Busy Time

Not have had much time to blog this week, we have been very busy since my last blog (or RANT)and a lot has happened.

We have been busy head collar/Lead training the young boys from last year, especially Polo, Levi & Quartz who will be soon going off to their new home.

Their new owners are coming for a visit tonight and some training. They will be moving to their very nice new home next weekend.

We have also been busy with new arrivals, arriving at various times of the day from 7.55am in the morning to 7pm at night!!

First one of our Suri girls, Emma gave birth to a lovely fawn boy. Its was a early birth for us he arrived at 7.55am it was a classic birth and he was up and feeding very quickly. We were very pleased with his arrival as his sire was from outside our herd so this could possibily bring new blood to the girls if he carrys on how he has started, one word for him gorgeous.

Cotswold Vale Zeus

The next to give birth was Ipsy, she is our oldest girl and a bit of a grumpy old madame. She had been sitting around a lot during the day, but she had been doing this for days but she waited until 7pm to give birth, rather late for a birth!! She gave birth to a beautiful girl, the birth was fine, and the after birth followed straight after the cria, there was a lot of blood down her legs, being difficult to catch we needed to get her down to the barn to wash of the blood to stop the flys bothering her.

But she was not having any of it, it tooks us half an hour to get her down there!! we checked her teats for wax and she had plenty of milk, then washed her legs down. By this time is was after 8pm and she just wasnt interested in standing still for baby to feed, every time she found the right place ipsy would move, more interested in eating the grass in the pen, I can only assume she had been uncomfortable for a long time and was now very hungry. At nine she still wasnt letting her feed and I was getting concerned as the light was beginning to fade. So I decided to give the cria some plazma as I didnt feel she was going to get her colostrum.

We shut them in the barn and I just prayed that Ipsy would feed her, in the morning I let them out into the pen, the cria was very bright and I saw her feed a couple of time, so decided it would be safe to let them out into the field with the herd. They ran up the field to greet the rest of the herd, and she has gone from strength to strength. (again I thank goodness we are on site and were there for the birth, I'm not convinced she would have survived without our intervention.)

Cotswold Vale Amber

Then on 29th July 11 at 2.30 Beau deliver us a gorgeous little girl, I had been waiting in anticipation for this delivery. Beau had been mated with Efron our Suri Stud male and I had been hoping and praying for a little girl, well we were not disappointed, she is amazing, her coat is the colour of chestnut and I have never felt anything so soft and silky.

Although the delivery seemed to be a classic delivery, once born she really worried me, she was breathing but lay with her legs outstretched and she just shook from head to toe. She never wriggled or moved, just lay and shook!

I gave her a good rub with a towel, but still she never attempted to wriggle or sit up! I checked her temperature and it wasnt too bad at 37.6 I gave her some lamb start and I decided to carry her into the barn to get her out of the breeze and see if she warmed up a bit we would get moving.

After 45 minutes she still was still not trying to sit up, so I sat her up and surrounded her with straw to support her and keep her warm. After an hour still she just sat not moving, getting more and more concerned I called the vet, they told me I had done everything I could and if she wasn't up in half hour to try and hold her up and see if she would feed.

Half hour went by and all of a sudden she was up and moving, it was as if she had just woken up, she went from strength to strength was feeding and getting stronger on her feet, a couple of hours later I let them back out into the field and she hasn't looked back.Cotswold Vale Bella.

Cotswold Vale Bella

And finally on 5th August quite by surprise as she wasn't 335 days until the 10th Ana went into labour, I had been up the field to check on Emily who is now well over due, but she showed no sign of anything happening, so we did some more head collar training on the boys. This took about half hour, then on the way back to the mobile I noticed Ana going around in circles and there appeared to be something bulging out the back, I walked up the field and yes in deed she was in labour, within all of ten minutes she gave birth to a stunning little boy.

As yet we have not named him, but he is very strong, up and feeding within half hour and now is already running around the field with the rest of this year babies.

As yet I haven't managed to get a good picture of him yet, so this will come in a following blog.

Well that has been quite a week or more, we now have five boys and five girls born this year, and we are waiting on just two more.

Watch this space.

Ginnie