We are anxiously waiting the arrival of our crias this summer.  We are expecting nine anywhere from the second week of June until the first week in October.  Some of the girls already have the cutest baby bellies and now that they are shorn, its easier to see the babies moving around in the tummies!  It's always a treat to see the kicks and rolls in the bellies!  I don't know if the mama's to be appreciate it as much as I do!

Cute mama belly

Three of our nine mamas are expecting their first babies.  This can be especially stressful for them and us as they don't fully understand what is happening!  Many think they need to elimate some waste and head over to the pile to releave themselves, but it isn't the case.  They are afraid and you can see it in their faces and eyes.  We try to talk calmly and gently to them and play softer music in the barn to try to get them to relax a bit.

Over the last 4 birthing seasons, I've learned some signs to watch for, but not all of them present themselves this way.  Some of the signs I've noticed are:

• increased trips to the potty pile but not much coming out or urine stream in straight down
• tail is raised up a few days before delivery
• poofy butt- some of the girls will have an enlarged back end that is quite pronounced.
• enlarged teets- they will start to 'bag' up and their teets become full of milk.  They will also have waxy tips on their teets to keep the milk in until they begin nursing.
• increased eating- the girls will begin to eat a lot more a few days prior to delivery.  They will continue to eat and eat and act a if they haven't been fed.  
• hallowed out hips- they will begin to look very hallow in their back end and suddenly their hip bones look as if they are protruding
• the girls will spend a lot of time laying down and eating or just laying to rest

poofy butt                                                lots of laying down

Once we see some of these signs, we know we are getting closer to delivery time!  It is an anxious but exciting time when the cria you've been anticipating for 11 1/2 months is almost here!  Once the final stages of labor start, it can go very quickly.  From the first bubble of a nose, to a whole baby can be only a few minutes to 30 mins.  The nose starts to appear, followed by toes.  The saying for a perfect delivery is "nose before toes".  Picture Superman flying and that is what you should see.

After each baby and once all the babies have arrived, it is time to celebrate!  Crias are such a fun part of the farm!  Watching them from their first steps, first nursing moment to running and pronking with the rest of the herd, is nothing but pure joy!