House Guests!

We’ve had a new adventure – several really – since I last wrote. But… I want to focus on just one right now. 🙂 Our two new little house guests (or really barn guests!). Silas and Barnabas.

A very good friend of ours bought Silas as the sire for her herd of dairy goats, and Barnabas – a little wether – is his companion. Barnabas – unlike Silas- was not yet weaned when she bought him but usually you can get a kid to forget Mama and suck a bottle after sometime of working with him – not Barnabas. He’s a stubborn little fella!
She struggled with him, watching him loose weight, for the two or so weeks she’s had him. Finally we all agreed to bring him up to our farm so we could try our hands with him. We were praying that he’d take to nursing one of our does that are in milk (of course, they probably wouldn’t take to him at all…but, we have a milk stand. 🙂 ). If he wouldn’t we’d have the services of a very good veterinarian (another friend of ours) close by.


Little Barnabas seemed sad and withdrawn.

Well…after some inspection Carra and I realized little Barnabas wasn’t doing too well. He wouldn’t nurse – flatly refused a bottle, and overall was very withdrawn and uninterested. We were worried about him. He’s very small and has lost a lot of weight. It was clear if he didn’t take a substantial amount of nourishment soon he could slip into a danger zone.
Our vet said to try him on milk a little more and if by this evening, he didn’t improve we’d have to bring him over to the kennel and start IVs.
That didn’t sound too promising.
We tried to get him to suckle after coming home from working at a friend’s house for the afternoon. But Barnabas was stubborn. The milk – good, fresh goat’s milk – was sitting right there in a nice, clean, convienent bottle and he refused to drink it. I was half worried that he couldn’t suckle properly (we had a calf like that once), but it quickly became appearant that he simply didn’t want to drink anything. It’s frustrating. Carra reverted to the old force-feeding (we had to do that for ages with another calf we had….stress, stress, stress for everyone concerned!). We managed to get four ounces down him before he started coughing and closing his eyes (always scares me when they do that!). Silas couldn’t figure out what was wrong with his little friend – he watched as Carra held Barnabas and forced him to take the nipple; there wasn’t much fun in that, he guessed!


We worked with Barnabas – Silas looking on; he’s such a people-goat. 🙂

Carra and I both looked at each other as Barnabas swallowed little bit by little bit. I was reliving the moments when we took our first calf to the vet for emergency IVs. That was a nightmare. We’d know better what to expect now but…little Barnabas would have to take a bottle eventually – he couldn’t survive on IVs.
“He has to swallow,” Carra observed blandly her eyes focused on the little kid, “The milk’s just running into his mouth.”
“I guess we should go eat us something and come back,” I suggested as we watched Barnabas struggle off Carra’s lap and stand in a corner like he was concentrating hard on his stomach.
After Carra and I ate a delicious supper with Mama (we were ravished!) we headed back to the barn. We walked the long walk down the hill from our house wondering, “Well, Lord, what’s this little fella going to do?”



Howdy everyone! Says Silas.

Carra milked out a good bottle of milk, expecting to force feed Barnabas again. Well…she didn’t even get the bottle in his mouth before he started chewing all over her – trying to suck her ears and face. That’s a wonderful sign in a goat kid. We rushed to get him and one of our does in the barn. 

Success!

At first little Barnabas thought for sure Carra’s ear was the right gadget but…after some coaxing he found the teat and nursed viciously – I know he was hungrier than even we were at supper this evening! It was such a blessing to see him nursing. “No IV’s,” I thought as I watched him, “No IV’s!” That’s a relief!


Nap Time!

 Later we went back down for chores and, boy, did that little guy nurse. All three of our does took a turn at the milk stand – the only one he didn’t empty was Daisy, our big gallon milker! 🙂 Then… he cuddled up for a nap on Carra’s lap.   

 I feel pretty certian little Barnabas is just a stubborn little fella – he did NOT want anything to do with bottles and plastic. He wanted Mama. Thank Jesus, I think he’ll pull through just fine – if his tumy doesn’t pop with milk! 🙂

I like to look for lessons in things. I like to sit and think; pray about what Jesus may have to teach me in any given situation.

Little Barnabas is the perfect picture of a christian. No matter what he went through, how hungry he was, how thin he got, how bad he felt, or how many times that rubber nipple was poked into his mouth, he never gave in. He would rather starve than drink from that plastic bottle.

Isn’t that how we should be? Shouldn’t we fight with all the power Jesus is in us? Shouldn’t we turn a blind eye on our own sufferings, ignore our feelings and wants, never looking once at the conviences, beauty, fun the world has to offer us – shouldn’t we stand firm on what Jesus has told us to do, without waver; even if it kills us?

Though He slay me, yet will I trust in Him 

-Job