Pregnancy:
Birthing
Follow link to: post natal care
pregnancy
As due dates draw near we keep our females in the paddock by the house
and observe them closely, especially in the mornings as it is at this
time of day that they are most likely to birth. The average length of gestation is 335 days but more often than not alpacas go days and weeks before and beyond this timeframe so close observance is important. Many of our births have been before mid-day though there are some that have occurred in the afternoon.
What I am looking for in the beginning stages of labour is changes in behaviour
so you need to know your animals well to know what is normal behaviour
so that when this changes you will know what is different. In general I
look for teats that have enlarged with milk, but this can happen a couple of weeks prior to labour; an elongated and softened vulva; restlessness;
more humming than usual; less interest in eating, frequent trips to the dung
pile and wandering off on their own. All of these signs, however, vary
considerably between animals. We have one girl who shows almost none of
the above signs consequently we have missed some of her deliveries.
Constant vigilance is vital.
As the second stage of labour
begins you can expect to feel anxious so make sure you have prepared yourself well by reading as much
as you can about the birthing process. Have the vet phone number handy and your birthing kit at the ready. The absolute basics are a towel to dry the cria off in cold weather, iodine to spray the cord, a cria coat, again if the weather is cool, disinfectant and sterile gloves.
We move all the herd, apart from
one or two calm, mature, females, away from the dam in labour into an adjoining
paddock at this stage as experience has taught us that the other members
of the herd are too inquisitive for their own good and annoy the dam with
their close scrutiny of the emerging cria.
The
dam will spend more time at the dung pile, pacing, sitting up and lying
down, rolling and then when the contractions are strong she will begin pushing and the first appearance will be the nose appearing which is sometimes still in its fluid bubble (see photo 1).
Then finally the head will appear followed by the front feet often one at a time (see photo 2.- note the fluid draining from the cria's lungs). What you are looking for is the head; clear of membrane (go in and clear this if necessary) and the two front
legs to appear first. You may see the partially born
cria shake it's head to clear the breathing passages and they often make
little sounds while only half in the world.
Once the head, neck and front legs are out the dam
will sometimes rest (either standing or laying down) before going into
the big and hardest push to move the shoulders out (see photo 3). It is at this stage that the hanging clears the crias lungs of fluid so you will see this dripping from its mouth (photo 2). Once the shoulders have appeared
the rest should happen relatively quickly (photos 4 and 5) and your cria slides ungraciously to the ground.
Make sure the cria is breathing and do a quick check that everything else is normal and leave the rest to the dam for the
next wee while. There will be time to attend to the other post natal tasks once the cria and dam have bonded. Alpaca dams do not lick their crias dry, rather the cria squirms and rolls in the grass to clean the membranes off its body. The next stage of care can be found in the Post Natal Care page so if you want to know more follow the link below.
Please note that the above description is a normal birth. Things can occasionally go wrong but this is not usual. If in doubt call your vet.
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