It's a Girl... Finally!

And her name is Soñador.

It has been a wild ride... full of anxious days and nights as Sammie finally gave birth July 21st on day 373! The gestation count is correct as I only bred Sammie once. I was beginning to think there was a problem until I read a recent thread on AlpacaNation that many other breeders were going well into the 370 range, which is highly unusual. So I wasn't the only one this year.

At any rate, the female cria is doing very well, nursing, running and enjoying her new surroundings. Sammie is also doing well so things are looking good right now.

Tara named her Soñador which means "dreamer" or "dreamy". She must have been doing a heck of a lot of dreaming as she popped out about three weeks late!

Our son Jansen has been handling birthing duties as Tara & I are out of town. He has been a great help as without him, we wouldn't be able to leave the farm. He said the cria was born around 6:30 am and Sammie dropped the placenta soon after that. The birth appeared normal, the cria was standing and nursing in about an hour. He said she was testing the wheels out early this evening.

Jansen sent me these pictures of her first day on the planet:

Soñador

Cria Watch!

Sammie's due date has come and gone. I had her pegged for June 27th at 350 days. Some people use 355 days for the gestation period which would have been on July 2nd. It is now day 362 and I wish she would have the cria already. She looks about ready to pop at any moment and we can see the baby kicking. I guess it'll get here when it gets here.



Her last two births were here on our farm. In 2008 she hit 350 days on the money. In 2009 she gave birth on day 356. Hopefully it'll be here very soon as I'm starting to get a bit anxious.