Chrys
I've had similar problems.
First -- you need colostrum (goat, bovine camelid -doesn't matter ) in the cria, but you may have already missed your window of opportunity. You may end up needing a plasma transfer for antibodies.
As for Mom fussing now, I've noticed that the first 24 hours following birth, Mom's are about as gentle as they'll ever be and tolerate a fair amount. Even my wild Mama will almost accept being tied and milked out the first day, but after that, all bets are off unless I have help. However, she needs stimulation to get her milk flowing....basic principal if you're not already aware -- the more stimulation, the more milk.....same in humans. So, if you can get someone to help milk her out, that will be your best bet of getting her into some milk. The other thing is that if Mom is hyper because she doesn't have herd contact (as she feels she wants) it could be holding mom back from allowing baby to nurse......I've got one dam that all bets are off in terms of putting her and baby alone...she goes nuts even when I lock the other girls and babes in the same general area and she can see, hear, smell, and even have minimal physical contact, etc.....she can't be stalled and that's all there is to it.....As for baby, just keep supplementing until you get baby to nurse....and it may take awhile, though I hate having to say that! Been there, done that....no fun! The only other thing is, are you 100% sure that baby isn't nursing at all? The one successful thing I've found is to smear whatever milk you're using on Mom's udder and teats.....then smear a little on baby's nose, though I'm sure baby already knows the smell of whatever milk you're using.
Hope this helps a little....but I would definitely have an IgG drawn today or tomorrow. As I said that first 24 hours and getting colostrum is super important. Without that, they have no defense against all the wonderful (and bad) germs that we all come into contact with daily. I would also add to be very thankful that yours is sucking down a bottle....I've had them refuse to suck when I knew they were capable! So, even though it's a pain, there is one tiny bright spot!
Oh yes! In terms of milking mom, all I can say is use an 'easy hand' -- I'm not sure I can explain that any better......also, massage the udder a little before trying to pull the milk out. And of course, the more relaxed Mom is, the better the milk will flow.....also, have you tried using a 20cc syringe? Cut off the needle end and put the plunger in that cut off side, nearly fully to the end...hold the smooth side to Mom's teat and let the syringe suck the milk out...and be careful not to spill what you get....it's easy to lose it once you've gotten it!..btdt.
Good luck and keep us posted,
Susan
----- Original Message -----
Sent: Thursday, June 11, 2009 7:44 AM
Subject: [AlpacaTalk] Cria not getting Milk from Momma
Hey everyone. Don't know if anyone is online, but sure hoping. I had my first cria born yesterday and I am having problems.
Cria will not go to mom to nurse. He will try to nurse anything but his mother. I have them isolated, but not a chance. I already took him to the vet and we have him on goats milk, butthe vet said to try to milk as much milk from momma as possible and supplement with goats milk. His sucking is fine. Once I pry his mouth open and get the bottle in, the little guy goes to town on the goat milk.
Now here comes my problem. Mother does not seem to be producing much milk. I first milked her yesterday and got about 6cc. Everytime after that very little, not even measurable. I am hoping it is my milking technique, but don't really think so. I would have thought 24 hours after the birth that her teats would have been engorged. They are not and now she fights when I try to milk her.
Any advise is welcome. Please.
Chrys Volk
Suri-nity Meadows Alpaca Farm
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