I had to bury Magda today, she died last night. Not so surprising, I suspected there was something serious going on, her last two litters were a mess and she was retired from breeding. She wasn't a pet, but lifestock, anyway, when caring for an animal for many years one gets attached to it.
She knew her time had come, yesterday evening she didn't come when called and I couldn't find her when it was time to get back to the hutch, at about 11pm I found her at the creek, contently sleeping between bolders at the water`s edge., being agouti perfectly camouflaged, something she's never done before. Guess she had chosen that rather beautiful spot for dying, I feel somewhat bad for waking her, but she went right back to the hutch then, without a sign that anything was amiss. On the other hand, she didn't die alone, her daughter was with her.
At least she didn't die in pain, I'm glad I got her through that last crisis, Gi stasis about 6 weeks ago, at times I had to get up and feed her every 4 hours...
It was so sweet, although my arms were covered with bruises and bite marks because she really hated being handled, she never before was so nice, tame and friendly like after that ordeal. Guess she knew I helped her.
Circle of life, she missed becoming grandma by a few days, her daughter is due any moment now.
I'll miss her, her daughter, Chantal, is pretty skittish and lacks that wildish, smart attitude, I hope she does ok with her first litter at 2 years of age.
She knew her time had come, yesterday evening she didn't come when called and I couldn't find her when it was time to get back to the hutch, at about 11pm I found her at the creek, contently sleeping between bolders at the water`s edge., being agouti perfectly camouflaged, something she's never done before. Guess she had chosen that rather beautiful spot for dying, I feel somewhat bad for waking her, but she went right back to the hutch then, without a sign that anything was amiss. On the other hand, she didn't die alone, her daughter was with her.
At least she didn't die in pain, I'm glad I got her through that last crisis, Gi stasis about 6 weeks ago, at times I had to get up and feed her every 4 hours...
It was so sweet, although my arms were covered with bruises and bite marks because she really hated being handled, she never before was so nice, tame and friendly like after that ordeal. Guess she knew I helped her.
Circle of life, she missed becoming grandma by a few days, her daughter is due any moment now.
I'll miss her, her daughter, Chantal, is pretty skittish and lacks that wildish, smart attitude, I hope she does ok with her first litter at 2 years of age.
