|
|
|
 |
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
 |
|
||||||||||||||
 |
 |
 |
 |
 |
 |
 |
 |
 |
 |
 |
 |
 |
 |
 |
|
 |
 |
 |
 |
 |
 |
 |
|
||||||||
| The best part of being an alpaca breeder - the babies! |
|
Disclaimer: I am not a vet. The information presented here is based on my personal experience.
Always consult your vet for guidance regarding your breeding, birthing and health care decisions. It is early April 2005 and we are about to enter our 6th birthing season here at NEWAIM Farm. We have had 20 births here since we began in the fall of 1999. Most were uneventful, a couple needed some assistance, only one had a sad outcome. From what I have read, losing 1 out of every 20 crias at birth is about average. It is heartbreaking when it occurs, but it is to be expected and will happen to all of us eventually. The good news is that the other 19 resulted in beautiful healthy babies. I suppose that with time the miracle of birth will get old, but it sure hasn't yet! I still find it to be one of the most beautiful things I have ever seen. We are expecting 3 births here in May with a total of 8 for the year, so this will be our biggest year so far. About 2 or 3 weeks before an anticipated birth, I start paying close attention to the behavior of the dam. We base our due dates on a 345 days gestation cycle with day 1 being the date of the last breeding. We have a couple of females that generally go around 320 days and one that seems to go around 355. Keeping good records from each pregnancy helps predict future births. Alpacas are very stoic and the signs of early labor are very subtle. The more familiar you are with the dam's normal behavior the more likely you are to notice these slight changes. Here are a few of the things I look for. I watch for what I call "The 50,000 yard stare". You will often see the expectant dam standing perfectly still and staring off into space. Their eyes look sort of blank, not bright and alert like normal. This is often accompanied by a low humming. Another thing to look for is a dam that is cushed with both hind legs thrown out to one side. They often will just seem generally uncomfortable. They will get up and down often and appear to hate the world and everything on it. Frequent unproductive trips to the dung pile is another good indicator. 
The sure fire
best indicator that your dam is in labor is when you look out and see toes and nose protruding from under
her tail! You can click on any of these images to view a full screen version. Up until this time you should
LEAVE HER ALONE! That's right, you should watch for all the signs I mentioned above from a distance. Do not
interfere, especially if the dam tends to be a bit high strung. If you bother her and trigger the fight or flight
response she can actually stop labor. The hormones released during a fight or flight response can overcome
the hormones that cause the uterus to contract. Just go about your regular routine as best you can.
Once you see that she is about to deliver you should go and check to make sure the cria is positioned
correctly for birth. You should see a nose and two front feet. The feet should extend a few inches further
than the nose. Sometimes the nose appears first and after a few more contractions the feet pop out. If you
see something other than this or if the dam has been having strong contractions for more than an hour with
no success, you may need to intervene and reposition the cria. If you are not experienced at this it is time
to call for help. I highly recommend you attend a NeoNatal clinic to get trained
in how to assist a birth. The one I took was given by Dr LaRue Johnson. It was time and money well
spent. OK, let's assume
everything is proceeding normally as it usually does. The dam may get up and down a few times during the
delivery process. Let her do what she wants. Only get involved if it looks like she is going to hurt the
cria by banging into something. Some people separate the dam from the rest of the herd during birth. I
do not do this. I find that she is more comfortable with all of her friends around to keep her company.
Even our LGD is usually present during births. Again you will get differing opinions on this as well.
It is common for contractions to stop for a while when delivery reaches the stage shown in the picture
to the right. This pause may last as long as 15 minutes. Don't panic and try to pull the cria from the dam.
The cria is fine. The umbilical cord is still attached at this point so the cria is still receiving oxygen
from the dam. Often the dam will walk around and graze during this period. The cria is often quite active
and may cough and sneeze as the fluid drains from its lungs. This draining of the lungs is an important part
of the birthing process.
Eventually the contractions will start again and with a few good pushes the cria will be on the ground.
Now you should give the cria a quick check up. Make the membrane is clear from the mouth and nose. Dip
the umbilical cord to prevent infection. We use 7% iodine, some people prefer other treatments. Talk to
your vet about this and any injections that she recommends at birth. If the day is cool you may want to
dry the cria with some towels to make sure it does not get cold. If the day is very cold you may need to
take further action like drying the cria with a blow dryer or placing the cria on a heating pad. Again
discuss this with your vet before the big day arrives. If you wish to use the John Mallon method of
desensitizing the cria now is the time to start.
Within 15 or 20 minutes the cria should be standing on its own. It always amazes me how quickly these
little ones get up and start moving around. The cria will seek out a dark spot to nurse. They often
start at the wrong end of mom, but eventually they usually figure it out on their own. The dam still
needs to deliver the placenta so she may be uncomfortable. Some dams will not let the cria try to
nurse until after they deliver the placenta. The books I have read say that this can take up to
several hours, but the ones I have seen here usually deliver the placenta within 30 minutes or so
of birth. When the placenta is delivered check it over to make sure it is all in one piece. If
it appears to be torn you may want to have the dam checked by a vet to make sure nothing is left
inside her. Dispose of the placenta in a safe place to avoid attracting predators. This is a good
time to check the dam's udder. They seem to be very calm immediately after birth. Remove the waxy
plug from each teat and try to express a drop of milk from each one. Hopefully you will find
milk and everything at the milk bar is good to go.
Within an hour or so after birth the cria should be successfully nursing. Look for a milk mustache
so that you are sure she is getting milk. The first milk is called colostrum and it contains the
antibodies necessary to jump start the cria's immune system. It is critical that this colostrum
be ingested within the first 12 to 24 hours. During this period the antibodies will pass through the gut
and into the bloodstream. After 24 hours the antibodies will no longer be able to pass through this barrier
and they will be digested and do no good. You can do a blood test at 24 hours of age to see if this
passive transfer of antibodies was successful. The test is called an IgG. If the IgG count is low
a plasma transfusion can be done to help boost the immune system. Again talk to your vet about this.
We chose not to do IgG tests here because it is a 65 mile drive to get to the vets and I think the
risk outweighs the benefit. That is just my opinion. You need to decide how to manage risk on your own.
If all goes well by the end of the first day you should be able to look out into your pasture and
see a picture like this. A proud mom, a healthy cria and your trusty LGD there to make sure they
stay that way. One thing I didn't mention is that sometime during the first few hours you should
weigh the cria. You will need a scale that is capable of weighing in 1/10ths of pounds. The cria
should gain between .25 and .5 pounds per day for the first few weeks of life. We weigh every day
for the first week and every few days for the first month. Your first indication that something is
wrong is lack of weight gain or weight loss. A loss of a few ounces the first day is normal, but after
that you should see steady gain. I often use a graph in Excel to plot the cria's growth. Good records
are important.
I hope you found this information helpful. I tried not to concentrate on the scary parts too much.
Most of the time everything goes smoothly and you are just a spectator. Actually the best births are
like the one pictured to the right. I looked out the window and said "Annie has had her cria.
I guess I had better go dip the cord and bury the placenta."What could be better? Springtime in Maine, crias playing in the pasture, and a steady stream of phone calls from people who are interested in alpacas. Life is good! |