Ginger Balsam

Last night we brought home a goat. 

She's a Nigerian Dwarf Dairy goat. 

She was born 5 days prematurely

And was one of 4 babies in the pregnancy.

Her breed is small.

But she is tiny. 

She weighs in at 2 pounds

And fits in the palm of my hand. 

She's 6 days old. 

The night she was born,

it was 20 degrees F below zero.

Because she was premature,

the dame hadn't been brought

into the barn.

When she was born,

her tiny body 

froze to the ground.

When she was found,

she was frozen stiff

and thought to be dead.

Her right eye

was frozen

to a metal pipe.

Because of her

prematurity,

she is having difficulty 

breathing. 

We're doing 

all we can

to keep her comfortable.

Little Bear 

gave her the name

Ginger Balsam.

Our other animals

have been curious

and gentle 

with Ginger.

Belle wasn't sure at first. 

But she soon warmed up. 

Now she won't leave Ginger Balsam's side. 

Even Fizz is gentle

and protective. 

I don't know if Ginger Balsam will

survive. 

If she does, we'll keep her. 

If she doesn't, we'll know we tried. 

She's too premature to

maintain her own

body temperature. 

So she's wearing a diaper

and rides around 

tucked into my shirt

(or Kara's).  

Ginger Balsam

is such a

sweet baby goat. 

hbk