photo by Val Newell

A few of us Southern alpaca breeders were discussing this topic on Facebook recently. Alpacas are induced ovulators so we can determine when we want our alpacas’ to breed. (It’s actually really convenient.)

What is this induced ovulation? you ask. That means that the act of breeding/intercourse is what causes the female alpaca to ovulate. I may be oversimplifying this for you scientific types, but you that’s the gist of it. Alpacas don’t go into “heat” like dogs do. They do have a cycle that we want to “catch”. We want to find her at the receptive part of her cycle, but open females will usually be receptive more than once a month, so we can choose our breeding seasons.

This makes breeding alpacas convenient for alpaca owners. Alpacas gestate (stay pregnant) for 11-12 months. So let’s say you were going on a cruise next April, or you really wanted to go to that family reunion…well you might choose not to breed your alpaca females in April and May the year before if you want to be present for the births.

Breeders can also choose not to breed during times of year when the weather in their area is a challenge. Northern alpaca breeders choose not to breed for Winter cria. Whereas, Southern alpaca breeders tend to avoid Summer cria.

Of course sometimes, Mother Nature has plans of her own and occasionally the cria come whenever they want, early or late. For the most part, we can try to control this part of our farming destiny and bend the alpacas’ birthing to our will.

Because our farm is so far South, I try not to breed until December 1 and we stop July 1. It can be so cool in November that I am always tempted to start the breedings then. Sometimes I give in, though I shouldn’t. Our Winters are like Disneyland so we breed and birth all through them. We can birth through mid-June because even if it is warm our girls are practically naked from shearing and have been so for the last few months of gestation so they have been comfortable.

So, when is YOUR breeding season?

What other questions do you have about alpaca breeding and birthing?

“When the sun gets hot and the moon gets hazy, good girls go bad, and it gets crazy!” — Unknown

This photo was taken of our some of our Fairhope Alpacas herd that is boarding in North Carolina with our friends at Augustyn Acres Alpacas. (I can’t fit all of our new alpacas at our farm in Alabama.) Melissa Augustyn was kind enough to bring out the camera and capture this moment as Shawnee was breeding one of the girls. The other girls gathered around, telling him, “Me next! Me next!” The hormones on them, I’m tellin ya.

Of all the pictures I have seen over the years, this one is the most defining of alpacas. Alpacas are really all about having babies and being pregnant. I love cria, so I love that about them.

I saw the quote above and it just seemed fittin’. Check out Sunday Citar on the Fresh Mommy blog. Tabitha is delightful, and her blog has amazing photography.

The 4th of July is coming up. I’m going to the beach, what fun plans do you guys have? Leave me a comment and tell me what you will be up to.

How do we teach our children about sex? It’s one of the toughest issues we face as parents. And it’s one of the toughest things we have to come to grips with as children. I mean, do you remember how grossed out you were when you realized that your mom and dad did that to get you? Yuck! They had to be kidding! Right?

Once when I was a homeschooling mom, I went to a program at a church about teaching girls about modesty (at least I think that was what it was about) …and I remember them telling us to talk with our girls about how flowers are pollinated by bees as a way of first opening the door to talking with your daughters about sex. The point was that you can offer metaphors first before you throw at them books with anatomically correct terms and insert tab A in slot B.

I’m a psychologist and I know lots of ways to teach kids about sex. Then I’ve been exposed to the “shelter them from it all” theory. But now they go to public school, or the “expose them to it all” theory. And, heck, with the internet now, I’m not sure how we are going to shelter kids today…I know my children well, we communicate openly and I follow each child’s lead based on their personality and needs for information.

When my kids do ask questions about sex, and I’m lucky they do ask me, a lot of times, it starts in the barnyard.

Yesterday one of my little ones asked me why Magnum needs to be at the big barn, why we needed him to make babies. We were in the uh, restroom, at the time so I told her we’d talk about it in a minute.

Later he was doing a breeding (top pic). And she was so worried about that female alpaca. I had to console her and tell her that alpaca girls really want to do that. I showed her how the girl gave Magnum the “look of love”, talked with her about his orgling. I said, “You know what alpaca girls REALLY like?”

“What?” she said sullenly, not sure of this whole breeding thing.

