Alpaca Care Tips
Monday, September 5, 2022
Tips from the Pro's ( Not necessarily from us ) just things we have heard or learned along the way.
Cria Care:
1. Jump Start Plus Oral Gel- To be given to them after birth once a day for the first 2 weeks. Just a little "dab will do ya". Give them a 1ML dab off the tip of your finger. Helps them get the energy they may need after the delivery to start to nurse.
2. Hot Box - Get this one set-up ahead of time. Easy to do, take two straw bails place them next to each other with a little space for the cria in between them. Place loose stray between the bails as bedding for the cria. This is used a a "Go To" position should the cria get to cold. Place the cria between the bails and through a cover over the top of the bails. Then use a hair dryer set on a "Not to Hot" position, and blow warm air on the cria until there body temperature comes up to 101F. The slot in the straw bails allows for mother and child to continue the bonding process while you attend to the immediate health needs of the cria. I like to keep the straw bails away from the barn walls so I can walk around the cria to access all sides while mother may be very attentive to the cria as they had just been born.
Here is a link to that product: https://www.pbsanimalhealth.com/products/jump-start-plus-oral-gel
Expectant Mother Care:
1. Unplug and Strip those Teats. Sounds strange I know but given that they take dust baths, they will tend to build a wax like plug the size of a grain of rice in the opening of the teat.
2. Use a warm wash cloth to strip the outer wax covering off the dams teats. This is a separate procedure from the one stated above. This also helps confirm her milk has come in and will be ready for the cria when they are born.
3. Don't forget to collect some of the colostrum when her milk does come in, this stuff is worth its wait in gold if you need to give it to her cria or another dams cria that may not have dropped her milk right away. Knowledge Nugget. You can freeze Colostrum in the freezer to have it on hand ahead of time for next years cria season.
