ALTRIP Andromeda. This guy kicked our asses into fucking gear. We had just finished the office with an isolation space when he came down with scours. Still unclear the issue, maybe coccidiosis which we are now treating in the rest of the herd.
We have goat minerals with some baking soda on the side in case of bloat, we have emergency 911 thick liquid and we have a little bluelyte electrolyte water (goaterade!) I’ve been in full veterinary mode since he got sick.
He didn’t make it, but he taught us a lot.
The goatherd who gave us Andromeda helped us get his body to a hot compost heap in the neighborhood after they helped us skin him. We weren’t sure about how he got sick so we were cautious about the meat. We’re in the process of preserving his hide now.
No sooner than we handled Dromeda’s situation, a little rescue we’d taken in also got sick. Poundcake had always been sickly and she’d been passed over three times on other farms.
This is one of the last pictures of Poundcake I’ve got. RIP girl.
So, because the day before, we had just learned how to skin and save a hide, we were able to stay up all night after she passed, processing the meat at home.
She’s a mini-nubian / boer cross. Boers tend to be a good meat breed and so far she hasn’t disappointed. My salvaged off the side of the road charcoal grill/smoker. We’ve also done leg of goat in a crockpot with white beans and our bucket grown golden oyster mushrooms.
The loss of these two provided us with new protocols, the skills to give sub1 and IM shots to someone other than a guy on testosterone lol, and a lot of meat. I’ll miss them.
Below the break, you’ll find a few more graphic photos of the butchering process.
I was pleasantly surprised that the bowie I’ve been carrying around for 8 years is a perfect hunting knife for skinning and cleaning. I do want something sharper for when we actually have to stun and dispatch.
We have been holding off on slaughter because we didn’t feel like we had a space. We still haven’t quite figured that part out, especially how to fully honor the ritual engagement with the process, but we made due with our garage and the skills taught to us in chicken butchering. We really want to find a way to not just be feeding ourselves this goat, but also others in our community.
We did a thorough investigation of what may have happened to Poundcake and my takeaways were an enlarged liver, enlarged heart, potentially lung issues (pneumonia?) and maybe a miscarriage. The intestines also look a little necrotic? Being able to see the rumen and ribcage was enlightening.
We’ve been healthy, well-taught, and well-fed by her so gratitude,
Moving forward, carrying the memory and lessons,
KX
