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ICKY!! (But I bet you're curious!) Welcome to
the page of non-mentionables.
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SPIT!
One of the most undesirable traits of camelids is that they spit.
Just like their Big Brother the camel, llamas and alpacas will let you
know when they aren't happy about something by spitting. Generally
they only spit at each other; usually a squabble over food, but if you
happen to be in the line of fire, you just may end up decorated in
partially digested food. Sometimes they'll spit at a person if they
feel threatened. If you handle their new baby or have to treat
them medically and they don't like it, you'll soon find out!
Pregnant females get particularly cantankerous in their final months of
pregnancy. If you're lucky, you'll just get a warning huff with no
debris, but when they're really mad, they'll work up a big
"greenie" and fire it at you. What does it smell
like? Poo!
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| POO!
An interesting and favorable trait of the llamas and alpacas, is that
they all "go" in the same spot. Although they'll make
several places around the pasture, it is limited and contained to those
areas. Inside the barn, our alpacas have litter boxes filled with
horse bedding, and they usually are very good about targeting inside the
boxes. This makes clean up very easy. Training them to use the
litter boxes in the barn gives us the advantage of them easily using the
portable litter boxes we put in their stalls at the shows, keeping their
stalls neat and clean. Llamas' and alpacas' poo looks like big rabbit poo. "In the
Business" we refer to this as "beans". You can even
get a "Bean Recycler" t-shirt! Alpaca beans make terrific flower
and food garden fertilizer. It isn't as hot as horse or cow manure, easily transportable and spreadable in
its convenient pellet form.
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| MATING!
Well, before birthing, I guess we should discuss mating
first. Alpacas are induced ovulators. This means that they can
get pregnant anytime, and the process of mating creates the female to
ovulate in order to become pregnant. When a female is
"open" (not pregnant), then she is receptive to any breeding
male and will "cush" (lay down) for the male to mount her.
She will stay cushed until the mating process is complete, which is
usually about twenty minutes, but can go much longer or much
shorter. The male's penis is spiral in shape and will reach all the
way into the cervix to deposit the sperm. Usually it only takes one
mating and the female is pregnant. How do you tell if a female is pregnant? Usually, to the dismay
of the male, we do the "spitting test" and put the female back
in with the male. If the female is non-receptive to the male, she is
"hormonal" and will spit at the male and not let him mount
her. This inexpensive test is typically done about 15 days after
breeding. If the female is receptive and cushes for the male, then
she is probably not pregnant, and the breeding is repeated.
About 30 days after a successful spitting test, the female is tested by
ultrasound method, abdominally or rectally, or by a blood-drawn
progesterone test. Once a pregnancy is confirmed, you'll have to sit
back and wait patiently for about 11 to 12 months, which is the alpacas'
term of pregnancy. Twins are very rare and usually do not survive.
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| BIRTHING!
Thankfully, the birthing process is nearly bloodless. Most
births are unassisted and once started, usually complete within an
hour. Once the cria bubble shows from the rear of the dam, the cria
is usually on the ground within half an hour. The perfect birth has
the cria emerging head and front legs first. Gravity helps in the
process and within minutes the cria should be on the ground. The
umbilical cord is severed by itself on the way out, and the cria is born
in a clear membrane sac. As the cria rolls about and squirms to
stand, the membrane is sloughed off. Little toenail caps protect the
dam from internal injury. These also fall off soon after birth. The
mother does not lick the baby as other mammals do.
Within one hour, the placenta should discharge in one neat sac.
All cria waste fluids should be neatly contained within this sac, which is
easily picked up in one piece for discarding. The mother does not
eat the placenta.
The cria should stand within one hour and begin nursing within four
hours. Like an awkward fawn, the cria will look all-legs and it's a
wonder how they can organize those long limbs to stand; but they do!
Being prey animals in the wild, it is imperative to their survival that a
new-born stands and walks quickly. They must not only nurse quickly
in order to receive the limited colostrums available from their mom,
boosting their immunities, but also so they have strength to run from
danger. Now, typically we don't have dangers in our pastures,
but it is the instinct of the species that continues to produce these
actions. Pictures |
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