Re: [AlpacaTalk] Happy New Year!
Janice, that is GREAT news!! Do you have a coat on her, just to give her a little extra warmth?
I am sure you dipped the navel, but if you havent, you should.
Give Merry a lil hug for me!!
Jim Guerin
Yelm, WA
----- Original Message -----
From: houckj@aol.com
To: AlpacaTalk@yahoogro
Sent: Thursday, January 01, 2009 4:57 PM
Subject: [AlpacaTalk] Happy New Year!
We were blessed by a surprise baby! We have named her Merry Morning.
She was born the other day but I have not had a chance to write and
share my joy. I was just getting ready to get started with 2 new
clients - the first in 2 mos - and my dd runs in breathless "there's a
baby, there's a baby!". I thought she meant a human baby and I took off
running leaving my clients sitting in my office. Breathless, running, I
finally asked "what kind of baby and where?" When she told me a paca
baby I turned on a dime and ran back into the house to get the
camera/video, telling my clients this was life on the farm, I was sorry,
but I had a new baby to attend to, and ran right back out. They came out
the office door and walked out to see.
It was about 4PM and I am guessing from the looks of things the baby had
been born several hours previously; neither my dd nor myself had been
out since morning feeding. We were not even looking for nor expecting a
baby! The GIRL (our FIRST!!!!) is solid black from a solid black mama
and a Blue dad. She was up, totally dry, and nursing. The others were
milling around totally curious. This is the biggest baby I've had -
about 18-20# and the healthiest. All of my other babies have been
smaller and struggling, always had some problem or another and I have
had to bottle/tube feed them all. I have only had one baby survive to
adulthood, and he was paralyzed in his rear legs when he was born,
requiring a lot of intervention along with tube feeding and IVs (I had a
vet back then). He is now 5 yrs old and mr personality - likes to stand
on those rear legs and *dance*.
After taking some pictures and cleaning up the placenta (what do you all
do with your placentas?), I forced myself to attend to my
clients....need the money too much not to - but lord I did not want to
deal with them. Just wanted to go stare at the miracle :-). It was
after dark by the time I finished work, so I left them be for the night.
It was not a terribly cold night.
It turned cold here yesterday - wind chill of 10 below, so even tho I
had a little coat on my girl she was just shivering and shivering. I
fixed her and mama a little place up in my "barn" - really a storage
bldg with a concrete floor that opens to a small fenced area connected
to their pasture, laid out a bunch of hay for them to lay on and put a
light bulb in a reflector hung low for the rest of the day and night.
They have been out today after the ground thawed and the temp got above
freezing (day 3) - mama does NOT like being cooped up in there. Baby
has been running and leaping about and the whole herd (what's left) is
just following her around so curious. Oh, it is just so great! I have
buried so many. This one is just perfect and a GIRL!!. The last time
this lady had a baby was a little over 2 yrs ago. It was also solid
black. That baby only made it a little more than a week. She is a
great mom; today I was out cleaing the pasture and saw her panic when
she looked up from eating at the hay shed and baby was nowhere to be
seen. She started moaning/crying/ whatever you would call the sound she
made and RAN around the back of the hay shed in a total panic to find
her baby.
I have put them back in the bldg for the night as there is freezing rain
predicted after midnight. Mom is NOT happy. When we first put them in
there a bit ago she would not let Merry nurse, kept circling around and
then just laid down. Merry had a good drink while mom was eating before
we put them in there, so I think all will be fine. Surely mom will calm
down tonight and let her nurse? I have lost so many it is hard to trust
the process. But by golly she seems to be doing just fine without my
help :-).
Mom has not been vaccinated nor wormed lately (still trying to get my
ducks in a row on that front - have injectable Dectomax ordered to get
started back with the m-worm preventative regimen; and waiting for a
moment to do the math to figure out how to switch to Safeguard granules
that my local feed store has - 22.7mg per # of granules; have used the
paste previously - ugh. What should I be doing for the baby? Need to
go pull out Dr Evans manual. But I can only do what I can do myself.
Have not worked in nearly 4 mos and there is no money to give a vet.
Thank god the baby is so healthy.
I am excited beyond belief. What a great way to start the new year!
The only difference with this baby and all the others is the father.
All the others had the same father (3 different females, 4 buried
babies) - who passed away unexpectedly. The new stud muffin has finally
matured; and he is a beauty too :-).
Warmly, Janice
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posted by Chaddo at 11:52 PM
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