Our Herd Grows or "Latte's Big Day" Latte was now two weeks overdue and we were starting to get a bit nervous. We had been assured that this perfectly normal, but after all this was our first cria. It was a beautiful sunny September Sunday morning and the whole family was home. I was working on this web site when I decided that it was time to go check on the animals. I went into the living room and looked out the window to see how things were in the outside world. I noticed that Annie and Fiesta were particularly interested in what was going on at Latte's posterior. I decided that this situation would need further investigation so I ran out to the pasture to see what was going on. When I got there I could see this cute little white head and two front legs protruding, the birth was already well underway. Honey Arrives Sunday 9/19/99 Weighing in at 16 lbs I hurried back to the house and tried to get everyone together with out raising a big commotion. Everyone scurried around getting cameras, the vet kit and what not; then off the the pasture we went. The weather was great, then sun was out and the winds were calm. What a great day to be born! Within 15 minutes we had a beautiful white female cria on the ground and within 30 minutes after that we had a cria wobbly wandering around the pasture. As soon as the baby was on the ground we dialed up our Alpaca help line, Dawn Brooker of Fiber Fields Alpacas, to find out what we needed to do next. The answer is that in the vast majority of births you just observe and make sure things are proceeding the way nature intended. The only action we took was to dry the cria off with a towel so she wouldn't get chilled on the cold ground. By mid September in Maine fall is already well underway and the nights frequently drop below freezing. Just a few minutes after first learning to stand the baby had found her mother's teat and was actively nursing. This was a beautiful thing to see. Not only did it show that the mother and cria were bonding but it also was a good indication that the cria was getting its first feeding of colostrum. Colostrum is critical to the cria's immune system. It is only available in the mother's first milk and can only be absorbed during the first twenty four hours of life. For more information on the care of cria and their dams you should see this book: "Llama and Alpaca Neonatal Care" That night we got to have our first experience with administering shots to the animals. Both the dam and the cria require a couple of injections following the birth. John and Dawn came down and helped us complete the ritual. All of the information you need to perform this task are available in this book: "Caring for Llamas and Alpacas", but having a personal coach really helps boost your confidence. We now routinely give injections with no problems. Our First Crisis NEWAIM Home If you have any comments about this site or want more info on raising alpaca send email to al@newaim.com This site was designed by Dog Bone Designs Waldoboro, Me