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BREEDING
Female Llamas and Alpacas can be bred at 15 to 18 months. Males require 2.5 to 3.5 years before they become fully mature as breeders. The gestation period is 345 days for Llamas and 335 days for Alpacas. (plus or minus a week or more). Birthing takes place during daylight hours before noon, usually about 11:00 A.M.. Although this may not be the case 100% of the time, it is normal. New born Llamas and Alpacas are called crias [cree-ahs'].
Female Llama and Alpacas do not 'come-in-heat' as like many other species. They are 'induced ovulators' and can breed anytime. It usually requires two contacts, 24-48 hours apart, with a male to get a successful pregnancy. Once pregnant, the females will have literally nothing to do with any male of the same species. This is where their spitting comes in handy. A short spitting contest between a male and female is usually enough to discourage the male from attempting to breed a pregnant female. This is also the primary test used in determining if a female is pregnant. But like many things in nature, this is not true all of the time and a blood test is often required.
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Crias need to get their mother's milk (colostrum) within the first 24 hours of birth to build up their immune system. (This is primarily true with many animals, not just Llamas and Alpacas.) Without colostrum, cow or goat colostrum can be substituted followed with goat's milk. In lieu of colostrum (or the correct amount of colostrum) in the first 24 hours a blood (plasma) transfusion is required before they are 8 weeks old. If their immune system is not satisfactory after the first 24 hours they will begin to suffer a wide range of diseases soon after they begin taking in less milk from the mother, at the 8 week point.
Controlled cross breeding between Llamas and Alpacas is usually not done any more than a breeder of German Shepherd dogs wanting to register the pups would breed to another canine species.
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| REGISTRATION
All* Llamas and Alpacas are registered and a certificate is issued showing 4 generations of domestic parentage and registration information, if available. That is, if their parents are known. Alpacas are not registered in South America, thus what ever is available about their parents is available only after they arrived in a country that has a registry.
(* not all Llamas and Alpacas are required to be registered. However, if you wish to breed, sell and show, it is required in the industry.)
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The International Lama Registry (ILR), a non-profit organization, has the responsibility for registering Llamas. The Alpaca Registry, Inc. (ARI) is responsible for registering Alpacas. ARI is no longer accepting applications for importation of Alpacas from outside the USA after Dec. 31st, 1998. (As per ARI membership vote announced in June, 1998).
All Alpacas to be registered must be blood typed. This is used to verify parents. When bloodtyping is not sufficient to determine parents, DNA procedures must be used. Verification of parents this way is required when registering new born alpacas. The same methods are available to verify parents of Llamas, but are not required to register llamas.
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