One More New Cria

During last weekend's snow storm, we were praying that the remaining two female llamas would wait for warmer weather before having their crias. Dazzle still has not given birth but Decorus Domina (aka Baby Dee) gave birth to a little boy on Thursday 10/13. Dee is a first time Mom and she was a bit confused at first as to what was going on but she quickly decided that this baby was hers to love and protect.

Here is the little guy right after being born, making his first attempts at sitting up.

 

Another black llama!

And here is the little guy finally up and taking his first steps. They love to use their momma as a crutch, leaning against them and going round and round them as they get the hang of walking by themselves.

And here is the little guy leaning against his Momma, who has decided to lay down for awhile and rest. 

And here they are getting to know one another. Dee was licking his face and humming to him. It was such a sweet moment of bonding and I'm glad I was there to see it.

And he decided that being born and learning to walk was hard work so he laid down to rest for a bit. Meanwhile, Dee was still licking him and humming to him.

Here is a close-up of his face - he's jet black with white on his muzzle and a small spot of white on his forehead.

I'm stumped for names for this little guy. His Mom's name is Decorus Domina (Latin for beautiful lady). His Dad's name is Viajero (Spanish for traveler). Any suggestions for a name would be welcome!

And we're still waiting for Dazzle to deliver her cria. She was very interested in this cria so I let her in with Dee and the baby and she stayed with them in their area all night long. Normally Dazzle hates to be penned up but this time she was quite content to be there. She seems to have bonded with the baby, too. Dee's baby was much smaller than we anticipated. Chalcedony's cria turned three weeks old the day after Dee delivered and she was 23 pounds at birth. Dee's cria was only 22 pounds. Chalcedony, Dee and Dazzle were all bred on the same day last year. First time moms frequently deliver smaller babies but with Dee's large size and capacity, I did expect a larger cria, even for her first one.

So, we are still patiently waiting for Dazzle's cria to arrive. She's getting bigger and bigger!

Another new cria at Split Rock Ranch -

Yesterday was a great day here at Split Rock Ranch. Yesterday morning I discovered the very first freshly laid egg by one of our Rhode Island Red hens! She was soooo proud of that egg!

After doing chores and while I was filling water tanks, I noticed that one of our females, Chalcedony, was laying by herself off in "the birthing corner". I observed her getting up and trying to poop but not much came out. Then she would go lay down and roll to her side for awhile and then back up. Then she would stand and act like she was trying to poop again. I knew she was in labor. I came into the house to get towels and the "birthing bag" that contains iodine for the umbilical cord, etc. I was going to come back in and grab the camera but by the time I got back out to check on her the nose was already presenting so I just got some of the other female llamas moved to another pasture to give Chalcedony some space. Soon the front legs and head were out and I just went up and wrapped a towel around the baby and caught it as she was dropping to the ground. I was thrilled - it is a girl!

 Above: Newborn cria with her Dam

We picked up the cria (baby llama) and moved her over to a small area where we always put the new moms with their babies so they can bond and nobody will step on the new baby that way. We caught Chalcedony and put her in with the baby and gave her a bucket of water, some hay and some grain.

Here is a video of the brand new baby.

And here is a photo of the little girl today.

And a close-up

We haven't decided on a name yet. We are considering Onyx, Obsidian, and Ebony. Onyx and Obsidian are related to Chalcedony and are both black substances.

But since she was born on the first day of Fall, the Autumnal Equinox, we are also considering Autumn.

Rosie is growing up!

Here is a photo of little Rosie that I took yesterday. I just love the color of her fleece! And that face...she's such a cutie pie.

Another new cria at Split Rock Ranch

Last Wednesday we had another bundle of joy delivered at Split Rock Ranch! Minnie Pearl gave birth to a gorgeous rose gray/silver suri female cria at approximately 3:30 PM on June 22nd.

Here is how the baby looked immediately after birth (I knew Minnie was in labor so I was in and out all day long, checking on her and I knew when she was close so I brought out towels, the birthing/vet bag and my camera ahead of time). Crias (lama babies) are born with "toe caps" on their feet to prevent their toes from tearing their mother during the birthing process. You can see the white caps on the baby.

