Courtesy of Danielle Langloism, Wikipedia CCLFailure to Thrive
Some animals just don’t do well. For no obvious reason they are sickly and, regardless of human efforts, die. This is referred to as “failure to thrive.”
Goats are no exception. Some kids are born, by all accounts healthy, only to die within hours or days. No illness, no parasite overload, no reason, just failure to thrive.
It’s one of the most frustrating things a goat tender can face because regardless of what care is provided, the animal just doesn’t do well. What needs to be remembered is that nature can be harsh and arbitrary. If one of your kids isn’t thriving, you’ve done all you can and it dies anyway, it’s not your fault; it’s just the way of nature.
Eds Note from Martha Ann: One of Naimhe Jeanne’s new doelings died. She isn’t ready to write about it yet, so this post is her way of sliding into a sad subject, which you will hear more about.
Thank you for writing that. We just lost 2 bucklings, 1 within 24 hours the other 72 hours. They just did not seem to have the will to do anything but nurses & then lay down. All the other kids we have had are bouncing around & driving their mommas crazy by 24 hours. It is so very sad, but Mother Nature has a way of culling on her own I suppose.