We have been watching Cierra closely. She has stayed bagged up, with no visible big changes. Brad did not noticed any waxing. We saw no dripping milk. I did see Cierra kick at her belly once while out at pasture on Sunday. It is a sign of pending birth, but one kick could have been anything. A bug or whatever adjustment. Sunday was the first warm day of a trend that has us on track to set record high temps (80F expected) today. Our son walked Cierra in with us during evening chores. All was normal.
I checked the barn camera live view around 2:00am. Imagine my surprise to be woken up shortly after 5:00am to Brad's voice "Aurora, Aurora, Cierra had her baby" I responded with "WHAAAT??!!!!"
I got dressed as fast as my startled foggy morning brain could process. Grabbed my camera and headed out to the barn. It was pitch black outside and completely still.
5:09am on April 10, 2023
Sure enough, Cierra had a baby at her side!! The first words out of my mouth when I saw the little one were "hey Brad, it's not white". It was obvious the baby was not very old. Less than an hour.
Our joy was a bit overshadowed by the feeling that we had failed Cierra. Not because we missed the birth. We know it is very common and mares are sneaky about birthing. Cierra did amazing and had no problem all on her own. Our barn camera captured video of her birthing, in three stages. We feel bad because we had not bedded Cierra's stall with the nice straw we purchased, specifically for their safety. Sigh.
Where were the classic signs??
Brad thought about changing her bedding last weekend. We even talked about bedding half the double stall with straw, so Cierra could get used to it. We both really thought she was no where near close to giving birth. Thankfully the shavings were not a problem.
Cierra had a filly on Monday April 10 at 4:21am!!
Congrats to Linda! She had the closest guess on our foaling contest. Email me your snail mail address for your prize. Happy Birthday!!
We stayed in the barn and watched the miracle of motherhood unfold.
Cierra used her body to steady her wobbly baby
5:11am
non-stop cleaning baby
5:13am
keeping a persistent watchful eye
Wow, Cierra is one excellent Mama!! She remains very sweet. Her soft nickers to her baby melt my heart. We are fairly sure the filly is a Buckskin.
Cierra kept redirecting the filly towards her, and repositioning herself. Nudging baby, wrapping herself around and waiting patiently. She helped the filly find her way and before we knew it, baby was suckling away.
We were a little concerned with Cierra. She seemed uncomfortable, and laid down. Acting as if she had more to expel. At one point we noticed she was sucked in on one side. We were unsure if the full placenta was out. Brad decided to call the vet. Sadly, I had to leave for an appointment and missed the whole vet visit :((
Baby was about 7 hours old when the vet was out. A little earlier than they want for doing an IgG foal test. Typically our vet waits until after foals are 12 hours old. Cierra's baby scored very high on the test and clearly has received what is needed from mama.
I was so bummed to miss the vet visit! The important part is Cierra is fine and so is her baby. Brad told me the vet laid the afterbirth down on the floor and stretched it out. Everything was connected, normal and all out. Whew!
I watched a cute video our camera captured with the (new to us) vet doing the foal exam. The baby fell asleep on her, and I guess the foal pooped on her leg too. Whoops.
21 seconds
It is amazing to see the transformation in Cierra. She is in full mama mode. Very concerned with her baby and checks her every two seconds.
5:39am
Incase you are wondering, the filly does not have a barn or registered name. Yet. I resent Brad my registered name suggestions from last August. At this point, I don't have any barn name suggestions for him. I might just keep my mouth shut (it could happen) and see what he comes up with for name/s. The filly's name will be Brad's decision.
4:24pm (32 secs)
4:32pm
Her filly is precious. We think Cierra is going to have her hands full. Already spunky with a mind of her own. I imagine Cierra will calm down and give in to her babies funny antics.
she has a very prominent swirl
first outing to wash mama's tail
(and pooping in the aisle)
4:10pm
It sure will be fun watching the filly grow up! She has already changed in just one day. I better empty my camera cards!
8:45am
4:32pm
8 comments:
OHHHHH Wowwowowowowo!
I'll be back, but I had to check on Ciera and baby.
How exciting!
I kept checking back to see if she had her baby, and your title made me think she didn’t. Haha! I was wrong! Yay!!!! OMG, she’s beautiful!! Just amazing!! Mama did good!! What a perfect birth, and both are healthy. Now you know what I’m talking about when I described the love you develop for this foal that is such a part of your family. I feel close to her from just following along your journey. Keep the photos coming!
And I believe that swirl, its placement, is a sign of intelligence.
Val we are very excited, and tired lol.
Linda, I was trying to share the experience of surprise *^*
The filly's swirl is very noticeable. Especially since it spirals from that dark central area. I know there are meanings to swirls and was hoping someone who knows would comment. SO, thanks!
Good photos in stalls are hard to get. I can't get back far enough. My lens that works best is not meant for action. Day one and a half and the filly is running circles around mama lol.
I can't help but wonder if she really is a buckskin? The filly could very well shed out a different color. Funny no one is will to commit firmly on color lol. Everyone says "I think she is a buckskin" Guess that's what DNA tests are for :)
She sure looks like a buckskin, but I remember Shirley always getting the blood tests. They really can shed off entirely different.
Your surprise worked!
What a perfect filly! She's lovely! And yes, buckskin, she will shed that baby coat to probably a little darker. It will be obvious at about 3 months when she starts to blow the foal coat to reveal her true colour.
Well done Cierra! And what a good mama. I bet Brad (and you!) are over the moon!
Shayla's mare that had the paint colt was also a maiden and she didn't show mush classic signs either. Not a full udder, not really loose behind. She was actually worried if there was enough milk for Zipper, but he drank frequently and her milk came into production.
I am so looking forward to many foal photos!
Thanks for confirming the filly's coat color, Shirley. I didn't know about the 3 month benchmark. Always learning new things from you!
Congratulations!! Such a beautiful baby! Cierra is a wonderful mother too! This is so exciting. Enjoy your new baby and her mama.
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