Turkeys are here to stay!

Well we see the turkeys just about every day. Some days they come right up into the side yard and we watch them from our dinning room window. They also spend a lot of time in the back pastures. There must be an abundance of food for them to keep them here for this long. Most people say turkeys don't stay in one area very long, they are always on the move. We are enjoying them and boy are they getting big.

Cocoa Pebbles reunited with the herd!

Cocoa Pebbles finally got to return with the rest of the herd and boy was she happy. After a week and a half of confinement it was a great day for all of us to let her return with the herd. She had finished her antibiotics, all of the swelling had subsided, no temp and a good appetite was a prescription for freedom.
Last night at dusk she started to pronk with the spring cria and young females. It was so much fun just to watch her run and kick up her heels. It was tragic to lose her cria but I am ever so thankful to have her.

The Hummingbirds Are Gone!

With the change in seasons our hummingbirds have moved on to bigger and better things for the winter. We look forward to them coming back next Spring. In the mean time, here is a small collection of some of the footage we captured this summer. Enjoy!

"Sweet Annie" update!

Annie and Mom are doing just great! Mom is very attentive over her expect in the nursing dept. She loves being with her and when I take her out to put her on the scale mom is not happy but she is not crazy about her nursing either. Interesting situation! I think part of the problem is she is a first time mom, secondly there was so much confusion the day she delivered and the day after with Cocoa Pebbles (who just happens to be her best friend). She is probably talking to Cocoa Pebbles saying if you let her nurse off you then I will keep an eye on her.
We will continue to work on it and see what happens, but in the mean time Annie is being supplemented and thats okay too. At every feeding she is put on mom and then given a bottle to top her off. It is not that Mom doesn't have any milk, she has plenty she is just not very patient.
Today Annie weighed in at 16 lbs. not a huge weight gain but gaining and that is the most important. She is very alert and active and as sweet as they come.

Cocoa Pebbles update!

Cocoa Pebbles is feeling much better today. The swelling on her bottom is reduced almost 75%. She also has the sparkle back in her eyes and wants out of her pen and get back with the rest of the herd. I think in the next couple of days she will be able to do just that as long as she doesn't spike a temp.
She has been through so much in the last few days and I'm so happy she is recovering as fast as she is.

Cocoa Pebbles goes into labor!!

Not long after returning from Springfield and settling in with the new cria I noticed that Cocoa Pebbles was not acting herself. She wasn't crazy about eating her dinner and she was content to go off and lay by herself. She was due as well and she too would be another first time mother. I kept a close eye on her watching for any signs of labor. At 3:00 a.m. I went out to the barn to feed Annie and check on Cocoa Pebbles, sure enough she was in labor with the head and front feet already out. Unfortunately it was obvious the cria was already dead. I dashed back to the house to get my husband for assistance. We were unable to get the shoulders of the cria to pass. I knew this was a huge problem and vet assistance would be needed. I also knew that she needed to go to the vets clinic in the event a C-section would be needed. My heart broke for the cria but my attention was on mom I did not want to lose her too. My vet is 45 minutes away so rather than call him at 3:30 in the morning we decided to hook up the trailer and get ready to head there and call him on the way.
By the time we reached the vets Cocoa Pebbles was very stressed and very uncomfortable. My vet did a great job and was able to get the cria out without a c-section or dismemberment. Cocoa Pebbles had some tears and did quite a bit of bleeding after delivery. The next concern was to stop the bleeding and not to have a prolapsed uterus. My vet explained that when they strain as she did they loose calcium and having a low calcium level can also cause a prolapse. She was given I.V. fluids with calcium, antibiotics, along with other meds. I stayed at the vets with her most of the day and brought her home in the afternoon when we thought it was safe for transport. There was still a chance for a prolapse and of course bleeding so she needed to watched closely. I'm happy to report she is doing well. The swelling on her bottom is reducing and she is eating and all bodily functions are working. She is still very very sore and is cautious how she gets up and lays down. She is in barn in a private stall along side Splash and her baby. It was important to keep her quiet and very clean. She has been a trooper through all of this and I'm happy she is going to be okay, as long as things continue on this track. She will not be bred again for at least 6 months to give her body plenty of time to heal.
It sure has been an emotional roller coaster the past few days, extreme highs and lows in less than 12 hours. But at the end of the day I wouldn't trade this life for anything different.

Introducing Bittersweet Annie

Bittersweet Annie's arrival on Sept. 30, 07

The last few days have certainly been an emotional roller coaster. It all began with a very hectic schedule over the weekend, we had an information booth for the New England Alpaca Fiber Pool at the Big E and a wedding in Boston on Saturday night. We planned on driving up to Springfield early Saturday morning and run the booth until 2:00p.m. run to the hotel to change and then dash to Boston for a 6:00 wedding. After the wedding we drove back to Springfield and planned to run the booth all day then break down and return home Sunday evening. All was going as planned and running smoothly until my cell phone ran at 6:30a.m. Sunday morning. I knew immediately something was going on. I quickly learned we had a new baby born and she was already dry and sitting in a cushed position. There was only one problem, she was laying in between my two pregnant dams and there was a little bit of confusion on who the mother was. Both of these pregnant girls were first time moms so just picking up the baby and see which dam follows you wasn't working. After several phone calls back and forth it was determined to be Splash's baby. They were put into a stall in the barn to have some quiet bonding time and to be monitored to be sure the cria was nursing. Several hours had passed and the cria still was not nursing, not that she didn't want to, her mom was just not cooperating. New moms can be like that the first few days. Of course I was anxious to get home to meet my new cria and help with the nursing situation. I know the family members at home couldn't wait for me to get home either. I had them give her some powdered colostrum to hold her over until I got home. Everyone here at the farm did a fantastic job over seeing things for me. They kept me in the loop at all times and dedicated their day keeping watch. Thank you!!!
Annie weighed in at a bouncing 14 lb 8 0z. She is still be supplemented with a bottle but is doing quite well.