6 minute read
Managing births
from Alpaca Issue 93
by KELSEY Media
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In the third in a set of three ‘Alpaca bites’ webinars, Andrea Turner of Langford Farm animal practice discussed how to prepare for and manage a successful unpacking (birthing) season. Andrea’s article is based on the webinar and aims to help owners manage births.
Firstly, it is important to know if our alpacas are pregnant and roughly what date are they expecting? The gestation for an alpaca is on average 350 days however, there is a large range to this figure therefore it can be useful to have breeding females pregnancy scanned to confirm pregnancy and enable good record keeping with respect to unpacking dates and management changes.
There are certain management changes which are required when coming up to unpacking. Management decisions such as making sure vaccination and worming protocols are up to date and assessing nutrition by body condition scoring can be beneficial for optimal unpacking and milk/colostrum production.
Vaccination is especially important as the passive transfer of immunity to the cria via colostrum is essential for survival and should be done at least four weeks ahead of the arrival of cria to ensure enough time for the dams to have optimal immunity at that time.
Stages of birth
In this section we run through a normal birth for an alpaca and the timings involved. This can be important, so we do not interfere too soon or too late and cause problems.
Preparation (stage 1)
This stage normally lasts between two and six hours and initially the dam separates off from the rest of the herd. Cervical dilation and uterine contractions commence, and the dam may present with no outward clinical signs at this point.
Delivery (stage 2)
This should last under one hour and usually within 30mins. The dam is often restless, frequently moving up and down. This stage is when the water bag is seen, and progression is every 15 minutes to emergence of toes and nose. Alpacas are often standing when they finally give birth.
Placental expulsion (stage 3)
The afterbirth normally is expelled within two hours of birth, and it is important to note dams won’t eat placenta like many other species, so this will need to be removed to prevent possible disease transmission and unwanted predator interest.
So, the main question often asked is when to intervene? Keeping an eye on the clock is essential as this is the main indicator for intervention. Scenarios such as the ones listed warrant further investigation:
• Prolonged period of stage 1 activity (longer than six hours)
• Bag is seen but there is no progress within an hour
• Dam is straining unproductively
• Dam was straining and has now stopped
• Dam has become depressed and separated from the herd for a prolonged time
• Dam can’t stand
Before trying to unpack/intervene yourself, make sure the dam is correctly restrained to prevent any traumatic injury to herself, you or the cria.
Golden rules of unpacking
• Be clean! Make sure you have thoroughly washed your hands with hibiscrub (ideally – or soap at least!) Use long rectal gloves if possible.
• Lots of lube (lubricating gel)!
• Clean holding pen
• Adequate restraint is essential
• Dam will likely continuously rise and lie until cria is engaged in pelvis
• Take your time.
Know when to call the vet
Scenarios such as these often indicate a professional's help may be needed:
• Can’t feel a head/ leg- this can indicate torsion (twisted uterus) and a caesarian section could be required
• Can’t correctly identify which legs belong to which head
• Cria won’t fit through pelvis
• Dam can’t stand
• You aren’t confident or have exceeded the time limit (15/20mins of unproductive effort).
Once the cria has been delivered, there are several more tasks to ensure mother and youngster have the best start to their new life. The cria should be quickly checked over for possible congenital diseases:
• open mouth and check nostrils for a cleft palate
• check umblilcus for hernias - variable swellings around base of navel
• check anus and vagina with thermometer/ gloved finger to make sure it is patent and the cria hasn’t got a blocked anus (atresia ani) or vagina (imperforate vulva).
The next crucial step is to dip navel with iodine 10% solution or a chlorohexidine 0.5% solution. This is to prevent bacterial infections entering through the umbilicus and causing potentially fatal problems later on.
Post-birth dam care often revolves around pain relief (eg: Metacam) and occasionally antibiotics as prescribed by your vet in certain circumstances. Check the udder for colostrum and make sure all teats are patent/working. In older dams air-filled udders will need to be stripped out.
Afterwards it is vital that the dam and cria have time to bond. This can sometimes require one to one segregation from the rest of herd so they can be left to settle.
Further care should involve close observation to ensure the placenta passes within six hours otherwise a vet is needed. Make sure the dam is eating and drinking and the cria is suckling. Colostrum is vital for a good start in life: a cria needs 10% of bodyweight within six hours of birth for all the antibodies to be absorbed to give adequate passive transfer of immunity. If mums' colostrum is not available substitute goat colostrum, if this is not available then sheep colostrum is the next best thing. Artificial lambs' colostrum is a last resort. When colostrum is not obtained by the cria within this time, or you are unsure of intake after 24 hours, a plasma transfusion may be required.
Our next ‘Alpaca bites’ webinar series will kick off at the end of the year when will be discussing how to prevent, identify and investigate dental disease in alpacas. The webinar will take place 13 December 2022 – put it in your diary and keep an eye on our web pages for the registration page.
