Raising animals is not always fun

There are a lot of things we love about raising alpacas - and today is a good day to keep those things in mind.  Farming can be hard work, but is also rewarding, satisfying, sometimes delightful and heartwarming...  but it can also be deflating, disappointing,  heartbreaking.  Sadly, today was one of those days...  
We had a busy day today - a good thing!  The sun was out.  We had a steady stream of visitors.  We were diligently watching and waiting for the birth of LadyBug's cria.  We were hopeful that she might deliver today as she is now at 355 days gestation.  But that didn't happen.   
Instead, our sweet Laurel delivered quietly and without even being noticed by us or her herd - a full month early.  Sadly, her cria was stillborn.  We don't know for sure why, but we suspect that the severe heat we experienced last week played a part in this sad occurrence.
Our hearts are heavy as we mourn the loss of this cria.  We feel so badly for poor Laurel.  Laurel has always been a sweet and attentive mother, and has delivered 2 of our best male crias - Alladin and Angus.   As Laurel is getting a bit older, we already knew that this cria would be her last one.  We had hoped that she would deliver a girl to follow in her footsteps.  We are so sad...  

Laurel

Laurel with her first cria, Alladin. Aug. 2014.

Laurel with her second cria, Angus. Sept. 2016.