Weigh in

(Molly is now confirmed pregnant to Malakai! Due approx 24th Feb)



The weigh in for Saturday the 14th Jan 2012:


*** Liam's Love Shack ***
Liam is 890g (gain 10g) - 41wks (9.5m)
Tigerlily is 640g (gain 20g) - 17wks (4m)
Isla is 645g (loss 5g) - 20wks (4.5m)
Indigo is 595g (loss 15g) - 20wks (4.5m)


*** Romeo's Roost ***
Romeo is 710g (gain 40g) - 16wks (4m)
Lavender Mist is 750g (gain 15g) - 23wks (5m)
Zinnia is 695g (gain 35g) - 17wks (4m)


*** Malakai's Quarters ***
Malakai is 855g (gain 10g) - 24wks (5.5m)
Galaxy is 1100g (gain 60g)- 1 year old


*** Mr Tex ***
Tex is 950g (loss 35g) - 2.5yrs


*** Girl's Mansion ***
Alice is 1215g (gain 40g) - 50wks (11.5m)- (Pregnant, due approx 27/1/12)
Bella-Donna is 525g (gain 25g) - 8wks (1.5m)
Chloe is 620g (gain 15g) - 16wks (4m)
Crumble is 1295g (gain 35g) - 1yr - (pregnant, due approx 4th Feb 2012)
Custard is 980g (gain 25g) - 5yrs
Delilah is 915g (gain 30g) - approx 1yr
Elodie is 965g (gain 30g) - 25wks (5.5m)- (pregnant, due approx 16/2/12)
Ginger is 1060g (gain 30g)- 44wks (10m)
Ivy is 760g (gain 60g) - 17wks (4m)
Jasmine is 600g (gain 15g) - 18wks (4.5m)
Lacey is 320g (gain 30g) - 5wks (1m)
Molly is 895g (gain 50g) - 23wks (5m) - (Pregnant, due approx 24/2/12)
Nixie is 505g (gained 15g) - 10wks (2m)
Phoebe is now 885g (gain 10g) - 40wks (9m)
Pollyanna is now 590g (gained 45g) - 11wks (2.5m)
Ruby is 1145g (loss 15g) - 44wks (10m)
Savannah is 900g (loss 30g) - 1.5yrs
Sparrow is 1240g (gain 20g) - 41wks (9m) - (Pregnant, due 22/1/12)
Subi is 1175g (gain 30g) - 2.5yrs
Tabitha is 555g (gain 35g) - 12wks (2.5m)
Twizzle is 745g (gain 15g) - 17wks (4m)
Xeraphina is 700g (gain 50g) 15wks (3.5m)
Yeti is 1105g (gain 45g) - 33wks (7.5m) - (Pregnant, due approx 22/1/12)



***New Mums***

Millicent is 755g (gain 15g) - 24wks (6m)- ( nursing)
Whisper is 145g (gain 50g) 1wk
Willow is 140g (gain 50g) 1wk
Winter is 105g (same) 1wk


Violet is now 650g (gain 5g) - 27wks (6m) - (nursing)
Henry is 170g (gain 45g) - 2wk
Hamlet is 160g (gain 50g) - 2wk


Peppa is 1035g (gain 30g) - 1yr - (nursing Leilani's bubs)
Leilani is 780g (gained 15g) - 31wks (7m)- (nursing)
Pudding is 240g (gain 45g) - 3wks
Puddles is 265g (gain 65g) - 3wks
Promise is 250g (gained 50g) - 3wks
Peanut is 160g (gained 45g) - 3wks
Panda is 265g (gained 50g) - 3wks



(Puddles and Pudding hanging out while Sparrow supervises from behind!)

So not too bad of a week at all. I was a little concerned that Winter didn't gain anything in her first week, especially as her siblings did... that being said though, she is the cheekiest, most active little newborn I've ever had here. The first night she was in the big cage with everyone, I opened the door to add some extra veg scraps left over from dinner and she came running out! She bumbled along the perimeter area while I watched to see which way she'd go - then she just popped right through the fence and was off for a stroll! Thankfully she wasn't moving very fast, and our yard is fully enclosed... but still! I've never had a baby just decide to run out the door like that before. So I think I can put the weight down to her preferring to run with the bigger babies (while her siblings snooze with mum!). We;ll see how this week goes, and if she'll need supplemental feeding.

