Thursday, August 07, 2008

Happy Birthday or is that Happy Birth Day?

Today is Neil's birthday! "Happy Birthday" hun! Since it is a Thursday and Neil is off working we will be celebrating his birthday this coming weekend instead. We always look forward to some relaxing family time on the weekends but when there is something to celebrate we try to do something extra special.

Another bit of excitement and something to celebrate occurred today as well...

Our black alpaca, Eloise, gave birth to a handsome male cria this afternoon! They are spending some time together in a stall in the barn for a few days to bond. I do this not so much because I feel it is necessary for the cria but to keep the dam safe from Emmie, our female LGD (livestock guardian dog). Emmie loves new babies so much that she will try to keep the mothers away from them in an effort to "keep them safe".

Our last cria was born without me there and Emmie snapped at the dam, Gritona, and ripped her lower eye lid. I ended up taking her to the vet's office to have stitches put in to repair it. So, now I isolate the expectant mothers about two weeks before their due dates anytime I am not around to avoid any further drama.

Anyway, our new little boy is a wonderful rich color. What color is that? I am not really sure yet. He might be a medium brown or a dark rose grey. Once he is out in the sun in a few days I will be able to evaluate it better. His sire, Kanaka, has thrown many rose grey cria this year so it is a fair possibility that could be his true color.

Here are some shots of him several hours after birth. He is up and standing and all dried off.