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( Kitten first. )
So Sparky is all bouncy and running around like a good little cria. I was watching him from the kitchen window, and I was telling Dar how crazy active he was - running up and down the width of the back paddock, looking for someone to chase him. I was wondering where Valentino was, because usually Val is right there with him, running and bouncing. I didn't think anymore of it, and I went about my business.
A few hours later, I notice he's still running with no one playing with him. Hmmmmm. I wonder if Val is OK. Dar and I go out to the barn to do the evening feeding. I'm up on the ladder pulling down a hay bale when Dar comes rushing in. "I need you. We've got trouble." My heart dropped. Fortunately it wasn't anything life threatening, but it was Sparky still running back and forth . . . in Iceman's paddock! How the hell did he get back there? And he'd been there for hours, which meant not only was he scared and frantic, but he also hadn't been nursing, which isn't good given his low immunity. So off we hustle to get him back to his rightful place. It took a little doing to catch him but not much. He's starting to trust me, so I let him come to me, and he did after a few minutes; I scooped him up and walked him back to his mom. About two seconds after his feet touched the ground he was latched onto her, nursing like there was no tomorrow. Poor baby. We felt awful that we didn't see that he wasn't in his own paddock. And it's another lesson learned: if something seems off - even if it doesn't seem like it's harmful - go check it out to be sure.
After checking the fence line between the two paddocks, we could see that he hadn't crawled under or climbed over. All we can figure is that he crawled through the spacing in the wires. The adults often put their heads and necks through to graze on the grass outside of the actual paddocks. He was probably trying to mimic what they were doing, except he's so thin and gangly he managed to get his whole body through. We're betting that he never tries that again. He spent the rest of the night practically glued to Conchita's side. I swear, he's going to give her a heart attack, the poor mom. And we won't be far behind.
So Sparky is all bouncy and running around like a good little cria. I was watching him from the kitchen window, and I was telling Dar how crazy active he was - running up and down the width of the back paddock, looking for someone to chase him. I was wondering where Valentino was, because usually Val is right there with him, running and bouncing. I didn't think anymore of it, and I went about my business.
A few hours later, I notice he's still running with no one playing with him. Hmmmmm. I wonder if Val is OK. Dar and I go out to the barn to do the evening feeding. I'm up on the ladder pulling down a hay bale when Dar comes rushing in. "I need you. We've got trouble." My heart dropped. Fortunately it wasn't anything life threatening, but it was Sparky still running back and forth . . . in Iceman's paddock! How the hell did he get back there? And he'd been there for hours, which meant not only was he scared and frantic, but he also hadn't been nursing, which isn't good given his low immunity. So off we hustle to get him back to his rightful place. It took a little doing to catch him but not much. He's starting to trust me, so I let him come to me, and he did after a few minutes; I scooped him up and walked him back to his mom. About two seconds after his feet touched the ground he was latched onto her, nursing like there was no tomorrow. Poor baby. We felt awful that we didn't see that he wasn't in his own paddock. And it's another lesson learned: if something seems off - even if it doesn't seem like it's harmful - go check it out to be sure.
After checking the fence line between the two paddocks, we could see that he hadn't crawled under or climbed over. All we can figure is that he crawled through the spacing in the wires. The adults often put their heads and necks through to graze on the grass outside of the actual paddocks. He was probably trying to mimic what they were doing, except he's so thin and gangly he managed to get his whole body through. We're betting that he never tries that again. He spent the rest of the night practically glued to Conchita's side. I swear, he's going to give her a heart attack, the poor mom. And we won't be far behind.
