HC Minis - 2016 foaling thread

Fingers crossed for everyone Chanda

paintponylvr said:

He11 Coulee

Origami (moon)

Paper Moon

Blue Moon

Moonlite Note(s)

Paper Money

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I rather like Paper Moon, would be good for a colt.

I'll try to get pictures, when they are moved to the same pen; but we have our first calves on the ground. The first came day before yesterday, and then, twins today. Official calving season start day is March 15, but just like our mares, the cows don't read the book, so usually a couple come before the official start date. [We also had 3 slough, a single and a set of twins, in the last month.]

Probably May. My absolute earliest 300 day mark is April 19, Tana went 307 her maiden pregnancy.

Vet will be out to test bulls the end of March; will have her give spring shots, I just do basic 4-way, so mares and all will get their shot (basic 4-way is pretty safe).

Ok, so I hate sharing dirty, hairy pictures, but this is for Diane (and the rest of you too, but she talked me into it ).

These are my maybe baby girls. They weren't very cooperative, so this is the best I got, bad lighting and all.

Baybe:





This one is doubtful, probably just chubby, but here's Tilly:



Tana:





More to come...

And...

Bonny:



Misty:



Showy, the only maiden mare (well, the donkey would be maiden, too, but she's only 4), I've tried 3-4 times with hand breeding with no luck, but looks promising with pasture breeding:

The sorrel never gets as fuzzy as the rest, and both silvers have had some mats clipped and clumps plucked, and beards scissor clipped.

It was so brief, so maybe I'm mistaken, but I think I saw and then felt a baby kick on Tana, unless it was just belly rumblings.

Wow that's a first!! it says I've reached my quota for Positive Votes today!

I was going to like both Chandab's last post and Diane's post. LIKE, LIKE, LIKEY - YEEEAAAA!!!!!

It didn't occur to me that I should have posted that about some of ours. I definitely saw some belly rolls last nite!

Chandab, your's are looking good w/ all that MT hair. Wish I could say the same, mine have started shedding and even with help, they look like serious moth eaten shag rugs right now... Never thought I'd say ...."eeewwww" about my own ponies.

paintponylvr said:

It didn't occur to me that I should have posted that about some of ours. I definitely saw some belly rolls last nite!

Chandab, your's are looking good w/ all that MT hair. Wish I could say the same, mine have started shedding and even with help, they look like serious moth eaten shag rugs right now... Never thought I'd say ...."eeewwww" about my own ponies.

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I did clip some belly mats and goat beards, so they look better than they could. I should be grooming them, but I know winter could come back any time, so they might need that hair yet this spring, so I haven't gotten too serious about winter coat removal, except to clip off mats that are pulling. I have one open mare that is very moth eaten and she looks just horrible.

Looks like I need to add something to the girls' diet, they are a tad thin for this time of year and as far along in pregnancy as they should be. I did test our hay, it's a tad short on protein @ 10.5% for pregnant mares, should be ok for maintenance, it's short for all on lysine (don't recall the number, just that it's short) and it's under 10% for sugar and starch combined. They also get 1/2# commercial pellets, I think they are 14%, and I think it's 4% fat; every other day they get soaked beet pulp, and this week, on the non beet pulp day, I've started giving them some tim/alf pellets. Will probably just give the hay pellets time to do something before I worry about changing anything up again, other than maybe adding a lysine supplement to make up for what is short in the hay.

I ordered the lysine, well actually a supplement with three limiting amino acids in it, including lysine, should be here in a day or two.

Their pellets should be enough protein, but perhaps I just need to give them a bit more, but might add alfalfa instead since it typically has lower sugar/starch level than most commercial feeds, and my girls tolerate the pellets well.

No new news on the foal front. Had a long week of new calves and crappy weather.

One week til my earliest possible 300 day mark, and that would only be if someone was at the end of their cycle the day I turned Topper out.

Everyone got dewormed the other day, so perhaps now some will start shedding...

Two more days til that earliest 300 day mark. My girls all need to gain a bit of weight, still, they are looking better but still a bit thin for pregnant ladies.

My geldings are all chubby, so it's the pregnancy dragging them down a bit. They should be getting plenty to eat, but since our hay was lacking protein and lysine, it'll take a bit to build them up, after I added some Lysine to their diet (all but one eat the supplement, just fine).

Will be following your thread with Anticipation Chanda and hoping for a baby or two. Maybe Tana will suprise again

Ryan Johnson said:

Will be following your thread with Anticipation Chanda and hoping for a baby or two. Maybe Tana will suprise again

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Oh, I hope not, but at least I know, she might go as early as 307 days. None of the girls even look that ready, right now, expect the smallest one that is due probably a month after all the taller girls. Fingers crossed that she has a healthy foal, it'll be her first for me and the stallion's second foal; she's an old hand having 4-5 foals before I brought her home (she was pregnant when I bought, but slipped the foal late term, severely twisted cord).

In person, they all look a tad thinner than the last batch of pictures I posted, but they are all less hairy, so that partially explains it.

Bonny might be starting a bit of a bag, but since I didn't pay attention to her non-pregnant udder, I can't be certain. The other girls I looked at tonight, Misty and Tana, pretty much have nothing. If she is making bag, then this year, Bonny very well could go first instead of last. [she carried, like 320 days her maiden year, I think.]

I need to clean up udder crusties, then I'll look into starting taking pictures of them.

I pasture bred this round, so won't know exact dates on the girls, but here are gestation lengths from last time (also their maiden pregnancies).

Tana: 307 days (I think she was a tad early, but didn't want to be left behind after Misty foaled the week before).

Misty: 320 days

Bonny: 324 days

I don't have dates on Baybe.

Rainy and wet for 3-4 days, interrupted corral cleaning, should be able to get back at it tomorrow, so I can open the gate for the girls to come and go as they please, and perhaps Bonny can stay in at night since she looks to be the first to go, although they can switch it up if they feel like it.