Alpaca Farmgirl

Welcome to the Herd!

It was the best of times, it was the worst of times, it was a day of easy births, it was a day of dystocias (difficult births), it was a season of tiny babies, it was a epoch for a rather large baby. One cria was up and running around, the other was weak and wouldn’t stop bleeding!

Rachel Alexandra's first minutes. Photo: Cheryl Bowen

Saturday, May 30 was an eventful day on the farm! It began with a nice farm visit from our friends, Cheryl and Andy Bowen of Humming Star Alpacas. They came by to see their alpacas that are currently boarded here while they get their facility prepared. After enjoying their alpacas, we observed Poquita getting ready to have a cria. The Bowens had yet to see a cria born so this was the perfect opportunity for them to witness an alpaca birth first hand.

As the birth progressed, one leg of Poquita’s cria appeared to be stuck. I tried to get it out, but it was really stuck. The placenta was wrapped around it and wouldn’t let me get it out. So I had to break it. I had really been hoping that it was a membrane that I was popping, rather than the placenta because you are not supposed to break placentas. Unfortunately, it was the placenta. Fortunately, the cria did well from there, mostly coming on out on her own. I did help pull a bit when it was time for the chest cavity to come out. She was a big baby. Poquita was tired at this point, and I wanted that baby out ASAP since I had broken the placenta.

It all turned out beautifully! The cria just about hit the ground running. She was almost 23 lbs. and happy to join the world. By nightfall she was playing with the other cria, giving the older male cria a run for their money. We’ve been calling her Rachel Alexandra, in honor of the incredible filly who won the Preakness last month.

Just as Cheryl and Andy were packing up to go to a lunch date, I looked over at Sonyadore and said, “You know, we may be about to have another one.” Sure enough, about 30 minutes later, (just as I was sitting down to eat my lunch), the Artist calls to me, “She’s having a baby!!!”

I will admit that I did go ahead and eat a few bites of my lunch. It’s not like me to miss a meal. By the time I got out there, the baby was on the ground. Whoosh! Born. No problem being born, but once she was here, the difference between this cria and Rachel Alexandra, born an hour earlier, was staggering. In comparison, this cria was tiny! 12 lbs. and weak as a kitten. The little darling had no get up and go. She was born to a first time dam and just didn’t seem quite ready to be outside in the world.

Mimosa is so personable. She had to meet her new herdmate!

Her umbilicus began to bleed. I called the vet who advised me to tie it off with waxed dental floss. (the wax would help keep out germs) I did this, not once but 4 or 5 times. And it kept bleeding. Lots. This little gal had me worried with so much blood. (This is the first and only time in 10 years of alpaca breeding that I have ever had to tie a cord. Go figure.) But it finally stopped bleeding. I treated her with an antibiotic and dipped the naval several extra times.

It has been two weeks since these cria were born. Their beginnings were very different. One with an easy trip, one with a leg hung up. One strong as an ox from birth, the other needing a little time to adjust to the world and catch up. Today, Rachel Alexandra is still running around, daring the boys to chase her. She’s big and strong with the ultra long legs of a colt.

Rachel A. off to the races!

Amity all better now!

I decided to name her counterpart Amity which means friendship. Amity is a social butterfly. She loves to play with other cria and she runs around like she’s at a sock hop! You would never know that she had a rough start if you saw her today. She’s Miss Personality, and her fleece is to die for!

The day they were born, Cheryl and Andy came back over to visit Amity. I loved being able to show them that cria can have very different beginnings, and that sometimes the weaker and/or premature cria just need a little extra time to get with the program. Now there’s no stopping either of these precious darlings!