A family farm near Christina Lake, B.C. is thankful after a whirlwind effort by neighbours and local farmers to save a baby goat. Little “Comet,” named after Santa’s reindeer and the “C” patterned in his fur, was born breached at Fuster Cluck Farms late Saturday, Dec. 18, Amy Enns-Haywood and husband Nigel told The Grand Forks Gazette.
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A local veterinarian was able to see Comet’s mother, also called Amy, through her difficult delivery, keeping her alive long enough for her to start suckling her kid.
Somehow, she managed to stand on her four legs so that Comet could feed on her colostrum-rich milk — the natural formula goatherds call “liquid gold” for its life-sustaining nutrients.
“She did everything she needed to keep her baby alive,” Enns-Haywood said.
Tragically, Amy the goat died early the next morning. With her mother’s milk running low, Enns-Haywood and her neighbours tended to Comet. Enns-Haywood said she tried nursing him through a bottle she’d bought for baby girl, Riley.
Comet was having none of it, but nearby Jerseyland Organics came through with a special goat bottle and a supply of bovine colostrum. Meanwhile, about half a dozen others had volunteered to help.
“We had plans A, B, C and D rolling by 9 o’clock Sunday morning,” Enns-Haywood explained.
“It was really touching to have the farming community come forward like that.”
Comet is “doing awesome,” she continued, noting that the kid is probably more of a handful than newborn Riley ever was. “I find him more high-maintenance,” she laughed. Riley and Comet have grown quite close, she added.
Amy the goat came to Fuster Cluck with another goat, Clarisse, who gave birth to three kids on Dec. 13. Comet snuggles with them at night.
The Haywoods said they will plant a tree on his mother’s grave after the spring thaw.
@ltritsch1
laurie.tritschler@grandforksgazette.ca
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