Mariana is a very attractive young female and unfortunately she gave birth to her first cria yesterday on a damp, miserable morning (just a normal summer day this year). He was quite small but was soon up and suckling so we had no worries apart from the weather. Some of his Aunties came to welcome him to the herd and have a good sniff so they remember him.
The forecast locally was for some showers but brighter later. This did not happen and it looked like the cria was never going to get dry. I towelled him off when he was born and when the drizzle persisted went back again. He was wet down to his skin and starting to shiver a little. I towelled him again and gave him a couple of shots of Vitaboost which is a glucose/colostrum paste to give him a bit of energy and we quickly prepared the barn so we could get all the alpacas back in once more.
With some alpacas you can just persuade the mother and cria to come inside by carrying the cria to entice the mother in, but Mariana is a bit flighty at the best of times so we thought it would be too stressful for her without the company of the others.
All the females and the 16 cria were happy to go back in the barn. When I checked later the new cria had managed to find the coldest part where the straw had been pushed back and so was lying on concrete. I moved him into the middle with his anxious Mum swearing at me, but they soon settled and this morning he was lovely and dry and playing with the other cria. They have been out all day today but we have left the barn doors open so they can drift in if they want to. Quite a few of them have got in the habit of drifting in even if it is not raining. We have never known them be so keen to find shelter. I think they are just as fed up as we are with the rain.
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