New Baby reindeer to my herd

You are so lucky Karen!!

 

I am, and I know I am. Even during the pre-calving days when I visited the paddocks before 4:30 am, just to check on the girls - no alarm needed. Checked them and listened to the dawn chorus and just smiled thinking about everyone tucked up in bed but it was me that was blessed!!!
Now my babies are happy and healthy (God forbid any set backs) and they run up to me when I appear (a lot later than it used to be- might lay in until 7 am!!) So much easier than my original "wild bred babies" their mother's and father...
AND my babies have complete ears!!! Wild bred are clipped BUT my babies have lovely ears.

 

When did you start with the reindeers?

 

Mir, only 3 years ago.. still learning but so little help even on the WW web BUT there is a wonderful "closed" reindeer group Worldwide which shares knowledge which is "learned on the hoof" without them, I would be peddling upstream in the dark!

 

Wow, that sounds like a challenge Did you have other animals, maybe horses or something, before that? And where did you get your first reindeers from? In the north of Norway many keep reindeers, but not tame ones.

 

I have had animals all my life.. At about 8 was helping with a breeding project for coloured hamsters for a university at the time in UK mainly only goldens.. but I had 2 white.. Since then have had horses, 7,000 day old pheasants, 1,200 partridge (day olds) . I have bred, judged (for field and show) and exported fully tested dogs to many parts of Europe and the US.. I grew up in the saddle. I have worked on a Country Estate in the UK for many years often I hauled a sheep out of the river in my way into work.... but I had no experience of reindeer at all. Also had a garden full of Pekin bantams Before foxes wiped them out for the third time!! GrrH

My first reindeer were wild imports from the Finnish/Russian boarder and boy were they wild!!!

 

Why the clipped ears on the wild ones but not your home raised ones?

 

Sounds interesting Karen My father used to have chickens, among them some Pekin bantams too

 

Loved the videos of both babies and thanks for sharing more about your animal husbandry experience.

 

The babies are so Thank you ^_^

 

i have read from start to finish today and wow what an experience for you pleased to see more happy moments then sad ones and thanks for sharing the journey with us all and yes i am wondering about the clipped ears as well or is that just so you can tell they are wild bred

 

Smiley, only just seen your question after I posted this... I don't clip the ears, they are done in their country of origin - all English bred babies will have lovely full ears but by law I will have to put an ear tag (with an individual number) in their ears in the next few months... but not yet!!! I would know my reindeer by a set of fallen antlers, a hoof, maybe even a nose or a picture of their eye... I don't need ear tags, clipped ears or anything else but them I have a small heard of only 7.

A happy baby, first thing (Hector) queuing at the feed store door.
Within half an hour, he had a real sulk on after being hosed down (for the heat), sunscreen applied to that little nose and a spray of fly repellent.
Experimenting tonight with lichen lollipops - just waiting for them to freeze down.
As you may notice he is losing his baby coat around the eyes but it looks as if some of his summer coat May be a paler colour than usual... time will tell.

 

I love reading about your reindeer, Karen. It really is fascinating watching them grow up. I never realised his little antlers would grow so quickly.

 

I believe that antlers are the fastest growing "thing" in the animal kingdom. Even a massive bull (older entire male) will go from almost nothing to huge sets in about 10 weeks (baby antler growth is nothing in comparison)! With the adults I can see change between early morning and last check...
It does become a worry, particularly with Katya (Hector's mother), who not only is a young cow but has one of the hungriest (and rough calf you could imagine and I have seen her feeding Lotte too). She is feeding, trying to grow antlers - the strains on her body worry me... Vet thinks she is putting weight on but I'm not convinced...

 

Thanks for sharing the photos! When do reindeer wean? I've seen the videos of the babies nibbling on tasty treats and I am sure they are still getting a lot of nutrition from their mothers but as they get a little older and start eating more food than mother's milk, hopefully the demands on Katya will decrease and she will rebound her own health.

 

Hector playing with the hosepipe. He's losing his baby coat now
But I hope the video makes you smile.

 

It did make me I love watching baby play time

 

Nice video BohoKaren It make me smile too!

 

So nice video

 

These pics are adorable! Just made my day