What Happens During Birthing?
LLAMAS may give birth either standing, squatting or lying down. It is not unusual not to see the water break. You should see a bag being pushed out before the head and feet emerge. This bag will be broken by the legs of the llama coming out. The head of the llama and front feet should come out first followed by the rest of the body. This may proceed rapidly or take a little while but as long as things seem to be progressing in this order, everything should be fine. If however, you see a head but no feet or vice versa and it seems to be taking way too long, there could be a problem with either the head being twisted in an abnormal position or the feet being bent and the assistance of a veterinarian will be required. When the baby does come out the umbilical cord is broken. The placenta remains in the mother and is expelled within the first 6 hours.
Taking Care of the Baby(Cria)
MOST OF the time when things go according to nature's plan, there is very little to do after the baby emerges. If the baby fell to the ground head first, chances are good that fluids in the lungs have drained out properly. If the baby seems to be having trouble breathing, make sure that all of the membranes have been cleared away from it's mouth and nostrils. You may have to invert the baby by it's back legs to expel any remaining fluids but this is rarely needed.
The first procedure to perform on the newborn is to treat the naval. This is usually accomplished by dipping the naval in 7% iodine or Betadine making sure not to get this on the baby's skin. If you can not treat the naval within a short time of the llama giving birth, it may be advisable to forego this procedure as the risk of locking in contamination increases. When this happens, you can use a good antibiotic on the naval and have the vet administer a long-lasting antibiotic as a precaution. If the naval seems to be bleeding excessively and won't stop, you can gently tie it off about l" from the body with a shoe lace dipped in iodine until you can have your vet properly clamp it off. Also if the weather is quite cold, it is advisable to towel dry the baby or blow dry the baby with a hair dryer set on a warm setting.
If the baby seems to be actively moving around and otherwise healthy, very little else may be needed. There are at least two different schools of thought on what else should be done: Do almost nothing and let the mother and baby stay with the rest of the herd (and as mentioned under the herd management section all adult breeding age males should not be with a new mother and baby or with any females almost ready to give birth) or actively manage the mother and baby with the herd or by themselves for a few days. There are several breeders who have reported good success with letting the mother and a healthy baby stay with the herd and letting them bond without human interference.
Others, this llama breeder included, like to manage and monitor the situation more closely. It is easier to keep an eye on things when you can put the mother and new baby up by themselves in an area away from the rest of the herd. The area however should be large enough so that the baby has to move around to stay with it's mother. Also, other than a few basic procedures, as little as possible of human interference is best during this period when the mother and baby need to bond. Too much human intervention is as bad as too little in most instances.
When the two are kept together it is easier to make sure that the placenta is expelled and that the baby is nursing properly. Also, it is recommended that vitamin E or an injectable selenium be administered to newborns in selenium deficient areas along with other vitamins such as A and D, in addition to tetanus or other vaccines recommended for your area.
Because newborns receive almost all of their natural immunities from the first milk called colostrum it is important that they receive a good dose within the first 2-6 hours of life and thereafter up to 24 hours later or until they receive about 10% of their body weight (babies generally weigh between 20-30 pounds) from this colostrum. If you don't see your newborn nursing for a few hours, it is a good idea to start bottle feeding the baby with high quality colostrum that you obtain from either milking out the mother, or from another source, such as cows or goats. If you do obtain a colostrun supply from an outside source to keep on hand for these situations, make sure that the animal source has been vaccinated similarly to your needs and that the milk is of high quality and from the first milking. You can freeze this milk for up to one year in ziplock bags and thaw them out when needed in warm water--never use a microwave oven to defrost colostrum as it destroys the antibodies you need. You can feed 4 to 6 ounces in the first feeding using a regular baby bottle. You can heat the colostrum once it has defrosted on the stove top in the bottle, placed in a pan of water on the lowest setting. Newborns will more readily nurse if you can cut the baby bottle nipple opening up a bit more so that the milk comes out more readily. You will have to coax them to start nursing from a bottle, but once they get started, they will usually drink everything in the bottle very readily. It is recommended that you continue to feed your baby this way every four hours until you have at least 15 ounces of colostrum in them or until you see them nursing well on their own, whichever comes first. You can space these feedings out until late at night and then leave them alone overnight. In the morning you will generally find that the cria has started nursing on its own having gotten a bit hungry from the absence of these feedings. While this method may keep a baby from nursing on its own more quickly, it has the supreme advantage of making sure that the baby has gotten the immunities it needed at the critical time when they were needed--the first 8 hours after birth when the ability to absorb these immunities are at their highest. Also it gives the baby a boost of energy to aid in its ability to nurse on its own.
