Friday morning, Bob came back from checking on the alpacas and reported that Patagonia's Alameda was acting like she was going to give birth. Our three grandchildren, aged ten, nine and four were staying with us, so we positioned them at John's bedroom window for the show.
It took fifteen minutes for Alameda to produce a pure white cria: her fifth . Last year, John thought the new crias were dogs, but this year he calls her a lamb-and much like a lamb she is-sporting full fluffy fleece, a pink nose and eyelids.
Alpacas give birth standing up. The grandchildren were amazed when the new cria's head and front legs appeared. She was wiggling her ears and shaking her head as the herd followed Alameda in anticipation. For a quick moment, she laid down, then standing, she gathered her strength and dropped Alpaca Shack's Sokanon in a wet, muddy puddle.
John did his usual chores, but kept a close eye on the newcomer, as Alameda and the others cleaned their new member from head to toe. This year he was obviously an experienced alpaca owner.
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