It's Always Somethin'.............

Rocco is now a week old and Thor is 10 days old. It sure seems like they've been here a lot longer than that. Anyway, I check the poop piles daily and noticed cria diarrhea. The vet says that Thor and Rocco have a case of Coccidiosis. Coccidia are microscopic one-celled organisms that live and reproduce within the cells that line the intestinal tract of the alpaca. They are parasites not worms.

While a coccidia infection may be seen in adult alpacas, younger crias are more at risk. A healthy alpaca keeps coccidia in check with it's own immune system. Young crias whose immune system is not fully developed can be susceptible to coccidiosis. For the next five days we will treat them with Albon which is a broad-spectrum, safe antibacterial.

Thor and Rocco seem to be doing fine, they are running and playing and show no signs of weakness. I snapped a few pictures this morning as the three crias (Ange, Thor & Rocco) were running around playing together.

Ange & Thor Popping 'Wheelies'

The Three 'Little Ones'

Rocco's 1st Day!

Rocco made it through the night and is adjusting very nicely. He has fit right in with the rest of the herd and already has made friends with Angeline and Thor. I found him in the field this morning running with his new buddies. Of course all that running and playing made him tired and hungry so he stopped for an occasional rest and some nourishment. I managed to snap a few photos this morning. Now that he is dry his color is medium fawn and he weighed in at 18 lbs. As soon as I picked him up I knew he was heavier than my 16 lb. bowling ball. Here's how he looked this morning.

"Rocco"

Trellianna with Rocco & Angeline

We now have two 4Peruvian Wira Cocha sons. We are hoping they can continue his legacy.

Boy Oh Boy!

What a surprise! I proceeded to go to the barn this morning and as soon as I stepped out the back door a cria was squirming in the field. He just popped out seconds before. It was 8:10 am and under a steady drizzle. I ran and got the camera and this is how he looked:



Ruth Hussey is a very protective mother so she was trying to keep everyone at bay, including me! I was spit on three times trying to find out if it was a male or female. Argento managed to get up close and personal, she loves little crias!

With all the commotion going on, I finally could get close enough to see if was male or female. It indeed was a male, not what we were hoping for but he's beautiful just the same. I'm still trying to figure out his color as he is soaking wet but it appears to be medium rose gray. I let Tara pick the names as I would probably name him "Bob". She chose Rocco which is Italian in origin (imagine that) meaning Battle cry; Rest and some say Tough! I would have to say the name fits because he was born in some tough weather.

Ruth Hussey with her boy Rocco!

He was up on all fours in just under an hour and nursing a few minutes after that. This is not Ruth's first rodeo so she definitely knows what she's doing. I figured I would just leave them alone for a while and then I'll dip his umbilical cord in iodine and get a weight on him. He appears to be a bit bigger than Thor and if I were to guess I'd say he's about 16 lbs.

I wonder what's going through his mind as he's looking around and soaking wet in a steady light rain. He's one tough dude!

We Have Contact!

Anna has finally hooked up with Thor and he is nursing just fine. I managed to snap a picture before my batteries ran out.



Our silver girl Argento has really taken a liking to the little fellow as she stays real close to him.

Trellianna & Thorello Update

When I awoke this morning Trellianna was still the non-accepting mother. The little guy tried to nurse all day yesterday and early this morning but Anna would just walk away. Yesterday, I put a halter on her and held her still while Tara watched the cria as he suckled. He was latched on right where he should be but we weren't sure if he got any milk. I tried to milk her but could only get a drop or two. Tara & I had to bottle feed him the colostrum yesterday and early this morning.

Meanwhile, I had been trying to find an anti-inflammatory drug called Banamine but couldn't find any nearby. It is used to alleviate pain which Anna obviously had. Our vet is in Fayetteville which is about 40 miles from the farm and we drove there late this morning to pick it up from him.

When I got back to the farm I looked in the barn lot and saw Trellianna standing still like a statue with the cria underneath. I couldn't believe what I was seeing. I grabbed the binoculars and saw a close-up view of the cria nursing. Hallelujah. I sped to the barn and checked out mom and cria and everything looked normal. I milked her and she had better flow and I knew the little guy was getting milk because he had a nice white mustache. I still gave her the Banamine injection and tonight she wasn't moaning near what she had been so I think her pain is subsiding. Things are looking much better. Ruth Hussey is on deck!

I was going over the pictures and here are a few from yesterday:

Argento checking out Thor (1 minute old)

Welcome to the herd!

Anna, Thor & Ron

Angeline: "I'm not the youngest anymore!"

It's a Boy!

We had an election day cria by our sweetheart Trellianna. I witnessed the whole ordeal yesterday from the labor pains to the actual birth. All I can say is it was truly amazing. I have tons of pictures and video but I'm too busy to sort it all out now.

Trellianna has been hesitant to allow the cria to nurse. It may be due to pain. I will treat her with Banamine in hopes of relaxing her and relieving some discomfort. We had to supplement him with goat colostrum yesterday and this morning and if he is still not able to nurse we will bottle feed him with cows milk.

He weighed in at 14 lbs. and seems to be doing well, he was up on his feet within 15 minutes and actually running around a bit. Everyone was checking him out and they seemed to welcome him into the herd.

We have named him Thorello which is Italian in origin (go figure) and means "young bull!"

"Thor"

Still Waiting.........

There are no new crias on the ground as of yet so while we are waiting we will continue with the breeding schedule. Shakira was up next as she had her date with Wira Cocha Nov. 1 @ 5:30pm which lasted 30 minutes until 6:00pm. If all goes well Shakira's due date will be October 17, 2009. Shakira has great genes with Peruvian Bonanza and Acero Marka genetics that gives her that gorgeous fleece, long staple length with nice density. Throw in Wira Cocha's dense crimped fleece and we've got a great chance of getting a beautiful cria with exceptional fleece next fall.

Shakira's Breeding

In the short video clip you can hear Wira Cocha orgling (singing). This orgling sound helps to put the female in the mood, and it is believed to also help her to ovulate after mating.