A Legal Adult

"Hi Bloggy peoples!  It's ME, Ramsey, the BIRTHDAY boy!"

"It seems like its been forever since I got to write a blog post.  Seeing as how it's my BIRTHDAY, Ma finally let me at the computer again.  You'd think she wouldn't be so stingy with it considering what a lousy job she's been doing lately, but at least I am here now."

"I know you all probably have big celebrations planned to celebrate my BIRTHDAY and I wouldn't want you to miss me during all your fireworks and parties."

"Ma keeps trying to tell me that everyone is celebrating Independence Day or Canada Day or whatever, but I know that can't be true.  She is just being mean because she doesn't like fireworks and she never gets any for HER birthday.  They are just fine by me though, I'm not like that wimpy Border Collie!  Bring em on I say!  

"This is an exciting BIRTHDAY too because I am FIVE years old.  Can you believe that?"

"Ma says turning 5 is like turning 21 and I am a legal adult now.  I'm not sure how turning 5 is the same as 21, but that's human logic for ya.  It has something to do with the drinking age, which makes NO sense at all.  I haven't been allowed to drink in ages...sigh...I still miss it....

"Since I am a legal adult now, I think that the big grey donkey should admit that I am the boss, but he doesn't seem to notice yet.  Maybe all the fireworks will show him the error of his ways." 

"Anyway, I hope you all have a good time celebrating my BIRTHDAY and, if you must, have fun celebrating that other holiday as well.  

Happy Birthday Ramsey!

Introducing...

First,  the pain killer that I have given Emma has really helped tremendously.  She is much more comfortable, happier and relaxed today.  Getting rid of the pain has relieved most of her anxiety as well.  She hasn't had to wear the grazing muzzle at all today and she is just much more relaxed.   She was also able to spend a considerable amount of time resting.  She won't lay down to sleep yet, but she spent nearly all day yesterday and most of last night dozing in front of the fan I set up for her.  Today she is nearly her normal, happy self.  I think the pain relief and the rest will go a long way towards helping her fight off any potential infection.  She even enjoyed a very good scratching session this afternoon...

And now for the news you've been waiting for: what's this baby's name?  First, I want to thank everybody for all of your suggestions, there were some really good ones.  By far, the name choices that were proposed the most were either Emerson (as in son of Emma) or Emmett, which I think is a variant of the same thing.  I like both of these names and really gave both of them a try.  The problem with them is that they are too similar to Emma's name and the contraction for all three names is the same.  I am an extremely visual thinker and the image associated with Em is Emma herself.  Every time I tried using one of these names with the baby, my mind tripped over the imagery and it just didn't work.  

My animals all know their names because I make a point of using them often.  I talk to my critters a lot and I use a lot of voice commands.  This has stood me in good stead over the years and works well for me.  I don't think I could change it even if I wanted to.  I want a name for this baby that is easy to say, is distinct from all the other names in the barn and will still be a good name 10 years from now, even if he changes color or turns into a slow, lazy bum (hard to imagine at the moment that that could actually happen:).

So...the name that has floated out of my subconscious from God-knows-where and keeps presenting itself every time I look at this baby even when I have tried hard to reject it is....Ramsey.  The funny thing is that I really have tried to reject this name as I wasn't sure I liked it.  It just won't go away though so it must be right.  Perhaps it is because he was standing posed in the sun, looking regal and beautiful and the phrase "Ramses the Great" floated into my head.  The image was striking and etched itself into my very visual brain and that was that.  And it isn't such a terrible thing to be named after the very first monarch to ever create and sign a peace treaty, they didn't call him great for nothing:)

Hello World...

I am Ramsey the Greatest

Remedies

Emma hasn't had to wear the grazing muzzle at all today.  I may put it back on her when I go to bed just for my own peace of mind, but I think she is getting past her cleaning need.  I have been doing everything I can think of to make her more comfortable and feel safe.  She is feeling a bit threatened by the horses so they have been further exiled form the barn...

Fortunately, I had these grates on hand as they are what I finally came up with for my slow feeders (I'll post some new pictures of them one of these days.  I have made some changes and perfected my design and they are working great). 

I think that the thing that is troubling Emma the most right now though, is that she is in pain.  She has some slight discharge and she is having a lot of trouble urinating.  When I checked her this morning, the little bit of her vulva that I can see is completely black with bruising.  I think the birth was hard for her and she has a lot of internal bruising and tearing along with a lot of generalized soreness.  I spoke with the vet again and we decided to give her some banamine (pain killer for equines) for a couple of days.  I gave her the first dose this afternoon and it seems to be helping.  She is more relaxed, seems happier and less stressed.  I am watching her and baby very closely for any signs of infection.  

