Treating Weirdness

We had a storm on the way.

For a gal with no 4WD,
 and animals to take care of,

 a storm is a concern. 

I went to the farm and checked on everyone

and gave lots of extra feed and water and bedding – just in case. 

While there, I noticed Rodeo acting weird. 

Not that it would be new, a buck goat acting weird,

but it was persistent and that called for a closer look.

He was stomping, twitching and wagging his tail. 

He acted as if he were being bit by mosquitoes. 

I checked him as best I could, to see what the problem might be,

 but couldn’t tell and didn’t know what I was looking for anyway. 

What I did know is that he was very agitated

 and I couldn’t bear the thought of him waiting a few days,

 until after the storm passed, for me to act on this. 

So, this meant another trip to town,
but there was no way I could rest if he couldn’t.

At first I thought it may be worms,
as it is always the first thing I think of with goats. 

 So, I bought some wormer, but the symptoms
just didn’t make sense if it were internal parasites.

I did a little more research and determined it must be
an external parasite, probably brought on by
the mice and or rats in the barn.
I have never had this problem with goats before.

Everything I looked at to use to treat lice contained permethrin. 

This word strikes terror in my heart
after almost loosing Nyla last summer. 

There had to be a better way.  A little more research and, alas,
I found a local supplier of Diatomaceous Earth.  I was so delighted!

Diatomaceous Earth is the fossilize remains of microscopic shells

created by one celled plants called Diatoms. 

Diatomaceous Earth kills by physical action, not chemical,

by puncturing the insect’s exoskeleton and absorbing its body fluids,

 thus posing no harm to warm-blooded life.

Also, on any surface, this natural pesticide product
has a remarkable repellency factor. 

 As long as it is present, insects tend to stay away,

 making a serious infestation unlikely. 

That is why it is also so great to use in the garden. 

So, one at a time, everyone got a good dusting, 

and worming (as long as we were at it),

It wasn't until after I bought the wormer

that I found out I can use Diatomaceous Earth for that too.  

There are many more uses for DE and I will post on them later.

I am just happy to have found a local supplier and can buy it in bulk quantity.

Have you used DE?  What are your thoughts?

                                                

p.s.  we treated the goats on Thursday night and by Sunday morning, Rodeo showed no more signs of "weirdness".  We will have to follow up with regular dusting however, as the DE does not effect the eggs.


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