Mila kidded at 7PM on 4/4/21, 3 days past her due date and to our joy and relief, it was an uncomplicated delivery of a healthy buckling. And as quick as our joy came, it went when we realized she wanted nothing to do with this sweet little boy. Nada. Zip. She wouldn’t look at him. She wouldn’t clean him, instead was biting at his coat, his tail and his ears and head butting him away.
All of which was also preventing him from nursing and getting that vital colostrum that all newborns need, preferably within the first 1-3 hours of life. After several attempts with human intervention, us holding on to Mila and distracting her with feed, he was able to nurse for short periods. We continued this a couple more times through that night and into the next morning while also keeping them separated in between nursing by placing her in the stall next to him where they could still touch noses and lay near each other, both of which they did. And the next morning, when we reunited them for another feeding, she started to clean him, not bite him, and was much more gentle and willingly allowed him to nurse. Ahhhhhhh…..
And as if that was not enough for them both to endure, she rejected him AGAIN. AGAIN?!
So, the vet came to disbud this little buckling and had applied an antiseptic spray to the head area, and as soon as Mila got a wiff of this on him, she was back to not allowing him to nurse and head butting him away from her.
So, we did the exact same thing we did the first time, and also took warm soapy water and very gently patted the area that was sprayed in hopes of removing some of the smell and thankfully, the next day she again accepted him and continues to nurse, clean and care for him as he needs.
And we are also jazzed to share that Seren, also a first freshener, had 3 healthy kids, and with ease despite her last kid being breech. She did not miss a beat in caring for each one as they were placed in front of her to clean, was quick to allow them to nurse and she continues to display wonderful maternal instincts.
Seren and kids.
Much gratitude for the lessons we continue to learn and an abundance of joy,
sprinkled with some fatigue these days, for the opportunity to be good stewards of all
the lives that surround us here.
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