Last year, once we had confirmed the pregnant females by scanning, we realised that two females were due to birth on the weekend of our son Ross' wedding. So it was the day before the wedding, I noticed that Blossom was sitting away from the rest of the herd, and had begun to look 'thoughtful'. We had arranged for a friend to call in every couple of hours on the day of the wedding, as the venue was half-an-hour away, and I checked my 'phone regularly all day - the wedding went well, and with a houseful of relatives for several days, all were hoping to witness a birth during their stay - Blossom had other ideas - she stayed 'distant' until all the guests had left on tuesday, and I returned to work on wednesday, but was polite enough to give birth at lunchtine, so I could pop home for an hour and see that all was well.
|
Looking for milk before the placenta has passed; |
Most importantly, she delivered a light fawn female, 8.4kg. She was up in 5 minutes, walking within 10 minutes, looking for milk before the placenta was delivered, and sits her driving test on Monday!
|
The females form a protective corden around the cria. |
After 24hours we noticed that Blossom's rear teats were swollen, and Alice had lost more weight than is usual in the first day, so I milked off those teats, to reduce their size, and again the following day - the teats have now reduced to a consistant size, and she has gained a good increase in weight each day, and I have added the skill of milk-maid to my CV!
Regular readers will know that we name our herd after apple varieties, and this year we have reached 'L', hence Lady Alice.
Sire: CME Florestan - Dam: Reddingvale Valentina (Blossom of Apple Vale).