 

It doesn't take crias very long before they attempt to stand up. They are pretty wobbly at first and take a few tumbles before they master all four legs at the same time. Here is the baby after she wobbled about for a little while.

I had fed her mother a flake of alfalfa on the green mat and the cria rolled around in it so in this photo (above) she's full of alfalfa flakes.

And here she is (above) after she has mastered all four legs at the same time. Her mother is resting and awaiting the delivery of the placenta.

Many times, the cria uses their mother as a "crutch" to help keep them from falling over. They circle around and around and around their mother, leaning against her to help them balance.

The rest of the female herd is anxiously awaiting their opportunity to inspect the new arrival and greet her properly. We like to keep the new mother and her cria separated from the rest of the herd until the mother has passed the placenta and the cria is stable on all four legs. This also gives them the opportunity to bond and keeps the rest of the herd from crowding or knocking the cria down and stepping on it.

After the mother has passed the placenta and the new cria is walking about fairly well, we let them back in with the rest of the herd. Above, Phoenix (born 6/4/11) is greeting the newest cria, under the watchful eye of Minnie Pearl.

Phoenix got a little too excited about the new baby and tried to jump on her. Fortunately, Tina Fey (the red llama) stepped in just as Phoenix tried to jump on the new cria.

And here is how the new baby looked about 18 hours later. She is finally all dried out. And she sticks very close to her mother!

We are still contemplating what to name the new cria but are considering Roses, Champagne & Pearls (roses and champagne because she is rose/gray/silver in color and pearls because her mother is Minnie Pearl.) Some have said they think they name is too long and suggested Champagne & Pearls but I have been calling her Rosie so I think she will most like be named Split Rock Roses, Champagne & Pearls aka Rosie.

Here is a photo of the sire of this cria - his name is Shimmering Sands.

Updated Photos of Midnight Phoenix

I went out to take photos of a fire burning about three miles to the south of us and when I was coming back from the turnout pasture I went in to see little Midnight Phoenix. He started posing for me so I got a couple of really good shots of him practicing his show ring stance. He is four days old in this photo. You can see how much different he looks from his newborn and day old photos! Phoenix is going to be our next halter show llama. He has the same style and presence that his grandsire, Midnight Hour, did.

A new Cria at Split Rock Ranch!

On Saturday, June 4th, Split Rock Winona Wildfire gave birth to a beautiful 30 pound male cria (baby llama). I suspected that Winona was in labor that morning but we already had plans to go to Colorado Springs to celebrate my birthday and my Dad's birthday. We always celebrate our birthdays together and this was a milestone birthday for Dad - his 75th! He proudly announced that he made it three-quarters of a century. Since Winona has had three other crias and wasn't a first time Mom, we felt comfortable leaving for the day. When we got back home a little before 5 PM we noticed that one of our studs was pacing the fencing in his run and we didn't see any of the females when we drove up so we knew something was going on. I left my purse and everything else in the car and headed out to the pasture to see what was going on. As soon as I got to the end of the privacy fence around our back yard, I saw that all the girls were gathered together under one of the big pine trees in their pasture. I knew that meant that either there was a brand new baby just born or she was still in the process of giving birth. I hollered to DH that we had a baby and he ran into the house to get clean towels and the birthing bag. I saw that the baby was partially out; his front legs and his head were out but his shoulders were stuck. DH came back out with towels and birthing bag and he grasped the front legs of the cria and gently pulled to loosen the shoulders. The rest of him quickly slid out into my waiting arms. We toweled him off an pulled the birth sac off him while all the females, including momma llama, sniffed and hummed to the new arrival. I sprayed the umbilical cord with iodone and DH carried the cria to an area where we normally put newborns and their Moms so they can bond without all the other llamas intruding. I gave Winona some grain to eat while her cria started trying to stand.

I went back to the car and got my purse, etc. and changed into my work clothes, grabbed my camera and went back out to feed the horses and our two elderly llamas who are not in large pastures where we have bales of hay so the llamas can free feed. By the time I got back to check on the new cria, he was up and toddling about.

Here is a photo of him when he was first on his feet.

And here is the other side

I haven't used the video feature on my digital camera until recently and I was surprised at how easy it is to use and download the videos! Here is a short video I did of the cria as he was toddling about trying to figure out where he was supposed to nurse from.

