3 nights ago, I even had to call the vet. I was sure that Lori was in labor. There were none of the normal signs, but there was a bump the size of a large apple on her bottom. She could not even hold her tail straight due to the bump. BJ. said that it was just the baby stretching, but that more than likely we were dealing with a BIG baby.
Boy, was BJ right. This boy weighed over 20lbs. He was up and walking in less than 10 minutes.
He is black and dark brown with lovely white markings. He has 2 white stockings on his front 2 legs and has a white marking on his neck and above one eye. The kids are still in the naming process, (which can take them a while, since the girl born last month, still has no name). I think that "Boots" is on the top of the list of names, because of his white feet.
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Well, we have 2 new members of our farm family. We purchased 2 Nubien Goats this past Sunday. I had wanted to try my hand at making goats milk cheese and the kids are excited to make goats milk soap....the how to books have been ordered. wish us luck. Here is Lucy.
Luckily, Sheryl and her 2 daughters, Rebecca and Naomi, have been helping me out along the way. They came over and helped me build a stanchion (goat milking stand). Yes, this lovely stand was made by Sheryl, Naomi and I. (Rebecca had an equally important job and cannot be left out because she kept my children busy). We made a perfect team and it looks awesome. As I have said, you gotta have friends. I could have never done it without Sheryls help. Here is Jim trying his hand at milking Ethel.
The kids did a great job milking also. They were very proud of the milk they got.
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I love this time of year....The births of cria are so exciting. This birth was one that I had anxiously awaited. The mother comes from the great Snowmass line and the sire, The Khantender Optimo, is a Khan baby, who has won many awards. This was also the first time we had paid for an outside breeding, so I was really praying for a girl. We got home from church to find a cria's nose sticking out. Quickly, we all went into motion. The kids gathered the cria kit and supplies, while Jim and I made sure the birth was going well. We were a little nervous when we saw some blood, but over the phone BJ (the best vet in the world, in my opinion), assured us that although most births were blood free, not all were. Since the bleeding did not seem to serious, she correctly assumed that it was just some blood from the placenta. We got to the details after that. We dried the cria and treated the unbilical cord with iodine...taking a moment to check and double check the sex. YEAH, it is a girl. Here she is, still to tired to get up.
Gradually she gained her strength and tried to stand and then was finally up and about.
Serefina, a first time mother, behaved just as a mother should. She hummed at the cria, she kept her close, and after a few tries realized she was supposed to let the cria feed.
Later that afternoon, we let them out into the field. It was a very hot day for April (93 degrees), but the baby was already trying to run and play. 
Captain Davey Jones was exicted to have a playmate. He was very curious about the new cria and kept following her. I think they will become great buds. It amazes me how fast they grow. Captain Davey looks so much bigger.
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I believe the owners have settled on Captain Davey Jones for this little boy. This one is certainly more handsome that Davey Jones in the movie. The name is so fitting since their farm is name Treasure Trove Alpacas, they already have a Captain Barbosa, and any farm with boys must have at least one animal named after a pirate or a character from Star Wars. Captain Davey Jones is growing fast and now weighs 17lbs. He is as soft as cotton and as cute as a button.
He graduated to the big field with all the girls today and had a great time running with the Sheeza (our fall 2008 cria). I think she was glad to have someone one to prong around the field with. He is still not as sure on his feet as she is, but he gave it a good try. Maybe their next cria will be an Elizabeth Swann, since established and new owners always want a female cria. Keep an eye out in the blog. We have 3 more cria coming this season.
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TODAY was a wonderful spring day. I always love spring. The flowers are blooming, the babies are born, and the weather is getting warmer (all that even makes up for the pollen that causes all of us allergy sufferers in Virginia to feel miserable....oh I so hate the pollen season).
We had the first cria of the spring birthing season born today. A beautiful white male. He belongs to Treasure Trove Alpacas in Danville Illinois. He has beautiful fiber and was the biggest cria we have had so far. He weighed over 16 lbs.
His mother, Samara, is very attentive and has plenty of milk.
I always love the way cria flip their tales up when they are attached and feeding. I always imagine them saying "oh, this is good stuff. I had to wait 11 months for this, but it was worth it"
Such a sweet face. However this boy has a mystery. I have been on (what I lovingly call) barn arrest for several weeks now. I usually do not leave the house and if I do I wait til after 3pm or I am fortunate to have a neighbor who will check on the alpacas when they are near birth. However, today we were both away from the house. There were no signs of an upcoming birth. The milk was in, but she was calm, cool, and collected when I left. I came home to a beautiful male cria.....on the opposite side of the (woven goat pannel type)fence from the mother. He was still wet, so it had not been long, but I cannot imagine how he got where he was. Mom was hanging out right next to him on her side of the fence. He was sitting peacefully in the sun on the other side. The dogs had been locked out of the field where the girls were, so they could not have carried him. He was not able to stand yet, so he could not have walked through. The fence was locked so mom could not have moved after giving birth. The only thing I can imagine is that mom was standing next to the fence when she gave birth and he went through it. I will never know for sure (even that seems highly unlikely) So for right now he is our mysterious little man.
CONGRATULATIONS MELISSA AND VICTOR. You have a new baby.
By the way Melissa breeds awesome Bengal cats. You need to visit her site at Ubasti Bengals. I am getting a lovely little girl kitten from them.
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