Every kidding season has a watched pot, and this year’s is Pearl. She had an early ultrasound for quads, and I’ve been watching her with trepidation all week as she grows bigger and more cumbersome each day. Last year, she kidded triplets at day 148, so I hardly expected her to carry quads longer than that. I even texted my vet 5 days ago that I was sure she would deliver in the next 24 hours after I had noticed ligament and udder changes. Nope. Well, this morning, on her 152nd day after her breeding to Sors, her udder was markedly more full with strutted teats. By 11 am, she had isolated herself from the herd (very odd, she eats constantly and typically naps in front of the hay feeder), so I moved her to her kidding stall. She protested loudly, but was uninterested in the grain I put out, so I knew I had made the right choice. I kept an eye on her throughout the day, and by about 2pm, she was definitely more uncomfortable and changing positions frequently. I had to leave at 3:15 to get my son from school, and by the time I got back at 4:00, she was drying off her first kid. I checked her to make sure the next kid was lined up correctly, and in no time, she delivered a tiny black kid followed by a large gold kid. Before we even had those two dried off, she delivered her final kid. Here’s the breakdown:
Buckling 1: 5lbs, 4oz; Black and Tan, full belt, frosted ears, white on poll
Buckling 2: 3lbs, 10oz; Black and Tan, frosted ears, white on poll
Buckling 3: 5lbs, 10oz: Gold, belt, random white, frosted ears, white on poll
Doeling: 3lbs, 14oz; Brown Bezoar, frosted ears, white on poll (retained).
Apparently Pearl didn’t get the memo that we are short on girls this year. All 3 bucklings already have their milk stars with BOTH registries and are AVAILABLE. Pearl has a very capacious and well-attached udder; she also 6*D/6*P as a FIRST FRESHENER. Sors*S/*B beat out several mature bucks at our show last year to earn Reserve Grand Champion as a 4 month-old buckling.