So tomorrow is my birthday. And even though I'm not one for a big fuss...we normally 'do' something.
Of course this year it's going to be a quiet affair whether I like it or not. Many of you will have experienced a lock-down birthday already...so you will know. I'm not feeling great. The weather is crap. I've been bitten by a horsefly. And FB memories of past birthday holidays in Iceland, the Lakes and Turkey are not helping. In Wales we can still only drive five miles. But we're lucky. Five miles from here we have lots of beautiful walks. So maybe I give myself a good talking to, plan a mini road trip and bake a cake. And thanks to Joe for his perfectly timed bouquet of flowers. They've brought a little bit of 'day before birthday' cheer xxx
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So Minky had her cria. At 11.30pm on June 30.
According to Google (mainly sites set up by American alpaca owners), Alpacas only give birth at night if there's something wrong. I think the theory behind this is that they give birth around lunchtime (or between 8am and 2pm, or from 7am to 4pm...depending on which website you believe) to give the baby the best chance of survival. In Peru, the mornings are cold...as are the nights. Unpacking a cria around midday, when it's warmer, means the baby has time to dry off and find its legs. Anyway. Last night, around 9pm, I went out to check on the girls. And something made me decide to forego another episode of Dark and stay with them for a while. Minky somehow didn't look her usual self. Clearly I know what her usual self looks like as I have spent weeks sitting with them on the paddock. She wasn't comfy and was doing a fair amount of 'drama queen' humming. That on top of frequent visits to the poo pile made me suspicious. However (according to Google again), alpacas don't tend to ruminate when in labour. And as Minky was still chewing away, I initially assumed she was very close to unpacking, but that she'd most likely deliver the next day. At 10pm Stu headed off to bed and I decided to stay out until it was a little darker (and take a stroll around the paddock several times to up my daily step count). Around 11pm I noticed Minky was looking a little different around her rear end. Five minutes later she was clearly having contractions. By the time I had been to get a pair of gloves and towel, baby's head, legs and neck were out. He was still in the water bag and clearly struggling. So I had to break the sack and clear his mouth. Then stepped back again to let her continue. Before long it was obvious that he was a little stuck. I was worried that Mink would panic if I got too close, but fortunately I don't think she knew what day it was so was happy for me to step in and help. Anyway - long story short...he arrived. I let them bond. Then I moved him to the shelter. Then I rang Stu (no way I was leaving Minky to run up two flights of stairs) to see if he wanted to come down. I'm glad he did to be honest. It's not easy to hold a torch and manoeuvre a huge placenta onto a shovel and into a bag. (Unlike some other animals, alpaca don't eat their placenta. It's best to remove it asap so there's no danger of predators etc hanging around - plus it's just plain gross.) Once things had settled we decided it was best to fence Minky and baby into the shelter and keep a very giddy Freda and Winnie out of the way for the night. I've no idea what time Stu got back to bed - but he must have been shattered at work today. I'm kind of glad she gave birth at night when he was around as he missed Winnie's arrival. I spent a couple of hours keeping a close eye on them both and watching Dougie's terrible attempts to suckle. I didn't want to leave them until he had fed. Anyway - today, his first full day on the paddock, I've pretty much left them all to it. He's already attempted to beat Winnie's paddock speed record. Dougie
A boy. I would have preferred another girl to be honest, as there would have been no question as to whether we keep her. So..as he's a boy we're going to have to make some decisions at some point. But not just yet. For now (and for the next 6-8 months) we're going to enjoy watching him grow. |
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November 2022
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