I made up a batch of my homemade hand/body lotion to use on her udder to help ease the soreness and chafing there as well.  It is made from beeswax, olive oil, sweet alomnd oil and vitmin E.  It makes a really nice lotion that can be used on even the most sensitive skin and as a lip balm If any of you are interested in trying this, it is easy to make (skip this part if you want to go straight to more baby pictures).  I hand this stuff out at Christmas sometimes and everybody has loved it and requested more. All you need is:

• 3-3.5 ounces of beeswax
• 1 cup Sweet Almond Oil (side-note:  this oil is also great for cooking, especially stir-fry as it has a very high flash point and zero cholesterol)
• 1 cup olive oil
• 3-4 vitamin E capsules
• Fragrance or essential oil if desired (I skip this for animal use)

I mix all of the oils, vit. E and fragrance together in a jar and I use a large yogurt container to melt the wax, which I do in the microwave. Be careful melting the wax, I do it with 30 second blasts in the microwave.  It usually takes about 2 minutes, but check it often.  Once it is melted I pour all of the oil into the plastic container and mix.  If it doesn't mix smoothly, you will have to heat it up a little more.  Just put the yogurt container back in the microwave for another 30 seconds.  Once everything is warm enough, it will mix together smoothly and easily with no lumps or cloudiness.

The melted wax on the left and the oils on the right, ready to pour into the yogurt container....

 The warm solution all mixed and poured into the tins....

The finished product after it has cooled and set.

The beauty of using the yogurt container is that clean up is a cinch, I just toss the container.   The wax in this makes very hard to clean up otherwise.  It can be done, but I don't have the patience for putting that much effort into a yogurt container:)

The recipe above is more of a ratio then a real recipe.  If you want the end result to be harder (ie, if you want to pour it into those little lib balm tubes) then use a 1/4 - 1/2 an ounce more wax.  If you want it softer use less wax.  You can also try different kind of oils if you want, but this is what I have found to be the most popular. 

Now, back to what you're really here for...

I may need a new camera, it cant keep up with a warp-speed donkey...

I know I said I would tell you his name today, but I think I need another day to be sure.  Hopefully, this little guy will be around for a long time.  I want to make sure that his name not only suits him right now, but is also something he can grow into.

The Zoomerang

Note to self (again), donkeys are not like horses!!!  Horse foals stay glued to their mother's side when first born and explore the world slowly, tentatively, with caution.  Donkey babies, at least this one, have a slightly different approach....

I had (foolishly again) thought that he would stay close to Emma and learn about the terrain and obstacles slowly, the way a baby horse would.  When he started wanting to go faster I could put him out in the big, open field and let him run.  He totally skipped that and went straight to zooming around and the more obstacles the better.  He loves zipping around everything.  He especially loves my garden beds and the little "maze" that they make and the posts of the would-be wood shed.   

I might have a name picked out.  I will tell you about it tomorrow, I'm too tired to even remember it right now. 

Baby Q&A

First, Happy Independence Day!  A little late maybe, but I've been a bit distracted:)

The grazing muzzle is working out quite well so far.  Emma, being the brilliant donkey that she is, figured out how to eat out if it in no time at all so I am feeling more comfortable about leaving them alone for a while.  Maybe tonight I will get to sleep, that would be a novelty:).   I went out last night while it wasn't so brutally hot and completely stripped and disinfected her stall and the rest of the barn, trying to get rid of any lingering odors from the birth.  There was nothing that I could smell, but I am sure she could and I think it may have contributed to her obsessive need to clean the baby.  In the wild, mares and jennets will get their babies up and away from the birthing site as soon as possible because the birthing fluids draw predators.  I think the scrubbing has helped, she seems less anxious about it today.  I guess I should have done that immediately, but I was trying to keep things as quiet as possible for them.  There just never seems to be a clear path to doing the right thing.  I am going to continue with the muzzle for a couple more days and then, hopefully, we will be able to put it away.

A couple of people have asked me what the horses think of all of this.  They have been intensely curious...

but well behaved.  I have been very careful to keep them separate for now.  I was worried that Gabe might think that the baby is an intruder and try to squash him, and he might have at first.  Now he accepts him as just another donkey, which is both good and bad.  He is mostly indifferent to Emma except for when he wants to play chase-the-donkey.  Since little junior here only weighs about 20 pounds as opposed to Gabe's 1200, I think it is best if they just visit from afar for now.

