Update on Maremma Pups:
The Maremma pups are now 3 weeks old. As you can see their eyes are fully open and they are quite mobile. I know their ears are open since they wake up each time I walk into their area. Personalities are becoming apparent. The males are all pretty much laid back where the females all seem to be little trouble makers. They are vocal and launch attacks against their litter mates. Teeth are now coming in and I expect that a few yelps will come to help them learn how to curve their bite.
The pups are being given puppy gruel. A mixture of crushed up dry puppy food mixed with hot water and milk. They all like it, but it is still quite messy as they walk, sit, and fall into the pie plate that holds the cream like mixture. On a good note…most are now lapping it up from the plate versus waiting for me to feed them. Donatella, dam, waits patiently until I give her the go ahead to lick the plate and clean off the pups.
The Maremma puppies are for sale and will be ready by the end of January. Females are $850 and males are $750. Costs include first shot, worming, micro-chip, and registration paperwork. To reserve a pup we require a $100 non-refundable deposit. Contact us to reserve a pup today!
Other DMAR News:
Breached Dystocia: This past Saturday Tom and I were called to aid a fellow alpaca rancher. She had a dam in heavy labor with no progress being seen. The rancher said she went inside and couldn’t find the head.
On the drive over I played in my head how I would proceed to determine the position of the cria. I took the neo-natal wet lab twice, so my confidence level is slightly more than most.
Once there I gloved, lubed, and went in. Immediately I felt two pointy elbows and a little knob on top. No neck or head was found. I followed the leg to find it was z-shaped and knew immediately the cria was breached. I contacted the vet and advised the owner with alpaca would be on their way shortly. The vet had me warn the owner that the situation didn’t look good and to be prepared. Even though the cria is still attached at the umbilical cord once the water breaks the cria may still try to take a breath. This could lead to drowning. Knowing all this made the situation seem more dreadful as the vet is approx. 45 minutes away when driving swiftly.
It was about two hours later when I listened to my messages where the alpaca owner advised that the vet had delivered an alive, alert, female cria. The owner was thankful for my help as she was struggling trying to figure out the position of the cria. She probably would have wasted a lot more time and possibly could have lost the cria.
Kaitlyn-Rose: Kaitlyn is due next month with her fifth cria. To date she has had birthed in this order a female, male, female, male. According to her history we are hoping for a female from her. Kaitlyn is a remarkable dam and has produced all blue ribbon offspring so far. Two of them have even won reserve color championships, DMAR Athena and DMAR Magnum. DMAR Athena is currently for sale and goes with her 2009 Fall female cria, DMAR Chanel. DMAR Chanel’s sire is HRAZ Lock & Load who is out of Xanadu’s Presidio. Chanel is a white beauty with dense, beautiful crimp, and lock structure that is already apparent in her cria fleece. Chanel was born in October 2009. Click Here for more information on Athena. Click Here for more information on HRAZ Lock & Load who is available for stud.
Alpha Carina: Carina too is due next month with her 3rd cria. To date she has given us a male and a female. We are excited to find out what it will be this time. Carina’s first offspring, DMAR Armani, is a 2x reserve color champion. We are currently looking for a partner in taking 1/2 interest of Armani. Click Here for more information on Armani.
Christmas at Desert Mountain Alpaca Ranch: Is this Saturday, Dec. 19th from 9 am to 4 pm. We hope you can come out and visit with us. Take a self guided tour of the alpacas and crias. View our Maremma livestock guardian dogs and the 4 week old litter of pups. You will be sure to fall in love with all the creatures of our ranch. Afterwards go into the DMAR Store where you can sip on eggnog and munch on cookies while you shop, view spinning and needle felting demos, or meet with the vendor Premier Designs and their line of beautiful, high fashion jewelry.
Can’t make it out to our Christmas celebration? Don’t fret. You can shop online at www.dmarstore.desertmtnalpacas.com. Hurry as time is running out to receive gifts in time for the holidays.
