Eli's Story...He Didn't Have a Good Beginning, But He's Living the Life NOW!!

Eli & Ellie were given to us on January 31, 2011. Ellie was in pretty good shape, but Eli was malnourished, had scours (really bad diarrhea), and nobody really thought he would make it more than a few days.... we were told he was a year old, but it turns out he was more like 8 months. Not ever having been in this situation, I had no idea what to really do. All we could do is just make sure he has food and water and just wait....he was better off here than he was where he came from at least...

Within a few days, Eli started to perk up a little, but anyone who had experience with goats that saw him, said things like "He is in too poor of shape to ever be a healthy goat." and "I'd be surprised if he makes it another week."

He continued to perk up personality-wise - always giving hugs and showing affection, but his poor skinny body didn't give much hope for the future of this goat.....

Not knowing how to care for a sick farm animal, I did things that would make people wonder if I was a little cuckoo....like I told Jason (the experienced farmer) I thought Eli might feel better if he got a bath. GOATS DON'T LIKE TO GET WET....heh...oh well, it was the thought, right? Each day we fed him, did a good 'lookover', and I gave him extra attention. He seemed to be responding well!

Soon he started coming around WANTING attention. He started to get spunk. His eyes seemed brighter and he actually seemed to smile...

As you can see in this picture, his tail is down - it was going to be a long road to recovery, but he was definitely making progress.

He was a strong willed little fighter. Even though his energy levels were low due to the malnutrition, his scours went away within about 10 days...

Eli and Ellie were raised together and always showed affection towards each other. They were inseparable.

Soon his tail was up and he was strong enough to want to climb!!

He followed me everywhere I went in the field. He was finally getting healthy!!

Then, before he had the chance to get to good health, he got a virus called soremouth...and boy was it BAD. Everything I read said it would run it's course and more than likely the goat would return back to normal in a few weeks....

Eli's got so bad that he wouldn't eat or drink and he started losing weight rapidly....His entire nose swelled up and poor thing was covered in these awful scabs.

I bottlefed him electrolytes and forced him to eat babyfood....I was at a loss for what else to do.

He was very willing to take whatever I was giving him. Again his fighting spirit kept him from going down.....

His tail went back down - a true sign he wasn't feeling well...

But I was persistent and determined to give this boy every opportunity to get to live a good life. I just could not give up on him. I knew that he deserved it. I spent day after day feeding him and bottlefeeding him electrolytes and giving him positive talks about how life would be good one day....

Then it happened! He started getting his spunk back again!! He started climbing again!! His tail started to go up!! It was working! Yay for Eli!!

The scabs started coming off and I was sure he would have scarring - the veterinarian said it was the worst case of soremouth he had ever seen!

His pink nose was coming back! Slowly but surely he was getting well...

Day after day he was improving and his face was going back to normal...WITH NO SIGNS OF SCARRING!

Then in May I moved Eli, Ellie, Ellen (their little doeling), Misty, Milly, and 12 of the chickens to a new location to start a sustainable project that would be doable for ONE PERSON working a full-time, 40 hour workweek.....and Eli loved the new place.

He thrived on the new farm! He grew into quite a handsome buck! BUT because of him being intact, I would have to keep him separated from my girls....

Here he is using his horns as a head rest! Silly boy!!

So the end of May, I decided to get him fixed....yes...so he can be with his BFF Ellie.....from this point on he will merely be a pet...it's OK though. He had a tough beginning and needs to have a  sweet life in the field!

While he was recovering from the snip-snip....awww...I felt a little bad about it, but this will be for the best in the long run.

He was a little standoff-ish after waking up with his manhood gone, but eventually he came around...

Snuggling up to me in the field because he doesn't feel so good after that procedure...poor thing..

Now look at how happy he is! He gets to spend all day hanging with his ladyfriend Ellie and their kid Ellen - and I don't have to worry about keeping him in a separate pen or any inbreeding or accidental baby goats! What a story for Eli! He is a fighter and never gave up!! Now he lives the life!! Yay!!