Well, we are still recovering from it, but I guess we're ready to blog about it now. On Monday, September 21, we woke up to the sound of our goats crying and then discovered about 6 feet of water in our barnyard. This presented quite a dilemma as to what to do. Eventually, Jeff swam into the flood waters and pulled out 4 of the 5 goats - luckily, there was no current in the water. Lily had somehow gotten over the fence and was tangled up in some privet, and Arthur somehow got into a rabbit cage. Hoppy and her kid, French Fry, were still in the barn, keeping their heads above water by standing with their front legs on the wire fence divider in the barn. Puck was eventually found dead in the rabbit cage next to where Arthur had been, once the flood waters receded. The 2 guineas managed to float inside their rabbit cage on a piece of wood. Jeff freed them from the cage and then set them on the roof of the chicken house. Inside the chicken house, the water level was just above the height of the roosts. Jeff constructed a little raft with which he brought out a few chickens at a time. All but 3 of the adult chickens had been able to make it to the higher places in the chicken house.
Unfortunately, all the 1-2 month old
Welsummer chicks drowned. So sad!! Nell, the surrogate mom to 7 of the chicks, went down with her babies. She was such a good mom! It was a very traumatic day. After saving the animals that were still alive, we found alternate housing for the survivors. Ironically, French Fry had been scheduled for the slaughter house that day. So he survived the flood only to go to the slaughter house, but at least we didn't have to worry about where to put him. The next day, we buried the dead, and now we are still working on the clean up. One section of fence needs fixing, and there is some mold in the goat barn. Jeff sprayed the floors and walls of 3 structures in the barn yard with a bleach solution already. The smelly job of removing the bedding from the structures was completed with the big help of some friends (thanks Scott and Sara). Hopefully, we can get the chickens back to their home this weekend. One thing is for sure, though: Jeff and I will never house animals in a flood plane again.
Well, we are still recovering from it, but I guess we're ready to blog about it now. On Monday, September 21, we woke up to the sound of our goats crying and then discovered about 6 feet of water in our barnyard. This presented quite a dilemma as to what to do. Eventually, Jeff swam into the flood waters and pulled out 4 of the 5 goats - luckily, there was no current in the water. Lily had somehow gotten over the fence and was tangled up in some privet, and Arthur somehow got into a rabbit cage. Hoppy and her kid, French Fry, were still in the barn, keeping their heads above water by standing with their front legs on the wire fence divider in the barn. Puck was eventually found dead in the rabbit cage next to where Arthur had been, once the flood waters receded. The 2 guineas managed to float inside their rabbit cage on a piece of wood. Jeff freed them from the cage and then set them on the roof of the chicken house. Inside the chicken house, the water level was just above the height of the roosts. Jeff constructed a little raft with which he brought out a few chickens at a time. All but 3 of the adult chickens had been able to make it to the higher places in the chicken house. Unfortunately, all the 1-2 month old 
Welsummer chicks drowned. So sad!! Nell, the surrogate mom to 7 of the chicks, went down with her babies. She was such a good mom! It was a very traumatic day. After saving the animals that were still alive, we found alternate housing for the survivors. Ironically, French Fry had been scheduled for the slaughter house that day. So he survived the flood only to go to the slaughter house, but at least we didn't have to worry about where to put him. The next day, we buried the dead, and now we are still working on the clean up. One section of fence needs fixing, and there is some mold in the goat barn. Jeff sprayed the floors and walls of 3 structures in the barn yard with a bleach solution already. The smelly job of removing the bedding from the structures was completed with the big help of some friends (thanks Scott and Sara). Hopefully, we can get the chickens back to their home this weekend. One thing is for sure, though: Jeff and I will never house animals in a flood plane again.
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2 comments:
jesus! I knew y'all got hit by some flooding, but did not realize it was to this extent! I'm sorry to hear about all of the losses on that day, but am glad that things are getting back to normal now.
Thanks for the post! It helped understand better what we had already heard. Glad things are getting better. You all have worked very hard, just like you always do.
Love! Love! Love you both!
momD
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