Questions answered about Our Alpaca Breeding

I’ve received some really great questions that I’d like to share with you.  Maybe you were wondering some of these yourself?

As a quick reminder, we paired our black male alpaca, Ace, with five of our females:

• Indie
• Lady  
• Pepper
• Stormy
• Summer

How did Ace pick the girls?
Ace had it easy. He only needed to show up.  😉

​We decided who we wanted him to pair up with, but we also waited for the girls to tell us they were interested in him.

Were the girls ready?
Yes.  They gave us signals they were interested, whether they flirted with Ace at the fence line or when one camped out by the boys’ paddock waiting for him to join her.    

How long before pregnancies are confirmed, and how do you confirm a pregnancy?
This answer is twofold.  

We can confirm on the farm within a month via a spit test and behavioral changes, but neither guarantees a pregnancy (a spit test is a behavioral response to a male’s romantic overtures conducted over several weeks).

To be certain, we confirmed pregnancies by ultrasound, which should be done at least three months after the last breeding encounter.

Do we expect all the breedings to be successful?
No.  We chose to breed five females to increase our odds that some would become pregnant.

Do we know who the expectant mom is?
YES!  Ultrasounds were recently conducted, and we know who is pregnant.