High Risk Cria – DMAR Remington’s story began in the early evening of Sept. 11th. Walls Edge Shasta, dam, appeared to be in labor all day, but nothing happened until around 7pm when Tom asked me to look at Shasta and I happened to catch her going from a layed down position to a kush when her water broke. I quickly got the birthing kit and at 7:20 pm a small, but very active and alert Remington was born. 
Everything appeared to be going well. The night time low was approx. 65 and I had rubbed Remington well with the towel although he continued to shiver. We threw a jacket on him to try to keep him warm. He very quickly got to his feet and eventually was able to nurse off of mom. We weighed him at 14 lbs and dipped his umbilical cord. He was pretty active for a while, but then he kushed. He laid his head down to rest.
Tom hates to see cria’s with their heads down. We have had crias in the past do the same to find out that they weren’t getting enough milk from mom. Tom decided we should place Remington back under mom to assure he was getting milk, however, when he went to lift Remington up he went limp as a rag doll. Tom immediately said to take Remington into the store to get him oxygen. It was pretty scary to carry such a limp body. It almost felt like we had lost him.
In the garage Tom gave the cria oxygen. Within a minute Remington had popped his head up and then the next second his head dropped to the floor again. I took his temp and it read 98. Hypothermia…..I needed to get this cria warmed and fast. We plugged in the blow dryer, laid him on a heating pad, and threw blankets on top of him. Poor little guy. After a while we finally got his temp normal, but he still wasn’t doing well. He would pop his head up and maybe even stand and walk for a little, but then he would go completely limp all over again.
We did what we could with giving him oxygen and I gave a shot of naxcel just in case he was fighting something I couldn’t see. Finally at around 11pm I went and brought Shasta into the store. I needed her to know her cria, her very first cria, was still alive and I needed Remington to know that his mom was with him. Remington was too weak to nurse, but Shasta was wonderful in allowing me to milk her. We fed the colostrum to Remington with a feeding syringe.
There were many times that night in which Tom thought he was going to lose the cria. I must admit that it was quite scary, but I will forever be the optimist and so I didn’t allow myself to think anything other than he would beat this.
The next morning Remington was still breathing. He appeared to be able to hold his head up for a little longer now, but still too weak to attempt to stand. I had to forgo going to a Home and Business Expo since there was no way we could leave the cria. Tom took Shasta back to her paddock and it was now daylight and she was crying since she could see the other alpacas.
Around noon I took Remington outside to see his mom. He definitely was happy to see her. We continued to milk mom and as Remington got a little stronger we were able to hold him under her to nurse. After each nursing Remington would completely pass out for about an hour or so. Poor little guy wasn’t feeling too well. However, by the end of the day he was able to stand and nurse all by himself. That night Tom and I took turns staying in the stall and making sure Remington was warm under the blankets and that he got up to nurse.
The next day Remington was a bit more active. He actually jumped his back legs into the air. He had no problem jumping on the deck and would be able to quickly recover from his stumbling off the deck. He no longer needed me to tell him to go nurse. He would search for mom by himself. That night I was able to stay in the house and simply watch him from the tv monitor.
Today is day 4 and Remington is even more active than before. Although up through yesterday he still weighed only 14 lbs. He is stubborn and refuses to drink goat’s milk from a bottle. He just pushed the bottle nipple out of his mouth and then sticks his head way back making it very difficult to place the nipple back into his mouth. He is now doing short running spurts the length of the paddock. I just hope he keeps getting better!
Shasta is a wonderful first time mother. She is very attentive to her cria and appears to have plenty of milk. She follows him around everywhere and is constantly talking to her baby.
Remingon’s sire is HRAZ Lock & Load, a Presidio son. Remington is his third cria to hit the ground. Lock & Load is available for outside breedings. He is quite impressive and his crias are beautiful. The first two offspring will attend their first show at the end of this month. Click Here for more information on Lock & Load.
