Our mother from last year's litter was bred by our EBV Red Group hypo, and delivered another beautiful litter 105 days post ovulation shed. It was incredible, and we got to watch the entire thing. There were some heartbreakers this time, as things did not turn out all good. There are 10 hypos(some pastel), 9 normals(almost all are very light and pastel appearing), one evil, evil slug, 4 fully developed stillborns, and 2 very premature which died within an hour after parturition.
Here are some crappy pics of some beautiful babies....
And the things we all hate to see. She was bound on that one slug for almost 30 minutes. I think in the process of trying to force it along a few of the babies which would have otherwise been born healthy, were crushed. One was severely kinked up and died almost immediately post parturition. The two premies that passed were still in the goo pile at the point these pics were taken.
The slug was very hard, and I believe was at least a year old or so. A curious thing is that the slug was not an unfertilized ova, but rather just completely underdeveloped. See the eyes in the little beginnings of a boa...
The good news is mom seems to be doing just fine, and is digesting a small meal. In a week she will get one like she has not had in quite some time, and I imagine she will enjoy it. She certainly deserves it! Dad did not do too shabby a job either. Between two females he has produced 35 outstanding babies this year.
Well, it's been a long night folks, full of ups and downs.... And I think it is about time I hit the sack.... Have a safe and happy 4th everybody!
Jesse Van Atta
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"Continuing to cling to the patterns you know, inhibits your ability to discover what you don't know." - Eric Allenbaugh
