Colostrum On Hand

La Belle Premier Select Colostrum Supplement

Colostrum is a lot like insurance. If you’re lucky, you’ll never need it. Because if you’re not, a much dreaded scenario has happened. So I happily buy it, only to toss it away expired, buy it again, and restock.

So what is it and why so critical? Alpaca babies are born immuno-naked. That means they did not absorb any immunities from the dam in utero. During the first day post partum, the dam’s first milk is called colostrum. It’s thick and viscous and packed with immunoglobins and nutrients to build up the newborn’s immunities until it can develop its own. Crias who do not get this are most often candidates for an immediate plasma transfer, depending on the results of the IgG test (which you should always get in non-normal births). At this time, there is no alpaca-derived colostrum you can buy; therefore, purchased colostrums are either sourced from goats or cattle.

But back to exactly how you can acquire colostrum to have on hand. There are quite a few ways and, I’m sure, many more than I can put down here.

1. Stillborn Death: In the saddest example of turning something tragic into something useful, a still born baby is an opportunity to milk out the grieving dam and freeze the colostrum for future use.

2. Artificial Colostrum: This is a method taught during Roni Spresser’s Photonic Therapy course. Intriguing but kind of gross (the method, not the course which is very worth taking). Remove half a bottle of blood from an animal from your herd (or have the vet do it with one of your geldings or non breeders). Lay the stoppered bottle on its side at an incline and let it clot, making sure the lid is not touched by the blood. Stand upright in the fridge for two days. The clot contracts and squeezes out pure serum (with antibodies). Decant serum into an ice block tray and freeze. Dissolve a couple of blocks in a pint of goat’s milk as needed to feed the newborn cria.

3. Frozen Goat Colostrum: Support your local goat breeder! They are often happy to sell you colostrum frozen in cubes in an ice tray. It can be pricey- I’ve purchased it at $2/cube. You can store this up to two year, preferably in a frost-free freezer. Make sure the goat breeder has your vet’s approval for maintaining a disease-free herd.

Frozen Cattle Colostrum

4. Frozen Cattle Colostrum: Useful-Items.com sells a frozen cattle colostrum that is shipped overnight. They recommend two bottles for an alpaca cria. One bottle costs $14.

4. Powdered Colostrum: Also available from Useful-Items.com is a powdered cattle colostrum that has been customized for alpacas. Manufactured by La Belle, the biggest advantage of the Premier Select Alpaca Supplement is a long shelf life. It’s $19.95 when purchased directly from La Belle.

There is some debate as to the efficacy of substitutes for alpaca colostrum. From personal experience, none of these substitutes have passed on immunoglobins in sufficient quantities to protect the cria ( which would be an IgG greater than 800). But I still keep colostrum in some form on hand. It can’t hurt and even if it helps a little, I’m game. For anyone who’s been there, struggling hour by hour to keep a delicate new cria going, you know just how far and how much you’d do to tilt the odds toward a happy ending.

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The Story of Echo

Echo: A few hours old

On August 19, 2009 at 10 a.m., a beautiful white alpaca female was born here. There was no drama or difficulty in her birth. She slid quietly into the world seemingly minutes after her dam started to show signs of labor. In under half an hour, she was up on her feet, a robust 19.4 lbs. Within the first hour, she was nursing. Later that afternoon, she was up and around in the pasture and even had a new best friend, a male cria born the week before whom we named Defiant. He was thrilled to have a new toy to expend all his baby energy with.

But the new baby worried me just a tiny bit. Even after a few days, she seemed rather detached and desultory. She spent a lot of time lying around and not a lot of time bounding around as the other babies tended to. But her weight gains were good and everything tracked. As it turns out, I have concluded that she is just one of those very laid back crias. Not skittish, easy to handle, malleable to human touch. So now I’m counting my blessings, as Defiant has proven to be very aptly named. He has more than enough gumption for both of them and is always looking for trouble.

Defiant and Echo

In keeping with my current trend of naming girls after figures in Greek mythology, I settled on Echo for her for two reasons. One was in honor of her dam, who has consistently given us one outstanding cria after the other. By this year, saying “thank you” to her was starting to sound like an echo. The other reason was for the baby’s personality: passive, docile, submissive. Although great traits for a little alpaca, these were the characteristics that used to make me despise the Echo from Greek mythology. I’d read the story of the ‘lovers’ Echo and Narcissus and been rather disgusted at both of them. See if you agree:

Echo and Narcissus in Greek Mythology (from Mythography)

Echo was a beautiful nymph, fond of the woods and hills, where she devoted herself to woodland sports. She was a favorite of Artemis, and attended her in the chase. But Echo had one failing; she was fond of talking, and whether in chat or argument, would have the last word. One day Hera was seeking her husband, who, she had reason to fear, was amusing himself among the nymphs. Echo by her talk contrived to detain the goddess till the nymphs made their escape. When Hera discovered it, she passed sentence upon Echo in these words: “You shall forfeit the use of that tongue with which you have cheated me, except for that one purpose you are so fond of – reply. You shall still have the last word, but no power to speak first.”

