Updates, due dates and baby pools

Look who's back...

Friday afternoon I rode Gabe home from his temporary exile.  I had thought that Emma would have had her baby by now and she wouldn't have to worry about him, but y'all know how that has worked out.  Tessa at least was glad to see him...

I tried to keep them separated for a while to make things easier for Emma, but Gabe used his teeth to pull the fence post out of the ground and let himself in.  I finally banished both him and Tessa to the shed (now dubbed the painted-shark-aquarium) so Emma can stay in the barn where she is most comfortable and I can most easily keep an eye on her.  I also ran a loop of fence wire over the the top of the post.  I think he will likely decide that that particular trick isn't as much fun as he thought.   I know it is terribly mean, but I can't help but hope that he get a nice good zap on that big pink snout. 

Ever since Memorial day when I thought Emma was going into labor and then she quit, the baby has been very quiet.  After two weeks of no movement, I finally saw the baby kicking yesterday morning and again this afternoon.  I was very relieved to see it, I've been rather worried about Baby.  Of course, I have, once again, been trying to figure out when this baby is due.  I have gone back to the few hard facts that I have:  On Dec. 3 I had a blood test for estrogen sulfate drawn on Emma to tell me whether or not she was pregnant.  The mare or jenny tested has to be AT LEAST 4 months pregnant for this test to work.  What this means is that, unless I have messed up the math completley, Emma has to be at least 11 1/2 months pregnant. 

Emma's blood test came back off-the-charts high.  When I spoke with the neonatal vet at Cornell about this test and the vet who drew the blood, they both told me that the high level probably indicated that Emma was at least 5-6 months pregnant when we drew the blood and very possibly farther along than that.  That would make her at least 12-13 months pregnant right now.  Donkey gestation is 11-14 months. 

What all of this means is that....I have absolutely no idea when the baby is due.  Which brings us (in a rather long winded way) to the baby guessing pool.  Emma has fooled everyone. The latest date submitted was June 11th, a date that, when I first read it, I scoffed at just a bit (sorry).  I thought "no way can Emma make it all the way till June 11."  Foolish, foolish me.

So, this leaves a bit of a quandary.  Do I start over from scratch and let all of you submit a new guess or do I take all the names on my first list and let Emma draw one out of a hat?  I am putting it up for a vote.  What would you, dear readers, like me to do? 

Note:  if no consensus is reached I reserve the right to arbitrarily flip a coin and decide.  Democracy can only go so far on a farm after all.

Baby pool and baby pictures

I finally saw some baby pictures this afternoon.  My vet got her hands on a special attachment for the ultrasound machine and we were able to see the baby.  Well, at least a leg and part of a head anyway.  We know that junior has at least one leg, a nose and that he is alive and knows how to kick.  Baby is well on the way to becoming a donkey.  Actually, quite far along to becoming a donkey.  I have been thinking that Emma is much more pregnant than I had initially thought.  In the last couple of weeks her belly has really blossomed while at the same time she has lost a lot of weight.  This makes perfect sense if she is entering the final trimester when 80% of the fetal protein is laid down. 

What I was really hoping for from the ultrasound was an idea of when to expect Baby.  As a result of my observations, much chin scratching, speculations and backwards math we all agree that the baby is most likely to make an entrance sometime in April or May.  Gulp.  Emma would have been about 8 months old when bred.  Double gulp. 

Here are some pictures of "The Belly" taken this afternoon...

The only good news as far as Emma is concerned is that she gets to have LOTS more food now.  She is now up to getting a handful of the 10/10 sweet feed three times a day along with 2 flakes/day of second cutting hay to go with the free-choice first cutting.  She also get a 1/4 scoop of Accel vitamins and a 1/4 scoop of selenium/E because New York is profoundly selenium deficient.  We'll stay there for a bit and adjust as needed.

I had to make some temporary changes in the barn in order to feed her.... 

The creep feeder arrangement is to protect her from the circling sharks....

Sometimes it is helpful to be short.



And finally, what you have all been waiting for...a contest.  Leave your best guess as to the arrival of Emma Junior as a comment on this post (that way I'll be able to find them all).  The winner will get one of my handmade (by me) cutting boards.  It will look a little (but not exactly) like this...

It is made of hard maple and/or cherry and the back is grooved so it also acts a bread board.  If you leave your comment anonymously, make sure to include an identifier so I can figure out who you are.  Good luck to all of us!  I know Emma and I are going to need it.