“Look down at the other side of this barn. What do you see directly at the other side of this barn?” I asked.

“NieNie?” she asked.

“Yes, I said. Nie Nie. Her momma loves her baby doesn’t she? Alpaca girls love their babies more than anything else. And this is how they get them.” I told her.

“You mean that NieNie’s mom did THIS to get NieNie?!!!?” she asked incredulously.

“Yes, she did. Last year. with Magnum.” I said.

My son, a couple years older had been quiet for most of this conversation. He piped up and said, “Piggyback ride.” (This is how he describes the alpaca breeding process)

So, my daughter was grossed out thinking of how her beloved NieNie was conceived. Understandable.

So the flower is pollinated by the bee.

Or at our house the dam was fertilized by  Magnum…

We went on to have a conversation about eggs and fertilizing. And where human moms and dads keep their eggs and “fertilizers”. They were grossed out but glad to have some questions answered.

It’s nice to have the alpacas to help open the door for these questions.

How have you dealt with these issues with your kids? Have you used your animals to help you deal with tricky topics at your house?

Participating in Wordless Wednesday

My usual way of breeding is to have female alpacas come to my farm and breed where I have control of the situation. Last year, for a variety of reasons some of my customers and I decided to bring my boys to their girls and do mobile breedings at their farm. I made several trips with my males to their farm last Spring, and we thought we had several pregnancies, but later their vet reported that the progesterone test results indicated that only one of the five were pregnant. (Three were maidens)

Well, we had to wait for my males to come back from their Summers away, and then we had the girls come over to our farm so we could be sure to get them pregnant this time. Two of them were very NON-receptive. Then it got really cold so we weren’t really breeding.

Then we didn’t want to give our customers January cria so we didn’t breed in February.

Then I started to notice something. Something alarming. to me.

One of these girls was huge. And her belly was dragging the ground.

Come to think of it, the other one who wouldn’t breed (the pretty rose grey one) was horribly spitty and kinda mean. She wouldn’t even let me into their shelter to put the food into their dishes without spitting green stuff all over me.

This got me thinking. Hard. I called my customer on the phone.

“The pretty rose grey one,” I said, “What was she like before she was bred?”

“Oh, she was the sweetest animal we had,” my friend gushed. “She would come and put her head in your lap before she was bred.”

Uh huh.

If it looks like a duck, walks like a duck, and quacks like a duck, it’s probably a duck.

Suspicious that the reason these two females are so big, so grumpy, and the reason they won’t BREED is because they are already pregnant, I called the vet’s office and begged for a quick appointment for an ultrasound for them.

In the meantime, I tried HARD not to think about them delivering a cria up in the front field while no one was there, but checked on them a lot to be sure it didn’t happen without us knowing. (I was kinda scared to know when they might be due…I’m heavy into denial)

Friday Dr. Stewart came by on his way home. I wish you had seen me wrestling that beautiful, extremely pregnant (*oh yes*) rose grey alpaca to get that ultrasound shot to prove without a shadow of a doubt, that, yes, there was a baby in there causing all this consternation!

Dr. Stewart is used to having a vet tech but he was on his way home and had to squeeze me in at the end of the day. I’m used to having a farm manager (or I used to be). But there was no one to help us or to (horrors for a blogger!) hold the camera.

So I will just have to describe it for you. The older one, whose belly is practically dragging the ground, was first. (I know to do easier first) I held her pretty strong and he was able to get a quick look. When the baby is this big you just need to see a rib or a head or a body part to know something is there.

The rose grey girl was like a bucking bronco. I could hold her for a few seconds. But as soon as he put the alcohol on her to use as the conductor (think the jelly they put on human pregnant bellies and how cold it is) she jumped around like crazy. I thought I was going to lose a limb. Had to shake it off several times, breathe and come back for more. I eventually had to tie her halter and we had to go for 3  Loooonnnnggggg seconds.

You know how professional bull riders have to ride for 8 seconds to get a score? We had to hold this beauty for 3 seconds for Dr. Stewart to get an ultrasound reading on her. When we did it, and he got a positive reading – it was the best feeling! I have a terrific bruise to show for it, and am proud as hell of it.

In the end – our friends are thrilled! They are getting two babies – SOON! When we looked at the breeding dates, both are due this month. They came to get them the next day so they can deliver at home.

