Born at 7.30am on Sunday 12th May, during our Open Barn and Shearing Weekend, many visitors got to see this little one struggle to survive. Named Louisar after Louisa Glasson on the Doc Martin TV Show, the spelling is in tribute to the English pronunciation of 'Louisa".
Appearing to hold her own during her first few hours, and weighing a healthy 15.7 lbs, she was unable to maintain her body temperature as night fell.
The first few days can be critical for a newborn cria - rarely can they regulate their body temperature in the beginning - and with the nights being so cold, it was touch and go.
Provided with a heating pad, Neck Warmer, Body Wrap and Cria Coat, Louisar was kept warm and toasty but it did hinder her getting around. Dam, Cleopatra, looked on in wonder as her little cria received all the attention.
Just like her namesake on the Doc Martin TV Show, our Louisar had an undiagnosed issue that came to the surface. Whereas Doc Martin recognized acute glaucoma in Louisa Glasson's eye during episode one, her vet (Buckeystown Veterinary Hospital) discovered our Louisar had a heart murmur.
We were assured that, just like human babies, heart murmurs in newborn cria are common. However, with the combination of being a first cria for Cleopatra, the cold temperatures and harsh winds, plus the heart murmer, we supplimented her food with bottle feedings.
Within a few days, Louisa had graduated to the next size in Cria Coats and was able to explore the pasture for short intervals to help get her strength up.
Looking her her now, she is a picture of health and vitality and there is no sign of the heart murmur she was born with. As predicted, it closed up within her first few days of life and Louisar is now pronking in the pasture with all the other cria.
A side effect of all the human interaction during her first days, Louisar is incredibly affectionate and loves being around people.
Martin and Louisar, our first two cria born this year, are fitting figureheads for our 2013 cria population.
We will be introducing some more namesakes from the Doc Martin Series over the next couple of days - and hoping to match personalities with their counterparts. Until then......
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