Loss

 Loss.  Another loss.  Two pregnancies in a row for my female.  She has yet to carry a cria to full term. Last year she miscarried at six months and this year at seven months.  Her fetus ( as shown in these photos) had developed quite a bit but her body rejected it.  We bred her to a different male but that didn't make a difference.  Since it's Winter here in Michigan, we will have to wait until Spring to take her back to the farm where we are purchasing her from so they can work with her.  Obviously, two aborted pregnancies at about the same stage of development means that there must be some reproductive issues.

She is such a loving Alpaca.  Her disposition is good and she eats well.  I've given her everything she needs to be a healthy Alpaca yet...she has not been able to keep a pregnancy full term.  I'm sad.  How do you build a breeding program when one of your three females can't carry a cria full term?  It's frustrating.  I've included the photos because I want you to see what I saw.  Of course, I have moved it from the barn to a shovel outside because of our barn cat.  I assume she aborted late at night or early in morning since all was well when we checked the barn around dinner time the night before.  I instinctively knew who had lost the pregnancy so I went to lift her tail first.  Yup!  No need to investigate further.  This is not what I expected to find when going out to the barn this weekend for chores. 

This is a part of being a farmer though.  It's not the fun part.  I don't think this cria was developing properly.  I've been looking through my Alpaca books for a good color photo of fetus development.  Was there something wrong with this fetus?  Why the miscarriage?

I wonder what goes through an Alpacas mind when they abort a pregnancy.  Do they feel sadness?  Do they get depressed?  She just stood there looking at me when I went back to the barn later in the day.  Her eyes, so beautiful, just stared at me.  I walked up to her and she gave me her sniff kisses then she walked back to the other girls and started eating more hay.