A Little Surprise

I had been up several times during the night to check on Emma because she had been acting very restless and grumpy Sat. night.  I really wasn't expecting much of anything to happen because it seemed like she was restless because of the heat, the horrible bugs, the incessant fireworks and loud 4-wheelers at a big party down the road (the fireworks and 4-wheelers on the road are illegal, but that is a relative term out here).  I also wasn't expecting much because I have been expecting a baby for so long now that I had kinda stopped expecting anything, if that makes any sense. 

This morning, I crawled out of bed at about 10:30 (I work nights and never get to bed before 3:00am so this is my version of early morning:).  The very first thing I do every morning is look out the window and check to see where all my critters are and if they all look healthy.  Emma was laying in her stall looking like she was having her normal morning nap.  She was laying down with her head up and chin resting in the hay, she looks like this nearly every day when I get up so I thought "no baby again" and I staggered off to let my dog out and use the bathroom.  I glanced out the window again on my way to the shower and Emma was in the same spot, but this time there was a little baby donkey standing behind her! 

I threw on some clothes, grabbed my camera and my foaling kit and headed to the barn.  I missed the birth by just a few minutes.  The baby was still very wet and Emma was laying down to pass the afterbirth.  Emma seemed rather glad to see me and was not at all bothered by my presence so I quietly cleaned things up, dipped the baby's navel and got out of the way.  Al those hours I have spent with her paid off. 

The baby is very vigorous and healthy acting.  It did take him quite a while to figure out where the food comes from though.  He was sucking hard, but in all the wrong places.  He did finally find the right spigot, but only took a few tiny sips and after a couple of hours of this I milked Emma a little (Thank God I spent all those hours) and fed baby some colostrum from a bottle.  By this afternoon, he had it all figured out and is drinking well on his own.  By 7:00 this evening the little terror was bouncing all over the place.  He already knows how to run...

buck...

Kick....

wobble...

and pose...

Emma is being a wonderful mother and she absolutely loves her baby...

and so do I....