Magic Marker Minis

[Magic Marker Minis]

They are two weeks early, so they are very tiny. Wendy wasn't due until the end of Feb., so it was a big suprise to go out and see them.

I'm even scared to pick them up and hug them. One just about fits in the palm of my hand.

We usually pull the babies after 3-4 days, so we can milk the does. Because they are preemies and Wendy's bag is small, they will stay with her for at least 2 weeks. We are keeping the blk & wht blue-eyed girl and selling the other one.

 

[Magic Marker Minis]

Well, we have another baby. Our Alpine had a brown eyed doeling. Here's pictures of the two from last Sat., the two from yesterday, and the newest one.

Only have two goats to go, plus the mini's.

 

[AnnaC]

Awww - what a cute bunch of babies!!

 

[eagles ring farm]

Awww so cute makes me want one ....congrats on those beautiful little kids

 

[Eagle]

Congrats, they are adorable

 

[Magic Marker Minis]

Well, finally I have the house to myself. My roommate/business partner started her new job today.

The weather keeps going from mid-70's one day , to mid-50's the next day. It's chilly today and supposed to rain this afternoon. Winds blowing. I know it's not as bad as some places, but I have a cold to top it off.

We don't have any new kids or a foal, but one of my cats had four babies last night(in a dresser drawer), her sister is also pregnant.

Design is 312 days today. Took all pictures except her private parts. She sometimes is messy when going potty, so her backend is dirty. Too cold to wash her. When it warms up, I'll be washing her backend and braiding her tail. She's not very loose.

Shadow is 293 days. Didn't take private part pictures. She is not loose.

Annie is 218 days. I don't have pictures of her. She is still out in paddock. Getting a rounder belly.

Pixie ended up open. I had someone come out looking for a miniature. They had a cart to train the miniature. Pixie(6 yrs old) has not been handled much and is very timid. She is also not registered. He was very good with her and knew what he was doing. I made the decision to sell her to him. She will get one on one handling, something she needs.

 

[Magic Marker Minis]

Miss Te is 282 days.

Lace is 270 days. her baby was kicking like crazy while I was taking pictures.

Freckles is 263 days

 

[Magic Marker Minis]

Here's recent pictures of baby goats.

Brn & wht one and light brn one without the black highlights where from a week ago Sat.(Heidi's boys).

Light tan one with black highlights is the doeling born last Thurs.

The two little ones are the Nigerian doelings born last Weds, two weeks early.

Still waiting on two Lamancha's. They are due in the next week or two.

Here's also the kittens born 2 and 3 weeks ago. Will get pictures of new babies in a few day's.

 

[Eagle]

Congrats on the new kitties

and thanks for sharing all those wonderful pics of you furry friends, wow do you have your hands full.

 

[Magic Marker Minis]

My happiness, of my roommate/business partner being at work, was short-lived. she came home early and had yesterday off.

She had to go into work at 5 am this morning, so I have the last laugh.

Here in Tucson, straw is expensive and hard to find. Used to getting straw for less than $6. One feed store here has it for $10. I'm not paying that much for something they sleep on and can't really eat.

Went to our favorite feed store, that just re-opened. They are still trying to get everything in. Straw is the hardest, but the straw will be less than $8. Problem is, they won't be able to get it in until first-mid March. With Design due the beginning of Mar. and Shadow due shortly after, I had to find some type of bedding.

Alfalfa here runs between $15-18 and Burmuda around $20. The feed store we went to had burmuda for $15.50, cheapest we have seen. Told my roommate/business partner that I was going to go with that. She grumbled about using alfalfa or shavings. Had to remind her shavings is bad for foals because it can get into their nose and mouth, when still wet. The horses would just gorge on the alfalfa and get sick. They can eat the Burmuda, but it won't hurt them. She asked the owner and he said the same thing(sometimes I think she thinks I'm stupid and don't know what I'm doing). The feed store owner was willing to drop the Burmuda price a $1, if all we wanted it for was bedding. I bought three bales(one for each stall).

Turns out, I only had to use one bale for all three stalls. They didn't dive into it because they knew they were getting alfalfa for dinner. I fed them a little less alfalfa because they could nibble on their bedding. It gave them something to do during the night and gave them something soft to lay on. Their flooring consist of sand with stall matts layed down, to lessen the amount of sand they comsume.

 

[Magic Marker Minis]

By the way, Design and Shadow's foals are turned around. When they kick, the movement is right in front of there mammary glands. Miss Te's foal was moving around a lot yesterday and you could tell it was still upside down and still a little sideways. The movement was on her sides and you could see an occasional butt roll across her stomach.

 

[Eagle]

I have these pics on my pc so I thought I would post them for any newbe mum's to see. Pic A is the position the foal should be in when labor starts,(this is when we notice mum's tummy in a "V" shape) the foal will bring his front legs up slowly and twist round until he is in the "take off" position.

