Post by lorelei0922 on Jul 10, 2013 4:18:02 GMT -5
This is Sweetpea. She is 4 yrs old and was born on Cam in 2009. The year of the Great Escape for those who were with us back then. She is Bella and Todka’s kit and holds the genes I originally wanted to carry on. So what’s stopped me? Lol well plain and simply… unlike her parents, grandparents, and siblings.. she don’t like to be held .. she skipped the lesson on biting is NOT how we get our own way, even though every other kit I have ever raised got that lesson down pat.. ugg lol. WE have an understanding though. I offer oil. She lets me hold her without a backward glance… hehe… She might not actually LIKE me... but She can be Bought!
www.facebook.com/photo.php?fbid=10200797349607792&l=bf61091ff9
www.facebook.com/photo.php?fbid=10200797356287959&l=c601df1786
So, after the tragedy we went through this spring, I just Needed to do something to wipe out that dirty smudge in my soul. Something to say… yes you DO know what you’re doing, No there is nothing wrong with the dad (Ciaran fathered both litters of kits who left us this spring) and yes everything will go back to how it should be!
But my confidence was certainly knocked!!! So, I kept a final late breeding to myself until I had good news to report. Sweetpea was mated to Ciaran as well (had to rest my mind on that issue) and yesterday evening, about 3 min after I had been discussing with my Husband that She would likely have them late Wednesday night or Thursday sometime (being day 42 ½ - 43 as I’m use to) Tammy, our Plummer Terrier, suddenly became very interested in the whelping pen! And then……. I heard it… a tiny little squeak! Such a good girl telling us something was up!
www.facebook.com/photo.php?fbid=10200909755137860&l=c65119d997
Sweetpea started to deliver around 5pm and by about 10pm I was pretty sure she was finished. The second kit born had a bit of trouble, I’m not sure what she thought, but she didn’t clean it up… and pushed it aside in the nest. She continued to clean and cuddle the first one she had but the second one, when I finally had to check on it, was cold, really cold, still, and had birthing fluids and gunk stuck on it. I rushed into the bathroom and got a warm bowl of water…submerged the kit to the scruff and rubbed… got the rest of the amniotic sack off and warmed it up (don’t know if it was a boy or girl) and rubbed vigorously with a towel. I quickly distracted Sweetpea with the oil bottle and plopped the now warmed up kit alongside the first one that she was taking care of and wrapped her little body around both of them.
Thankfully that’s all she needed, she happily tucked the little one in with her first and went on to deliver two more kits in the litter tray… doh! At least she realized what they were and took them back to the nest.
I was sweating it still… Last time NO kits nursed. Not at all… both jills were too worked up about Cieara going down I think. I tried to stay out of the way, out of sight because like I said earlier, Sweetpea can be a bit tetchy and doesn’t like me messing over much lol. But luckily, my Ipad, if sat flat on the top of the pen, will focus directly through the mesh and into the nest, where I can snap, snap, snap what’s going on without her seeing me or being disturbed. And then I saw it…
www.facebook.com/photo.php?fbid=10200910695841377&l=ad72266157
The kits, at least 3 of the 4 were nursing, she had just gotten settled in after number 4 and now she was allowing and the kits were pushing to nurse.. oh Hallelujah ! That just made my day right there. Sometimes you get a feeling and this was mine… whew. Past that hurdle…
www.facebook.com/photo.php?fbid=10200910709601721&l=ba4c3b5626
So I left her to it… lol mostly... I covered her box with a blanket so the dog wouldn’t peek in and bug her or worry her. After a long hard day of tennis elbow aka.. IPAD elbow bugging the heck out of me, my Hubby handed me a cocktail of pain meds and sent me to bed lol. I got up for a peek around 2 am and all was quiet except the glorious sound of suck, suck, suck as the kits nursed.
This morning I got Sweetpea out her morning mice ( hehe usually only gets on but hey she deserves two today!) and did what I needed to do with the kits. Grabbed some weights quickly so I have a benchmark to be sure they are thriving. And sexed them.. lol I THINK! We have 3 boys and a girl, all have darkly smudged noses, at least T’s if not a bit darker.
None will be Sandy like mom. This is what I expected… if I end up with Sandies, I would believe I was lied to about Ciaran’s line, because he shouldn’t hold his side of a pair of sandies to produce that color… I think that’s how that works lol All have dark smudges around their eyes too. Weights… the little jill weighs a respectable 10 grams and the boys 12-13… perfect. Nice rounded tummies and very dark little bodies. Much darker than a sandy or regular sable litter will be, but dad is 100% EU and very very dark.
