We’ve had these two incredible little ones with us for less than a week and I am again reminded of the sadness and cruelty (although often unconscious) in animal “industries”. Cruelty is inherent and unavoidable in any venture that capitalizes on another life. These babies, like most other animals in agriculture (or being raised and sold as pets) were separated from their mother very early in their lives. Meant to be traded or sold at an animal swap, they were taken home by two very caring gentlemen and bottle fed and cared for. Almost all animals being raised by humans are “weaned” from their mothers with human intervention at an unnaturally young age. This was one of the first common practices that we encountered raising alpacas that we began to question and that led us to where we are now. When we brought alpacas into our lives, it was our intention to raise them for their fiber, breed and sell them. We took many seminars, classes, read books and talked with multiple alpaca farms and began by following what we were taught. The first cria born here was Helios. Pax came to us already pregnant and an experienced mother. It was a joyful, exciting day watching Helios arrive and Pax, as well as the rest of the herd, welcome and care for him. It is truly amazing to watch as the baby knows exactly how to stand, take his first steps and begin the search for nourishment in his mother’s milk. It is the most beautiful and natural thing in the world. All mother mammals produce the perfect food for their babies upon giving birth and the babies instinctively know how to find and nurse from their mothers. Of course there are occasions when something unusual happens and they are unable and if we are caregivers, our intervention is required. But, for the great majority it is perfect and natural. The nursing process provides food, love and bonding. Naturally, the mother will feed her child until the child is at a certain stage in his growth and has also been taught to access food and water on his own. This is a gradual process and the mother and herd teach them along the way, how to find hay and water, where their place is in the herd and how to care for themselves.
The information we were taught was that crias need to be weaned from their mothers at around six months of age. Weaning in this sense means interference by humans, separating mother and child and forcing them to stop nursing from their mothers. This is a terribly upsetting process for both the mother and child. We tried weaning Helios in the ways we were taught. Pax cried for him, he cried and paced along the fence and I cried. We changed our mind and put them back together. We were admonished and told this was a bad idea. He is of course a male and in with the herd of females and although alpaca males do not reach sexual maturity and the majority are physically unable to reproduce until much older (commonly 18 months to 3 years) we were told that having him stay in the female herd was risky and not acceptable. We waited until he was ten months old and caved to the fear and weaned him from his mother. At this point he was certainly more independent but the weaning process was still traumatic. When I asked and looked for information as to what age crias naturally weaned in the wild, no one knew. Certainly, they had no human intervention. After Helios was born, we had four other crias born here. We were more confident and certain that we had no place in the weaning process. The next baby was born with deformities and was unable to nurse. This was a tragic story and the hardest time we have had to face. I will tell the story of Megan and Jewel another time but…
When Jewel was unable to nurse on her own, Megan was completely distraught. Meg is our most fearful, shy alpaca and we are not allowed to touch her. In the time that Jewel was with us, Megan and I spent the hours together. Me holding Jewel and helping her to find her mother’s milk. Meg standing anxiously and afraid for her baby, letting me guide Jewel to try to nurse and even to milk her so I could syringe feed her baby. The love of a mother and need to nourish and care for her child crosses all species.
The next three babies were left with their mothers who were allowed to care for and wean their children completely on their own. The earliest was about 10 months while the others were well over a year. When the process was complete they were healthy, well, independent, fully adapted to the herd and no one was traumatized.
There are so many pieces to the cruelness inherent in raising animals as “products”. Most people having the best intentions but not consciously looking at the truth. These little goats, Morty and Marty, orphaned too early, raised by loving humans, look at me with wide eyes, cry when I leave and snuggle together for comfort. I cannot replace the lost connection between mother and child. They had been weaned from the bottle before coming here but are still being given bottles with warm water and supplements to help Morty’s muscles and when those bottles are in our hands they beam and suck with such force and just can’t get enough. We decided that they perhaps were not ready to be on their own and picked up some milk replacer for them. A warm bottle of milk in this cold weather would certainly be welcome for their little tummies. We moved them up into the garage so they are warmer and closer to us so we can spend more time with them and be here when they need us. Their little tails wag like crazy drinking their bottles, they climb into our laps and snuggle each other, they just want us to be with them. We are no substitute for their mother and it breaks my heart knowing that by far, the huge majority of all animals being raised by humans suffer through the severed bond of mother and child.
