Alpaca Spit Testing
Sign posted at indoor sports facility where we attended a birthday party.
Actually, there is ONE time when we really want our alpacas to spit.
That’s when we do a spit test to check whether or not our females are pregnant. In the alpaca business our goal is for our females to be pregnant most of the time. Selling breeding stock is where the majority of our income is generated.
Alpacas gestate for 11-12 months. They are bred back when their cria is between 19-21 days old. Don’t worry, I promise you that their reproductive system is designed to operate this way. If we have a female who needs to remain open (not pregnant) for health or management reasons we will leave her open. The majority of females are ready to breed three weeks after birthing and are sitting down next to the fence letting the male know she is very interested!
We conduct a breeding. Generally, we will want to behavior test the female two weeks later to see if she has conceived. How will we know? When we put her in the pen with the male, she will “spit him off” if she’s pregnant. If she is “nonreceptive” she will spit and run away from him. You want to do spit testing before you shower in case you happen to wind up in the line of fire. Around 30 days after her breeding date, we will have our veterinarian come out and do an ultrasound. Then we know for sure.
See? Some spitting is a really good thing. It means a baby is on the way!!!
More Spitting Saturdays:
March 21st, 2009 at 9:44 pm
Haha, that sign is great!!! Too funny. Ok, so I can’t wait till I can spit again!!
~Tabitha~
freshmommyblog.com
March 22nd, 2009 at 8:13 am
I hope you’re spitting really soon!