All three of us are going to be sore tomorrow.
When Gwennie had her ultrasound shortly after missing a heat, the vet only saw one baby. Since she usually has more, we did another ultrasound about a month later to get a good head count. Still, we only saw one kid, and the vet was pretty sure it was a boy. Singleton bucklings can be a little scary because they can get BIG, and I got more and more apprehensive as Gwen grew and grew. The baby’s sire, Hocus Pocus, had been in the 7lb range as a twin so I was not sure what to expect with this kidding.
Gwen is about 26.5″ tall with a wide build and healthy rumen to nourish her, so I knew her kid would probably be on the bigger end of normal. At day 145, I started watching her closely, hoping she would deliver soon. It wasn’t until the morning of day 150 that her udder filled and she lost her ligaments. She had a pretty normal labor, and I noticed she was grunting at about 4:20 in the afternoon. I did a check and found a good-sized hoof not too far back. After a few more pushes, both front hooves were getting closer, but then she stalled. I checked again, and the kid’s big noggin kept getting hung up pushed back as the feet were coming forward. I used one hand to pull his head down and forward while pulling on his front feet. Once his head was engaged, I pulled hard on both front feet through a couple more contractions, and we got him out. At 8lbs, I think he’s the biggest live kid I’ve delivered. Despite his tough delivery, he was up and eating quickly. He is a beautiful brown buckling with frosted ears and nose and moonspots. He already has remarkable width to his face which foretells a nice, wide body. He will inherit a *B courtesy of his dam and paternal grand-dam, and is reserved by a local breeder. Over the next month, we expect several more half-brothers and sisters – luckily they are all twins!