I put Sweetpea back and she quickly tucked them all together and settled down to nurse immediately…
www.facebook.com/photo.php?fbid=10200913271945778&l=752b0f8132
and finally when I heard her get up for a wee and a nibble of mouse I snapped this last close up pic of the kits and covered them all back over for the day to rest and bond.
www.facebook.com/photo.php?fbid=10200913265065606&l=619d49aeea
So… here we go again! Provided they continue as they should…. And they WILL!!!!! I’ll hook the cam back up in a day or so. The little jill is already spoken for and will go to a lovely lady in Denmark. She would like to follow and watch her baby and I’m sure lots would enjoy the camaraderie of the cam and chat with much happier things to discuss than last time!
www.facebook.com/photo.php?fbid=10200797349607792&l=bf61091ff9
www.facebook.com/photo.php?fbid=10200797356287959&l=c601df1786
So, after the tragedy we went through this spring, I just Needed to do something to wipe out that dirty smudge in my soul. Something to say… yes you DO know what you’re doing, No there is nothing wrong with the dad (Ciaran fathered both litters of kits who left us this spring) and yes everything will go back to how it should be!
But my confidence was certainly knocked!!! So, I kept a final late breeding to myself until I had good news to report. Sweetpea was mated to Ciaran as well (had to rest my mind on that issue) and yesterday evening, about 3 min after I had been discussing with my Husband that She would likely have them late Wednesday night or Thursday sometime (being day 42 ½ - 43 as I’m use to) Tammy, our Plummer Terrier, suddenly became very interested in the whelping pen! And then……. I heard it… a tiny little squeak! Such a good girl telling us something was up!
www.facebook.com/photo.php?fbid=10200909755137860&l=c65119d997
Sweetpea started to deliver around 5pm and by about 10pm I was pretty sure she was finished. The second kit born had a bit of trouble, I’m not sure what she thought, but she didn’t clean it up… and pushed it aside in the nest. She continued to clean and cuddle the first one she had but the second one, when I finally had to check on it, was cold, really cold, still, and had birthing fluids and gunk stuck on it. I rushed into the bathroom and got a warm bowl of water…submerged the kit to the scruff and rubbed… got the rest of the amniotic sack off and warmed it up (don’t know if it was a boy or girl) and rubbed vigorously with a towel. I quickly distracted Sweetpea with the oil bottle and plopped the now warmed up kit alongside the first one that she was taking care of and wrapped her little body around both of them.
Thankfully that’s all she needed, she happily tucked the little one in with her first and went on to deliver two more kits in the litter tray… doh! At least she realized what they were and took them back to the nest.
I was sweating it still… Last time NO kits nursed. Not at all… both jills were too worked up about Cieara going down I think. I tried to stay out of the way, out of sight because like I said earlier, Sweetpea can be a bit tetchy and doesn’t like me messing over much lol. But luckily, my Ipad, if sat flat on the top of the pen, will focus directly through the mesh and into the nest, where I can snap, snap, snap what’s going on without her seeing me or being disturbed. And then I saw it…
www.facebook.com/photo.php?fbid=10200910695841377&l=ad72266157
The kits, at least 3 of the 4 were nursing, she had just gotten settled in after number 4 and now she was allowing and the kits were pushing to nurse.. oh Hallelujah ! That just made my day right there. Sometimes you get a feeling and this was mine… whew. Past that hurdle…
www.facebook.com/photo.php?fbid=10200910709601721&l=ba4c3b5626
So I left her to it… lol mostly... I covered her box with a blanket so the dog wouldn’t peek in and bug her or worry her. After a long hard day of tennis elbow aka.. IPAD elbow bugging the heck out of me, my Hubby handed me a cocktail of pain meds and sent me to bed lol. I got up for a peek around 2 am and all was quiet except the glorious sound of suck, suck, suck as the kits nursed.
This morning I got Sweetpea out her morning mice ( hehe usually only gets on but hey she deserves two today!) and did what I needed to do with the kits. Grabbed some weights quickly so I have a benchmark to be sure they are thriving. And sexed them.. lol I THINK! We have 3 boys and a girl, all have darkly smudged noses, at least T’s if not a bit darker.
None will be Sandy like mom. This is what I expected… if I end up with Sandies, I would believe I was lied to about Ciaran’s line, because he shouldn’t hold his side of a pair of sandies to produce that color… I think that’s how that works lol All have dark smudges around their eyes too. Weights… the little jill weighs a respectable 10 grams and the boys 12-13… perfect. Nice rounded tummies and very dark little bodies. Much darker than a sandy or regular sable litter will be, but dad is 100% EU and very very dark.
I put Sweetpea back and she quickly tucked them all together and settled down to nurse immediately…
www.facebook.com/photo.php?fbid=10200913271945778&l=752b0f8132
and finally when I heard her get up for a wee and a nibble of mouse I snapped this last close up pic of the kits and covered them all back over for the day to rest and bond.
www.facebook.com/photo.php?fbid=10200913265065606&l=619d49aeea
So… here we go again! Provided they continue as they should…. And they WILL!!!!! I’ll hook the cam back up in a day or so. The little jill is already spoken for and will go to a lovely lady in Denmark. She would like to follow and watch her baby and I’m sure lots would enjoy the camaraderie of the cam and chat with much happier things to discuss than last time!