Thursday, May 29, 2014 A little bit of sad news today. About an hour after we got home on Tuesday, Delilah delivered a tiny black cria. The problem is she was not due until 8/7/14. No way could one born that early survive. 🙁 It breaks my heart to have this happen, but Delilah is the one who suffers most. Alpaca moms are wonderful moms and they mourn deeply when their baby doesn’t survive. She will mourn for him for about 2 weeks before she keeps her grief more inside. I doubt she will ever really forget. Sorry about the sad update but such is life on the farm sometimes.
I know from experience if the mom sees me remove the body of the cria, she will be upset with me for a very long time. So it’s best to leave it with her until she makes the decision to walk away. But we have aggressive magpies who had noticed it, and I knew Delilah might just stay with the body for a while. So I partially covered it with the towel I used to carry it into the barn. Gradually I covered more and more of the body, til eventually only one tiny foot was exposed. Delilah was holding her vigil and knew her baby was there. About 5 hours later I offered her some food and when she got up to eat I whisked the cria away while she wasn’t looking. She soon went back to the towel to hold an all night vigil. Sometimes you just have to do what works. Yes, the towel is still there today and she still sits beside it. 🙁
Photo of the day: A winter photo of Delilah who needs time to heal.
a
Michelle Collins
Oh Linda, I am so so sorry for Delilah and you. It breaks my heart. I wish there was a way to comfort you both.
admin
Thanks Michelle. You know what devoted mamas these guys are. She will have a baby next year I hope and she’ll be the best mom ever.
Michelle Collins
Oh yes Linda, they are such a family unit. I cannot even think about what your Delilah is going through. Blessings and Peace to you both.
Candee
Yes, it is the cycle of life, but it is never easy. Deliah and family, our prayers are with you all.
Christina Oppenheimer
So sorry Delila. Our season didn’t start well either. Our Alexandria lost twins. It broke my heart to watch her grieve. Best to you all at Blue Moon.
admin
Watching the mom grieve is the hardest part. We’re sorry for Alexandria’s loss too. 🙁
Amanda
I am just learning about alpacas, and this is so sad 🙁 Can you tell me if there is a point where moms and cria are no longer bonded, or do the moms suffer when you sell one of there babies the way female cows do with their female babies?
Linda
Alpacas often have very tight family bonds that can last into adulthood. Moms and crias are almost always bonded for at least a year. We have a few mother daughter pairs who are inseparable even now that the daughters are 4 and 5 years old. I never sell babies without their moms.
Kim
We just rescued a very weak baby and have given it goats colostrum and milk. Its been 2 nights away from the mother inside to get it strong. Question will the mother take the baby back and how long before she wont? 2. Or could another mother who had a baby the same day adopt the orphan?
Linda
I hope you were able to get the baby back with the mom during the day time if you had it in your house at night? It really all depends on the mom. If she has had crias before it’s more likely she’ll be looking for the baby. It’s rare but not impossible to find another mom to accept the baby. If it were me, I’d do everything possible to get that mom and baby back together asap.