Question:
We are new to llamas and are about to have our second cria. When the first one was born we just found the baby when we came home from work. Our questions is, how do you tell when a female is ready to deliver?
Answer:
Ask her! She has many ways to tell you. In reality, on some females it is easy, while on others it can be difficult to tell when a female is ready to deliver but most females will give you many clues. The older females that have had several cria will generally tell you more than maidens. With maidens it is simply more difficult to determine when they are ready to deliver.
We have a small pasture in front of the house that we use for our expectant "moms". This lets us observe their behavior which gives us clues on how close they are to delivery. We like to put the females in this pasture four to six weeks prior to their due date.
1. The first step to knowing the delivery date is to know the due date. We individually stall breed our females and calculate the due date at 350 days after a successful breeding. A llama can deliver a full term cria anywhere from 335 to 365 days from the actual breeding date. The gestation chart in Figure 1 can be used to determine the projected due date.
2. Several weeks prior to parturition most females will roll more than usual. It is thought that the excessive rolling is to position the fetus for eventual delivery.
3. As they get closer to delivery most females will begin to udder up. Maidens however, almost never display much of an udder prior to delivery. Some females will have a large udder while others never do get a large udder. In either case this is one of the clues used to determine when to expect the baby.
4. As delivery nears, you will often see wax plugs at the ends of her teats. I do not suggest removing them. We use missing wax plugs as an indication that the cria is nursing.
5. We notice that most females will tend to drink more water when they are close to delivery.
6. In general, the closer the female gets to the actual delivery date the more she lays around.
7. We spend a lot of time watching "llama butts". We look for a loosening of the skin on the rear end, an enlarging of the vulva and on some females you can actually see a widening of the pelvic bones. What makes it difficult is that some females display almost none of these indicators and heavy woolled females make observations more difficult.
8. As the delivery gets closer, watch for the female to go off my herself. By this time most females have determined where they are going to deliver the baby and tend to stay there by themselves.
9. It can be difficult to determine when a llama actually goes into labor. Generally, all of the above listed indicators are amplified and they show a more severe discomfort. Some are up and down a lot while others may lay and hum.
Very few llamas need help in delivery. It is, however, reassuring to be there should there be a complication or should the female need some assistance.