May 2009
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The watch for cria begins
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Date: Thursday May 14, 2009
My baby is going to have a baby. Yes, it is a milestone. This will be the first "Maiden" we will be responsible for here on the farm. I am not really freaking out yet. Just getting mentally prepared and ensuring my cria/birthing kit is fully stocked and ready to go. I am also gathering as much information as possible to prepare me for Odie's baby by asking my farming friends their experiences. I am not asking for scientific fact, just their own experiences.
We bred Odanak and her dam [Clover] at the same time. Not sure if it will make much of a difference for Odie if her mom has a cria by her side at the same time, maybe it will help calm Odie.
We know from the experience of other farmers in general that a first time mom needs some special attention. Not so much extra hugs and kisses, although those are nice too, but mostly extra special notice of her behavior before, during, and after birth. As a first time mom she may have more difficulty during labor as well as bonding with the cria after labor.
The only preventive we are able to control, or attempt to help with, is milk production. On average new moms may have a hard time generating milk quickly or in quantity. We use an herbal blend of plant matter formulated by a mill that tends to stimulate milk production. That was an investment we started making a few years ago and have found marked results when you stick to the feeding regimine specified. We have used several 'brands' of lactation stimulator over the years. We are trying a new brand this year, if you send me an email I can tell you what brands we have used and the results we have had here on our farm.
For now, my eyes are constantly on Odanak. She was bred to K-2 [a Studmaster Male] for her first cria. Her mom was bred to K-2 on the same day. However, maiden females have a higher incidence of giving birth earlier than females that have been through it before. Her due date, if we base it on a 345 day average, is May 28th. I will start to panic around the 22nd of May and will start waking in the middle of the night and early morning hours to check on her with closed-circuit television.
What am I looking for? Well, there are changes her body begins to go through. For instance, rather than holding the baby weight under her ribcage, that ball of baby starts to move towards her hips. This is the body and the baby moving toward the door. Getting in to position. This happens many weeks before birth.
The next thing that I begin to look for is swelling around the reproductive parts. Her physical characteristics will be begin to change. Her vulva will begin to swell and relax externally. This can happen up to 4 weeks ahead of time, in my experience. As the birthday approaches I expect Odanak to start to hang off by herself, away from the rest of the herd. I will notice the baby moving and kicking more. As the day gets closer we will hopefully notice her milk coming in, that can be within hours of the birth, but as a maiden, I would feel lucky if her milk comes in within a few hours after the birth.
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News Flash; Alpaca Cooties - a Pandemic?
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Date: Wednesday May 13, 2009
It was a really close call, but Collen (our retired greyhound) survived exposure to Alpaca Cooties. Thank goodness we didn't have a pandemic over here. Looks like the massive amount of sleeping he does has made him resistent to this particular strain carried by Mammattegwa
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Wawiobwan
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