Island Alpaca Farm welcomed the first newborn alpaca of the season on Wednesday.
The baby boy was born at 2 pm, weighing 17 pounds. Typically, newborns weigh between 12 and 18 pounds.
The farm will allow visitors to suggest names for the baby before they give him an official name. For now, they call him “Baby A,” after his mother Anika. Generally, the farm tries to name the babies in relation to their mother’s name, to trace their lineage.
Farm manager Alexis Hughes said the baby came “perfectly on time.” The farm’s babies are usually born in July. This year, they are expecting three more babies.
The baby was up on his feet within 20 minutes of birth. “It’s important that they nurse within the first 45 minutes,” farm volunteer David Hannon explained. If they don’t, they will miss out on important nutrients from the mother’s colostrum, or first milk. Colostrum helps babies develop their immune systems.
The farm plans to keep the mother and baby in a pen separate from the herd for up to two weeks. “We make sure they have a proper chance to bond with each other,” Hannon said.
The baby will be weaned off of his mother’s milk in about eight months. “Every birth is a miracle,” Hannon said. “It’s a beautiful thing.”
Hello! Many thanks to Mia Vittimberga and Adarsh Bhat of The Martha’s Vineyard Times for coming out to the farm today to meet “baby A”, just a short time after birth.
We were wondering when he was going to enter the world.. 2 days shy of one years gestation! (the national average is 11 months, 11 days!) And to let any paca fan get a closer look, visit http://www.PacaCam.com or just go to our website and click on the PacaCam link to see live streaming of Baby “A”. “A” – Name suggestions are the welcome, with “A” names as the preference – Send via Instagram, Facebook or info@islandalpaca.com Thank you!!
I have the name— “Antifa”
The people responsible for J6.
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