Bert's baby!

The barn is calling me so I am having to do this quickly! The day started quietly with a slow stroll around managing waste - very slow due to our second night of the smoke detector going off. It has taken to going off at 3 in the morning - the first night I thought it was Carl's alarm so shouted at him he'd set it too early. He said sorry and turned his alarm off and we lay there for a good 10 minutes before we realised what it was! Much good that is! Anyway, Bert then started to look increasingly imminent so I had to get them all in the barn as it was also raining and blowing a gale. This was not an easy task as fences needed to be temporarily constructed to make it all safe. To cut a long tiresome story short Bert produced a beautiful solid white little boy, sadly, she did not produce any milk! Rush back to the house to phone Wellground HQ and defrost plasma. Then rush back down to attempt stomach tubing. The wonderful Reddingvale had offered to come and help but I don't like to impose and I thought I had better give it a go myself first but it proved very difficult - this is one very lively, strong cria. Bert was very good and made no fuss at all about me getting involved - after last year I think she expected me to! After 10 minutes of struggling with a flapping tube and struggling baby I thought I would try it in a bottle - and, he drank it all down! That emergency over I got the colostrum ready - mixing it with the milk and waiting so it didn't curdle with the plasma. Baby then decided he didn't want to play sucking games! Finally, Carl came home and between us - but mostly him - we got some into baby. Going back to try the rest in a minute. His Dad is E .P. Cambridge Samson and, of course, his mum is Bert (Roberta) and Bert is a very, very special alpaca! - So here he is at three hours old - not sure what his name will be yet but I think, and I am not good at judging cria this young, he is rather special!
Lots of flies and dried colostrum on him I'm afraid!