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.

Due Dates

I've been trying to figure out when Emma's baby might be due and ,well, the best I can come up with is:  sometime this summer.  Here are the variables, maybe some of you folks with more donkey experience can do better:

• The gestation period for donkeys is 11- 14 months with 12 months being average.
• I believe that Emma was born in July of 2010, jennys start to come into heat between 7 and 12 months old, with 12 months again being the average.
• Emma came to my house on Aug. 31st
• I tried to find out from the previous owner when she had been bred but, I got no more then a drunken shrug and the mumbled reply that he'd seen the jack breed her once or twice.
• My best guess is that she was bred sometime in August, if she started to have heat cycles when she was 12 months old.  If she came into heat earlier than that though....

Looking at this, it seems like the baby could be due any time between June and September with July or August being the most likely.  Any donkey breeders out there have any input on this? 

I have talked with a specialist at Cornell and his advice was, "if she were my donkey I would leave her be and hope for the best".  He was at least somewhat reassuring as he told me that a donkey's pelvis is much better designed for birthing than a horse and it is more common for young donkeys to successfully carry a healthy foal to term then it is for horses.  The two biggest risks are dystocia and foal rejection. 

I could have an ultrasound done but, I am not sure it would be very useful at this stage other than to provide me a little peace of mind that she is not carrying twins.  The blood test I had done tests for estrogen sulfate which is produced by the placenta.  Her levels were extremely high, indicating that there is an active placenta with a viable fetus.  Too bad it can't tell me when that fetus might decide to enter the world.