3617 Derr Rd. Springfield, Ohio 45503 bluebirdhills@voyager.net
937-206-3936
AN ALPACA BIRTH
Shown below is a series of pictures of a cria (baby alpaca) being born. If you click on the pictures, you can view an enlarged version that provides more detail. Nothing can surpass the miracle of birth, no matter what the species!
An alpaca birth usually occurs in the morning, often soon after sunrise. We have had some born in early afternoon, but never in the evening. It is felt that births that come later in the day may indicate some sort of difficulty. Prolonged labor may require human intervention to reposition the cria. It is recommended that all breeders take one of the many neonatal courses offered at various times around the country, to provide them with the skills necessary to assess the birthing process and determine whether intervention by themselves or a vet is necessary.
We have found that several of our dams will hum very softly when they exhale in the day or two before having a cria. It has been our best indicator of imminent birth. Our feeling is that this is the way the dam bonds with the cria before it is even born, so that the cria will recognize her voice and be able to find her in the herd. In South America, they have studied the guanacos ( a wild cousin of the alpaca) and found that if a cria does not bond with its mother audibly in the first 24 hours, the cria will die. We wonder if the same is true for alpacas.
Other indicators that an alpaca may be nearing her due date are the formation of an udder and frequent visits to the dung pile. Restlessness or getting up and down are other indicators. As you will see below, the cria is born usually with the dam standing, but occasionally they will birth laying down.
Diana's labor pictured below was classic. She kept up with the herd for quite a while, and the only indicator to make me think she might be in labor was that she was cushed (lying down) while everyone else was up 
grazing. So we watched for a few minutes and soon she got up and began grazing like the picture to the left. We almost left the scene, for it was time for church, but decided to stay for a few more minutes and we are glad we did! As we continued to watch her graze with everyone, she moved to the side of the herd and cushed again.
Restlessness or getting up and down can be a good indicator that 
something is going on. Humming more frequently may also occur, but not always. Notice that Diana is cushed with her legs out to the side instead of directly beneath her. Lying in this position can indicate abdominal discomfort. I think we could be safe in calling labor abdominal discomfort.
Here is Diana's posterior. You can see that the perineal area is bulging 
which happens frequently in later pregnancy or even earlier in older dams. However if you look at the vulva, you can see that they are elongated and separating a bit. This relaxation can occur before labor, but coupled with her other symptoms, it implies we are going to see a cria soon.
These next two photos show Diana separate from the herd which you
can see in the distant background.You can also see how she is getting up and down more frequently. I think that by cushing, they make the ground their ally in pushing the cria out.
These two photos show Diana pushing and 
straining as if to pass some
beans. It's not unusual to see these girls look at their rear ends when they are straining, which is what Diana was about to do when I snapped this shot on the left.
This photo is a bit yucky, but now we see some mucus as the vaginal 
tract lubricates itself to allow for an easier passage.
Now we see something, but what is it? Hopefully a nose or some toes, 
for anything else might require intervention. Often you will see the placenta protruding with its fluid. If I see this, I go ahead and rupture the placenta, allowing the fluid to escape which makes it a bit easier on the dam to move things through. Yup, it's a nose! Good start!
After a few more contractions and pushes, we have 
some feet. This is the hardest time for the owner to just let things happen on their own. We all want to help! There is a strong urge to pull on those legs and help the process along, but if you do, you run the risk of tearing the uterus or vaginal tract before it has had a chance to relax. The first obstacle is getting the head out. After that, the shoulders. Notice the alpaca nose to the left. Someone had to come and investigate what all the hoopla was about!
Things are progressing nicely. We have two legs outstretched and n
ow 
the nose! Notice the busy body to the left wearing the blue top who just has to micromanage the whole thing!
Things were not moving along as fast as I would like them, so I decided 
to intervene. Really at this point I should have just bugged out and let Diana do what alpacas have done just fine on their own for thousands of years. Instead, I decided that I needed to apply some gentle, but steady traction down toward Diana's toes to help move the cria along. If you are in this position, please do as I say, not as I do, and keep your hands off.
