About Christine
Home is Spring City, Tennessee – it’s where we find our small piece of paradise. Married to Scott since ‘99 and ‘07 (love each other so much we did it twice!), we share our home with a German Shepard, 1 Chihuahua, a wiener dog on steroids, a mixed Min Pin, 2 Fila Brazilieros, and 2 Siamese cats.
I was born and raised in French Quebec and established myself in the U.S., in 1998. Scott originates from Michigan but has lived in many other areas.
We both have adult children. Scott has 2 boys and 2 girls and between the boys we have 5 grand-children.
In the summer of ‘07, my daughter married the best son-in-law any mom would ever desire for her daughter and thankfully we were able to attend their wedding in Ottawa, Canada. She has just obtained her nursing degree. I’m so looking forward for my daughter to have children of her own so that I can spoil them silly!
My passion for my critters pales in comparison to my husband’s for technology. He’s the tech guy! Look for him at any one of his two blogs. He knows more about technology than anyone I know – he’s so on top of all of this stuff. More important about him is his love for God and his strive to always do His will. I didn’t know anything about faith before I met Scott. His most precious gift to me was bringing the Lord in my life.
As members of St Mary Church we strive to live as our Catholic faith teaches with acts of love and charity and we hope and pray to have many, many more years together and to be able to continue to share the blessings we have.
Scott & I are volunteer members of the SCAN program (Senior Citizens Awareness Network), organized by the Rhea County Sheriff’s department. Twice a month we visit our senior citizen friends and make sure everything’s all right.
It’s not how many blessings you have that counts, it’s what you do with them.
Entries (RSS)
Dear Christine-
I found my way here by way of Twitter! Somebody I follow replied to something you posted…you know how it goes, right?!
Well, after reading a couple of your tweets (I retweeted your quote about Brain cells come and go. Fat cells stick around forever, I thought it was so funny) & then checking out your blog (LOVE the video of Gonzo!-our senses of humor are very similar), I just had to write to say thanks for putting a smile on my face today.
See, I lost my mom last spring. She was 88 and had Alzheimer’s and a wonderful life, but the grief catches me at the strangest times and in the strangest ways. Last night I was frickin’ asking for it when I decided to watch a totally sappy made for TV drama about a daughter healing her relationship with her mom, who, unbeknownst to the daughter, was experiencing early-stage Alzheimer’s. The whole story took place during the Thanksgiving holiday. Talk about Water Works! I don’t think I’ll be watching anything like that again any time soon.
Anyways, as I’m coming up on my first Thanksgiving without mom OR dad (he passed in 2004), it was nice to get a chuckle from your regular, day-in-the-life stories. You and your husband and critters clearly share something very special. Thanks for sharing.
God bless,
Phoebe
Hi! i was at the Christmas Parade in Dayton today with my husband and daughter (who was dressed in a Santa Dress). I just wanted to let you know that I took several pictures and if you would like me to e-mail them to you or anything, just let me know and I’d be happy to send them to you =]
hope I am posting correctly. I had a pygora kid that died from Coccidia. The breeder is going to replace him, but I am nervous that this will catch it too. How do I clean up the yard to be sure it is safe? I am very anal about my goats. They are pets only all bottle fed. The greenest hay they can get. I have never dealt with this before so any help appreciated.
Thanks so much.
email me directly at rottilover19691@yahoo.com
Christa, here’s an excellent article on Coccidia – I feed my goats medicated goat feed which helps to a certain degree. As you’ll read in the article, you can never eliminate this parasite totally – don’t be overwhelmed by all the information & details. Just keep a clean barn & feeding/drinking utensils & you’ll be fine.
Hi Christine, This is Liz with the Spring City Parks and Recreation commission.. Forgive me but I have misplaced your Number and need you to give me a call about the July4th celebration. If you will email me at the email address given I will send you my Phone number.Thank you for your time. Liz
Hi Liz… I believe my husband sent you my number but here it is again.. 423 413 4088
Hi Christine. I was looking for health information on cocciditis and my search popped up your website. I have a couple of female Pygmy goats that have had a persistent dry cough with just a very small runny nose for about a month. I have wormed them with Ivomec and later with Valbazen. I also brought one of them to the vet and he gave her 2 injections. One an antibiotic and the other a steroid. He noted her coat was shiny and, judging by her objection to the shots, she was very strong. Appetites of both goats remains strong. He felt like she was just having allergy problems
I am concerned because the shots and worming treatments have had no effect on the coughing. I was thinking that you may have been through something similar with your goats. If nothing sounds familiar to you I will probably bring them to a highly regarded veterinarian about 70 miles from where I live. After reading your suggested article on coccidia I think that is not the problem.
BTW, Christine, I realized after reading on your website that you own a camel named Boris. I have a Bactrian named Samson and we have met on the CamelPhotos forum. It is nice to talk with you again. You’ve got a great website.
Doug
Hi Doug!
