Two of our anticipated crias arrived within about an hour of each other today! I went to the barn to check on everyone and found Savannah's cria already on the ground and alert. Greyetta (at day 352) was VERY interested in the little brown guy, sniffing him all over and kissing/licking his mouth a lot. I treated the navel and went to the house to get my camera. When I returned just a few minutes later, Greyetta was laboring heavily. I guess that sweet little cria just got her in the mood!
When you watch the video, you'll hear the cria taking some pretty noisy breaths- don't be alarmed, it's all normal! Often after the cria is born, they'll breathe heavily for a while- they're just "oxygenating", and it was pretty obvious that this guy was just fine. I did help a little bit since I could tell that it was a very large cria! Note that one should always pull the cria DOWN toward the dam's feet, and work with her contractions.One interesting point regarding the birth of two brown boys today from the same sire, El Nino's Accoyo Michelangelo. I have a lot of clients ask about the birth weights produced from our sires. The first cria weighed 13.5 pounds (this dam always has smaller crias), while the 2nd cria is a monster at 25 pounds, one of the largest we've ever had! I definitely believe that the dam determines the size of the cria. What has been your experience?
Another interesting point- of the four females in our due barn, the two that delivered today were due AFTER the two that still haven't delivered! Perhaps that means that the other two will be girls? Let's hope so!
It was fun checking in on the new boys as I went about my day with lots to get ready for next Saturday's Shearing Day (April 10th)! If you weren't already aware, it's open to the public from 10-4. As always, we're happy to have helpers, or just bring a picnic and come enjoy! There will be spinning demonstrations, fiber, yarn and products for sale, new crias to see, and sale specials on our animals! Hope to see you there.
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