My First Cria Watch

I knew it was coming soon, I just didn't realize it was so soon...  Our first cria watch begins in a couple of weeks.

We've had five cria born to our farm.  All of which were born while our herd was agisted, so we weren't the one's "watching."

The first year's crop was on a farm about 45 minutes from our home.  So we did get to see them when they were a few hours old and were able to re-breed the dams in person.

Last year's crop was born in New Mexico while we were in the process of moving to our farm in  Colorado.  We made arrangements for re-breeding via email and didn't get to see our new additions until the herd arrived on our place last New Year's Eve.

This year, we are expecting two cria.

Our first dam, Keyla, is very predictable.  She breeds on the first shot and starts spitting off right away.  She also delivers very close to her due date.  She even spit at a boy a couple of months ago when I brought him around to see if he and the younger girls were interested.  Keyla is due on September 6th.

Our second dam, Kocoa, is not so predictable.  This is her second cria.  She's looking quite pregnant but hangs out at the gate looking at the boys.  She is a flirt and bred several times for her first cria and twice for this cria.  So she is either due on September 19th or October 17th.

I have taken a neo-natal class and witnessed one birth.  I know alpacas generally birth easily on their own, but I feel a small urgency to make sure I have everything in place over the next couple of weeks.