Chapter Eight:
The Birth of Dancing Cloud
[Page 3]
The baby was dangling half-way out of Posey's rear. I suddenly
understood the expression llama breeders use for birth, "hitting
the ground.'' Most llama births occurred with the mother standing,
and the baby would indeed hit the ground. But Posey sat down--on
the baby's neck. Kelly moved the long neck out from under Posey's
back leg, and we put a halter on her in case we needed it.
I put a beach towel under her rear. If we could keep the umbilical
cord clean till we put the iodine on, so much the better. I sat
down behind Posey.
She was wailing again. The half-born cria was pawing the ground
with its front legs. More slippery body emerged, and suddenly there
it all was. The first llama born at Juniper Ridge Ranch, breathing
and wet, mostly white with a few little black spots, and a black
tail with a white tip. I savored the moment, without knowing whether
the newborn was male or female. I felt very peaceful.
Then I looked. There was a small penis. "It's a boy,'' I said.
Kelly was busy photographing. "Boy, girl, whatever, isn't
it wonderful!'' he said.
The newborn flailed around as we dipped the end of the umbilical
cord in a little container of iodine, to protect against tetanus
and infection. Kelly milked a little out of each of Posey's four
teats, just to be sure the milk was flowing. Posey complained with
a whine, but she let him do it.
The baby sat and rested for a while. Then he stood up, spreading
his legs way out for balance. Once up, he stayed in the same position
for quite a while. His first steps were wobbly. "Instant toddler,''
Kelly said.
Posey passed the afterbirth. I put it in a bucket, to be buried
later. Kelly gave the cria a selenium injection and then weighed
himself and the newborn. The bathroom scale was jiggling, but the
little one weighed around twenty-five pounds. Posey didn't like
her baby being handled, and she stayed close by, making clicking
noises and threatening to spit. As soon as we were done, we left
them alone together, and they sat down for a quiet spell.
The newborn was soon nursing. Kelly checked, and the little fellow
was definitely getting milk from all four teats. When we came back
to check on the llamas later, he wasn't wobbly on his feet anymore.
He was prancing around.
"With that fluffy white wool, he looks like a dancing cloud,''
Kelly said. "Hey, how about that for a name?''
"Dancing Cloud?'' I thought for a minute. "Yes, that
suits him.''
"What a fantastic mother Posey is,'' Kelly said. "She
hasn't been two feet away from that baby since he was born.''
"She's so tender with him,'' I said. "I love how she
keeps sniffing him, and how she steps between him and us, to protect
him.''
"When he was walking all around her, before he started nursing,
did you notice how she stood right where it would be easiest for
him to nurse?''
"Yes. It's interesting that he's mostly white.''
"Who'd have thought it? A brown mother, a black father, and
a white result. Tell me--are you disappointed that the baby is a
male?''
"A little bit,'' I said. "But it's in a different part
of my mind, the budget department or something. How do you feel?''
"Pretty much the same. He's a completely satisfying little
creature. It'll be nice if the next baby is a female.''
"You know, right now, the way I feel, I'd like a herd of about
twenty-five breeding females. I'm not even thinking about the money.
It's just such fun.''
Kelly smiled. "I'm glad we're living with llamas,'' he said.
|
