Baby Goat Mania!

Trench Foot

Towards the end of last year's kidding season, my feet were in terrible shape.  I've had athlete's foot and peeling feet before, but this was something new.  This was painful swelling and itching on the tips of my toes and at the joints.  They were actually purple when my husband joked that I had gangrene.  I rubbed them down with antifungals, cortisone cream and soaked them in Epsom salts every day, but nothing seemed to help.  I also bought new boots, boiled my socks and limped around like an idiot for a month or two.  Finally, summer came and they gratefully healed. 

We are halfway through our goat births and my feet are purple, again.  The expensive boots I purchased last season have sprung leaks from everyday wear and are constantly wet from trekking through snow and puddles.  My socks are wet, my feet are wet and thus my Trench Foot has returned especially early.  I can't sleep for the throbbing pain and fear of spreading it to my children through our common shower.  Maybe this year I will find a boot that is made for constant use and will keep my feet dry (any suggestions?).  So, I now have a name and remedy for this particular ailment.  Since I can't stay out of the "trenches" when my goats are kidding, I will have to work harder to keep my feet warm and dry between milking and feeding sessions.  Thankfully, kidding should be over by St. Patrick's Day (see a three leaf clover below?).  Back to goat watch.

Kidding Commences!

Two first freshening does have already kidded, while we wait and carefully watch for labor in the remaining five.  Sugar Moon Cassiopeia delivered a single buckskin doeling and Capsand Creamery Titanium delivered a single big buckling, unattended during the very early hours of morning.  Both were jumping and playing after their lunch this afternoon.  The new mothers have been extraordinary on the milk stand already, but Titanium is blowing away all of my expectations and outpacing her older compatriot.

Now, if only the kids would all hold still for a picture!  So frustrating and so MUCH better in person.  Back to goat watch.  What a great start to this season!