For the sake of the OK ag teachers, I’m glad to hear that there is an extension on the due date for the Final All Day Report. I never understood the name of this report nor did I ever understand why they required this waste of time and effort.

Speaking of things that are a PITA. That would be Pain In The Ass. Duke and I burnt horns on babies last night. I despise doing this, but it has to be done. Of all livestock management practices, this is the worst one. We dang near screwed up as most were too big to fit into the box correctly. We try to do them about 3 weeks old, which is usually just after the horn starts poking through the hair. The horns were just poking through, but the goats were bigger than normal, which is good as that means big tops, bone. rib and butts

A lot of people don’t disbud goats correctly. I think there are two reasons why. 1–They don’t keep the burner on there long enough. 2–They don’t let their iron reheat between goats. Even when you do things correctly and you feel like you got a perfect burn, six weeks later a horn or scur will come growing out. Likewise, you can think you screwed one up and their head will be smooth their whole life.

I have never lost a baby due to burning horns. But we came close last night. The next to the last one, which is a wether named Carl, raised heck when Duke caught him. He threw a fit when we vaccinated. He did everything he could to not go into the box. And he screamed during the whole process. I finished, opened the lid and he was quiet. I picked him up and he was limp. He wasn’t breathing. I shook him, cussed and then I proceeded to trying to save him. Yes, I did CPR on a goat. After about 20 seconds, he started coughing and wheezing. Then he tried to get up, fell over, then stood back up. He then drunkenly staggered into the pen with his mother. He went to nursing and I am happy to report that Carl is fine this morning. I may be a little scarred and Duke just thinks I am wierd.

I watched Fred and Lanna give CPR to a goat one time. It wasn’t a succesful venture. But it wasn’t their fault. The wether was a PITA Pfeiffer wether that everybody hated dealing with. He hung himself in his stall at OYE with people standing only a few feet away. It was an interesting burial at the OYE show, conducted by OYE staff.