s e v e n i s a j o u r n e y

Owlet and friends:

One of the neighbor’s horses is curious about Zahir:

Victoria’s preemie:

So, good news, the cria is still alive. I was worried last night for a time. He started termbling, so I gave him some warm water bottles and wrapped him in a blanket. This was too much intervention for Vic, as she could not find/smell his bum, so she had a go at me. I backed off, and revealed more of the cria to calm her down. He spent the night in the shed with her, snuggled into a bed of hay.

He has been given an antibiotic cover (amoxocillian), as he lost his sucking reflex yesterday, and was running on the hot side of normal. As he would not suck, we could not feed him milk from the bottle. They must suck the milk from the bottle. The sucking action, combined with the head in an upright position, directs the milk past the first stomach chamber (C1) and straight into the C3 chamber, where it goes into the intestines and is absorbed. If milk goes into C1 it will curdle and cause significant stomach upset- including the poossibility of bloat, which can be fatal.

So, I gave him a sugar solution by syringe into his mouth throughout the day. He needs the hydration, and the sugar to keep his brain working.

This morning he is more active. His temperature regulation seems to be doing okay, too. And after the third feed at 10AM he got up and started searching under mum for teats. No “hits” yet, but having the energy and inclination to search is a good sign. Fingers crossed the little guy will make it! If he does, it will be a fun challenge thinking of a name for him.