This nymph saw Narcissus, a beautiful youth, as he pursued the chase upon the mountains. She loved him and followed his footsteps. O how she longed to address him in the softest accents, and win him to converse! But it was not in her power. She waited with impatience for him to speak first, and had her answer ready. One day the youth, being separated from his companions, shouted aloud, “Who’s here?” Echo replied, “Here.” Narcissus looked around, but seeing no one called out, “Come”. Echo answered, “Come.” As no one came, Narcissus called again, “Why do you shun me?” Echo, asked the same question. “Let us join one another,” said the youth. The maid answered with all her heart in the same words, and hastened to the spot, ready to throw her arms about his neck. He started back, exclaiming, “Hands off! I would rather die than you should have me!” “Have me,” said she; but it was all in vain. He left her, and she went to hide her blushes in the recesses of the woods. From that time forth she lived in caves till at last all her flesh shrank away. Her bones were changed into rocks and there was nothing left of her but her voice. With that she is still ready to reply to any one who calls her, and keeps up her old habit of having the last word.

The story continues to focus on the fate of the vain Narcissus, who ends up falling in love with a reflection of himself by the pool, pining away from unrequited love (because he’s too stupid to realize that it’s his own reflection) until he dies. In his place sprouts a flower, which bears his name to this day. Here in the States, we know it as a daffodil or jonquil, but it is also known as a narcissus. The word “narcissistic” can be traced to this story as well.

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Neonatal Care Part III: The First 24 Hours

In Neonatal Care Part I: Supplies, we covered what to have on hand in preparation for the newborn cria.

In Neonatal Care Part II: The First Four Hours, we covered the most important priorities once the cria is delivered.

One day old and feeling good

So now the cria has nursed, dam and cria show signs of bonding, and cria seems alert and healthy. Now it’s time to ensure that everything stays on track.

• If you haven’t already, take the baby’s temperature. It should be between 98-100 degrees Fahrenheit. You may have already done this if you suspected hypothermia or lethargy due to extreme heat. A finger inserted in the baby’s mouth can also tell you if the temp is running too cold.
• Dip the umbilical in either an iodine or chlorhexidine solution. Do this three times within the first 24 hours. Until sealed, the umbilical is a prime environment to conduct bacteria to the cria. Check for an umbilical hernia. The rule of thumb is if the hole is greater than two middle finger widths, you may need to either put a hernia belt on the cria or have the vet fix the hernia surgically.
• Check the cria for maturity: Are the teeth slightly erupted? Are the ears erect, not floppy? Are the legs fairly straight? It’s not unusual for crias to have wobbly knees or dropped pasterns but these bear watching to ensure they self-correct.
• Check for defects:
  1. Cleft or soft palate- run a finger along the roof of the mouth to check for holes. If the baby nurses and milk comes out of its nose, this can signify a cleft palate (incomplete development of the mouth roof)
  2. Heart murmur – you’ll need a good stethoscope for this. If you detect a heart murmur, recheck in six months or have your vet check. These often resolve on their own but need to be addressed if they don’t
  3. Polydactylism/syndactylism- check that there are two toes on each foot. Polydactylism (polydactyly) is when there are more than two toes. Syndactylism (syndactyly) is when there is only one.

Other defects will be instantly obvious to you, such as choanal atresia, wry face, and cyclops.

If everything has gone well and your cria passes its health exam with flying colors, careful observation over the remaining hours in the first twenty four is still called for.

Watch for the cria’s first defecation. It is called meconium and will be thick and tarry. Failure to pass this will cause the cria to become lethargic, inactive, and rob it of appetite. The fix is easy: an enema of 2 oz. warm water with a drop of a gentle liquid soap (like Ivory). Once administered, you should notice the evacuation of meconium rapidly and an increased alertness in the cria. You may need to repeat if you see the cria become depressed again.

Common sense and observation will be your best assets during this time.

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Neonatal Care Part I: Supplies

Now that's a fresh baby!

The birth of an alpaca cria is a time of emotional extremes. Anticipation reaches frenzied heights until the actual signs of labor begin. Then anxiety replaces all other emotions. If all goes well, that too is replaced quickly by joy. Let’s assume that is the case and your new alpaca baby is on the ground. Mom has a look of intense relief on her face that is probably mirrored on yours. Everything has gone well so far.

There are a plethora of articles , both online and in print, on neonatal care for the first 24 hours. Then there are other articles that deal specifically with discovery of defects. I thought I would try to roll them all together: routine neonatal care plus diagnosis of health and birth defect issues that I’ve either encountered or heard about.

First off, preparing for post-delivery care. You should have a cria kit or all your cria supplies handy located handy for wherever the birth may take place. These include (supplies for the actual delivery are excluded):

Thermometer
KY Jelly
Paper Towels
Bath Towels
Blow Dryer
Umbilical clamp
Iodine or Chlorhexidine (Nolvasan)
Small container e.g. film canister
Goat’s Milk
Colostrum or substitute
Feeding bottle and nipple
Infant Suction bulb
Feeding tube
Children’s Fleet Enema bottle
Disposable Gloves

Some breeders also keep an oxygen tank on hand. Yes, a small tank!

In cold weather:
Heat Lamp, hot water bottles or something to keep the cria warm
Cria Coat

Next up: Neonatal Care Part II: The First Four Hours

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