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Is Autumn the giraffe having her baby??


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The cam is working on my end. There was a thread a couple days ago and the last post was from someone who saw the baby coming out and then bam, the lead was gone with the note to the effect, "the giraffe needs privacy". I've been watching on & off for the last couple days & nothing has happened. Sometimes the giraffe is outside and you can see the tail swishing, other times she's inside eating hay.

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I have been watching for days with no sign of a baby. Sometimes they let her out and sometimes they keep her in and I have seen a couple of handlers watching her. I am sure that if she had the baby they would have made an announcement to that effect so I don't think she has had it yet.

 

ETA: By the way, she is swinging her head around towards her rear quite a bit now and I have seen her standing with rear legs spread and slightly flexing and baring down.

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On the zoo FB page, they said they turn the camera off at night. So the note about "needing her privacy" is probably just a cutesy way to say it. I assume they are lesser staff at night, probably on the "low key" side so, they don't want cameras...or maybe harder to see anything on the cameras at night...but anyhoo,the camera won't be on at night :). It's my local zoo so we are members and get their FB feed :).

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That's so cool that this is your zoo!!

 

The zookeepers must think tonight is the night because they haven't turned the camera off. But I will say she isn't acting like a horse in labor at this point. I figured they would have some labor happenings in common.

 

What are they saying on the FB group about Autumn??

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She's laying down but munching on hay. Doubt it's active labor, perhaps the beginning stages? I've spent far too much time watching & waiting for Autumn to calve.

 

Heavens knows I don't know what to look for, but she has been checking herself quite a bit lately and she seems to be laboring in her breathing (at least while she was still laying down).

 

I have no idea how long to expect this to last or what signs would indicate active labor.

 

Anyone care to educate this city gal?

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Anyone care to educate this city gal?

 

Well, I know nothing about giraffes but when a cow calves, they typically do not eat once they are in active labor. They eventually lay down to calve, although if you disturb them, they hop up and walk away from you. Once they are pushing, you should soon see feet (I'm guessing, based on a cow again). I suspect it will be rather fast once she truly is pushing, if everything is lined up correctly.

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If Autumn was a thoroughbred, labor would look like this:

 

1. Laying down and every few minutes, the head would swing to the belly and the mare would get this look like, "What the heck is this pain?!?!"

2. They alternate laying down with pacing.

3. They usually have no interest in food or water.

4. Sometimes milk leaks.

5. They act really fidgety and agitated. They often stomp their hooves and seem grumpy and/or emotionally needy. I once knew a mare who wanted to labor ON you. She turned into a lap dog. :D

And then we had another that wanted to bite you. Or kick you. Whatever. She just wanted you dead, basically.

6. Look out for a big pile or two or three. HUGE!

7. You can see contractions in healthy, trim mares. And you can watch the contraction live a river all the way down.

8. Tail swishing.

 

Now that I've had two babies and one of them naturally, I can look back on the experience of helping on a horse farm and laugh. Because I kicked an OB in the head when that jerk wouldn't get out of there during a contraction. If he had been anywhere near my face, I would not have hesitated to bite him. Looking back on it, someday I may hunt him down and bite him for the sheer joy of it. :lol:

So horses act like giant women. With hooves.

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Well, I know nothing about giraffes but when a cow calves, they typically do not eat once they are in active labor. They eventually lay down to calve, although if you disturb them, they hop up and walk away from you. Once they are pushing, you should soon see feet (I'm guessing, based on a cow again). I suspect it will be rather fast once she truly is pushing, if everything is lined up correctly.

 

Thanks! I figured it would go quickly once it was active. My uneducated guess was based on "survival instinct". As in, a mother in the wild

wouldn't want to be laying down in a vulnerable position for too long. Heh. I told you I was a city gal! :lol:

 

If Autumn was a thoroughbred, labor would look like this:

 

1. Laying down and every few minutes, the head would swing to the belly and the mare would get this look like, "What the heck is this pain?!?!"

2. They alternate laying down with pacing.

3. They usually have no interest in food or water.

4. Sometimes milk leaks.

5. They act really fidgety and agitated. They often stomp their hooves and seem grumpy and/or emotionally needy. I once knew a mare who wanted to labor ON you. She turned into a lap dog. :D

And then we had another that wanted to bite you. Or kick you. Whatever. She just wanted you dead, basically.

6. Look out for a big pile or two or three. HUGE!

7. You can see contractions in healthy, trim mares. And you can watch the contraction live a river all the way down.

8. Tail swishing.

 

Now that I've had two babies and one of them naturally, I can look back on the experience of helping on a horse farm and laugh. Because I kicked an OB in the head when that jerk wouldn't get out of there during a contraction. If he had been anywhere near my face, I would not have hesitated to bite him. Looking back on it, someday I may hunt him down and bite him for the sheer joy of it. :lol:

So horses act like giant women. With hooves.

 

You are funny!! :lol:

 

Thanks for this. I figured Autumn was in early labor as she had some of the symptoms, but I was taken aback when she started on her late night snack. :D

 

Will I embarrass myself by saying I have been streaming this feed all day? I feel like such a voyeur! :blush: And as for the big piles.... over the course of the day I have seen two piles and a bladder being emptied. :001_huh: My ds thinks my dd and I are nuts for watching.

 

Autumn has definitely been checking herself (I figured she was wondering "what's going on down here?") and while she didn't swish her tail too much (she was on the ground), she did pull it out from under her and it looked like she might have been contracting a bit. Or doing Lamaze breathing at least.

 

Either way, this is exciting. I hope we get to see it live. We always miss these baby-cams!!

