Columbine Ranch Alpacas

Meet Wilson, our cria born 7 weeks premature. We’ve only heard of two that have survived being born this early and he’s a fighter.  Wilson’s dam, Kelly, was bred on August 29, 2007, giving her a 345 gestation due date of August 9, 2008.   Wilson surprised us with his arrival on June 17, 2008!  Wilson was only 8 pounds the day he was born. A “normal” cria is 15-20 pounds.   Normal gestation is approximately 345 days and he was born on day 295.  

I was keeping an eye on other dams that were close to their due dates when all of the females in that area disappeared into one of the barn stalls.  When I went out to see what was happening, inside the stall was a tiny lump of black fur.  My alpacas are not fond of cats and I instantly assumed the neighbor’s barn cat had been mousing in the barn and was stomped by the alpacas.  Then up came his tiny head on a very wobbly neck!