Remember last fall, the donkey whose owner died, and the dogs that Mikey and I tried to save? Well Abigail ended up living two houses down from her old place, as the neighbor lady who called me originally missed her so much she decided to try adopting her. She'd never had an equine and didn't know anything but we are here for a resource, and thankfully so as Abigail turned out to be pregnant. This morning I got a panic call, mama was KICKING the baby and not feeding her...
Now how could ANY mama not love this?
It seems that Abigail is EXTREMELY jealous and possessive of Mary, because she actually DID feed the baby, seen by Mary's husband and daughter... but once Mary came outside, and ignored her to go straight for the baby, that was all she wrote.
Lots of drama and trying different things, but so far so good for baby Cupcake... and me, well, I will heal ;) Yes I got stepped on and knocked down... and kicked a good one in the thigh so HUGE hoofprint bruise. And the finger I pinched trimming one of my own this morning also got twisted so is even more swollen and bruised... {sigh}
We would appreciate any and all prayers, best case scenario mama calms down and takes over, summer babies are hard anyway and with mama not wanting to feed her we are worried about her getting enough and keeping hydrated. She has already figured out the water bucket so that helps. First call I made was Mikey of course, she was already at work herself so she sent Wade, bless his heart, to rope the mother and get hobbles on to keep her from kicking. And Hilary went out later in the morning to make sure baby got a meal, and also milked a full baby bottle out for Mary to try later, which Cupcake did well with. Randy went to the store for me and got a calf bottle and milk replacer but she doesn't like that big nipple yet - I am sure she will grow into it soon though! He took the hobbles off mama because she was STILL kicking at them and had taken off quite a bit of skin... Tonight I took panels out and set up a pen under the shade to keep Cupcake out of the sun,and a squeeze chute next to it, and so far THAT is working really well BUT - and it's a big, big BUT - neither Mary nor her husband are physically able to put Abigail in the chute. She is being QUITE the toad, trying to bite and kick, but once I get her tied into the chute, Cupcake can nurse to her heart's content. Which means several trips a day 12 minutes down the road to Mary's - thank God she is close. Hilary is going to take one trip also, and if anyone who lives near here reads this and wants to help we won't say no! It's not hard if you know donkeys and are quick on your feet, if you get after Abigail and are not afraid she does ok, and once she is in the chute, you just have to stand and pet and talk to her while Cupcake helps herself :)
But we will do whatever it takes to see this little darling is ok! Welcome to the world, Cupcake!
