Gypsy, the 2-month-old Boer Goat kid — is learning all kinds of new things. For example, she is starting to munch on strands of hay and will take soaked hay cubes by hand. Although she is still on the bottle, she has also discovered the water bucket.
Here in this video, you can see how she is dipping her lips into the water and licks at it tentatively. It is so good to see that she is taking in water on her own!
According to our vet, Gypsy suffers from a congenital neurological issue. This manifests itself in the tilted head you see and also her inability to get up on her own. Her brain is simply not sending the correct messages to the legs. When she wants to get up, she will wiggle her legs and kick, but she just does not have the means to tuck her knees under and push off.
Once up and about, she will stay walking about for as long as three or four hours – that is unless she wants to lay down, or if she falls down. So we have to keep an eye on her and prop her up if she falls.
Gypsy will be on the bottle for another month or so – so it is a good sign that she has started to nibble on hay. If any friends of the sanctuary or volunteers would like to visit for a feeding, just let us know.
