An inauspicious beginning

It seems appropriate to start a blog with a tale of birth.

It is a warm day in late September and right on schedule our herd matriarch, Cappuccino Chip, is going into labor. With alpacas, this is a painfully difficult "wait and watch" affair: alpacas very rarely have birthing difficulties, and it is best to be on hand for any problems, rather than actively participate. She has this baby with no small amount of strain, but eventually--head first, like a diver--the baby falls onto the ground. A beautiful baby boy, with white anklets just like his mom!



It soon becomes obvious that all is not well. The baby is not really trying to stand--with alpacas, this usually take minutes--and upon closer inspection, his eyes are lined with a red streak. Worse, he appears to be completely blind. We rub him down with a towel to try and dry him off as well as jump start his muscles, and when that does little, we put a dollop of corn syrup on a finger and offer to him. He sucks greedily, the first positive sign we've had.

Within an hour, he has not stood up. Moreover, he's resting: A bad sign. Hoping to give him some motivation, we stand him near Cappuccino's udder. Normally, she has vast reserves of milk available. This time, though, she doesn't have almost any in her back two teats. The baby is also unable to see where he should be nursing; he tries mightily but completely misses the target, and his muscles often fail him, sending him sprawling back to the ground. The veterinarian is called.

She comes with a bottle of colostrum from a local cow (vital for inheriting immunities, as well as calories), and confirms his blindness. He nurses from the bottle with some help, and over the next 24 hours we manage to get two bottles of colostrum into him: Not enough to really satisfy his needs, but enough to keep him alive. Over this period of time he figures out how to stand, though he is standing on his pasterns (the alpaca's ankle quickly has another joint, like a dog. In essence he is standing on his ankles for support) and his muscles shake with the strain of keeping him balanced. We catch him nursing from mom once or twice.

The next day his weight remains the same as his birth weight, which is actually very satisfying (alpacas often lose a little weight the second day of birth). Perhaps he is getting enough from his mom that the bottle isn't necessary? At this stage we can't really risk finding out.


The next day is relatively uneventful. He loses a tenth of a pound, but that is not a huge cause for concern. We've got him on a two hour day-and-night eating schedule of whole cow's milk. We're guarded, but hopeful.


To Be Continued...