A SPOTTY SURPRISE


Firstly I must apologise for the lack of posts ..  It's not that I haven't had anything interesting to tell you, more that I just haven't had the chance to stop long enough, what with births, visitors, socialising, matings - that sounds bad!

It's been so Summery! Hot and sunny, day after day - what the hecks going on? Our grass has gone all yellow and crispy and stopped growing, thankfully there's loads of hay being made everywhere and I have ordered a load which I think I'm going to have to ask to be delivered soon if this weather carries on.

The pacas are loving it, all that sunbathing, hosing down and trough paddling.

So where do I start.. well Last Thursday Bonita had her cria, a white female by Snowmass Invincibly Elite - so a potentially very special one. I have called her Bling, she was sooo shiny when she was new. First off she was taking ages with her labour, and then I could see why when she only produced one of the front legs with the head ... out with the lube then and Peter held the front end whilst I did the midwifery. A big and very flat cria, obviously wasn't going to make any attempt to get up and walk, let alone feed for hours, so I defrosted the goats colostrum and fed her every hour. She finally got to her feet about mid afternoon, when it was clear that Bonita had no milk at all, never had that problem with her before, oh deep joy! I am still bottle feeding her now, after a few days of allowing me to interfere, but only in the confines of the stable yard, Bonita has turned into the witch from hell and screams, alarm calls and spits violently every time I go near the cria ...  this was prompted by me attempting to feed the cria when I was all clean and perfumed and ready to go out - she didn't recognise me!!!  I have developed a system of double doors, she exits the pen and the cria goes in the stable to be fed! Once fed I hide behind the door and they reunite!!  Today, for the first time in over a week the cria is only taking half a bottle each time - I do hope this means her milk is coming in at last.

Alton Show was a great success - loads of interest and hopefully sales for the future. Whilst we were there Yara, who we have recently sold, delivered a beautiful dark grey female by Ardingly and she is doing really well.

The early part of the week was finishing off the first round of matings with the new Snowmass boys and The Sorcerer and Eros having a go too.

The Sorcerer with Aglaia
Yesterday, three yearling boys, Cassidy, Topsey Turvey and Solstice, left to go to their new home, just down the road, it'll be lovely to have them so near to be able to see them from time to time.

This morning I had two lovely ladies come on our Beginners Course, as they came up the drive Ena, our appaloosa was unpacking her cria. Great timing and a text book birth for them to watch - we skipped the usual program and went straight onto breeding and cria care! Her cria, a boy, is a mini-me, a lovely lot of dark fawn spots and sort of pale beige, or maybe grey background I think. Up in no time and feeding on very high quality colostrum. Ena's last cria, also by Ardingly was Enigma, a solid black!

I'm now getting in a panic as its only 3 weeks until our Open Day on 4th August ... I have so much to do to be ready and no time!

Echo and Ena
Echo & Ena
Echo & Ena

Yara and Yoko

Yoko

Yoko

Bonita & Bling - this is as close as I dare go before food shopping!
Cassidy, Solstice & Topsey Turvey
All ready to go ..


2 comments:

  1. Congrats Karen. All sounds very busy which can only be good!

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  2. I'm getting similar treatment from a girl I'm having to milk at the minute. She has the opposite problem, too much milk meaning her cria can't latch on!

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