3/11/16

Next!

  High up on her hay bale mountain, Momma Kitty looks upset with all the unusual traffic through her bedroom lately.
 First came the hullabaloo surrounding Penumbra's arrival on March 2 (he's growing into a solid Sherman tank), then all the coming & going in anticipation of the next deliveries.
 
 Cheeky waited a day later than expected (March 4) to release Bechamel (Becky)
 who was soon up on her feet and hunting in the right general area for dinner.
 Her sister Allemande (Mandy) shot out a short time later
 and got the customary bath from their attentive mom.
The girls have been good eaters from the start (sometimes the boys are a bit slower to latch on).
The womb-mates enjoy palling around and are often smooshed together.
Reenie kept a close watch on her mom and new sisters from the adjacent kidding pen.
The next day it was Eclipse and Penumbra gawking at the excitement across the barn.
Reenie was 2 days late and selected what may be our last snow storm of the season
to deliver her buckling Sovereign
who proved reluctant to emerge; Barb had to assist with some strategic tugging.
First-time mom Reenie is taking great care of her son
and Sovereign is thriving, along with the other kids in this initial batch.
Although no fun for anyone involved, disbudding went smoothly.
The families moved from their individual kidding pens to the communal area on March 10 -- to the delight of the youngsters, though the moms had some issues to resolve among themselves.
Cheeky butts Penumbra's butt, propelling him out of the picture.
Exhausted by the merriment, the kids finally settle down for a nap.
Next up:  Korma is due to deliver on March 24
and Xiu (Chewy) on March 29.  Asked for her thoughts about impending motherhood, Chewy responded with an unvoiced linguolabial trill:  "Pffllbbbblblblblblppph."

3/3/16

And first out of the chute is

 Meadowwild Mojo Penumbra!
 Eclipse was not due until March 4,
 but she loves to keep the Farmers off balance.
 In the 45 minutes since Barb last checked the barn on her regular Kid Watch
 Eclipse surprised us when we weren’t looking with this substantial guy
 two days early, weighing in at 12.5 pounds, and healthy as the proverbial horse.
 He was up within minutes and knew just where to find a good meal.
Resting comfortably with mom at 4:00 this morning, 12 hours after birth.
 He’s clearly a chip off the old block; this is a baby picture of dad (Regel Katan Farm Charmer Mojo) 
 and here is his new son Penumbra
who is promised to a wonderful home in the UP when he’s weaned; he'll serve as a junior herd sire.
 Cheeky and Reenie are fascinated by the newcomer.  They are both due today (March 3) but indicate that they might well be taking their time providing the next cute MeadowWild kids.