JandJ Bruno

On Thursday 28th June, Miss MoneyPenny gave birth at 9.20 it had been a straight forward birth & all looked well but the cria looked a little weaker than the others. He had a lovely pink mouth so we left them in the shed with the other alpacas to bond & to get up on his feet. 


We went back to check half an hour later & Bruno hadn't moved much from where he had been born, still laying flat out, this is not normal so he obviously needed help. Miss MoneyPenny was pawing at the ground around him & moaning, as his mum even a first time mum knows that this is not what normally happens. Martin started to rub him with a towel & turn him over, bend his legs into cush (sitting position), propping him up on a bed of hay, he kept doing this for 30 mins with Miss MoneyPenny looking on. We left him sitting in cush for another half an hour, newborn alpacas usually get to cush position in about 10 to 15 minutes on their own. When we went back he was happily sitting there & Martin just helped him stand, holding him for a few minutes until he found his feet. Twenty minutes later Bruno was feeding & wandering round the shed the past couple of hours behind him. 


He is JandJ Affinity's first cria & a very similar colour to him, Bruno has very bright black eyes & the longest eyelashes I have ever seen on an alpaca.

JandJ Swift

Swift with a milky mouth

Last Friday, where has this week gone! Skylark gave birth to a beautiful little girl called Swift. As Skylark is my alpaca & one of the original 4 she is very special to me & I was determined to see the birth. For a not too big alpaca she is always huge at the end of her pregnancy & we have often seen bulges of legs appear on her stomach, when we sheared her back at the end of April she looked ready to give birth.
Skylark always gives birth later in the day, only once with Wren it was 11am, with the other 4 it  has been between 1 & 2.30 so I kept watch. At 2.30 nothing but she was so uncomfortable & by 3 we definitely had an alpaca on the way,  Swift arrived at 3.30 much to my relief. 
Swift is beautiful, gorgeous shiny jet black & because of this very hard to photo.Skylark's cria are named after birds so we have Raven, Wren, Robin, Ani & Kitt. Swift was up & trying to feed within 15 mins Skylark's babies are always like this, especially the girls, they whizz around on the first day & then become calm & relaxed like their mum. 


All day Clementine has been uncomfortable so I am hopeful for another birth tomorrow. She is 11 months & 6 days & so are Miss MoneyPenny & Ani, all are pregnant to different sires.

First cria of 2012 JandJ Magic

Yesterday morning in all that horrible weather our first cria of the year was born. Luckily when the weather is bad & the babies are due or are a newly born we often shut our girls in the barn overnight to protect the cria more than anything else as we have mums who would like to be out in all weathers with their cria at the bottom of the field but we also have mums who like the warm & comfort of the barn & wouldn't dream of being out in the rain! 

 Gem & Magic at 7 hours old

Motherly love
In the background Skylark, Ani, Miss MoneyPenny, Clementine  & Spirit

Anyway our first girl to give birth is Gem, this is her first cria he was born at 9.20am & we watched the birth along with the other girls in the barn especially Clementine who kept checking him. Gorgeous little dark brown boy who we've called Magic.Gem is a brilliant mum & Magic is doing well, he had to have a coat on last night as it was so cold & we are hoping that he will get chance to go outside tomorrow if it stops raining long enough.