Other Concerns With Newborns
IF YOU are certain that the baby started nursing early enough to have gotten the immunities that it needed or if it didn't, that you made sure it did through colostrum supplementation, you should not need to perform an IgG test, a test to measure the level of immunities by drawing a blood sample for laboratory analysis. It is my opinion, that many breeders perform these tests needlessly, primarily to alleviate their own anxieties. If the baby's immunities are low after receiving adequate colostrum, there is generally something seriously wrong that is probably not treatable by plasma transfusion anyway. If however, you are not sure if the baby did receive enough colostrum or adequate colostrum and the baby is showing signs of weakness or lethargy, you will need to perform this test in addition to other possible blood work-ups. Laboratory tests can be a valuable aid in diagnosing problems with all llamas. The healthy baby should grow about 1/2 pound per day. If you are unsure, weigh the baby for the first week or longer if necessary. If the baby seems to be nursing fine and moving around, filling out and otherwise healthy, you can forego weighing the baby. I have never had a reason to weigh a baby or perform an IgG test in over 10 years of breeding!
You should also make sure with newborns that they are urinating and have passed the first fecal matter, called meconium. If after a day you have seen no signs or fecal matter being passed and the baby seems to be cramped or straining, you may have to give the baby an enema, consisting of a mild liquid soap mixed in 4 ounces of warm water.
Babies that can't figure out how to nurse present another problem. You must keep these fed by bottle until you get the situation remedied but you can't keep them too well fed or they might lack the desire to nurse. This is a delicate balancing act between making sure that the baby gets enough energy that it needs from supplementation but not so much that it loses the urge to find the mother's milk on its own. It is recommended that is these instances that you feed about 10% of the baby llama's weight per day using a lamb milk replacer or better yet, goat's milk if you can find a source. After the dam gives birth, you should make sure that each teat is unclogged by dislodging the plug on the end and squeezing out milk from each one. You can smear some of this milk on the udder for the baby to smell and some on the baby's nose. If the mother will stand quietly and most of them will, you can put the baby's neck under the mother and mouth on a teat and squeeze milk into the baby's mouth or on its face this way. You probably will have to repeat this several times even though the baby may seem resistant. If the baby will not nurse at all even from a bottle, you will have to tube feed the baby. Please consult with your vet before doing this however. Unless the baby is very weak or was premature, it should drink from a bottle making tube feeding unnecessary. All healthy babies should be nursing on their own within a few days.
Some Other Considerations
IN selenium deficient areas it is recommended that the dams be boosted with injectable selenium about 1-1/2 months before giving birth. At this time it is also advisable to re-vaccinate the dam to ensure that good immunity levels get passed on to the baby.
When the dam has given birth, one should make sure that the placenta has passed. If it is getting on six hours and there are no signs of the placenta, you should call your vet. If you do see the placenta hanging from the rear of the dam, leave it alone. It will fall out on its own. Do not attempt to expedite this process by pulling or tugging on it. The dam should also be watched after giving birth for any signs of infection that can be noted by signs of discharge coming from the vulva after about 10 days. If the dam does not have enough milk or too much milk, these are problems that are best left for veterinary treatment. Some llamas are just poor milkers and you will need to supplement the baby in these instances. Other llamas produce so much milk that you may have to keep milking the llama until the teats become less distended and the baby is nursing on its own.
If you are using colostrum from another animal and your baby refuses to keep drinking it, chances are excellent that your baby has found its mother's milk to be more to its liking. Do not force the baby to drink and keep a good eye on the baby to make sure that in fact this is the case.
Anytime you are unsure of a situation or if your instincts tell you something isn't right, always call your vet. It takes a lot of time to develop a good eye towards your llamas-- and llama birthing and baby care are no exception.
