Cria Update--The MisAdventures of Paloma & Pablo

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www.enchantedacresranch.com
www.yakimariveralpacas.com

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I worte a few days ago that we were having a bit of a problem with our new girl nursing. She is now thriving and gaining weight at a rate greater than a pound per day--some days it is 1 1/2 lbs.

Lisa noticed it and came up with the solution to why our little Paloma was not nursing. And, her observations were quite interesting. It turns out that Paloma (who was only a day or so old) was kind of weak and her "brother" Pablo was a hard-bodied five weeks old and very eager to play. This little boy was pestering Paloma and her mom, making mom so nervous she wouldn't allow her cria to nurse long enough. We separated the mom and Paloma, but that made her mom nervous, too (being separated from the herd), and she would not nurse long enough. So, we separated the herd into two groups, putting Pablo and his mom in one pasture with some animals and Paloma and her mom in another pasture with some females. Immediately, they worked it out and Paloma started nursing. Her mom, Leila, held perfectly still until Paloma had her fill and walked away. They have been doing it ever since and Paloma now is a strapping little cria who runs, jumps and does all of those crazy cria things. We plan to give them another week apart to let Paloma gain some more weight and strength, then put them all back together again.

For photos of these two, scroll down to previous posts on this blog.

Please visit the websites of ranches who support this blog-- www.enchantedacresranch.com , www.yakimariveralpacas.com , www.predropsride.com and www.alpaca-usa.com

Thanks.

All my best
Ken Larson