Deformed Babies

It's a rare occurrence, but deformities happen in all species. It stands to reason that eventually, something would pop up in my herd. The Angora had her babies last Friday. At first I wasn't sure, because she was in her usual spot in front of the nest. But then she suddenly hopped out and I got a good look at a tragedy. There were 3 large and very dead babies in the front of the nest. At first I thought she had trampled them to death, but on a closer inspection I realized that 2 of them had severe deformities of the head. The third was excessively large, but still warm. It was probably a DOA. A little farther back in the nest was one single live baby. I scooped the baby out of the nest and into my portable warmer. I then removed the nest from the cage and took the live baby upstairs. It's only hope was the other doe delivering soon. I found a small bucket and carefully wrapped the baby in as many soft towels as I could find, hoping that would be enough to keep it alive. The other doe did not kindle before we left for the show that night.

My fingers were firmly crossed when we got back. Even though it was extremely late and I was worn out thoroughly, the first thing I did on return was to check the baby. If it was already gone, there was no point in checking the other doe. However, luck was with me. The little baby was alive and seemingly well, if a bit thin. I then ran down and checked the other doe. Sure enough, she had put 2 nice little babies in a thick handful of fur. I ran back upstairs and got the baby and added it to the other doe's nest. So far, the baby seems to be doing well, still thinner than it's pseudo-nest mates, but coming along nicely. It looks to be a lilac tort.