Wednesday, June 18, 2008

Cria becomes a bottle baby



First of all, the little guy has a name - Spot. He has a very light fawn spot on the top of his head that is very hard to see, but that's what I'm looking at when he is taking his bottle.

We have pretty much given up on any chance of his nursing from Ariana, she's sore and not letting him near her back end. But frankly, he gives no indication that he knows the milk bar is there.

Today was the first day that he actually took the bottle nipple into his mouth without my forcing his mouth open. Remember, today is his fifth day out in the world. At this feeding he drank 6.5 ounces of cow's milk and a dallop of Activia. When we weighed him yesterday, he had gained 1/2 pound so it looks like he may just make it.

We know that something is just not right and if he were in the wild, he would not survive. If he makes it through criahood, he definitely will become a neutered fiber guy. Although his conformation is excellent and his fiber is beautiful, we would never pass along what ever it is that is making him such a slow starter.

BTW, that's our handsome herd sire, Polaris, in the background ♥☺♥ And - I just know that you are all wondering why the Scranton sweatshirt. That's the university in Pennsylvania where my son, Rob, teaches. Proud mom here.

13 comments:

Anonymous said...

I love hearing about the cria. They're so precious! I'm so happy that little Spot is doing well.

Anonymous said...

I hope Spot continues to thrive under your care Maple - he's so sweet! All the best :-)

Firefly Nights said...

So glad Spot is doing better.

Anonymous said...

I'm so glad Spot is doing better. Good thing he wasn't born in the wild!

Michele / akkasha said...

I am so glad to hear Spot is taking the bottle.

And Polaris is a handsome guy. I suspect I am gonna need to check for his fiber! *grin* Scary that now I see your critters and start dreaming about their fibers! *laugh*

Anonymous said...

I'm happy to hear that Spot is starting to eat well and improve. He is so sweet looking with gorgeous coloring.

woolies said...

bottle fed babies are the most friendly, he'll be sleeping in your bed soon. !!
He's adorable.

Dar said...

Hi, It's Dar from Serenity Suris here. Don't be so quick to label your boy a fibre fella just yet. The most common reason for this kind of response is anoxia during birth. They cme out okay then crash and seem to be very slow as far as feeding and doing all of the things a cria should be doing. Many of these crias get their second wind after 10 days or so and do just fine. The birth trauma causes swelling in the brain which takes awhile to resolve. I'm hoping that's the case with your little guy. I had one last year...23 pounds and went through the same thing. He bounced right back by the time he was 2 weeks old. Now he's no different than the other crias from that year...I'll keep my fingers crossed for you!

LazyTcrochet said...

Oh good luck! He's so sweet. Yay for Scranton. I grew up in PA.

skiingweaver said...

Darlene's comment is good to hear! Spot is absolutely adorable, so glad he's taking the bottle - bring back any memories? LOL. :) You're a proud mama many times over.

Brenda said...

Spot is sooo cute! Hope he continues doing well.

Lisa said...

I hope he continues to improve because he's such a CUTIE!

Pegg said...

Maple I do hope Spot continues to thrive, he is a sweetie pie boy!

Map