Weaning time is coming up shortly. It can be stressful, but is a necessary time on the farm. The babies are away from their moms for the first time - although usually, not far away. To prepare, we ensure the cria are physically ready; drinking water from a bowl, eating hay on their own, in some cases eating grain, and they are showing adequate weight gain, strength and overall good health. They are moved into a pen with the other weanlings where they'll keep each other company and learn from each other and/or a guardian alpaca. The first couple of days are a bit uncomfortable as they look to reunite with mom, but in a short time, they'll discover their independence and the stress subsides.
For the moms, there is a sense of separation, but also relief. More often, the moms have been re bred and their bodies are ready to focus on the new cria developing that will arrive in just a few short months. Nursing a cria that is old enough to be on their own, can take a significant physical toll on mom. Weaning might take place anywhere from 4 to 8 months of age. We use a benchmark of 6 months. Occasionally, nature takes care of things and a cria will stop on their own, or the mom will take charge by discouraging nursing and the cria stops. It's helpful when this happens, but it's not frequent. Once the babies are fully weaned, they can be reintroduced to their original pasture with mom. They act familiar, they reacquaint and usually stay connected, but without nursing.
Our experience has been that the males are a bit more resistant to being away from mom than the females are. Sometimes they take a little longer to relax, but since they are not put back with the females in the pasture, the time doesn't matter as much. This year, Laelia, Archimedes and Maestro will be weaned. Our plan is to pen the 3 of them together, out of view of their moms. We're still deciding whether of not to add a guardian alpaca, such as Hamilton, who has very successfully trained weanlings in the past. He was guardian for Murphy, Paxson and Eclipse.
Our target date is February 14th to begin weaning. All 3 cria are old enough, they're healthy, eating and drinking on their own and quite content being together - much like 3 musketeers. They will all be heading to Massachusetts in April for the North American Alpaca Show, so it's important they have resolved all of their anxiety long before then. They have also begun halter training. Once they've relaxed, training goes much more smoothly. Keeping them as stress free as possible is our goal always, but particularly during this process.
We hope you get the opportunity to visit the farm soon. If you come during weaning time, don't be surprised if some of the 'pacas appear a bit out-of-sorts. Weaning can be challenging, but is a necessary task. The discomfort is short-lived and the results will be wonderful. We will be introducing 3 new independent alpacas that will go on to be happy yearlings and adults...continuing the circle of life!
