bsnlark
Junior BB Member
SAFE Adopter
SAFE's Larkspur and Ishmeal n Buckwheat, too
Posts: 71
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Post by bsnlark on Mar 27, 2010 12:01:55 GMT -5
but momma Jaime , it HURTS and where was mz Trillium, wen all the action happened Congrats... to all
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Post by padraigin on Mar 27, 2010 12:11:11 GMT -5
So relieved to hear that Delilah's colt arrived safely and is a healthy, beautiful little guy. If there are problems with rejection, I'd be happy to sign on as part of the bottle feeding train, but I do hope that this can be resolved, as we all know what's best for the little guy. Cheering Delilah on towards healthy mama-baby bonding!
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Post by winterlakesfarm on Mar 27, 2010 12:14:08 GMT -5
Well shoot! I kinda wondered if she wouldn't be a poop for nursing as she was sooooo not into having her udder touched.
The only thing I can offer that might keep hope alive is we had a mare at the last breeding farm I managed that was absolutely awful about letting her babies nurse, and she would resign herself and give in after a couple of days. I remember the getting up every couple hours to hold her to let the babies nurse all too well!
Here is wishing you some uninterupted sleep soon Jaime!
On a side note, why do people insist on breeding mares that hate being mommas? I used to feel so sorry for that mare every year- and every year they kept breeding her. Some mares are born mommas and some truly hate it -
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Post by schwung on Mar 27, 2010 14:44:10 GMT -5
We consulted with Pilchuck and they said that this will probably resolve in the next 48 hours, and if it doesn't, it probably isn't going to resolve. But she's not out and out rejecting him, she just doesn't want him to nurse. If I hold her, she resigns herself to it fairly quickly, but if I don't then he just chases her around and when he gets anywhere near her side she pins her ears and swings her butt INTO him (knocking him over, into walls, its pretty scary to watch).
Yes Chelsea, I expected this and was prepared for it for the first nursing and used a chain on her for that, and she was squealy and kicky as expected, but I wouldn't have expected it to last this long. The poor mare is streaming milk and I just wish she would realize how much better it would feel if she would just let him nurse whenever he wanted.
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Post by schwung on Mar 27, 2010 14:52:13 GMT -5
Thanks to everyone for the offers to help and suggestions with our mare and foal. Right now we have things covered and as Delilah is a bit protective/nervous I would ask visitors to hold off for a while. We've had a lot of people just dropping by to see the baby and I think it would be best if we limit visitors for the time being. Thanks for your continued help and support!
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Post by Sara on Mar 27, 2010 15:13:44 GMT -5
We will wait to come out for a visit until the nursery is open for viewing.
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Post by jaybird on Mar 27, 2010 15:38:01 GMT -5
Let me reiterate what Jaime is saying: PLEASE, NO VISITORS! Delilah and her son need peace and quiet to get through these first few days. We have a large number of people showing up unannounced and uninvited at SAFE today and that is not cool.
We are not holding an open house today (or tomorrow, for that matter!) so please, have some respect. I know it's exciting, but we have to think about what is best for the mare and foal. They are having problems, and those problems are not being helped by having crowds of people gathering around their stall.
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Post by jaybird on Mar 27, 2010 15:38:33 GMT -5
PS thanks Sara!
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Post by trillium on Mar 27, 2010 17:17:44 GMT -5
Studies have shown most mares who reject their foals is due to human intervention. In other words. Leave the two alone to bond. Teddie and Dancer were the same way. I was at work and my mom and Kurt kept checking on them. Dancer did not get to nurse well until almost a day later. Milk was just pouring out of her udder. The next day I actually saw Dancer nursing while Teddie was laying down. LOL! I know it is very hard, but you have a foal monitor and you can watch from a remote location. This is especially important if it her first foal.
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Post by trillium on Mar 27, 2010 17:19:24 GMT -5
Let me reiterate what Jaime is saying: PLEASE, NO VISITORS! Delilah and her son need peace and quiet to get through these first few days. We have a large number of people showing up unannounced and uninvited at SAFE today and that is not cool. We are not holding an open house today (or tomorrow, for that matter!) so please, have some respect. I know it's exciting, but we have to think about what is best for the mare and foal. They are having problems, and those problems are not being helped by having crowds of people gathering around their stall. Wow, do you have a gate you can close and lock?
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Post by padraigin on Mar 27, 2010 17:21:29 GMT -5
if things don't resolve in these next critical few hours, please don't flame me, but is there a foal-safe sedative that can be given to Delilah? Or can she be held quietly with another method of restraint, so someone can milk her? I would imagine that as time goes by, she is getting more and more engorged, and that is so painful. If only she could realize that the pressure of her full udder will be relieved once she's emptied!
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lisam
Full BB Member
Posts: 178
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Post by lisam on Mar 27, 2010 19:43:34 GMT -5
I've had some mares act this way at first, usually maidens. It's almost always resolved itself, but we did hold the mares every two hours for the first few days anyway. Thank goodness for those friends and family members who pitched in!
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Post by schwung on Mar 28, 2010 0:51:10 GMT -5
If you haven't seen the update on Facebook, Delilah started letting him nurse without intervention late this afternoon. So far, she's continued to do so although sometimes she still isn't in the mood initially but after walking away from him a few times she resigns herself to it and stands. I do think, and the vet concurs, that if we hadn't intervened the baby may not have lived through that first night. Either he would have been incredibly weak, with a very low iGg score and require plasma, or he would have been injured or killed by her. Every time I would leave them alone, go take a nap for two hours, wake up and watch them on the camera hoping for the best, and every time I would see the same thing...and increasingly frustrated colt chasing momma around the stall, and a mare who was getting more worked up and aggressive towards his efforts, and I would finally have to run out there to get her to stand to nurse the colt both to get him fed but also for his own protection. He would be so hungry by then he would nurse for 20 minutes straight and then immediately lie down and crash. Now that she is giving him more consistent access, he nurses for only a couple of minutes at a time.
In any case, I am hopeful that the worst is over. Bonnie drove over from Silverdale and arrived just as she started letting him nurse on her own. She just left and I actually turned the light out in the barn to really let them rest by themselves tonight. I feel comfortable now leaving them alone now, but definitely not last night or today. We also were able to give them a little bit of turnout time in the arena today and I think Bonnie took some video of that. He's back in the stall tonight because it started getting really windy and cold out. He's adorable and so sweet and curious!
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Post by Sara on Mar 28, 2010 10:16:42 GMT -5
Good work Jaime! I'm so glad to see it resolved it self and hope you are sleeping peacefully and getting some much earned/needed rest.
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Post by lynnm on Mar 29, 2010 12:58:08 GMT -5
Thought I could add a few new pics from yesterday (I had poop patrol so please...until you hear from Jaime, let's not descend upon SAFE just yet) Cute little tuschie (yup...he's takin' a whiz) Nursing - finally. She's a great mommy now. Very protective.
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