Emmilye Favors a Leg

Pamela has her triplet kids outside in the fresh air.

Yesterday when I went out to check on the goats, I was pleased to see that the triplet kids were out playing in the fresh air. On closer inspection, though, the littlest kid, the sweet, toffee-brown Emmilye, was favoring her right hind leg. She probably got stepped on during the course of the night.

Since having our big Saanen/Alpine cross, Marcie, step on my foot leaves a bruise, it's no wonder that a kid could get severely injured in an encounter with an adult goat. Of course, we do not yet know the severity of her injury. When I manipulated the leg yesterday, the kid showed no pain response and I found no distinct break. At this point, I am hoping that she'll be back to using the leg again fully in a day or two.

Little Emmilye favors her right hind leg.

The reason behind her injury raises an additional concern. Was she simply stepped on in the course of goats being goats? Or, has her Nubian dam singled her out for shunning? While Pamela clearly favors the two larger kids--the dark Metro and blonde Erin--I have not seen her butting little Emmilye away. A couple of years ago, one of our fainting goat dams, Caitlyn, would single out the smaller of her kids and actively drive it away such that the kid would require human intervention to survive. Not so in this case, Pamela merely sidesteps or walks off when Emmily tries to nurse.

For now, we will watch and wait. I prefer to intervene only when necessary.