Crias Galore!

What a busy Jubilee weekend we are having...no street parties for us as we have been too busy playing midwife. On Saturday Paul was in charge whilst I was at work. We had had a good look at the udders whilst shearing on Thursday; so he was left with advice as to who was most likely to birth. Sophia was not bagged up at all...and caught Paul out when she decided to go for it.

Pregnant to the the Futurity Champion Herdsire 2012; EPC Top Account of Fowberry, we have been excited to see what Sophia was going to produce. Well she didn't disappoint...we have a beautiful, healthy, light fawn female weighing in at 8 kgs. We (that is I) have named her Beck Brow Lula.

Beck Brow Lula

 Things haven't gone so smoothly today. Bahati gave birth to a very weak cria at 9am this morning. Hypothermic, and I assume hypoglycaemic, the cria was unable to even lift its head. We have a gorgeous golden female (sire; Waradene St Patrick of EPC) but we really are struggling to keep her alive. She is showing all the signs of a dysmature cria ( this is Bahati's fourth cria...all females...and taking her average gestations she was due last Monday). She cannot stand and cannot lift her head without assistance.

Her temperature was unrecordable, but with the help of a hairdryer and heat lamps it is up to 37 degrees (still lower than normal but acceptable). We called the vet with a plan to give her intravenous glucose, but as always happens, by the time the vet arrived we had managed to warm her enough to get some colostrum into her. Her suckling reflex is weak but she is swallowing and we have managed to get 260 mls of colostrum into her within seven hours. She has also had probiotics, vitamins, selenium and injectable vitamin B1.

And if that wasn't keeping us busy enough, Katkin (who is still on livery and is owned by High Winder Alpacas) decided to birth 15 minutes after Bahati. She has a lovely fawn St Patrick boy. Who thankfully was quickly up on his feet and suckling

Katkin with her as yet unnamed son.

We are going to have a sleepless night no doubt, as we will be on duty in the barn. I am stewarding at Northumberland County Show tomorrow, so hopefully Paul will not have such a traumatic day as today. I will have to hand back Explorer's Supreme Championship Cup...I am sure that I will regret not taking him to defend it...especially as getting his fleece off (or seeing them naked) hasn't done anything to improve his interest in the girls!