I had to catch my 2 mo old Boer buckling yesterday and carry him from the goatyard into the downstairs bathroom so I could inject him with Vit B Complex (makes 'em want to eat) as his mama died Friday. All he understood was she no longer answered his questions and she smelled funny. He was in mourning.

Since I was holding this heavy kid by my right hand and arm--he was squeezed against my body--I couldn't push open the outside door using my left shoulder, as that one is the injured one having had shoulder surgery recently, so I kicked and literally used my head. But the effort made with the right arm hurt the muscles of my left arm, so it is extra sore today.

Then this morning I found the kid in the cat room (the former dining room now used to store feed and is mouse-free) and "waltzed" him back to the bathroom. There he hadn't even touched the feed or Elm tree leaves I set out the night before. I sat on a stool which is easier to get up and off of, and proceeded to force him to eat and chew a little at a time. I wasn't getting far with the feed even though he had eaten the same with his mother before she died. So I fed him half of the leaves I had gathered for him. Like human babies, he'd spit it out, I'd shoved it back in and he'd spit it out.

Finally he really started chewing and I got most of it down into him. But I still kept him pinned between my legs and made sure he chewed, re-chewed and swallowed. All this took a long 45 minutes.

Then I left him to feed the puppies and go back to bed and take my asthma meds and pain Rx.

Three hours later he yelled and this time he had exited the bathroom, stopped and was nibbling on something just out of curiosity. A good sign. I gave him his second Vit B Complex shot and put him outside with the Border Collie pups and Feather, the runt Livestock Guardian Dog pup. They were glad to see him and jumped all over him. Five minutes later he was in the tall grass stripping the leaves off the tall weeds enjoying his meal. All that stuffing him full of leaves had worked. But that is why my left arm, wrist and hand really are sore now.

I wonder if this could be construed as physical therapy?

Sharon
Holland, TX