2009 Fall Preemies
This fall has been the season for preemies at our farm. We never had a premature birth before, but now we have had two preemies in a row, and a third cria that was technically full term, but small and weak. The weather has been unusually hot this year, with a record breaking heat wave in October. Temperatures that would normally top out at 80 degrees, soared to 95 or higher, with 80-90% humidity. Two of our pregant dams with November due dates gave birth in October due to heat induced labor.
Shadow was born on Sunday, October 4, a full four weeks before her November 7 due date. 
When my husband Steve found her in the pasture he thought that the cria had already died - it was just a black bundle that couldn’t even hold up its head. When he discovered that the cria was breathing, we sprang into action. She was given some powdered colostrum that we mixed with warm water and fed through a medicine dropper. Then we took her to our vet for a plasma transfusion. Dr. Davenport gave her a 50/50 chance of surviving, depending on how much nutrition we could get into her. That night Shadow stayed on a little porch right outside our bedroom so that I could feed her every two hours with slightly diluted whole cow’s milk. It took three days of these regular feedings before she was strong enough to stand and nurse on her own from her mother. Fortunately her dam Lady Sadie did not reject her daughter, and Shadow began to thrive. Today Shadow is a lively and inquisitive youngster that is gaining steadily and racing all over the pasture.
Just when we thought we were out of the woods with Shadow, Idlewyld, one of our first time mothers, gave birth to a 2 & 1/2 week premature male that we named Saladin.
Saladin was further along than Shadow had been when she was born, so he was a little stronger. However he only weighed in at 10 pounds, and his birth was a very high pressure one, so he had trouble holding his neck straight and balancing himself. Once again we took him to Dr. Davenport for a plasma transfusion and began the round the clock feeding. Since his dam was an inexperienced mother, it took a little time for her to accept this new addition to her life. We worked with him steadily for that first week, and finally he was able to nurse on his own and began to run and play with Shadow. Saladin is a very precocious young male now - running and jumping on everything that sits still for a moment, including me! I am happy to report that his neck is fine now - as evidenced in the picture, and he is gaining and growing at a remarkable rate, considering his rough start.
Our third cria this fall was born on November 15, well into his due date range, but weighed in at just 11 pounds. He was also weak and wobbily - taking a full six days of assistance before he could stand on his own to nurse.
We are calling this little one Eli. Today he was able to stand by his dam, another first time mother named Lisa Marie, and nurse unaided. Hopefully he will take off like the other two did after they could access the milk bar whenever they wanted it.
Our biggest lesson from this season of premature and weak cria, is to postpone our breeding season until we can be sure that the dam’s final three months of gestation are in cooler weather. Last year we had several fall cria who were large at birth and thrived from day one without assistance. But, we also had an unusually cool September and October in 2008, with two near freezes. The late heat wave that we experienced this year pushed two dams into early labor, and robbed a third from allowing her cria to gain as much as he should have during his last month in utero.
We have also stepped up our feeding routine. We are feeding the females their supplement twice a day and have doubled the hay that is offered. We had been advised against over feeding in Florida to avoid over conditioning the animals, but we are finding that under feeding them causes more problems, especially with females giving birth to underweight cria.
Hopefully our experience will help other alpaca farmers in Florida to have more successful birthing seasons. We know of several other farms who have had premature births this year due to the October heat wave. Breeding alpacas in Florida has some unique challenges that change the way that we care for our animals. However, we are coming into perfect alpaca weather - cool nights and breezy perfect days. I look forward now to six months of lovely outdoor weather - and I’ll be thankful that I’m not shoveling snow and busting ice off of feed and water troughs!