Written by: Beth Turner, Owner of Triple T Alpaca (Foreston, Minnesota)

Our Farm

Triple T Alpaca is a three-generation alpaca farm located in Central Minnesota. Due to our family’s schedule and Central Minnesota’s climate, our chosen birthing season runs from May to August. This schedule allows us to shear the crias shortly after birth, promoting healthy fleece growth in preparation for our often unpredictable cold weather. Here’s how we approach the birthing season—what’s worked for us and why.

Cria Season

Depending on your location, birthing season, or cria season, generally ranges about 2-3 months during which the females of your herd are scheduled to give birth. With a variable duration of pregnancy ranging from 335-355 days on average, most females are put on ‘cria watch’ at roughly 320 days. For some farms, cria watch involves moving the mothers to a smaller pen for closer observation; for others, it simply means paying closer attention to those getting near their due dates. This means that you should watch out for rolling, what we call the ‘up/downs’(alternating between standing and lying, unable to get comfortable), and frequent visits to the dung pile without producing anything. On our farm, pregnant mothers stay with their herdmates until active labor. Then we move them to a smaller maternity pen. We put the maternity pen within the main enclosure to reduce the stress of separation.

Birthing Kit

It’s important to be ready for anything that could happen during the birthing season, so number one on our list is our vet’s phone number on speed dial, followed by a close second of a mentor farm or friend who is available in an emergency.

Our birthing kit is something we have compiled and cleaned out many times in the past eight years. We initially overpacked our kit and have since pared it down to the essentials.

Our kit includes:

• Towels: Grab more than you think necessary. I keep a large stockpile in the barn and grab them when I grab the actual kit during a birth.
• Lubrication (with and without antiseptic): Our vet recommended we have both. We keep ours in a squirt-top soap bottle for easy use.
• Gloves: This protects you and the animal. We have both nitrile gloves and OB sleeves in our kit.
• Nolvasan (or other disinfectant such as 7% iodine or Betadine): This is for dipping the umbilical cord; must be diluted prior to use.
• Small containers: To dilute and use for dipping navel.
• Thermometer.
• 3cc, 5cc and 20cc syringes.
• Skinny ‘Bird tip’ for the luer lock syringes: Unlike regular livestock feeding tips, the bird tip has a very small bulb on the end, making it easier to use on cria.
• Jar or container with liquid-tight lid: We use this for stripping teats and milking colostrum. Never waste colostrum!
• Colostrum replacer powder: It is important to have a replacer, not a supplement. Replacers provide full antibodies; supplements do not.
• Navel clip: Only to be used if the umbilical cord continues to bleed.
• Birthing records: We record everything from time of day to weather conditions for our births. This record stays active until the cria is weaned and is used for daily weights, vaccine records, and any medications given during the early days of the cria's life.
• Oxytocin: Only to be used under vet supervision. We consult via phone with our vet if we think this is needed.
• Banamine: We keep a secondary bottle of Banamine with our kit for easy access to be given to moms who had difficult births.

We keep all of this in a large box that can be accessed easily. We also have a fully stocked medical room that we can move dam and cria into if necessary. We often will move dam and cria into this room to protect from weather conditions. It is heated and connected to another observation pen where they can stay if needed.

These are the supplies we frequently use in our medical room:

• Hair dryer to make sure the cria is completely dry. Also used to raise body temperature if low.
• Scale to determine birth weight. We have a hanging scale for the cria, although we prefer to wait until they can stand, and put them on the regular scale if possible for consistent weights.
• Additional medications/vitamins: Consult with your vet to establish a protocol of what and when to give medications/vitamins after birth. Some examples include BoSe, oral Vitamin E, CDT, E coli vaccines.
• Enema supplies for cria. We have a stock of human ‘Fleets’ enemas on hand. We use only the bottle, not the actual enema contents. The tips are pre-lubricated if not disturbed.

We also have access to an IgG machine to check the cria’s blood. Not all farms use them, but it is a handy tool to ensure cria get enough colostrum from mom. We ensure we have enough of the tests, plus a few extra for the whole season..Some farms get fresh cows' colostrum while others order alpaca/llama colostrum. These are both stored in the freezer until needed.

Delivery and Care 101

We check our pregnant females early in the morning, around 5:30 a.m., during our routine morning chores. The first thing we observe is the overall behavior. Did she eat as she normally does(fast, slow, etc)? Was she lying apart from the herd? Is she humming more or less than usual? These can all be signs of early labor. We also check ligaments on each female that is within her birthing window. It's a quick, easy, and, for us, nearly 100% reliable method. This is done by pressing on the ligaments that run next to the top of their tail. By doing this daily, it is easy to notice the change when birth is approaching. Normally, this is stiff and ropey. When birth is near, within the day, the ligament starts to relax and become more flexible. So, when we notice the ligaments have changed, we know birth is imminent.

Red lines show where we check the ligaments near the top of the tail for signs of labor.

If a female appears to be ready to give birth, someone will remain on the farm until she delivers. Behaviors will continue to change as the birth approaches. More frequent visits to the poop pile, laying with legs to the side and rocking back and forth, and the ‘up/downs’ are sure signs that labor is progressing.

