Yay. I'm pleased.
Dreamer x LB92 had 3 - 2 broken blacks, and a charlie. There was also a peanut.
Dreamcatcher x Smith's DA (on loan) had 2 - A broken black and a black. This was one of DA's last breedings before he went back to his owners.
Dreamcatcher didn't build a nest as of last night. She had kicked everything out, and I forgot to add more material to her box before I closed up for the night. I barely caught the kits in time this morning. She pulled piles of fur which probably helped save them. They were alive but cold and they were doing that awful gasping squeak that is often their last breaths.
I had decisions to make. The broken I want for sure but I don't care about the black. Dreamer has the charlie that I wasn't sure I wanted either. What to do, what to do. I hate to tie up a doe and nestbox on just 1 or 2 kits so I usually try to economize. I gave Dreamcatcher's broken to Anaba where it will be safe and easy to tell in the himi litter. That can be a problem when fostering look-alikes around and these brokens do all look a lot alike.
I was going to give the charlie to Dreamcatcher to raise with her black, and if they died, it wouldn't be a great loss. Then I got to thinking this could be that elusive true charlie I've been looking for. The reason I'm thinking it might be a true charlie is that it only has color on the eyes and a little on the ears. Considering the heavy patterns on the rest of the kits and the parents which have proven to throw their heavier pattern consistently, it looks like a safe bet. I had given up growing out possible true charlies as none had proven to be true, and it wasn't worth wasting time on them. Those other not-charlies came out of a spot pattern parent which just threw lighter spot patterns that looked like charlies. That's not the case here. If this is a true charlie, it should carry the heavier pattern of its parents. So this and the type potential from the sire made up my mind to grow it out.
I don't know of anyone else raising broken dwarfs who has acquired a proven true charlie. If nothing else, it will be an interesting experiment. If it turns out that I'm wrong again, I'll go back to the original plan which is to not waste time on possible true charlies. For anyone reading this that doesn't know what a true charlie is. A true charlie will have a broken gene from each of its parents...double-broken. When bred to a solid, it will produce ALL brokens.
So it now stands that Dreamer has her whole litter. Anaba has her 2 himis and Dreamcatcher's broken. Dreamcatcher has her black which probably won't survive being an only kit, especially as cold as the nights are lately. It was also gasping more than the broken sibling when I found them. That often means it's past the point of no return. The other reason I decided to leave it with her is that she didn't get to raise her last litter. This way she can have it until it dies a natural death if that's what happens.
Here's wishing luck, fun, and safe journey to everyone going to Convention!
tnt
