Lisa has finally had her baby! Hooray!
06/26/09
9:55 PM
Female
White,
14 lbs., 13 oz.
Vigorous.
I checked on Lisa and Dawn just before we went out to dinner in the late afternoon yesterday. I noticed that Lisa finally had a milk bag and her vulva was longer than usual, and jiggly. But she didn't seem to be in any discomfort, just grazing away.
When we put the animals away last night (the girls and babies sleep in the barn), Lisa looked...off to me. I decided to come back and check on her in an hour, and I'm so glad I did. When I got back out there at a quarter to ten, Lisa's baby was already head and feet out! The birth was uneventful except for the time. (Nearly all alpaca births happen during daylight hours. New moms don't always read that memo).
There is a caveat, of course. Lisa is a new mom, and she is a bit clueless. She won't stand still so that the baby can nurse. I was out in the barn with them until 11:30 last night, and then went out at 2:30 a.m. to see if the baby had nursed. The cria was moving around very well, but so was Lisa.
At 6:30 a.m. it was still apparent that the baby hadn't nursed. She was going to the corners of the barn and licking the walls. Cria seem to try to nurse off of the darkest place they can find. In a field during the day, this would be under momma. In a barn, there are lots of dark places.
We made up some colostrum mix, and I've been feeding it to the baby, though I haven't been able to get much down her. The vet is coming late this afternoon to help us out. This is a strong baby, so I'm not too worried, but I wish Consuella, Lisa's mom, were here to give her some guidance.
Pictures soon.
m
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2 comments:
I just found your blog. Sounds like you are having the same problems we are with two new moms. Neither of the crias is gaining weight, the moms walk off when the babies nurse, and we are supplementing with bottles. In 11 years, we've only had to do this for an orphan. Very frustrating.
Yes, it is frustrating. This baby started nursing today (6/29), but lost a little weight because we didn't supplement during the day. If she has slipped again in the morning, we'll go back to giving her a bottle, too.
I'll write a post about the things we've tried and the advice we've received in this case. Maybe it will help you, too!
m
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