Just waiting on Yeti and Sparrow's babies now... fingers crossed for some safe deliveries.

Leilani's Litter - 1 week old

Updated pics of Leilani's litter as promised! In fact, here is 'Promise' at just over 1 week old. These guys are going to be FLUFFY!


Peanut at 1 week old - doing so well! So strong and so active. You'd never know he was born so twisted up!


My favourite (if I'm allowed a fav!?) - Puddles. This little boy is going to be a heart breaker.



First-born Pudding. The fatty-boom-ba of the group - and with such a gorgeous density to that colourful coat.



And lastly, Miss Panda. As the hair grows, her crest becomes even more funky! Such a pretty little lady.

Leilani's Litter

After endlessly checking on Miss Leilani for the last 6 days that I've thought 'it could be any day now' - she finally had her babies this afternoon. (and after much deliberation/genetic researching, I've concluded that the babies MUST be Malakai's. Three of the five have rosettes, which are dominant, so most definitely could not have come from a pedigree texel. Plus, there is a distinct lack of agouti - which Liam has produced in All of his offspring!).

It was exactly 1pm when I walked in and found her quite obviously in labour. I watched her for a few minutes while she had contractions, but no resulting baby. I quickly washed my hands and grabbed some paper towels and came back to gently lift her up to see what was happening. There was a baby's face out (and mouth moving), but it was stuck at the broad part of the head/ears. With each contraction I helped gently ease his big head out, and put her back down to finish the rest herself with another contraction. She got straight into cleaning him up, and then about 5 mins later baby no. 2 arrived. The photo above is her cleaning him up while baby no. 1 helped! (Yes, the first born was actually helping lick his brother! So incredible!).


Then after another 5mins or so, baby no 3 arrived. I was still very worried that more might get stuck, but second and third came out perfectly, and Leilani gave each baby appropriate attention going right to the faces of each new arrival to clear away the membrane. Here she's eating off baby no. 3's sack.

It stayed like this for another 10-15mins, while I wondered if this was it, or if there were more. As she moved around I could see another lump, so knew there was a no. 4 on the way. She laboured for a little while to get him out though, and I wonder if he got a bit stuck in the birth canal? Once baby no. 4 arrived, baby no. 5 was born almost on top of him. I grabbed no. 4 and let Leilani deal with no. 5. I knew immediately that something was wrong with no. 4. He was tiny, and wouldn't sit straight in my hand....



These are Leilani's five beautiful babies at 4 hours old. In order of birth: Pudding, Puddles, Promise, Peanut and Panda. Peanut is the runt, weighing about half that of his 4 siblings, and with what appears to be a head-tilt.

When he was first born he couldn't even hold his head up. From what I've read, it appears that this is either a result of being oxygen deprived during birth (from being stuck for a little while) or from being crushed while growing in the womb (which is also quite likely considering he was stuck somewhere in amongst 4 much much bigger siblings).






'Pudding':


This is the first-born 'Pudding'. He's a big healthy boy in a tri-colour mix of white, slate and cream. He will grow up to look just like a sheltie. He weighed in at a very decent 100g. (Pudding is ON HOLD)





'Puddles':


Puddles is GORGEOUS! He is the second born, and he too is a tri-colour mix of slate, cream and white. But he will end up with the Sheba coat of his daddy Malakai. He has a stunning big broad nose and beautiful colouring. He weighed in at 90g.





'Promise':


Promise was third-born and is also a stunner! She is a tri-colour mix of chocolate, cream and white with a gorgeous rosetted coat that will grow very long, and give her a Sheba-Mini-Yak look. She weighed in at 90g. (Promise is on HOLD)






'Peanut':


Fourth born - little Peanut. He has gorgeous colouring with a mix of ginger, chocolate and white. And a stunning rosetted coat that will grow to look Sheba-ish as well, if he can pull through... he does seem to be getting better and better as the hours go by. I think it's going to be a long night, but he seems to have a fighting spirit! He weighed a very petite 55g.





'Panda':


And the fifth-born baby Panda. She is going to grow up to look just like a coronet (like her mum). She is a tri-colour as well, but mostly slate and white. She has the tiniest hint of cream by her jaw line! She weighed a whopping 100g!