It was noon on a Sunday when I received the call. The voice on the line said, Janice, Jackie is in labor and the feet are protruding. You should have plenty of time to get here to see the birth. I was filled with excitement at seeing my first alpaca birth, so I ran out the front door grabbing nothing but car keys. I yelled to my husband, who was outside, to stop what he was doing and to get in the car.
We arrived at the ranch in what seemed seconds. They were just as excited as us, since it was their first cria birth as well. We looked in on the mother and the feet were still protruding from her. I heard someone ask how long it had been and the rancher advised that she first noticed the feet at 10:37 AM. I looked down at the clock and noticed it was 10:50 AM. The nose should appear any second now, but as time clicked on it never did. We waited and waited to what seemed like an eternity with no progress. Forty-five minutes later the owner was on the phone calling the vet for help. Not only was it our first birth, but it was a dystocia.
The call to the vet went unanswered. The owner and I both knew that that the dam needed to be examined. The owner put on gloves, applied KY Jelly, and began to probe. She let me know she could not find the head. You have to find the head, I said. After fifteen minutes the rancher ran into the house and began calling vet after vet. A vet nearby answered the phone and said he was willing to come out, but not for 45 minutes as he was on another emergency call. We went back to probing the female again.
Finally, the rancher found the head. It was turned back sideways. We pushed the legs back inside the female to make more room to turn the head around. No such luck, the head did move, but only slightly. After two hours of trying to move the cria a veterinarian (not the standard camelid vet) pulled up in the drive.
The veterinarian came into the stall and announced he never worked with alpacas, but he was willing to give it a try. At that exact moment the camelid vet returned the initial phone call. She spoke with the vet at the site and literally within minutes he was telling the owner to pull. The head and feet were out and with a gasp the cria took its first breath.
The dam and cria are both fine. We were astonished to find out the cria weighed 23 pounds at birth. He is healthy and growing fast. The dam passed the placenta with no problem.
Although this outcome was better than imaginable here are a few tips I recommend you do at any cria birth:
If you have a dystocia birth do not panic. I know this is easier said than done, but you will need to remain level headed if you are going to save the cria and dam. The wise rancher will always be prepared for the unexpected.