Dena’s Grand Finale.

For those of you who don’t already know, anticipating Dena’s kidding was causing me the most anxiety this kidding season. Last year, she went into labor on April 21st and labored all night long while a spring blizzard raged outside. She was cold, exhausted and miserable by the time morning rolled around and I could identify a presenting part. Unfortunately it was ears, meaning the kid was positioned very incorrectly. I called my friend Lynde at 5am and she was able to come over and help. We tried unsuccessfully to reposition the kid and called the vet. By this time, we expected the kid was dead, and Dena appeared to be nearly so. Our trusty vet, Dr Balch made her way over, but slid off the road into a snowdrift. El Paso County had not stayed on top of plowing. Lynde intrepidly went off to dig her out, while I did my best to keep Dena alive and warm. With the help of some good samaritans, Dr Balch was returned to the road and made it to my house by 9am. She had me draw up lubricant in a large syringe and infuse it into Dena’s uterus using a feeding tube. Dena’s water had broken through the night, and there was no way to maneuver the baby around. After working hard for about 20 minutes, Dr Balch was able to finally reposition and deliver a large, dead buckling. Dena was touch and go for awhile. She was so very drained that her milk never came in, and she stayed depressed for a long time. I let her grow strong again and we tried breeding one more time in January of this year. I was really hoping for twins since they tend to be smaller, but ultrasound revealed a singleton. I became really worried that we would have a repeat of last year, even though I bred her to a smaller buck this time. Dena went into labor yesterday afternoon. I notified my vet and Lynde. Around 2, I had to do a few errands and Dena was still eating and seemed comfortable for the most part. I returned home at 4, and Dena was ready to push. I checked her and felt feet (yay!), but after a few pushes I could see the feet, and they were coming out to the side. I wasn’t sure if I was seeing front feet or hind feet, so I reached in again and this time could definitely feel a nose and teeth. I put a little torque on the shoulder while Dena pushed again to rotate the kid into a better position, then pulled down hard on the legs to get the baby out. Dena had a BEAUTIFUL LIVE buckling! I am so relieved. However, given the nature of the last two deliveries and the fact that Dena is now producing large singletons, I have decided to retire her. She will be available as a companion. I have decided to call the buckling Dena’s Grand Finale (Fin) as he is both her last kid, and the end to our kidding season. Fin has been reserved. Dena can be purchased at the pet price of $75. If you are interested, please see our Sales Policy.

Fin