Dysmature Cria
Friday, September 16, 2016
Everyone knows about premature births -- but ever had one go waaaaay over the due date? like 387 day gestation? That's called "dysmature".
We recently had our first experience with this, and it's no fun at all. For mom, it means giving birth to a 26 lb. cria instead of the normal 15-16 lb. baby. Thankfully, this mom was not a maiden.
Of course, it's a white male - on our farm, seems like we are male oriented. But wow, what a baby. It takes years to know what you have at birth and let us tell you -- this boy is something! Elite fleece and density that we all are seeking!
The problems that a dysmature cria can have are many. Our guy was unable to hold his body temperature up (normal range is 99-101 degrees) and when that happens, the blood sugar (glucose) plummets. The goal is to have a glucose level between 90-120. On top of all this, septicemia kicked in. Easy to spot with tell-tale flaming red eye membranes. This cria was laid out flat, mouth breathing and on the verge of death. We knew we needed more help than we could provide.
Thankfully, we were able to stabilize this cria long enough for the two hour drive to our vet, Dr. Jackie Waltner with Puget Sound Vet Group. If anyone can save a cria - it's Dr. Jackie. Once she got his temperature stable, in tandem treating the septicemia and glucose.
Four days later, thankful for Dr. Jackie's tireless efforts - our cria will survive. Gotta love a happy ending....
We recently had our first experience with this, and it's no fun at all. For mom, it means giving birth to a 26 lb. cria instead of the normal 15-16 lb. baby. Thankfully, this mom was not a maiden.
Of course, it's a white male - on our farm, seems like we are male oriented. But wow, what a baby. It takes years to know what you have at birth and let us tell you -- this boy is something! Elite fleece and density that we all are seeking!
The problems that a dysmature cria can have are many. Our guy was unable to hold his body temperature up (normal range is 99-101 degrees) and when that happens, the blood sugar (glucose) plummets. The goal is to have a glucose level between 90-120. On top of all this, septicemia kicked in. Easy to spot with tell-tale flaming red eye membranes. This cria was laid out flat, mouth breathing and on the verge of death. We knew we needed more help than we could provide.
Thankfully, we were able to stabilize this cria long enough for the two hour drive to our vet, Dr. Jackie Waltner with Puget Sound Vet Group. If anyone can save a cria - it's Dr. Jackie. Once she got his temperature stable, in tandem treating the septicemia and glucose.
Four days later, thankful for Dr. Jackie's tireless efforts - our cria will survive. Gotta love a happy ending....
