to: Debbie Riccio <> Pass along this story... I got in a jill to the rescue at the beginning of March. She had the swollen vulva going down and the back of her neck looked like it had been hit with a weedwacker - I guessed she had been bred, but who knew to what and when? She's a sable, young enough for this to be her first heat cycle. she came in with two other sables that looked just like her from a backyard breeder in PA. Bet they were all related and I'd also put money on it that the male involved was related too! anyway, the two sisters were spayed and i popped the mated jill into a breeding cage and waited. Yesterday (April 11) she gave birth. The babies were very small, and she did not know what to do with them. I heard no crying. She ate half of one and three were dead and two still alive and I had no choice but to leave the two live ones in and hope she would suddenly become a nurturing mother. when I got home from work, the two babies were gone. and the jill had milk too! I named the jill Sybil. she will be spayed on April 25th. Oh what fun it is to run a shelter! Pam and her Pet Pals [Posted in FML issue 1163]