Birth Calculator

With our birth calculator, any two of the three values (conception date, gestation period, delivery date) can be input, and the third calculated.

Gestation is approximately 335 to 355 days. Longer pregnancies may occur after spring matings and shorter ones may occur after autumn matings.

Dysmature cria

Our last born male cria, Gaius, arrived a day after he was expected.  However, there is a condition known as dysmature cria, where the cria is actually full term but shows all the signs of being premature.  He was definitely in this category.  He took longer than usual to stand and feed and when he did stand was down on his pasterns.  His teeth had not erupted and his ears were soft and he really did not look in good condition (see photo of him on the day he was born). We kept a very close watch on him and then realised that he was still bleeding from his cord.  Fortunately we have a supply of cord clips, so we quickly put one on.  As soon as he dried off, we put a coat on him as the weather was cold.  During this week, we even put a second coat on him to help regulate his temperature as it was a cold week.  His mother kept on nudging him with her foot, wanting him to get up.  We think this was because she gave birth to a stillborn female last time, so was probably wanting this one to move. It really is important to monitor new born cria closely and where necessary be ready to take action.  The second photo shows Gaius the following day and already looking much improved.  By the end of Week 1, Gaius was behaving like any other week old cria. Gaius is now almost 3 months old and doing well.

Alpaca husbandry

Alpaca husbandry

For the time we have been at Eppalock, we have managed with quite large yards.  This meant we have found it difficult to catch alpacas and give them their injections etc.  Recently we had a new shed put up so we have shelter for alpacas as needed.  Beside this we have some small yards constructed from cement poles and gates.  These yards are a lot smaller so catching the alpacas is considerably easier.  The yards are also just slightly wider than the back of our alpaca float, so loading the alpacas is also a lot simpler.  It really is important to think through how to make working with alpacas as easy as possible for both them and us.

Bottle fed cria

When feeding bottle fed cria, it is a good idea to keep accurate records of birth weights, how much the cria drank etc so that you can track their development and make sure they are growing.  If the weather is cold, the cria may need to sleep in a shed while young.  We felt it was good to ensure that the cria bonded with other alpacas during daytime hours and would encourage it to spend time with a group of alpacas so it learnt to bond with them.