Born On The Full Moon

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Little Utah Farm

 
I really would rather have Googled this event before it happened. It is times like these I am thankful for Mother Nature's help.

Ricky our grandson, came in and told me to grab my camera and get out back. "Grandpa says to hurry!" he coaxed. "Well... just a minute" I said." "No Gma, Grandpa says to come NOW!" I was thinkin' it was a cute pose with one of the dogs or an egg laid in an unusual place. As I walked across the back yard I felt something quiver in my solar plexus. I saw Paul at the gate of the corral, looking inside. "Deborah,  come look at this" he said calmly.

I looked into the corral and Gaia our new female llama had her back to us and what did I see but what looked like to me shiny black rubber tubes coming out of her. I was blank. I just didn't have a reference inside my brain to figure it out right away. Waaaa ! It finally kicked in. Gaia was having a baby!!! A baby llama was arriving to Little Utah Farm.

I was as shaky as Ricky, Ethyl and Fred on the I Love Lucy show when Lucy comes out of the bedroom to announce "Ricky, It's time." Everyone runs around dropping clothes out of the suitcase and in a state of panic.

This was a complete surprise. We knew not of her pregnancy when we bought her at Ron Harding's Farm. The herd she lived with was wild and free roaming around in 80 or more acres. . Gaia was  very young when we got her last December. She was around a year or or year and a half.. No way to tell. Our 4 boys are gelded and so we had no idea we would ever have a baby. We did give it some thought but dismissed the idea.

Shouldn't she be laying down? Will the others llamas hurt the baby? Wonder if something happens? Waaaa ! Then I gathered myself and called my llama friend, Christina Dunlap, in California. She owns Not Home Alone Pet, Livestock and House Sitting Service. "I need you" I spoke into the phone trying not to scream. She reminded me to take a deep breath and assured me usually nature would take it's course. She is really smart and kind with animals and also teaches first aide for pets. She continued to give me an outline of what to expect. I am thankful and appreciative for my friend, Christina, who by the way, was one of the two women who introduced us to llamas at the Pomona County Fair in California about a decade ago.

• It seems to take forever for the baby to be born. It will present itself usually feet first then head. Whew * This is exactly how it went.
• Llamas do give birth standing or in prone position.
• Check to see if the baby's nose is obstructed by the membrane. Check * The baby was breathing freely and the head was dangling as Gaia walked around the corral.
• We did separate the boys from mother and baby. We easily herded the adult gelded males into the corral. Mother and baby were in the nice green pasture.
• Gaia sat down a few times and each time the cria ( a baby llama) gradually slipped out more.
• Once the shoulders come out the cria hangs at the flank or hips and as she hung we held our breath. Then we all watched in awe as the cria plopped out onto the pasture floor.

In moments the baby was moving and wiggling about and Gaia saw her baby.

• Llamas do not lick or dry off their babies. The babies thrash about to stand and the membrane is rubbed off. In 30 minutes baby was standing and falling....standing then falling... standing.
• In the wild the female llamas all gather around the mother during the birth to protect the baby and mama from the intact males. Llamas are ready to breed once they give birth. After the birth and when baby is standing and nursing the `aunties` step away for mother and baby to bond.
• The placenta was delivered in an hour. it was interesting like a giant hunk of liver. Paul buried it deep in the back.
• Babies need to have colostrum in the first 24 hours of life which they get from the mother's milk.it has antibodies to protect the baby. Udders on a llama are so tiny they are difficult to see. Many people give the crias colostomy from goats milk kept in freezers for this purpose. There is also a wax plug in the teats which some people remove to make sure the milk is flowing. Llamas give only 2 oz of milk at a time.

Our new addition to our farm was born on the day of the Harvest Moon, September 30,2012. We named her Luna Llena ( pronounced loona yena) which means Full Moon in Spanish.

Watch Video:  7 minutes: of the mother, Gaia and the birth of her new cria llama, Luna Llena. Baby and mom had a good experience and are doing well and fine.