Our story has a happy ending with these girls being ultrasounded and being diagnosed properly. In the past we have had alpacas misdiagnosed with false positives by progesterone testing when the alpaca had a retained CL (corpus luteum) and no pregnancy, costing the breeder a year of productivity.

Some breeders don’t have access to ultrasound machines. Do you rely on progesterone testing? Have you ever had a problem with it?

Leave us a comment and tell us your thoughts and experiences with progesterone testing for pregnancy diagnosis in alpacas.

Not to Pick The Most Handsome Male Stud

or

Don’t Judge A Book By It’s Cover When It Comes to Choosing A Herdsire.

It pays to look past the flash of good looks and ribbons and look at the science behind the male you are considering breeding to your female alpacas. Look at his offspring, his histograms, his skin biopsies, production records, etc. The “look” of a pretty face can set you back years behind the competition if you aren’t careful.

For more specifics read How Do You Know Which Sire To Hire by Alpaca Farmgirl Katy Spears

You Go GIRL!

Because it’s Indiana blogs, “Anything You Can Do, I Can Do Better” in the voice of Super Filly Rachel Alexandra. Well said.

After beating the boys yesterday, this gorgeous gal becomes the first female to win the Preakness in 85 years. Strong, confident, and imminently capable, Rachel Alexandra brought women and girls across America together. She affirmed what we already knew: We can do anything. For all the years of having our pigtails pulled, it’s nice to see a girl give the boys a taste of their own medicine. Delicious.

Rachel Alexandra’s Winning Run in the Preakness (video)

Rachel Alexandra’s new owner, Jess Jackson of Kendall Jackson wines, also owns super horse, Curlin. The thought of a Rachel Alexandra – Curlin cross sends shivers up the spine of die-hard racing fans. Talk about your Royal Family. America has always wanted one. Maybe this will be it. Hey, we can dream, right?

Rachel Alexandra is a heroine for the ages. You go girl!

Yes! Montreal is pregnant by SCA Peruvian Shawnee.

Today we are doing ultrasounds. On our farm the alpacas are hand-bred, meaning that we put a female and a male in a run together and they breed. We observe this and record the information. Two weeks later we repeat this process. Once the female is pregnant she will spit at the male when we put him in the pen with her. We call this a behavior test. Once the girl is “spitting off” the male, we schedule her for an ultrasound. The first one is usually 30-60 days after date of conception.

Girls waiting outside for their ultrasounds.

Waiting. Note SCA Peruvian Magnum in the background, hoping that several of them are not pregnant so he can breed them again.

Carmen – pregnant by Magnum! Love this Camillio x Misty Maiden cross.

Sierra Echo’s Heartfelt Awe – is she pregnant by Magnum?

Yes! “Awe” – Congratulations Sierra Echo Alpacas!

Getting Doe prepped and ready.

Doe is getting her ultrasound.

Doe’s mini-cria by Magnum! Congratulations Humming Star Alpacas!

Wombat’s That Sheila’s A Looker – a rockstar momma alpaca

Sheila’s mini babe via Magnum. And there was much rejoicing…

Tapioka, mother of Claire. We loved Claire so much we repeated the pairing.

Tapioka’s next baby by Luminescence!

All in all, our veterinarian performed 12 ultrasounds, and we have 11 confirmed pregnancies. Excellent results. We will look for cria this Fall from: Awe, Isolde, Tapioka, Sheila, Montreal, Nevoso, Princess Quita, Doe, Sable, Carmen, and Loretta! This Fall we will see the first cria from our AOBA Champion males, SCA Peruvian Shawnee and M Horatio by Magnum. Exciting!

]]> http://www.alpacafarmgirl.com/2009/02/question-of-the-day-whos-pregnant/feed/ 6 http://www.alpacafarmgirl.com/2009/01/dirty-jobs-alpacas/ http://www.alpacafarmgirl.com/2009/01/dirty-jobs-alpacas/#comments Tue, 06 Jan 2009 18:26:34 +0000 Katy http://www.alpacafarmgirl.com/?p=1337 Must see – Dirty Jobs bit with Mike Rowe on the Discovery Channel.  Here’s a link.  It’s hysterical.