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I have been watching all day every day for a week now and her behavior has not changed at all. She spends most of the day eating. Earlier in the day she spends a lot of time pacing and then later in the day kind of just sautering around or standing still. Later in the evening she spends a couple hours sitting. It looks like she might be sleeping. There have been a few times when she swung her neck around towards her rear repeatedly and a few times when she spent some time cleaning back the but that was a few days ago and then earlier today. She hasn't done anything at all that leads me to believe labor is imminent.

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I also wanted to add that I have watched several girraffe birthing video clips now and girraffe give birth standing up and it is actually dangerous to the calf if the mother sits or lays while giving birth. Birth can take quite awhile. Sometime the mother will be walking around with the front feet hanging out for hours before anymore progress is made. Once the head is born it usually goes pretty quickly after that. The baby does fall to the ground and takes a few minute to start moving. It seems that the mother only starts showing interest after the calf has started moving. It take several tried before it is able to stand up. From what I can tell most girraffe birth during the day because the period immediately after birth is dangerous and the mother needs to be able to see what is going on. All of the birth I have seen have been outside but they seem to be trying to keep her inside for the birth. That itself may be slowing her down. She might not be comfortable in the confined space. Anyhow, if you want to learn more there are several videos on youttube.

 

ETA: Wiki article - http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Giraffe

Edited by KidsHappen
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Yeah, I have had a window open all day long for a week now. She can't go much longer. She is a week overdue but her behavior has had the same pattern all week. Nothing new yet.

 

Holy moly. She seems in pretty good spirits for somebody who has a week-old giraffe inside her (granted, she is a giraffe, but still...).

 

And I've been meaning to ask our giraffe experts: is her habit of licking the metal railing a pregnancy thing? Or just a bored zoo animal thing? I've been entertaining myself watching her run her mouth back and forth, back and forth along the railing.

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They said this on Facebook Saturday:

"Autumn did well overnight, as all of you can tell she is getting closer and we did even see her kick up at her belly once or twice which can sometimes indicate a contraction. But nothing regular, so we are still watching. Her official "due date" is between Oct 16-21st, that is 15 months after her keepers last saw breeding behavior between her and Walter, so we may have a few more days to go, we will have to continue to wait and see :)"

 

It's not my zoo, but I "liked" them on Facebook so I could get updates!:)

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They said this on Facebook Saturday:

"Autumn did well overnight, as all of you can tell she is getting closer and we did even see her kick up at her belly once or twice which can sometimes indicate a contraction. But nothing regular, so we are still watching. Her official "due date" is between Oct 16-21st, that is 15 months after her keepers last saw breeding behavior between her and Walter, so we may have a few more days to go, we will have to continue to wait and see :)"

 

It's not my zoo, but I "liked" them on Facebook so I could get updates!:)

 

This is where I got the week over due. 460 days (longest gestation period from wiki) equals approximately 14.75 months and she is at 15 months now so that is about a week overdue. Obviously they figured the due dates slightly differently since they have this week as the EDA. In any case, it should be any time now.

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Does this giraffe EVER stop eating??! Are we sure she's not just obese?? :lol::lol:

 

:D Maybe she is eating because she is pretending she is not in pain. She is not eating like a mammal in heavy labor.

 

What do the sharks say in Finding Nemo? DENIAL! lol

Edited by LibraryLover
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5 minutes of watching that giraffe eat was enough for me to decide I could live without seeing a live giraffe birth.

 

 

lol

 

Although it is pretty amazing to see the baby move in her belly.

 

But, yes. :) That lean Mama can eat! I am totally jealous! My oldest dd told me giraffes don't sleep much ( I really don't know how she knows this stuff, or even if it is true. lol) This mother might be storing up calories for a big day!

Edited by LibraryLover
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This little guy/gal better hurry up! I need to continue with my regular life and it is very difficult right now!

 

I found out I cannot watch on my phone or ipad without adobe OR downloading a .99 app. I may need to pay the .99 if she goes beyond today. :glare::glare::glare:

 

I blame you all! :D

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This little guy/gal better hurry up! I need to continue with my regular life and it is very difficult right now!

 

I found out I cannot watch on my phone or ipad without adobe OR downloading a .99 app. I may need to pay the .99 if she goes beyond today. :glare::glare::glare:

 

I blame you all! :D

 

I see an empty pen on my Ipad. :confused:

 

I am glad I didn't read this before now because much of my day will be spent checking in on her now!

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This little guy/gal better hurry up! I need to continue with my regular life and it is very difficult right now!

 

I found out I cannot watch on my phone or ipad without adobe OR downloading a .99 app. I may need to pay the .99 if she goes beyond today. :glare::glare::glare:

 

I blame you all! :D

 

Aawwww, darn. You are right.

 

ETA: the link to the app on the giraffe page brought me to a page where the app is $4.99 and has bad reviews. :confused:

 

I will just power up the dinosaur laptop monster thingie. ;)

Edited by Denisemomof4
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Well, the giraffe is just standing around chewing her cud.

 

If you get bored watching her, you can switch back and forth with this cam of a great dane who should be giving birth any time now. The dog is in a private home, and they shut the camera off from time to time for privacy, but they supposedly promised to keep it on during the birth.

 

http://explore.org/#!/live-cams/player/great-dane-service-puppies-puppy-hill

Edited by RoughCollie
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Yes, we have to go old school for this one! :lol:

 

Aawwww, darn. You are right.

 

ETA: the link to the app on the giraffe page brought me to a page where the app is $4.99 and has bad reviews. :confused:

 

I will just power up the dinosaur laptop monster thingie. ;)

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