As for Tessa, she is VERY curious about the baby and I know she wouldn't hurt him.  She would, in fact, be very careful with him.  She just might try to steal him though.  Tessa has demonstrated that she has very strong maternal instincts of her own (she mothers Emma) and she would really like to have this baby.  So I think that she too needs to admire from afar....

Another frequent question has been about baby's rather unusual color and lack of any light points.  I can point directly to where that came from.  This is Emma's father and the father of her baby (if you missed the story about how this happened click here)...

I wasn't at all surprised when this baby turned up looking just like dad/granddad.  I'd have been more surprised if he was light colored.  I don't think the baby's color will change all that much, but I don't know enough about donkey coloring to say for sure.  Based on what dad looks like, I doubt it.

And some thoughts about a name...I have had a lot of great suggestions, but at the moment, I can scarcely remember them.  I need a few minutes to read through all the the wonderful comments and suggestions all of you have offered and which I greatly appreciate.  I was so upset yesterday about baby's poor, bitten tail that I hardly thought about anything else.  I also needed to get to know him a little more.  What I know now is that he has a huge personality.  He is absolutely fearless and independent (frighteningly so).  He is very energetic, a playful little devil and also extraordinarily sweet and affectionate.  He has proven beyond any doubt that donkeys are born wanting a good butt scratch and when I hit just the right spot and that tiny lip starts quivering...well, you just might swoon from the shear adorableness...

He even knows how to point out the right spot already...

And then, it's time for another power nap...

A Little Too Much of a Good Thing

I knew everything was going just a little too smoothly.  That just doesn't happen in my world.

I was up early this morning, eager to get my hands on my baby donkey (who still remains nameless).  The very first thing I saw when I got to the barn was that one of his ears looked rather moth-eaten at the tip.  Then I saw that the end of his tail was a bloody mess.  Think about walking into your baby's room to find a big rat in the crib, that's about what my reaction was.

The problem is that Emma is trying to be the best mother ever born and she has gotten a bit obsessive about trying to clean her baby.  So obsessive that she bit the very end of his tail right off and also bit the end of his ear.

Once I reassured myself that, despite being a bit mangled, baby was OK, I started thinking about how to fix this.  I have heard of this kind of thing, but never dealt with it personally.  The first thing I did was treat the tail and ear with Vetericyn (my new favorite wound dressing) and then treated him with Swat fly repellant.  The biting flies are unbelievably bad this year even in the barn.  I am hoping that the Swat will help control the flies (and deter Emma a bit as well).   The only real solution that I could think of is to make sure that Emma can still be with her baby but can't bite him.  What I came up with is an old grazing muzzle that I have had laying around in the barn for several years...

I got a hold of the vet and discussed it with her, she says that she has seen this a number if times.  It is fairly common in very young mothers (Emma is just now 23 months old) and that my solutions are the best way to deal with this.  She said that the really strong maternal instincts tend to kick in about 36-48 hours after birth and if we can just get through a few days Emma will settle down and get past this.  She just needs some time to get the hang of things and learn that she can relax just a little. 

I really don't want to be limiting Emma's food too much right now so I am only making her wear the muzzle when I am not there to supervise.  (Here is where I need to insert a big Thank You to my very understanding boss who gave me the week off for maternity leave.  I don't know what I would do if I had to leave for work right now.)  Needless to say, I am spending a LOT of time in the barn right now.

So, if you have made it this far and are feeling the need for a bit of reassurance that this little wild child is still doing well, just watch this short video clip.  He zooms around much, much faster than this, too fast for my video skills, but this will give you a little idea....

I've had a lot of great name suggestions, but I haven't found the one that sticks to him yet.  This baby has a lot of personality, energy and opinions.  He definitely has opinions.  I'm sure he will let me know what his name is sooner or later:)

 

She Sure Can Cook

Emma may be a real believer in "slow cooking", but you sure can't argue with the results:)  This is the most vigorous, active baby I have ever met.  He is a wild thing!

He zooms...

He struts...

He gardens...

 

He squirms like a fish when Mom tickles him...

and he sleeps the sleep of the righteous...

safe in his mother's careful hooves....

And then he ruthlessly interrupts her dust bath...

so that he can zoom off again...

Poor Emma, I don't know how she'll ever keep up with this little monster.

PS - I'm still trying out names, waiting for the one that sticks to him or for him to let me know what it is.

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....