Re: [AlpacaTalk] RE: female acting funny
Hi Janice,I share your concern for the well-being of your dam and cria. I think the stress they are displaying is potentially dangerous for their health (stress causes other physical problems that can, and have, caused death in alpacas, the same way stress causes deadly diseases in humans). Your heart is telling you to do something about this, and I have some thoughts that I hope might be helpful.Since mom and cria do not have other herdmates to comfort them (especially the little guy who needs the comfort of his mommy's touch), I feel they need to be put back together, immediately. To prevent the cria from nursing (and using the colostrum meant for the new baby), it is possible to put kind of a "bra" on mom. Think of a long piece of fabric that can be sized to wrap around mom, with velcro to close it at the top. It would be a width that would cover her teats, comfortably. Perhaps, Velcro could be fastened to each side (going around mom's body) so that a "strap" of velcro could be attached, in order to control how loose or tight it is. I'm thinking of a wide sling, just in that section of her body. I know people have done this, and I hope I've created a visual that makes sense. Perhaps someone who has used this technique has a photo they can post??? At any rate, the problem of "colostrum theft" would cease to exist, and mom and cria would relax. Please allow your imagination to run wild with the idea of covering mom's teats, which I believe is all that needs to happen in order to get these two back together, where they belong. You may be very creative and able to come up with an idea that will work well for you. Go for it!Another thought I'd like to share. We have been breeding alpacas for nine years, and we have never forced any of our crias to wean. We feel that it is their mother's job to wean them when she is ready (nature's way), and we don't feel it is our (Ed's and my -- not speaking for anyone else) place to tell a mother when her baby should be weaned. This has worked extremely well for us. The only time it became a problem was, some years back, when we thought a cria had been weaned, and mom was about 6 weeks away from delivering her next cria. We found them "clandestinely" nursing when we weren't looking. But that was the only goof in nine years. We have a very relaxed, happy herd, and I think it is because we let them lead us in deciding what is best for them.I'm pulling for you, Janice. I hope you can get things returned to peace and comfort, with everyone happy and healthy. If I can find a photo of anything that might help you keep cria number one away from the milk bar, I will send it to you.Best wishes,SueKindred Spirits Ranch
P.O. Box 68, Yale, OK 74085
18604 Wallace Circle, Maramec, OK 74045
Ed: (918) 873-0280 / Sue: (918) 873-0283
www.kindredspiritsranch.com
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posted by Chaddo at 7:34 PM
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