All 20 pups survived the night...Ellie's 8 out in the barn and Angel's 12 at the vet. It was SO cold last night. Poor Ellie even had frost on her head and back this morning, but the pups were burrowed deep under her and were all warm and snuggly. They're 6 days old now and able to handle the cold.
Physically, Angel and the kids are ready to come home, but I'm super worried about bringing them from the warmth of the clinic to the deep freeze of my barn. Ellie's pups have a heat lamp but even so, it was darned cold in there this morning. At the clinic, Angel and her pups are in the back where they work on large animals, so they're not in room temperature but it's still well above freezing in there. That is, to me, too large a variation for the little gaffers to handle.
The vet said they can stay till they're stronger and it's a bit warmer, but the longer they go in the protected environment, the harder it will be to move them outside. I suggested they start dropping the temperature in there slowly, to harden the pups off like you would a plant. Gonna talk to the vet later today and discuss options.
As for what I'm going to do with them...all 20 are most definitely for sale! A friend (who owns Ellie and Angel's parents) is pressuring me to keep a white female, but I really don't need 5 dogs to guard 30 + goats!
So glad to hear she is up and around. 12 more pups! Wow!! Congrats...I think! LOL
