Bella kidded on Saturday, two healthy strong kids.
I don't know where my head was. I felt her ligaments while she was eating her morning feed and they had completely relaxed. "Oh," I said aloud, "looks like she'll be going soon. I'll have to check her later." Then I completed spaced it out until early afternoon. Shawn and I were standing near the barn and he was chiding me because I "freak out too easily". I heard a loud bawl, and took off running toward the barn. "See?" he exclaimed, "there you go again!". I hollered back over my shoulder, "No, I'm not! I have a doe ready to kid and I think she just dropped the first one!"
There in the middle of the communal stall (instead of the nice, clean stall I'd prepared), was a wet, gooey baby. I ran in, grabbed the kid, and called to Shawn, "I'll be right back!" Into the house I sprinted, grabbed a towel, and went back outside. There I laid the kid in the sunny grass and toweled him (for it was a buck) dry, vigorously rubbing, and clearing his nose and mouth of any fluids. I made note of the time and estimated that the kid had been born at 1:10. I picked him up and carried him in to my mother, who continued toweling him down while I trotted off to the barn.
I got there just in time to see the second kid being born, completely enclosed in the sack; the water hadn't even broken. Before Bella gave the final thrust, I broke the sack and water gushed out. Thank goodness! Now that baby could start breathing, and none too soon! A moment later she was on the ground, and I grabbed her and took her away, leaving Bella bemused.
The biggest problem I have with CAE positive does is that I have to remove the kids or chances are they'll contract the disease. These two kids are not going to have CAE, because they'll never consume infected colostrum or milk, but does love their kids, and it's hard to take them away.
Bella was fine the first day, gave 6 cups of colostrum, which I heat treated to kill the virus, but the next day, the bawling began. I gave her Ignatia, a homeopathic remedy that's very good for grief, but she still bawled herself hoarse. By the end of the day, she sounded like one of my neighbor's cows. Today she's better, but still blubbering a bit. Though she never really saw and bonded with those kids, at some level she still knows they're missing.
I don't know where my head was. I felt her ligaments while she was eating her morning feed and they had completely relaxed. "Oh," I said aloud, "looks like she'll be going soon. I'll have to check her later." Then I completed spaced it out until early afternoon. Shawn and I were standing near the barn and he was chiding me because I "freak out too easily". I heard a loud bawl, and took off running toward the barn. "See?" he exclaimed, "there you go again!". I hollered back over my shoulder, "No, I'm not! I have a doe ready to kid and I think she just dropped the first one!"
There in the middle of the communal stall (instead of the nice, clean stall I'd prepared), was a wet, gooey baby. I ran in, grabbed the kid, and called to Shawn, "I'll be right back!" Into the house I sprinted, grabbed a towel, and went back outside. There I laid the kid in the sunny grass and toweled him (for it was a buck) dry, vigorously rubbing, and clearing his nose and mouth of any fluids. I made note of the time and estimated that the kid had been born at 1:10. I picked him up and carried him in to my mother, who continued toweling him down while I trotted off to the barn.
I got there just in time to see the second kid being born, completely enclosed in the sack; the water hadn't even broken. Before Bella gave the final thrust, I broke the sack and water gushed out. Thank goodness! Now that baby could start breathing, and none too soon! A moment later she was on the ground, and I grabbed her and took her away, leaving Bella bemused.
The biggest problem I have with CAE positive does is that I have to remove the kids or chances are they'll contract the disease. These two kids are not going to have CAE, because they'll never consume infected colostrum or milk, but does love their kids, and it's hard to take them away.
Bella was fine the first day, gave 6 cups of colostrum, which I heat treated to kill the virus, but the next day, the bawling began. I gave her Ignatia, a homeopathic remedy that's very good for grief, but she still bawled herself hoarse. By the end of the day, she sounded like one of my neighbor's cows. Today she's better, but still blubbering a bit. Though she never really saw and bonded with those kids, at some level she still knows they're missing.
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