New Kids on the Block




Lilo's buckling "Max" and doeling "Stitch."

 

Well, Lilo finally had her babies.  I was sure it would happen last night, so I was up every couple of hours checking on her.  I finally gave up about 6am and just got up.  She was having contractions but I didn't see anything that looked like an impending delivery (i.e. no discharge, no squatting).  So about nine I decided I could take a couple of minutes and run to the store for donuts.  I asked J to keep an eye on her.  20 minutes later I return.  She has already had the first kid (it's almost dry) and the second one is slipping out as I walk up.  Darn it.

I yelled for someone to help, but apparently nobody heard me.  Finally, Butch heard me and yelled at the guys in the house.  The kids and J came out to help then.  I didn't want to leave Lilo until I was sure someone was there.

Both babies are doing fine.  The first was a boy and the second was a girl.  I wasn't sure if there might be a third - Lilo was still contracting a lot - but it was just the afterbirth.  I dried the babies off, dipped their umbilical cords in iodine, and gave them back to mommy.  She kept pawing the ground - knocking the kids around while she did it.  I'm not sure that she was up to, but she seemed to want to move them.  Eventually she stopped.  We worked on getting the kids to suckle...something that they would eventually do on their own, but I wanted to make sure she got them to do within the first hour.  I milked her a little to get the colostrum plugs to open up.  Once the milk was flowing it was easier to get the babies on her, although they had a hard time staying on for more than a few seconds.

We plan to keep the doeling for another breeder, and sell the buckling.  The doeling's name was decided before she arrived - Stitch.  We still don't have a name for the boy.  I'm hoping we can find someone who would like to keep him as a pet, but in the end, he's a butcher baby so it's better to stay unattached.

J put up a few extra boards around the shelter to help with wind protection.  Tumbleweed helped by stealing screws out of the bucket and running away.  She needed attention too.  I gave Lilo some warm molasses water for a treat.  The babies snuggled down and I went inside to clean up a bit.  Lilo delivered (and ate) the afterbirth.  It was gross but I saw no reason to take it away from her as it's a natural protein source for her.

I'm not sure if we need to bring the babies inside or not tonight.  It's pretty chilly outside, but I want Lilo to bond with her babies.  We'll check on them in a little bit, for now, I'm letting them all take a nap.  Maybe I will too.