Chat
05-10-2017, 08:48 PM
Jezebel is indeed exhausted! Poor mama. The first kid had one leg back and it wasn't coming forward. That's not a big deal in a roomy doe, but Jezebel is anything but roomy. She and Delilah were both stunted when we bought them, so Jezebel does much better with a small kid and a normal presentation. That first kid was HUGE for her! He's a buckling and his big ol' head was stuck in the canal. I couldn't bring that other foot around so I went ahead and pulled him without it. I was having a hard time even figuring out which leg I had and which one was back. Clearly I need more practice at this!
The second kid is a doe and she's normal size. She came shooting out all at once easy-peasy and I thought, "Oh good, this one won't need any help." But then I saw that it was only a head and no feet at all. Well, that's not gonna work. The head was way too far out to push back in very much (the neck just telescopes), and it was a little hard to find a foot with the head flopping around in my way and Jezebel pushing against me. But I did eventually manage it. It's comforting to feel the kid move and know that you still have some time. Both these kids were quite lively in the birth canal (poor Mama), but I could tell they were both tired once they came out. There was no poo in the sacs, so I guess it wasn't as traumatic for them as it was for everyone else.
Anyway, Jezebel is slowly recovering. I gave her a dose of CMPK and vitamin fortified probiotic paste. I'm starting her on a course of penicillin since I had to go in so far. Also, she had a slight fever (103.3*) a couple of hours after the birth which makes me suspicious. I gave her some banamine for the fever and pain, and also a shot of vitamin B complex (that one hurt, poor baby). She was hungry for the alfalfa pellets I offered her. Hopefully she'll be cheery in the morning. Both kids got a good drink and hopefully all will rest well tonight.
I think we may need to build an ark. It's been raining all evening and the pens look more like lakes. I have the shelters up on high spots, and normal rain doesn't go under them. There are little moats around them. But now the moats have overflowed and there's water running under every shed. There's nothing I can do about it except throw down more bedding and hope the top layer stays dry. Delilah's babies should be fine. They're strong and lively. But Jezebel's kids are still not completely dry (it doesn't help that she keeps licking them). I hope they can dry out. I covered them with straw for a little while because they were shivering. I think it helped. They are both strong and suckling well, so that should help also. I'll be stripping all the sheds tomorrow. My bedding bill is going to hurt this month! We've had a lot of water lately.
The second kid is a doe and she's normal size. She came shooting out all at once easy-peasy and I thought, "Oh good, this one won't need any help." But then I saw that it was only a head and no feet at all. Well, that's not gonna work. The head was way too far out to push back in very much (the neck just telescopes), and it was a little hard to find a foot with the head flopping around in my way and Jezebel pushing against me. But I did eventually manage it. It's comforting to feel the kid move and know that you still have some time. Both these kids were quite lively in the birth canal (poor Mama), but I could tell they were both tired once they came out. There was no poo in the sacs, so I guess it wasn't as traumatic for them as it was for everyone else.
Anyway, Jezebel is slowly recovering. I gave her a dose of CMPK and vitamin fortified probiotic paste. I'm starting her on a course of penicillin since I had to go in so far. Also, she had a slight fever (103.3*) a couple of hours after the birth which makes me suspicious. I gave her some banamine for the fever and pain, and also a shot of vitamin B complex (that one hurt, poor baby). She was hungry for the alfalfa pellets I offered her. Hopefully she'll be cheery in the morning. Both kids got a good drink and hopefully all will rest well tonight.
I think we may need to build an ark. It's been raining all evening and the pens look more like lakes. I have the shelters up on high spots, and normal rain doesn't go under them. There are little moats around them. But now the moats have overflowed and there's water running under every shed. There's nothing I can do about it except throw down more bedding and hope the top layer stays dry. Delilah's babies should be fine. They're strong and lively. But Jezebel's kids are still not completely dry (it doesn't help that she keeps licking them). I hope they can dry out. I covered them with straw for a little while because they were shivering. I think it helped. They are both strong and suckling well, so that should help also. I'll be stripping all the sheds tomorrow. My bedding bill is going to hurt this month! We've had a lot of water lately.