We have had three crias born on the ranch since mid May, two unexpectedly on the same day!
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| Little Lori with Mom Muse |
She is a force of nature, running this way and that way, always at top speed.
I have never seen an alpaca run so fast! If the girls are engaged in a pronk, Lori is almost always the one in the lead.
If I have not explained before what a pronk is, it is when alpacas sort of skip in one direction and then when they are ready to go the other way, it is generally at a dead run. They are quite majestic and joyful looking when they do this with their tails erect and their necks arched.
Our boy, Patrick Henry, found Lori very interesting.
Are you noticing a pattern in Patrick Henry’s behavior?
Our two latest additions are Columbia on the left and Dauntless. They were born on the same day which was not as we had planned, but as I have found, animals have their own plans and are not the least bit interested in mine.
On the day the crias were born, I went down to the barn to check on the girls, and there was Columbia cushed in the pen with Princess on one side and her afterbirth on the other, both of them perfectly happy. Those are the types of births we like…easy, unassisted and uneventful.
I looked around the pen to see how everyone else was doing and saw a second afterbirth which was very strange. My first thought was that Princess had had twins, which would have been very very unlikely and then I saw the second cria.
Dauntless was born about 2 weeks early to mom Willow. He was small, about 12 pounds (Columbia was 18#) and weak. Mom’s milk had not come in so this was not a good situation. We got him started on a bottle and the next day had our vet come out. She put a tiny little feeding tube down his nose which allowed me to get milk in to him for the next few days. Once Willow’s milk came in, he started gaining weight and energy. He is now up to 25# and has no problem keeping up with Lori and Columbia.
It can be very tiring being a baby alpaca…I know how she feels.
Until next time, Happy Trails!
Hi Diana,
Love your blog.