Weaning Crias

Wean at 6 months with an eye to underweight or undersized Alpacas that might need a month or two longer. If you have an orphan situation they can be weaned as early as two months if their hay and feed intake is sufficient. Weighing them daily would be an important precaution to take in this type of situation.

When weaning move the dam to a new pasture and keep the juvenile in her normal pen with her friends.

Most Alpacas can be considered weaned after 10-12 weeks of separation, sometimes more. Returning the dam to the female juvenile too early delays the process and hinders the dam in regaining needed weight.

Some breeders believe in self weaning which we do not recommend as it may stress the dam and delay weight recovery.

Juvenile boys shouldn’t run with mature males; you should have a plan in place for their transition through a younger herd into your mature males herd.

Read next: Registration