Relaxed Farming - our farm in your classroom

Welcome to Relaxed Farming

Garlic gave birth very quietly and with little fuss but then seemed totally unsure what to do - it was some time before she began to lick her kid but thankfully once she started, she kept going until little Mushroom was really dry. Licking serves two purposes: firstly it helps to get the kid warm and secondly it begins what hopefully becomes a very strong bond between mother and kid, essential if the kid is to survive. Also essential is the first drink of milk which in all mammals contains a very important substance called colostrum. Colostrum is full of masses of energy, protein, vitamins and minerals plus antibodies that help to keep the kid healthy and free of diseases. Without it, the young animal literally could die! Usually you hope that the kid has taken their first drink in the first half hour of being born but little Mushroom, whilst standing and bleating, showed no interest in finding mum's teat and suckling and even when we tried to help, she made no effort to open her mouth and latch on.

After 40 minutes we decided to take some milk from Garlic and syringe it straight into Mushroom's mouth. We did this a couple of times and whilst she protested by screaming, within 10-15 minutes she became more alert and started to then look for Garlic's teats by herself. This time when we helped her to get near she did open her mouth and latch on and so before the first hour of her life was up, she had taken her first independent drink. Phew!! We stayed around for another good half hour by which time she had found Garlic’s teats not just once more but THREE more times and on all occasions she stayed drinking for a good 10/15 seconds or so. At that point we felt confident enough to retreat back to the warmth of the house and so left mum and kid to it. One slight worry we have is that Mushroom was a bit ‘gurgly’ when she was first born which may suggest a problem with her lungs BUT the fact she was able to suckle so well, albeit after a few false starts, suggests this is probably not a major issue: we hope!!! Nonetheless, we will be keeping a close eye (or ear) over the next day or so!!!