I thought many of my goats had lungworm & I treated them with Ivermectin but the problem persisted. Then I noticed it was worse when they were eating hay out of the trough that was above their heads. I now feed them their hay from the ground (a little messy but what can you do?)… and the coughing and sneezing has stopped.. almost. Note that goats also sneeze to warn their buddies to “get out my way” or “I’m the boss here” so a little of it is normal. How I look at it with my herd is that being on a regular worming schedule prevents heavy infestation and they’re all healthy, shinny coats, hefty appetite… all must be well! However, if you still feel there’s something more, here’s an excellent article on lungworms.
I do have one goat that has snotty clear discharge & has been for a while. Last week I gave her 3CC of PenC and she’s okay as of today. You have to go easy on the PenC because it messes up their rumen.
As for Boris, we sold him to the fellow at Camel Boot Camp (that’s just what I call it!). Scott Allen is a real Camel Whisperer! Boris is much happier there – he’s got a dozen Camel buddies & he works for a living now!
Thanks for the compliments & good luck with your goats!
Christine
PS Do you feed medicated goat pellets? That also helps prevent coccidiosis – I mix 50/50 sweet feed & medicated pellets once daily.
Hey–I just wanted to tell you how excited I am and my son that you will have your petting zoo at the park on July 3. I especially LOVE Dr. Suess. He is the cutest, lovable silkie ever! We are looking to buy one and I told my husband that if I could train that little sucker–I would keep it in the house! You do a great job and hope you cotinue to bring smiles to little and big folks faces!
Hi Morgan! Thank you for the words of encouragement! It makes it all worthwhile! The lady that I got Dr Seuss from has 3 white ones that she’s looking for homes for. She’s a ways away (Dandridge) – just thought I’d let you know. Please point yourself out to me today at the park!
Christine
I adore your site a lot. Will bookmark. Keep up to great posting on it. ty
Thank you!
Christine, love your web site
I am e-mailing you for some information about my pigmy goat Nanette. My vet doesn’t seem to know a whole lot about goats so I figured who better to ask than the Crazy goat lady.
Four weeks ago Nanette gave birth to three little kids, all were fully developed however all were dead at birth. The first one was born in a sak but was dead and the other two were born dry no saks. Pryor to giving birth to the last two Nanette had been discharging what looked like the baby’s sak. This has been very upsetting for me, Nanette is my little girl and it was so terrible to see her go through this ordeal. After all was over she would not leave my side and she talked for day’s, I assumed she was looking for her baby’s and that was the hardest part. What can I do in the future to avoid this situation, I plan on breeding her again but not until the end of this year. Her feed is alphalfa, goat cookies and Omolene grain.
Could you give some advice?
Thank you for listening
Debbie
Aw Debbie, that is so sad… It reminds me of Blackie a few years ago that had triplets but they all rolled down the hill right after birth & I found them the next day, of course all had drowned. This was an accident & something I could have prevented if I had locked her up (as I did with the others). In your case, it’s different. This was not your fault. Nature has a way of taking care of its own… although totally formed, these little ones may have been premature. Maybe Nanette was too young to breed – I don’t breed them until they’re about 9 – 10 months old, that way they’re about 15 to 16 months (mature) by the time they kid. Depending on the breed, some people may wait until they’re 18 months old.
As for the discharge, that is totally normal. Unless Nanette shows other symptoms such as diarrhea, listlessness or lack of appetite, what she is going through is normal.
Sounds like your feeding her right – does the Omolene include Monensin for the prevention of Coccidiosis? Is she on a regular worming schedule? This is EXTREMELY important.
I’d give her at least 3 months rest before breeding again & if you live in a part of the country where winter is harsh, make sure her birthing date is way before the cold sets in. If she is an “only” goat, she will do better if she has company. You may want to get another nanny or a friendly little whether.
Hope this helps, stay in touch!
Christine
christine i had the goat with the rectum problem when she would have a bowel movement her rectum would come out and go back in. Called the vet they said if it stayed out they could put it back in and stitch it up. She had two kids on Feb 12 we were not there when she had them. They are fine she is fine and the rectum has returned to normal. Thank God Just wanted you to know things are great.
Hi,
I have a small herd of 16 differing beeds of goats. A couple of them have minor signs of pinkeye for which I have been treating with “nfz?” powder. It seems to be doing the trick. Anyway I was doctoring my little lamancha doe all up close and personal and she granted me with a big juicey sneeze… right in my eye. Is the pinkeye transmitted this way? What should I watch out for and what should I do?
Bonnie, Pinkeye can be contracted by humans however the course of the disease is different and not as serious. Please wash your hands after treating each goat as it is especially contagious among goats. Try to isolate the infected ones or you’ll soon have your entire herd affected. You can keep all the infected goats together.
As for treatment, I always use LA 200 directly in the eye (I treat both eyes, regardless). Use a syringe to pull the liquid from the bottle & leave the needle in the bottle. Then squirt the medicine directly in their eye. To be effective the treatment should last 5 days/twice daily. I use baby wipes to clean each eye at least twice daily & use a new wipe each time. Keep the goats isolated from the others for at least 10 days. Some use LA 200 sub-cutaneous but I really hate going that route. Pinkeye is a nasty thing to deal with but as long as you’re treating your goats, the disease will simply run it’s course. The hardest thing is preventing all your goats from getting it!
Good luck & keep me posted!