What an exciting day. My son was going into the Junior Handspinner competition at the Hawkesbury Show, and we packed everything into the car ready to go. We walked down to the paddock to check the alpacas one last time, and noticed one was in labour.

She rolled in the dirt patch (yes, our pure white alpaca was rolling in the dirt), went to the poo pile (alpacas have a communal poo pile - very civilized) and looked uncomfortable.

So she paces, she rolls, she poos. Two hours later, we move her into a small pen so that we can watch her more closely. We popped a friend in, so that she would have company. She sits, she rolls, she stands. Finally we can see the head crowning. She stands. The head and two front feet break through, still in the bag. The cria looks as though it is diving. Another contraction, and the bag breaks. Another and the feet move further out, so that now we can see the legs. Another, and the cria is left hanging just centimetres off the ground. It just drops out, into the dirt. We run to put a towel under it, so that it doesn't get too dirty. Skinny, ugly, white, girl. Hooray for a girl to expand our herd.

Within minutes, she is sitting and then standing and sucking. Her little neck wobbles as she tries to attach to a teat. She is weak but getting stronger by the minute. She dries off (Mum doesn't do any licking), and we notice she has a really cute topknot. We let Mum and bub out into the paddock, and all the others come over, one by one, to meet the new addition.

Burbank sits and warms up under the autumn sun. Within an hour, she is running with the herd, suckling, and then sitting to rest.

We race off to the Show, my son competes. He normally spins alpaca, which is wonderfully soft, no lanolin, and fairly clean, so spins easily. He is given rainbow dyed sheep wool. He spins and hands up his work within an hour. We return a couple of days later, to find he has won Champion Junior Handspinner. More excitement.

We welcome you to visit Burbank, and all our other alpacas. Maybe when you come, we will be having more babies. Here are some due dates:

Due Date:

9/10/09
24/11/09
12/12/09
17/12/09
26/03/10
14/04/10
1/06/10

We shear in October, so you are welcome to watch that as well! If you come soon after, the alpacas look very skinny.

Alpaca crias

Shearing an alpaca like a sheep 1

Shearing an alpaca like a sheep 2