Alpaca Gestation Period: How Long Is a Alpaca Pregnant?

How long is a alpaca pregnant?

A alpaca carries her cria for an average of 345 days, or about 11 months and 1 week. Counting from the breeding date, birthing is normal anywhere from day 335 to day 355.

Key checkpoints across the 345-day alpaca gestation, measured in days from breeding:

Estimate your alpaca's birthing date

Enter the breeding date for an estimated birthing date at 345 days.

Open the full Alpaca gestation calculator

Alpaca gestation stages, month by month

Signs a alpaca is pregnant

• She spits at and rejects the male from about two weeks after mating
• Ultrasound or progesterone testing confirms pregnancy from around day 45
• The left side of the abdomen fills out, and cria movement can often be felt in the last trimester
• Udder development in the final four to six weeks

Signs of approaching birthing

• Repeated visits to the dung pile, humming and separating from the herd on the day
• Rolling, stretching and a raised tail in the final hour — almost always in the morning
• Contact your vet if labour stalls, if the animal strains without progress, or if there is abnormal discharge before birthing begins.

What affects alpaca gestation length

• Alpacas are induced ovulators: they have no regular cycle, and ovulation is triggered by mating, so the mating date is usually known precisely and due dates are unusually well anchored.
• Alpacas almost always give birth in the morning, typically between dawn and early afternoon — an evolutionary habit from the Andes that lets the cria dry and stand before the cold night.
• Gestation averages about 345 days but ranges from roughly 335 to 355, and males are often carried a few days longer than females.
• Twins are extremely rare and rarely survive; a single cria of 6 to 9 kg is the norm.
• The 'spit-off' test at around 14 days is a genuine husbandry tool: a pregnant female rejects the male aggressively, while an open female sits for him.

Alpaca gestation chart

Every fifth breeding date across the year with the matching birthing date, calculated at 345 days. Find the row closest to the date the alpaca was served; because normal gestation spans 335 to 355 days, plan for a window of a few days either side. Filter by month, or print the chart for the barn wall or breeding record: navigation, buttons and adverts are hidden on paper.

Sources for alpaca gestation figures

Figures on this page are drawn from camelid veterinary reference works, alpaca breed association records and published camelid reproduction studies, and checked against the references below. Averages describe healthy animals under normal management; individual animals vary, and nothing here replaces advice from your vet.

• Alpaca Owners Association
• Merck Veterinary Manual — reproduction and pregnancy chapters by species
• Penn State Extension — livestock reproduction and breeding management fact sheets
• Oklahoma State University, Breeds of Livestock