at December 5th, 2009

It’s been a long time since I posted. Sorry about that, but we’ve been busy with markets and preparations for the winter. Breeding season has taken a strange twist. A month ago Rebel came down sick very suddenly. It turned out to be listeriosis, which doesn’t have a very good outcome most of the time. We thought we might be lucky, since we started treating him before he became totally recumbant. But despite recovering from the disease, and fighting two bouts with pneumonia, we had to put him down today. The brain damage was too severe. He was not able to stand, or swallow, but he tried. Oh how he tried.

Throughout the countless shots, fluids, food changes, and other treatments, he patiently helped where he could, and did not fight us when it was most difficult. We hated to lose him, but it wasn’t fair to keep him going the way he was.

He had the potential to be a great buck, and he may turn out yet to be one of our most influential herdsires. We have three of his daughters, one son, and one breeding done before we lost him. His dam, Jobi Fern 4*D AR, has been rebred to his sire, Merging Lanes +S, and hopefully we’ll come up with a goat close to what Rebel was. But he/she will have a hard act to follow. Never have I seen a buck stand so cooperatively for vet care, and still look for affection from the person who just stuck him numerous times.

Bye Rebel. Thank you for Shane, Arpeggia, Macrame and Atlas. Go play with your sisters and wait for us, someday.