When my daughters were about a year old, my sister accused me of being obsessed with their hydration status, noting how I fretted about their fluid intake and constantly offered them sippy cups and little juice pouches. As teenagers, they easily regulate their own fluids, but my long-dormant nurse instincts now have other critters to monitor.
Two key fact about goats. First,adequate water intake is critical for wethers (neutered males) because of their tendency toward urinary blockages. Second, goats detest cold beverages, preferring to drink only water warmer than 60 degrees F. (As my daughter Megan says, "I read that on the internet, so it must be true!") Over the winter we regularly treated our goats to "Hot Bowl," which used to be a teapot but is now a gallon milk jug of steaming hot water from the bathtub tap poured into their favorite metal bowl. Additionally we discovered that a splash of apple cider vinegar made this heated treat nearly irresistible, and I took pride in every bowl they drank. It's something like the satisfaction a mother feels when her child eats broccoli...
With the advent of spring weather, I have encouraged Emerson and Ellie to accept their water simply warmed by the sun, but they are resistant to this change, often circling the bowl with sniffs of disdain. We can't drink this tepid stuff! Where's the steam rising off the bowl? Unacceptable! Periodically they gag down a tiny sip to quench their parched throats, sometimes even lifting their tails over the bowl so I am forced to refill it with clean (and hopefully warmer) water. And don't forget the vinegar this time, human!
Friday was cool and rainy, and the goats were stuck in their shed for most of the day. I noticed that the water bucket was still full after several hours and was of course concerned about dehydration. Poor goaties - when they saw me coming with the steaming hot water jug, they leapt up in delight, slurping the bowl dry in less than a minute before looking at me expectantly. More? I ran back inside to refill it, not once but three more times as they gleefully guzzled the hot water. Four entire gallons those thirsty goats drank, before I kissed them goodnight and headed in to bed myself, relieved that I had rehydrated them and likely averted a health catastrophe. I was tempted to warm myself up with a cup of tea, but decided against it to avoid a middle-of-the-night call to the bathroom. Only as I was drifting off to sleep did I wonder what would happen to those four gallons of water filling two goat bladders...Was it sort of like giving your potty-training toddler a super-sized juice cup right before bed?
Much worse, actually. Fortunately they could cling to the hay rack to stay afloat, though it took me all morning to mop out the shed. From now on we have a one-bowl limit at bedtime...
No comments:
Post a Comment