The big switcheroo

You may need a list of players for this story, but we need to talk about fostering. So here goes.

First, my does surprised me with one of the first 4 for 4 deliveries I've ever seen. Four does were due over the weekend,including a first timer. When working with Hollands, we've gotten used to all sorts of complications. New mamas sometimes have storms of the brain (as opposed to brainstorming) and have all their babies on the wire. Or the babies are born dead in the box. Or the mama stomps them in her in-and-out dance with the nest box.

But this time, we have four mothers and four litters. One mama had two but one was DOA (dead on arrival) and so we're back to the single litter. That makes no sense and I will foster that single baby into another litter. (In fact, that's why I like to kindle in groups, to make fostering at least a possibility.)

But here's where things get complicated. I have a buck on loan for a couple of weeks and, of the four does who just delivered, Ribbon is the one I'd most like to breed to this buck while he's here.

Ribbon has 3 babies in her litter. But I plan to foster those babies, one at a time, over to Tinsel, who only has one baby. So Tinsel will be raising 3 babies which are not her own. That will free up Ribbon for a breeding to Jazbo, the visiting buck.

Fostering isn't hard. I usually only transfer one baby a day into the new nest, but I've never had a doe even sniff twice. She usually hops into the nest box, feeds whoever is in there, and is then off duty for several hours. The reason I transfer one at a time is to give her a chance to increase her milk supply a little more slowly than going from one baby to four.

The other complication is keeping track of whose baby is whose. I prefer to foster where the color of the fostered baby is different from the original litter. And I keep good written records.

The challenge today is that Tinsel and Ribbon both have tort babies. So I may try to tattoo a little line into the ear of Tinsel's baby. At this size, that's a challenge.

Or I may (hang onto your hat here) foster Tinsel's tort single into Knock Out's litter, which is totally otter and blacks. Tinsel's tort would be easy to find in that litter but it does seem odd to make Tinsel raise somebody else's babies while forcing another mama to raise hers.

Welcome to the world of fostering.