Onion Creek Oberhhasli Tragedy!!!!

[Onion-Creek-Oberhaslis]

Thank you to everyone here for your encouragement!  I am sorry I never announced the winner of the drawing.  Life came unglued right after they were born.  The winner is Desiree and family in AZ as a herdsire.  Tragiclly, he died in the fire.  I still have a few pregnant yearlings left, so hopefully they will get their buckling!  Here is the update on the fire and losses from this morning:

Here are pictures from this morning...  The fire burned so hot, there is not much left....  My neighbor is coming over later to help bury the goats.  The picture of the charred ground is all that's left of the heated water bucket (not where the fire started).  All goats were accounted for and only Belle made it out.  One baby was found on the roof.  It looks like he made it out only die crossing the roof after it collapsed.  Belle's burns were not as bad as we initially thought.  Her fur is singed all on the top and it looks like she was hit by burning timbers on her head and back.  Eyes are still swollen almost completely shut.  She is able to see enough to get around easily.  Her breathing is normal, she is chewing cud and has a good appetite.  I called the vet and she said to monitor her and let her know if anything changes.  I am giving her calcium, vit. B, and probiotics.  I'll be getting some Vetericyn for her eyes and Aloe Vera for her singed fur and face.  Thank you to everyone for your kind words, encouragement, and donations to the Go-Fund-Me page.  I couldn't do it without you!

Prayer requests:
-Belle is six weeks pregnant and I am praying her babies will be fine and make it full term.  As well as Belle making a full recovery.

-The guy from the insurance is coming out.  The structure should be covered, but we are not sure what they will say about the goats.  All but two were registered and I have papers as proof as well as pictures taken before.  Praying that goes well.

Praises/Things To Be Thankful For:
-I'm doing okay.  Counting my blessings and somehow, the tragedy seems a little smaller.  I have seven girls left (not counting Allie's girls and Belle) and my bucks.  

-The hay stack was 20' away from the barn and all hay is fine (8 tons).  The trees right behind the barn smoldered and lost their needles, but didn't burn.  

-I only lost the one barn and the goats in it (my pregnant top milkers), but no one else.

For those of you who know my herd, some of the girls lost were; Gilly (herd queen), Brigitta (number two in the herd), Ailis (Brigitta's daughter and my favorite in the barn), Sabine (the first black kid on the farm and the one I nursed back to health after she severed her growth plate), Ivy (my best packer doe, and the highest butterfat producer), and Noni (my 3 Gun granddaughter).  These are not all that were in there, but some of my favorites...

[Nanno]

My goodness. This is so heartbreaking. Keeping hanging in there. It take courage and strong character to be able to focus on blessings like Belle, and the surviving yearlings and bucks, and the hay that was not lost. I hope your insurance company does right by you.

I'm so glad Belle looks ok. The sooner you can get the aloe on her the better. I had a goat burn his face in a campfire last fall and we used a cooling aloe vera gel made for sunburns. He loved it when I smeared that on his raw spots. Expect the burns to look a lot worse before they get better. Our goat didn't look too bad for a couple of days and then suddenly all the skin began to crack and peel away, leaving a lot of very painful exposed flesh and scabs. He went off his feed for several days because it hurt to move his lips. I also had to "decrust" his nose every morning because there was a lot of mucous coming down his burnt nasal passages, and the scabs were catching it so it couldn't run out like it should. Belle's eyelids may really crust up during the next week as well. I'm glad she's only six weeks pregnant. Here's hoping her kids will be fine.

We'll certainly keep you in our prayers as you get through this difficult time. Thank you for keeping us posted.

[ledel]

Oh my gosh I cant believe that please continue to update us and let us know if there's anything we can do. I'm glad you didn't lose your entire herd and am glad you did have a baby who survived. Best wishes to you and hope everything will turn out well. 

[Dave-Trinity-Farms]

The strength of your character is amazing. To be able to count your blessing speaks volumes. Will say a prayer for you and your goaties.

[MosesBrowning]

This is just awful. I'm so very sorry for your loss. Praying for you & for your remaining goats.

[GPW]

What a tragedy to loss so many great animals, I am truly sorry for your loss.

Its scary to think about if this happened in july or august what could have happened.

[Onion-Creek-Oberhaslis]

Oh my gosh I cant believe that please continue to update us and let us know if there's anything we can do. I'm glad you didn't lose your entire herd and am glad you did have a baby who survived. Best wishes to you and hope everything will turn out well. 

Thank you!  The baby died crossing the roof.  He must have been following the one doe that made it out.

The strength of your character is amazing. To be able to count your blessing speaks volumes. Will say a prayer for you and your goaties.

Thank you Dave!  

What a tragedy to loss so many great animals, I am truly sorry for your loss.

Its scary to think about if this happened in july or august what could have happened.

Thank you!  The Fire Chief said the same thing!  We could have lost soooo much more!

[Onion-Creek-Oberhaslis]

My goodness. This is so heartbreaking. Keeping hanging in there. It take courage and strong character to be able to focus on blessings like Belle, and the surviving yearlings and bucks, and the hay that was not lost. I hope your insurance company does right by you.  

I'm so glad Belle looks ok. The sooner you can get the aloe on her the better. I had a goat burn his face in a campfire last fall and we used a cooling aloe vera gel made for sunburns. He loved it when I smeared that on his raw spots. Expect the burns to look a lot worse before they get better. Our goat didn't look too bad for a couple of days and then suddenly all the skin began to crack and peel away, leaving a lot of very painful exposed flesh and scabs. He went off his feed for several days because it hurt to move his lips. I also had to "decrust" his nose every morning because there was a lot of mucous coming down his burnt nasal passages, and the scabs were catching it so it couldn't run out like it should. Belle's eyelids may really crust up during the next week as well. I'm glad she's only six weeks pregnant. Here's hoping her kids will be fine.

We'll certainly keep you in our prayers as you get through this difficult time. Thank you for keeping us posted.

Thank you Nano!
Update on Miss Belle:
The swelling is going down on her face.  One eye is able to open 2/3rds of the way and the one that was swollen shut is beginning to open as well.  The charred fur on her face and back is mostly fallen off (it singed down to her undercoat, but stopped there so she is not bald!).  She is in good spirits!  I am putting stuff on her for the burns and swelling.  I have her covered with a blanket at night so she doesn't get too cold.

The sad news for the packing community in particular:
Both Ivy (my incredible butterfat girl and my best packer doe) and Zarrah, as well as an up-and-coming polled packer doe were lost in the fire.  I do have Dee, Ivy's daughter from a few years ago, and two newborn doelings that show promise as producing good packing kids.  Hopefully we will be able to rebuild this part of my herd again as well.

Thank you to everybody for your continued support and prayers!

[DownUnder Gal]

Truly awful. Keep up your spirits and your positive attitude. Thank goodness Belle sounds like she will be fine.

[Nanno]

Any updates? How's Belle doing?