Yesterday turned out to be quite the crazy day... After having family over for lunch, we went out to hose down the alpacas around 12:30-1:00, and then they headed off to carry out the rest of their day's events. I spent the next hour watching the Sear's repairman fix my refrigerator, and then I was back out to the barn to rake stalls and check water buckets. I WAS NOT expecting to see a brand new baby. I got to the barn door and stopped for a second, like I normally do, to survey the crowd of alpacas. Amongst the sea of large bodies, was a little tiny cria that was not there just an hour or so before. I think I just stood there in shock for a second, registering, because the only other female in the cria stall wasn't due until the middle of July. When I had finally processed that Tui had just given birth 3 weeks premature, the size of the little cria made sense, and I started into my normal 'Oh my gosh, there's a baby' routine. Well, not only did the fact that the little one was 3 weeks early throw me off, but she (Yes, SHE!) was up and running, jumping, and even kicking at less than 2 hours old. It had apparently not been the smoothest birth either, as her snow white fleece was stained red. And with as hot as it was and with all of the fans on high, the blood was already quite dried in. Yuck. As soon as Hector got home, we gave her a sponge bath with some warm water and we were able to loosen much of it up, and get her nice shiny white fiber to show through. Despite what seems to have been not a perfect birthing experience, mom is healthy as can be, and baby is stronger than I would expect from a premi. Her gait is strong, legs are straight as can be, ears up, up on her pasterns - really just in excellent shape! And nursing right away, too. Mom's milk hadn't completely dropped yet, but it was there, and this little girl was all over it! Nursing. Running. Nursing. Running. She just kept going for the next two hours or so...
And then, she crashed. EXHAUSTED. She plopped herself down and could barely hold her head up at times. I have to say, it was making me a little nervous - she was flat out in the middle of the stall, the other babies nudging her to get up and play, mom hovering over her, and all the while I'm just praying she doesn't get stepped on. I kept an eye on her from the back of the barn while she just laid there quite motionless, watching her breathing like a hawk. After what seemed like forever with hardly any movement, this little girl was back up on her feet and nursing and running again. Phew! Hector and I then weighed her (14.8 pounds - not bad for a premi) and sent her and mom back off to the rest of the pack...
Getting ready to head back inside, I noticed Jennifer (due on Monday, along with Princesa) was not acting quite like herself, so I stuck around to observe a little while longer. She was mirring a little more than normal, I could see the baby kicking like crazy, and when she laid down, she kicked her legs way out to the side. Ughhh. I had just moved her OUT of the cria stall to give the little ones less distraction from their moms, and now I had to move her back in. So back into the cria stall she went, and there I stayed watching until dark.
Well, there are no new crias on the ground yet this morning, but you better believe I am keeping a close eye on all of these little buggers - moms, babies, everyone. With Jen and Princesa due in 2 days, there will be more new cria pics up soon I'm sure!
BTW - the pic is of the new cria and Lacy, our week old little girl. Lacy is attached at the hip to the new baby, and quite a nuisance to mama Tui. LOL Tui will teach her to back off... Lacy has already been given a nice green top coat a few times...
