Ideuma Creek's Jacob

Jake's birth was the final indicator that I spend way too much time in the barn.  We were supposed to go out to dinner with our friends and fellow alpaca owners, Sue & John Jackson.  At about 6:00pm, I went out to check on the alpacas one last time before I would start to get ready.  I ran into the house. 

"Suzie's clucking, Suzie's clucking", I screamed up to John.  John, of course, knows by now that I'm a bit fanatical about crias, and he understood that we couldn't possibly go out to dinner when Suzie was clucking.  I have written notes in my birthing notebook that on two separate occasions I heard Suzie "cluck" in the morning during morning chores and then later that day, she had her cria!

John is so understanding.  He patiently waited in the barn with me until midnight with all of the lights on waiting for Suzie to deliver.  I'd point out to him all of the subtle things she would do that indicated to me she would soon be having her cria.  "She's definitely acting nervous, Denise, but it doesn't seem like she's going to have her cria anytime soon", John said.  I hated to admit it, but he was right.  I went off to bed only after he promised he'd check on her again.  I got up bright and early and ran over to the barn, sure that Suzie's cria was already there.  Surprise!  No cria.  Suzie was still showing all of the signs of stage 1 labor.  I was worried.  If she started labor at 6:00pm last night, she had been in labor well past the normal 4-6 hours that is considered normal.  There might be a problem.  I called our vet.

Dr. Camann came by at around 11:00am.  She helped Suzie deliver a perfectly healthy 22 pound solid brown boy.  He was in correct position in the birth canal.  Had Dr. Camann been 15 or 20 minutes later, Suzie probably would have delivered a perfectly healthy cria on her own.  I had jumped the gun.  If there was any doubt before, it was totally cleared up by now.  I simply spend way too much time in the barn during cria season.  This would not be the only time this year that I was able to identify a "stage 1A" labor in one of my animals. 

We knew Jake would be fine from the moment we saw him.  He was strong, solid and up looking for his first meal within a few minutes of his birth!  At 22 pounds, he fit in better with the spring crias than the other summer crias!  Jake has grown into a beautiful young boy with a handsome face.  He is extra playful and jovial.  Sometimes when I see him, I think about how long we waited for him to be born and how worried I was about him and his mother.  I didn't need to be.  I've never had an easier, healthier cria on the farm!

Jake in the fall 2004