Once the head is out, there is often a 10 minute pause in labor while the dam regroups a bit and comes up with the energy to get the shoulders out. Applying traction or pulling at this point, before uterus and vagina are ready, can result in tears of the reproductive tract. The cria may appear to be gasping as it takes its first breaths, but remember that it is still on the dam's circulation, so it really doesn't need to breathe. If you want to do something, you can gently use a suction bulb to suction secretions out of the mouth and nostrils.
After the head is passed, it is time for the difficult shoulders. Often the dams will get up and down during this phase, which drives me nuts. The cria is half out and it often seems as though they are going to smash them as they lay down. I always try to make sure the cria has a soft landing and might even put a towel down under them if the environment isn't relatively clean and dry. When the dam lays down, she is at a disadvantage, for gravity is no longer assisting in the delivery.
In this case, I decided to lend a hand, even though 
I should have let her alone. I prefer it when the dams stand because it allows for the natural drainage of fluid from the airways.
HEY DIANA..... YOU HAD A LITTLE GIRL!!!
If you look closely at the pictures above, you will notice that this cria's ears were plastered flat against the top of her head while snuggled up in the womb. This has caused the ears to be "inside out". We have had this with another cria and they look like little gremlins. Interestingly, both times they have also acted like gremlins, full of mischief and energy. A little piece of masking tape around the ear used loosely to bring it back to normal position is all that is necessary, but we wait for a while and enjoy the silly look, for it may correct on its own.
The crias come out enclosed in a membrane covering their entire body 
like saran wrap. In the last of the series of 5 pictures above, you can see me stripping the membrane away. It is one of those things that would take care of itself, but we just have to do something.
The crias are also born with "slippers" on. These are cartilagenous 
coverings over the toes that protect the womb from being scratched or torn by the cria's nails, while she kicks and moves around in her tiny enclosure.
After all of the hard work is done, all of the nosey pasture mates come for 
a look. As someone pointed out to me recently, it is very similar to all of the elephant females during the Disney movie "Dumbo". In the case of Dumbo and this cria who we have named Bilby, they both have unusual ears. In Australia, a bilby is a tiny marsupial with ears that look just like this cria's. So we have named her Bluebird Hills Bilby!
I do not have a picture of this, but after birth, most breeders will dip the umbilical stump in gentle iodine or another disinfectant to prevent infection moving through this window and into the abdomen. The cord dries in a few hours and then it is not a worry unless the area is injured somehow, but redipping a few more times won't hurt. We do this by putting the solution in small container such as a 35 mm film container or Dixie cup, and holding that under the abdomen, pressed against the belly with the cord inside. I sort of shake it to be sure to get the whole cord drenched and it's done.
The last phase of labor is the passing of the placenta. 
This third stage of labor can take as long as 2 hours to occur, but it is important to be sure the placenta is passed, and to inspect the placenta to be sure it is intact and that nothing remains in the womb to serve as a site for infection or bleeding. Any bleeding at this point warrants close observation and this is especially true after the placenta is passed. Bleeding can indicate a tear or retained placenta and requires veterinary intervention.
This is not a solid mass being passed, but is a fluid filled sac that one of my sons refers to as the purple jelly bean. Whatever you call it, it really isn't pretty. Now is a good time to kind of move off and let mom and cria bond. It is fine to dry the cria off, but to keep from interfering with their relationship, move off and observe from a distance of 20 or 30 feet, or more if this is a nervous dam.
Soon the cria will be trying to get up and nurse. In Bilby's case, that just 
seemed like way too much work, so she took the easier approach!
Here is Bilby the gremlin at close to one month of age. If she were a 
human child, she would be the class clown. Just looking at her picture makes me giggle. They are all special, but some just tug at your heart strings a little bit harder than the others. Not only does Bilby tug at my heart strings, but she tickles my funny bone too!
3617 Derr Rd. Springfield, Ohio 45503 bluebirdhills@voyager.net
937-206-3936