Well, I thought I'd share another story about Pow Wow today. Some of you will probably remember it if you've been around a while.
I loved Pow Wow - she was one of my favorite does. She was so friendly most of the time and just so pretty. One of my goals was to have babies from her because I knew they would be just like her (is anyone here laughing yet??). Oh wait -that will be a later story..
Well - when she had her first litter - they were all stillborn and I think a bit early. I followed the advice of other breeders and rebred her shortly after she lost the litter. Her next litter was....all stillborn. She looked so sad. I tried to foster to her - but it was a no go. She just didn't want to nurse the babies at all - I think she knew they weren't hers (so they went back to their original mama).
I gave her a month off and then rebred her one more time. I was also breeding some other does (so I'd have foster moms available). I was heartbroken when I checked her nest for her third litter and all were dead.
I think that was one of my hardest days with her - because she nudged my hand and looked at her babies and nudged my hand again. I think she thought I could fix it...that I could make them better. After all - I did other things for her - I brought her food and treats - I cleaned her liter box. Certainly I could fix this....couldn't I?
I took the dead babies out and left her in her cage for a bit and I went to check on the other does. I had an idea in mind.
I'd have to go back in the forum and read about it because I don't remember if it was that day or the day after (or if Sundae had her babies the day before Pow Wow had hers) - but whenever it happened....Sundae had NINE babies.
I kept thinking about Pow Wow and how she was still grieving for her babies...and thinking about how Sundae had NINE babies. Certainly Sundae wouldn't mind sharing...would she? But would Pow Wow do a better job of fostering this time?
I took Pow Wow out of her cage while I made a little nest in there and put some babies in there. I don't remember if I gave her three or four babies - once again - I'd have to go back to my thread to check it out. But I made sure that they smelled like her (I'd petted her first and then petted them with her scent on my hands). I thought about using the vanilla trick - but she seemed to be wanting HER babies and I wanted them to smell like her.
Bless her heart - Pow Wow was ecstatic to get back in her cage and find
LIVE babies wriggling around in her nest. I think they had been born the day before now that I think about it...
She looked at me and at the babies and at me and the babies. She smelled the babies and they SMELLED like her.
I think she
almost binkied in her cage. She was so happy to have babies. I was happy for her and for that day she would come to greet me whenever I opened the door and almost preen herself as if to say, "
See what I did?"
I didn't have the heart to tell her they weren't hers. I think maybe she thought I'd brought her babies back to life. Until that night.....
That night I went to bed knowing that she had X babies to take care of and if she fed them during the night and stuff - she'd get to keep them. I was a bit nervous because even though she seemed attached to them - what if she rejected them?
Well - the next morning I got up and one of the first things I did was to check Pow Wow's cage. She didn't have X babies anymore. She had X+1 baby...and it was ALIVE and wriggling and nice and big. ALL of the babies had full tummies too.
Needless to say - the decision was made. Pow Wow was going to get to keep the foster babies AND her baby.
If I thought she was proud the day before - that was nothing. I think by this time she'd figured out she was fostering - because she was
ECSTATIC at her babies. She would come to check me out if I came to the cage - but as soon as I opened the door - she would CHARGE me. I think there was something about knowing that HER baby was in there and alive that she went from being a sweetie - to being a MOTHER who had to protect HER young. :shock:
When I checked the baby a few days later - I noticed that she had overcleaned its back foot and it was missing the front 1/3 or so. Still yet...the baby was fine other than that.
Pow Wow was an
excellent mother - just like I knew she would be. She loved all of the babies - but frequently, you'd find her cuddled up next to
HER baby or her baby would be sleeping on top of her head. The two had a very close relationship compared to all of the other babies in the cage w/ her.
Unfortunately - Pow Wow's personality changed a bit after being a mother - and I'll share about that in another post sometime.
But I will never forget the look on Pow Wow's face when she suddenly discovered LIVE babies in her nest....how happy she was and how she was so thankful to me. She really wanted to be a mother so badly.
I'll also never forget her pride at having HER baby. She knew which one was hers ... and she was so pleased that she had one and it was alive.
Oh - and she never had stillborn kits again.....
Peg