As I feed these little ones milk replacer to help nourish their little tummies, I think of the dairy cows. The grieving mothers and crying calves. The dairy industry is built on separating mothers and babies. The milk intended for the calves taken for humans. Calves taken from their mothers within a day of birth so the mother’s milk can be marketed for human profit. The calves crying and suckling, being fed milk replacer, the mother cows crying and grieving for their babies while their milk is mechanically stolen from them. It is a sad, unnecessary industry and my heart hurts for each and every one of them.
As I look at these little loves I think… how did you find your way here? Does it make a difference that we can do something different here? For a few? How did we come to this place as humans? What can we, the few, do to make change for them? I cry and hold them and think...
At least…
At least we have become aware. At least we can share the message and hope to lift the veil of unconsciousness in others. At least we can love and care for the ones who find their way here and continue to question. At least we can hold these babies and tell them we are sorry and are trying and hope that someday it can be different.
The information we were taught was that crias need to be weaned from their mothers at around six months of age. Weaning in this sense means interference by humans, separating mother and child and forcing them to stop nursing from their mothers. This is a terribly upsetting process for both the mother and child. We tried weaning Helios in the ways we were taught. Pax cried for him, he cried and paced along the fence and I cried. We changed our mind and put them back together. We were admonished and told this was a bad idea. He is of course a male and in with the herd of females and although alpaca males do not reach sexual maturity and the majority are physically unable to reproduce until much older (commonly 18 months to 3 years) we were told that having him stay in the female herd was risky and not acceptable. We waited until he was ten months old and caved to the fear and weaned him from his mother. At this point he was certainly more independent but the weaning process was still traumatic. When I asked and looked for information as to what age crias naturally weaned in the wild, no one knew. Certainly, they had no human intervention. After Helios was born, we had four other crias born here. We were more confident and certain that we had no place in the weaning process. The next baby was born with deformities and was unable to nurse. This was a tragic story and the hardest time we have had to face. I will tell the story of Megan and Jewel another time but…
When Jewel was unable to nurse on her own, Megan was completely distraught. Meg is our most fearful, shy alpaca and we are not allowed to touch her. In the time that Jewel was with us, Megan and I spent the hours together. Me holding Jewel and helping her to find her mother’s milk. Meg standing anxiously and afraid for her baby, letting me guide Jewel to try to nurse and even to milk her so I could syringe feed her baby. The love of a mother and need to nourish and care for her child crosses all species.
The next three babies were left with their mothers who were allowed to care for and wean their children completely on their own. The earliest was about 10 months while the others were well over a year. When the process was complete they were healthy, well, independent, fully adapted to the herd and no one was traumatized.
There are so many pieces to the cruelness inherent in raising animals as “products”. Most people having the best intentions but not consciously looking at the truth. These little goats, Morty and Marty, orphaned too early, raised by loving humans, look at me with wide eyes, cry when I leave and snuggle together for comfort. I cannot replace the lost connection between mother and child. They had been weaned from the bottle before coming here but are still being given bottles with warm water and supplements to help Morty’s muscles and when those bottles are in our hands they beam and suck with such force and just can’t get enough. We decided that they perhaps were not ready to be on their own and picked up some milk replacer for them. A warm bottle of milk in this cold weather would certainly be welcome for their little tummies. We moved them up into the garage so they are warmer and closer to us so we can spend more time with them and be here when they need us. Their little tails wag like crazy drinking their bottles, they climb into our laps and snuggle each other, they just want us to be with them. We are no substitute for their mother and it breaks my heart knowing that by far, the huge majority of all animals being raised by humans suffer through the severed bond of mother and child.
As I feed these little ones milk replacer to help nourish their little tummies, I think of the dairy cows. The grieving mothers and crying calves. The dairy industry is built on separating mothers and babies. The milk intended for the calves taken for humans. Calves taken from their mothers within a day of birth so the mother’s milk can be marketed for human profit. The calves crying and suckling, being fed milk replacer, the mother cows crying and grieving for their babies while their milk is mechanically stolen from them. It is a sad, unnecessary industry and my heart hurts for each and every one of them.
As I look at these little loves I think… how did you find your way here? Does it make a difference that we can do something different here? For a few? How did we come to this place as humans? What can we, the few, do to make change for them? I cry and hold them and think...
At least…
At least we have become aware. At least we can share the message and hope to lift the veil of unconsciousness in others. At least we can love and care for the ones who find their way here and continue to question. At least we can hold these babies and tell them we are sorry and are trying and hope that someday it can be different.
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