Introducing OHVNA Ruby

Morning chores started out as normal this morning. I brought out their grain while J started filing water buckets. I scooped poop while he put out hay. But we both noticed Jewel head over to the poop pile while walking quite funny. She pushed over the pile but only a couple of beans came out. When she turned, I could see a bubble of the amniotic sac - she was definitely in labor!  It's gestation day 341 for her, so within a normal delivery range (normal being anything from 335 days to 400+).  We were excited to have caught labor so early on.

She continued to walk around, but looked confused.  I found it interested that when she finally did settle down, she cushed right under the kids' swing set (see the bubble out her back end):

She didn't even mind Zack playing right there:

 

She labored cushed and even laying down for a bit.  We are slow to intervene in a labor, since often nature knows best.  But being a maiden and seeing no progress we decided to step in just a bit.  We encouraged her to get up, since labor goes better if the female is standing. It appeared she was either not pushing or couldn't push. We saw a face but no feet, we know normal presentation is a face and 2 legs.  J reached in to find the cria's legs. He had to adjust it just a bit, then we saw the right presentation:

And then the baby born:

How beautiful!

We could see it was a girl, and a rose grey tuxedo girl at that!!! We let her try to move and get accustomed to the world. We stayed back so the mom and the rest of the herd could welcome her. But we also noticed how she was shivering. We didn't wait too long to dry her a bit with a towel and move her into the sunshine.

It didn't take long and she was sitting:

 

See the rose grey tuxedo face:

 

We were unsure how Jewel would take to mothering, being this is her first baby. We were extremely happy to see her bond and take to it like a natural.

 

It took a bit but nursing was underway in under the recommended time frame:

 

While most of our girls deliver at a later day gestation, Ruby appears full term. Her ears are erect, her teeth erupted, and she is very strong. She is our smallest cria to date, at 12.8 pounds - a little thing! At this point Stormy is twice her size!! But she appears healthy and strong, just in a little earlier package.