While three losses like this seems like a lot to happen in a few months time, they are completely unrelated, a bad coincidence. Also, keep in mind that alpacas are stoic creatures. They rarely get sick, but when they do, it's usually too late by the time it's realized. We've known this to be true, but this past year has shown us how quickly it can happen. Little Guy was born with problems. We noticed that the placenta wasn't right, and I believe he was blind at birth. We believe he was deprived oxygen while in utero and had extensive brain damage. He lived just over day. Survial of the fittest at it's bleakest. Cheyenne suffered from a intestinal blockage. As we have learned, alpacas have a very complicated and delicate intestinal system, any small problem can lead to a big problem. I don't know how often alpacas get a blockage, but I know several other farms who have dealt with this also. Unfortunately, it's not that rare and often has a poor outcome. Maggie was born fine and did not have an intestinal blockage. She was thin, but we were addressing that. At the end, she was running a temperature which indicates either an infection or a virus. We did all we could, bottle feeding fluids into her, giving her medication and even taking her into our house.
Here is the bed J made for her that last day, that last step before taking her into our house:
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