Thank you dear Gwen for waiting until after the brutal cold snap, even if it meant carrying triplets to 153 days.
The morning of her 153rd day, Gwen’s ligaments had softened and her udder was filling. She seemed pretty content to stay with the herd and eat, so I left her be for a bit and turned my attention to getting Scotchie settled in the kidding stall. By around 11, it was apparent that Scotchie was getting down to business and I didn’t want to miss Gwen kidding so I moved her into the second kidding stall. I had hoped that the company would ease Scotchie’s separation anxiety, but no such luck.
By 3pm, Gwen was clearly uncomfortable. She was up and down a lot, and trying to dig to China. I checked her but had to go in pretty deep before I encountered her cervix. It didn’t mesh with her level of discomfort. A powerful contraction suddenly pushed the kid forward, nearly into the birth canal, only to recede all the way back when the contraction ended. I recalled her last triplet delivery had been held up by a breech kid, so on a hunch, I waited until the next contraction and used my fingers to manually stretch her cervix and break her water. Sure enough, I felt a hard little butt and a tail, but no legs. I fished out first one leg, then the other and pulled out a BIG, colorful kid. IT WAS A GIRL! ON HER 5TH FRESHENING, GWEN FINALLY GAVE ME A GIRL! I was overjoyed. Given her size (6lbs, 4 oz), I prepared myself for twins instead of triplets. No way Gwen was hiding 3. Shortly thereafter, Gwen delivered an equally large (6lbs, 6oz) black and white buckling. I noticed right off the bat he was blue-eyed and polled…bonus! To be on the safe side, I bumped Gwen in case there was actually a triplet hiding away in there….and there was! Wow! However, Gwen’s contractions were petering out despite getting some Nutridrench. It was time to go fishing for kids again. I reached in deep and was able to coax forward another kid, but it was really hard to grip because the sack was still intact and super-tough. Eventually I was able to break the sack, grasp the forelegs and pull out the biggest kid yet. This stunning blue-eyed and spotted boy weighed in at 8lbs, 4oz – bigger than MY first baby! Well done Gwen! Like a pro, Gwen had these 3 up and nursing in no time. Of course I will be retaining this rare girl. I will be contacting people on our reservation list to place the boys.
