An Alpaca Birth

Celine's labor starts.
The first stage of labor may take 1 to 6 hours.
She is uncomfortable and she lies down and rolls around.
She is humming quite a bit as if she is trying to talk to her unborn cria.

Celine is having contractions.

She is now in the second stage of labor and it usually lasts less than one hour.

She starts to push and a nose appears.  The fetus appears to be in the correct position. 

The fetus is in the proper position.  We have a nose and toes!
The baby's feet push out and break the water sac.

Once the feet and head are out birth should be completed within 30 minutes.
The baby will start to breathe and some will even cry out or hum.

The cria is covered with the fetal membranes.  Make sure the airway is clear so baby can breathe.

Most newborn cria's weigh between 15 and 20 lbs.

In the third stage of labor the placenta is expelled usually within 4 to 6 hours.

Celine is resting as Ruby struggles to stand.
Her legs are still a little wobbly and she's already looking for milk.
Most crias will stand and walk in less than an hour after birth.

(we treat the naval area 2 times with 7% tincture of iodine within the first 12 hours)

Celine stands very still as Ruby tries to nurse for the first time.  Ruby falls over a few times so we help her balance as she searches for milk.

Most crias will attempt to nurse within the first hour and should be up and nursing within 4 hours.

The first 12 hours - it is very important that the cria get the colostrum they need.

Ruby snuggles up close to mom to take a nap.
Birthing is a big job for mom and baby.

Alpacas will lick their baby around the mouth as if they are transferring  fluid.  Possibly some kind of digestive fluids to help the baby's digestive system get started.

Our technical vocabulary for this is swapping spit.  Any way it looks like they're kissing and it looks sweet.

We have cria coats for our babies born in the cooler weather.

Here Ruby is wearing the latest fashion in cria coats.  She was born in December and the temperature dropped to 8 degrees.

We were a little worried when the temperature dropped but Ruby did great.