Caring for baby - First weeks
September 28th 2007 00:59
Little Marco Polo is 10 days old today and doing well.
There are different points of view regarding the care of a new born alpaca cria (baby). Some owners weigh the crias every day and give them all sorts of health supplements.
We tend to take a more natural, hands-off approach here. After all, alpacas have been having crias for thousands of years without any help from humans, why would they suddenly need us now?
That said, there are some alpaca crias who don’t make it for various reasons, so it is a good idea to keep a close eye on your youngsters to make sure all is well and to pick up on any problems as early as possible.
If the cria isn’t growing, if mum doesn’t have enough milk for him, if he’s lethargic or just doesn’t look right, then we intervene, otherwise we just let them be. After a few years of looking after alpacas, you get pretty good at picking when something’s not quite right.
Weighing the cria is good idea if you’re new to alpacas and don’t know how quickly they’re supposed to grow. (It also gives you something to do, so you feel useful).
We don’t weigh our crias here. I can tell if they are growing normally and I figure if a cria can bolt around the paddock like a racehorse (as they do), then there’s probably nothing much wrong with him.
We do vaccinate our alpacas, but we don’t do this until the cria is 4-6 weeks of age, depending on how well grown he is.
We let the mum’s milk provide him with all his nutritional needs. Some alpaca breeders sell alpaca babies to be bottle raised. I think this is a cruel thing to do, to both the baby and the mum, as they do bond very closely to each other.
Besides that, trying to bottle raise an alpaca cria is difficult, very time consuming and often unsuccessful. Why anyone would choose to do that is beyond me.
Marco with his mum (28th Sept 07)
There are different points of view regarding the care of a new born alpaca cria (baby). Some owners weigh the crias every day and give them all sorts of health supplements.
We tend to take a more natural, hands-off approach here. After all, alpacas have been having crias for thousands of years without any help from humans, why would they suddenly need us now?
That said, there are some alpaca crias who don’t make it for various reasons, so it is a good idea to keep a close eye on your youngsters to make sure all is well and to pick up on any problems as early as possible.
If the cria isn’t growing, if mum doesn’t have enough milk for him, if he’s lethargic or just doesn’t look right, then we intervene, otherwise we just let them be. After a few years of looking after alpacas, you get pretty good at picking when something’s not quite right.
Weighing the cria is good idea if you’re new to alpacas and don’t know how quickly they’re supposed to grow. (It also gives you something to do, so you feel useful).
We don’t weigh our crias here. I can tell if they are growing normally and I figure if a cria can bolt around the paddock like a racehorse (as they do), then there’s probably nothing much wrong with him.
Marco Polo
We do vaccinate our alpacas, but we don’t do this until the cria is 4-6 weeks of age, depending on how well grown he is.
We let the mum’s milk provide him with all his nutritional needs. Some alpaca breeders sell alpaca babies to be bottle raised. I think this is a cruel thing to do, to both the baby and the mum, as they do bond very closely to each other.
Besides that, trying to bottle raise an alpaca cria is difficult, very time consuming and often unsuccessful. Why anyone would choose to do that is beyond me.
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Comment by katyzzz
Photography Tips
Health Focus
MS Paint Art
Well done, and I just adore that little Marco Polo, what a great name.
katyzzz
Comment by Rosemary
Alpaca Notes - Tasmania
Thanks for dropping in The natural way works best most of the time - it's much easier too.
Marco is a lovely boy. His name suits him, he's always off somewhere exploring.
Cheers.
Comment by Lilla
From The Home Front
Enviro Warrior
Dream Herald
Esoteric Bookshop
Congrats to you and Marco's Mum .. he is divine!
I can remember having to raise two goat orphans on a bottle and it really did take up most of my day. Measuring, mixing, sterilising bottles etc etc ... I think your natural approach is far better if the mother is healthy.
Thanks for these pics, they are beautiful ... Mum looks very proud.
Lilla ...
Comment by Rosemary
Alpaca Notes - Tasmania
Marco is stunning. Most serious breeders go for whites but I love the coloured ones.
His mum is looking after him well, though he spends most of his time off exploring on his own. He just comes back at meal times. (Sounds a bit like most kids hey!) Cheers.