Preparing for Crias

The reality of upcoming alpaca babies is starting to sink in.
When we confirmed last fall that five girls were pregnant, life mostly went back to normal. Nothing in our routine changed except that these girls were getting hungrier, one developed a bit of a mood (Indie), and we needed to be more mindful of their well-being and keep stress low.
Fast forward to today, and we’re now less than two months away from our first cria’s arrival - gah!!
​Stormy’s due date is May 17. She’s doing great, by the way, and her belly is starting to fill out and look more round.   

Her pregnancy is subtle, and at first glance, you wouldn't think she was pregnant at all — especially underneath all that fleece!  

Admittedly, it’s a little tough to see her full belly in the photo under her coat, but she’s definitely showing indicators that she’s carrying.

This is Stormy’s second cria.  She did a great job delivering Indie the last time around, and we anticipate she’ll do the same.

(click here if you want to watch Indie’s arrival)

That doesn’t mean we’re not feeling a little nervous with anticipation — as anyone would with a forthcoming baby… or five!

We’re setting up a “nursery” area to give Stormy and her cria time to bond while we monitor them for the first 24 hours.  The other alpacas will be very curious to check out the new arrival, so having this reserved space will allow the herd to approach and sniff without intruding.

I’m refreshing my memory on the signs of impending delivery, possible birthing scenarios, my post-delivery tasks (e.g., weight, body temperature, naval dip with iodine), and the cria’s first-day milestones (standing, nursing, first poop).

We’re also taking inventory of our cria kit.  

If Stormy has a straightforward birth and everything goes well, we expect only to use the items in blue.  Everything else in the kit is just in case.

• Syringes & needles
• Oral Gel 80ml
• Offset Graduated Bottle 22 oz
• Bulb Syringe
• Cria coats
• Colostrum Replacement & Colostrum Supplement
• Digital thermometer
• Electrolytes
• Feeding Tube & Syringe
• All Purpose Lube
• Navel Clamp
• Exam Gloves
• OB Shoulder Sleeves
• Pritchard Nipple
• Utility Scissors
• Stethoscope
• Triple Antibiotic Ointment
• Vet Wrap
• Iodine
• Scale
• Vitamin A-D

While we can prepare for almost everything, one thing we can’t fully control is milk production. About a month before Stormy delivers, we will start her on a daily dose of 2 oz of a dried herbal lactation blend and continue through the first few weeks of motherhood.  ​

Support Mama & Cria

Each bag of herbal lactation supplements supports a mama and her cria during those first critical weeks. If you’d like to help, we invite you to donate a bag of supplements.

​As a thank you, you’ll receive a personal video and a handwritten note from one of our expecting moms —and we’ll share a few behind-the-scenes updates as these crias arrive.