When he finally got his sea legs and had nursed, we opened the gates and let them go back in with the rest of the female llamas so everyone could say hello to the newest member of their herd.

Here he is with his momma, Winona, before we let them back in with the rest of the girls.

The dam's name is Split Rock Winona Wildfire; she was born at the height of the Hayman Fire in June of 2002. The sire's name is Midnight's Kemui Yama, which is Japanese for Smoky Mountain; he was born during a wildfire across the road from us in June of 2006. This is his first cria and we are thrilled with him. This cria was born during the wildfires raging in Arizona and the air here has been filled with smoke for days now.

Here is Kemui Yama

We knew that we wanted a name with "fire" in it or something that gave the sense of fire. We also wanted to include Midnight in the name in honor of his paternal grandsire, Midnight Hour who passed away from cancer this past January. Somebody suggested Firestar, which we liked. But Midnight Starfire rolled off the tongue easier so we were considering those names. But then someone who read the story about his background suggested the name Phoenix - to represent rising from the ashes of fires, which is perfect! So, we are going to name him Split Rock Midnight Phoenix. He already answers to the name Phoenix so we think it is perfect for him.

Here he is the next day when he was about 20 hours old. He was all dried out and fluffy so he looks totally different than he did in the first photos when he was still damp.

 

We expect Midnight Phoenix to be our next halter show llama! He will be eligible for shows as of November 4, 2011 so he'll miss this year's show season but he'll be ready to go for the 2012 show season! We're hoping he'll follow in his sire and grandsire's footsteps.

Wordless Wednesday

Wordless Wednesday - Are baby llamas cute or what?!

Wordless Wednesday

Name That Cria

Name that Cria!

Winona Wildfire and IceBreaker

Okay - we're still trying to decide on a name for the black and white cria. Momma is Split Rock Winona Wildfire - Poppa is IceBreaker. Here are the names we're debating on:

Split Rock Wildfire's Hotshot

Split Rock Ashes in the Snow

Split Rock Fire Breaker

Here's the thought process: Wildfire (HOT) and IceBreaker (COLD) so Wildfire's Hotshot because the Hotshots come put out wildfires. But then hot ashes (the black) in the snow (white) is the same theme (I would still probably call him HotShot because he's such a precocious little man!) However, Jim doesn't think Ashes in the Snow sounds like a name for a male so he suggested Fire Breaker - kind of the same theme only we're taking the last part of Mom's name and the last part of Dad's name. Any comments, suggestions, etc.?! We don't have to decide for another 10 months, unless we decide to show him next spring, in which case I'll have to get his ILR paperwork filed before the show and then I MUST have a final name for him.

Update on September Cria

Here are some current photos of the cria born in September. He has a name now, too. He is Split Rock Wildfire's Hotshot. This little guy is incredible - he has correct conformation, beautiful strong level topline and such style and presence! His entire demeanor just screams "Look at me!" We plan to add him to our showstring in 2009 after he is weaned. These photos were taken today. Hotshot has quite a bit of dust and hay on him because I woke him up from a nap in the hay to take his picture. But he's still a gorgeous boy and I just had to share the new pics!

It's a Boy!

Born this morning around 11 AM (I missed the birth as I was spinning a batch of cashmere and only saw him because I went to the kitchen sink to wash my hands after oiling my spinning wheel.) Weighed 25 pounds and was up and running around the pasture when I went out at 11:30 AM. He is jet black and white with dead straight legs and a beautiful topline. Momma is Winona Wildfire and Poppa is Ice Breaker so we're trying to think of a hot/cold name like Fire & Ice except that name is already taken so we have to think of something else similar. Any suggestions are welcome! These photos were taken within an hour of birth.

Suri Cria Named - Shimmering Sands

We decided on a name for our beautiful little suri cria. He is Split Rock Shimmering Sands - we call him Shimmer. And he is a pistol. He has an amazing energy to him that we find mesmerizing. I uploaded a few more pics - almost newborn - less than 24 hours old. I will try to get some new pics taken of him soon. His color is gorgeous and the luster of that suri fiber is stunning.