Once the cria starts making an appearance, there is little that usually needs to be done. So, sit on your hands and let momma do the work. Normal births are pretty quick. Once mom starts pushing, the cria should be born within the hour. If not, intervention may be needed. In a normal birth, the front legs, head, and shoulders will come out first, after which, the cria can hang for several minutes. This allows for fluid to drain from their lungs/nose. During this time, the only need for intervention is if the mother becomes panicked, swinging her hindquarters around, which can cause injury to the cria if she hits something. Likewise, if mom is sitting up and down on the cria, intervention may be needed to ensure the cria doesn’t end up twisted/bent when mom lies down.

Post-Birth Care

Once the cria has dropped to the ground, we help remove the sack and ensure that the umbilical cord isn’t bleeding. Alpacas don’t lick and clean their babies like cows or goats, so this time, intervention is needed. Rubbing with dry towels will help dry and clean the baby off. In cooler weather, the hair dryer is helpful to ensure the cria is dried quickly without getting chilled.

The cria will usually be moving around and starting to extend its legs and neck. This helps remove the sack. Once the sack is removed, let the cria start to get on its feet. At this time, we also check the cria’s sex. We take this time to record in their medical record any information that is ready: date, time, weather condition, length and ease of labor, etc. Mom may still be lying or uninterested in cria. Usually, that changes once the placenta has been delivered. That can take anywhere from 10 minutes to an hour. Consult your vet if it is taking longer. Drying off the cria is crucial because their body temperature needs to be around 100°F. If it is not, that means they cannot absorb any nutrients. So, if needed, a warm blow dryer is used to bring up the temperature. In extreme cases, such as cold/rainy weather, cria temperature may be extremely low. One way to warm cria is to wrap their body (not the head) in a plastic bag to retain heat, and submerge them in warm (not hot) water. Some farms use heat lamps and blankets. Once warmed and completely dried, decide whether or not they need to be coated. Rain, temperatures under 50°– 60°F, or high winds are reasons we coat cria on our farm. We also dip the navel with diluted Novlsan every 1-2 hours to ensure it’s drying up and no infection gets in. We do this about four times during the first 24 hours.

Nursing Support

As the cria gains its legs, it will start looking for milk. Instinctually, they look for the dark ‘shadow’ under momma, so it is important if they are inside to be in a well-lit stall so they aren’t confused about where to go.

We strip momma’s teats of the protective wax caps by using gentle pressure to roll each teat until the little plug comes out. These can be hard for the cria to remove on their own, so this action makes things easier and encourages nursing. Once removed, we do try to express a small amount of colostrum to ensure there is a supply ready. If momma isn’t standing still for the cria to nurse, we will hold her still. If she is really struggling to stand still, we often halter and tie her to a fence or gate to help with control. We’ve observed that maidens have more issues standing still for nursing, and will often help desensitize them with a warm rag rubbed on their teats and then help guide the cria to latch on. We diligently observe nursing for the first 12-24 hours. If they can’t figure out where to go, how to latch on, or are unable to physically stand up to nurse, we start supplementing with colostrum replacer. They need as much colostrum in the first 24 hours as they can get, ideally around 30 oz (or 10-15% of their body weight). After 24 hours, the benefits of colostrum quickly subside, and the passive immunity transfer window closes. If we are feeding cria by hand, we are also milking mom to ensure the milk supply isn’t drying up. Anything we milk from her is given directly to the cria. We express milk every hour or so if the cria is having problems nursing.

Aftercare & Weight Monitoring

Once we have established that the mom and cria are bonded, nursing, and comfortable, we will let them be alone in the birthing pen. This allows mom to graze and relax. It also lets the cria explore, run, nap, and nurse at its leisure. We observe the cria for normal urine and stool output. Ensuring that once active and nursing that their plumbing is working. Meconium is the first stool they will pass. It is often orange or brown/black, very sticky, and can be difficult to pass entirely. If we notice them struggling, we will give them a warm water enema. This will usually produce results within minutes of administering. After which cria tends to have more energy and nurse more vigorously. We continue to have mom and cria separated from the herd for the first 24-48 hours. We will place them back with the herd once we have established that the cria is gaining weight.

Weighing the cria at the same time every day for the first few weeks will continue to ensure adequate nursing. We aim for a weight gain of at least 0.25 lbs per day. If less than that or no weight gain, we will evaluate any changes. One change we often see is that the dam becomes engorged. If the cria can’t keep up with milk production, it actually becomes harder for them to nurse at all. This is evident when the teats become too engorged for the cria to latch. In these cases will milk momma out until her bag is reduced in size. After which, we will help the cria latch again. The milk we get from these situations is often kept in a sterile jar in the fridge in case the cria has issues later in the day.

Over the next few days, momma and cria will continue to bond. Around day three, we will often notice a white/pink discharge from momma. This is called lochia and is a natural discharge post-birth. The cria should be following momma around, and momma should be protective and watchful of the cria. Momma should be clucking to encourage nursing and humming during feedings. They will sniff the cria’s bottom/tail to ensure it's the right cria as well. If that behavior isn’t happening, we will separate again into a smaller area where the mother can’t ‘forget’ she has a cria to care for. Once the cria is several weeks old, the momma will start to relax and let them explore further away from them and watch from a distance.