 

[rubyviewminis]

Are you north, south, east, or west in or near Tucson? I am most familiar with the north and western sides, but then with our horses it didn't matter how far I had to go. Feed stores are the most expensive, and I don't know if you are able to get hay and straw yourself, because we drove to Florence to buy hay from one farm in particular, and fresh produce, and also the state prison sells very good hay at reasonable prices and they load. We also kept mats on sand, I sure miss that sand! Never knew I would feel that way until we moved to the clay capital here.

 

[chandab]

Design is 312 days today. Took all pictures except her private parts. She sometimes is messy when going potty, so her backend is dirty. Too cold to wash her. When it warms up, I'll be washing her backend and braiding her tail. She's not very loose.

Two words... Baby Wipes. they work pretty good for cold weather clean up, not in the really hairy areas, but for face and private parts where the hair is shorter (under the tail they work pretty good). I actually prefer Western Family brand for this, cheaper and seem to better job for this. In warmer months, I keep a tub of them in the tack room for clean, whether it be my hands or something on the horses. [i get the alcohol-free kind, if there is still a choice. And, unscented.]

 

[Magic Marker Minis]

We are west of Tucson, off Ajo Hwy(takes you to Ajo, AZ). We hate it here. We have lost four pregnant miniature mares and a weanling, due to the sand. We are always watching the horses closely, because we will get a horse starting to colic. Vets out here are hard to get to come to you, especially if it's an emergency. They come up with all kinds of reasons why they won't be there within the hour.

The Burmuda seems to be working out, because the three mares were hungry when I went out this morning. I think they enjoyed laying on something soft, instead of the cold wet hard sand. After breakfast, they are turned out to exercise. At 4 pm, they are waiting by their stalls to be put back in.

Since the mares are in good condition(two are a little plump and it's not all baby) and we feed them quality alfalfa, we don't feed them much grain. The three due next month get 1/2 lbs twice a day. The two due April(both are the plump ones) get 1/4 lbs twice a day. It's only 10% protein, but the hay has a high protein level. The mare due June, will come up in March and start to get grain.

 

[Magic Marker Minis]

Thanks for the advice with baby wipes, Chandra. Design would need two boxes to clean her up. She gets loose stools often since being pregnant. She is being fed the same and has had no changes in feed. Except there new bedding is Burmuda hay. She had loose stools prior. It's going to be in the 70's by Fri., so I will hose her off then. She may enjoy it, since she is shedding and very itchy. Her coat is also very thick.

 

[rubyviewminis]

I just came in from hoof soakings and cleaning mama. She isn't messy, just mama spa time at 37 degrees and I use the baby wipes, and also take out a bucket of boiling water to use for everything. It stays warm a long time.

Wow! Ajo is waaaay out there. We lived around Oracle and I had two vets who would drive out, but emergency visits were out, ya had to trailer in to them. Dr. Barbara Page was in Oro Valley and she specialized in caprine, horse, and rapture animals. She was the best. I don't know if she still practices. She also was the vet at the Pima County fair every year.

Sorry about your losses. In 18 years I never lost a horse to sand or any colic living there, so I am very lucky. I always worried though. I monthly give generic people physillium, the horse pellets are ridiculous in price. Besides, the pellets stick to their gums, front teeth, I had a lot of problems. None with the powder and it works the same. I also us Omega Horseshine for my pregnant mare and the ground flax also acts like a cleaner outer of dirt and sand.

 

[Magic Marker Minis]

We are going to try Metamucil because Sand Clear is so expensive. We feed in feeders(put the feeders where they poop) and on stall mates. I think it was the hay. My roommate bought some hay that was very stemy. The hay we were buying before has more leaves and less stems. We went back to that and they seem to be doing good. The only one with loose stools is Design. She is fed in her stall on a stall mat(put hay in a feeder, but she doesn't keep it there). Nothing in her diet has changed. She will be getting a behind, mammary area, and tail washing tomorrow or Friday. Will then braid her tail, as well as Shadow and Miss Te. They are all due in March.

I took a side view of Design(314 days) and Shadows(295 days) stomach. Looking past the unclipped area of Shadow(black), does she look V'd to you. She has had several babies. She foals early with little bag development. More than she has right now. She is a little loose in the private area. She is a very suttle pre-foaling mare. She has been acting a little different today. Ate all her food, but was in no hurry to leave her stall. Stands off by herself. Design is a maiden.

 

[Magic Marker Minis]

She really doesn't get 'slab sided'. She just has a big belly until she foals. I was looking at her from the back yesterday and she still looks like a b-52 bomber wings and all... lol!

Kari

 

[Magic Marker Minis]

We went back to our records and Shadow foaled last year at 323, so expect she'll go the same way this time. (The foal from two years was also around that time.) So, Shadow's foaling date this year (at 323) would be March 13th.

Design's midline foaling date (at 330 days) would be March 1st. So, even if Shadow is triggered into foaling right after Design, Shadow's foal should be fine.

Kari & Toni