Just too irresistible...

It has been a routine service for all the herd this morning. They are all looking tip top; which is now more then can be said for me. Toe nail trimming is not good for my old nurses' back!

I am also covered top to toe in mineral drench. Earlier this year we changed to the JG Animal Health brand which advises a 30ml dose. Not the easiest thing to get down when it tastes rather nasty. Very salty. Yes don't think about it... it wasn't meant to be a taste assessment...I am just hoping it was first hand rather than...

We had been using Maxigro which is much more palatable (it appears) and only requires a 5ml dose. However we have learnt that this gives a very short term boost (2-3weeks) as apposed to a 2-3 month benefit with the JG brand. We will persevere. Well at least until we have finished our supplies!

I couldn't be so mean as to give it to the cria who got a 2ml dose of Kick Start which appears to taste nice (didn't try that one). Explorer clamped his teeth down on my finger then went off grumbling; much to Paul's amusement. He really must take after Navigator, as his mum Camilla is such a poppet and so pretty too!

Yesterday Paul's sister Jill came to visit along with Carly, Maddie and George. Pony grooming is normally highest on the list but the cria got star billing yesterday. Instructions were given to keep hands down and to avoid sudden movements:

That's it hands down...Finnian comes to check Maddie out...

...but he looks like he will be really soft...

Yes very soft!

Velvet had a very busy day with all the attention from the children and plenty of fresh air. Definitely dog tired when you can sleep next to Paul's shoes!

Velvet...dog napping!

Paul has made the decision to cut the hay field tomorrow. The weather forecast isn't fantastic but we are going for it. Plans were for the girls with cria to be grazing the hay field by now. We want to get them moved in order to get a new concrete floor laid in the barn. Much easier for scrubbing out than rubber mats and it will hopefully cut down on the toe nail trimming requirements! 

And finally one for Jill... George on a very fat Gypsy...she is on restricted grass hard as it is to believe!

George and Gypsy

Hindered by the new farm hand....

Alpaca tasks seem to be taking a little longer to complete this week than is the norm. I think the problem might be trying to do everything with a small black puppy tucked under one arm. Velvet has settled in well and is very well behaved. However, she does have this way of making me feel guilty about leaving her in her cage; so much so that I end up taking her everywhere with me.

Having a small dog sitting on your shoulder does mean that getting photos of the alpacas paying attention is so much easier:

Explorer, Camilla, Tabitha, Nancy & Lucie

Kenzie & Explorer...the big boys!

Checking Velvet out over the fence...no far too big and scary for Nancy!

Yesterday I went to collect approximately 70kg of top quality white alpaca fleece from a local breeder. As I only purchase fleece under 25microns and pay a premium for fleece under 22 microns this normally means being reliant upon getting the micron assessment right using eye or handle. However on this occasion the task was made so much easier by fleece stats being available for every fleece.

 Fantastic... I have taken a sample from each fleece and labelled it with the micron count (as I do with my own). All good practice guessing the micron than checking the actual results....I know this may seem a little sad but it does rain a lot in Cumbria! I now have the task of getting it all skirted and off to the mill but with 35kg under 22 microns we should have some really lovely wool to work with again this year.

The monthly vet bill arrived this morning. Thinking that I only had a bottle of Finadyne and some eye drops to pay for I was surprised to see £95.40 in the due column. I had forgotten that we had had a Sunday call out at the beginning of the month. We had noticed that Bonita had a small prolapse and concerned that she may need a stitch to prevent things worsening we had called the vet. Why do these things always happen on a Sunday? ....and worse still why do they always correct themselves before the vet actually arrives! Good news really as the prolapse has required no treatment. If we hadn't called the vet it would have been the wrong decision of course!

Sometimes things happen for a reason....

Sometimes things are just meant to be. Example:

Dog gets lost. I find it. I return dog to owner. Owner shows me her puppies; all sold and ready to go. Phone call from prospective new owner - mother taken seriously ill can no longer take puppy. Puppy is very gorgeous. I am there!

Problems:

1. Paul is in London at a friend's wedding and I cannot contact him
2. I haven't got the cheque book with me

Solution:

1. I return with cheque in hand and Paul gets a surprise welcome home!
2. I find somewhere else to live very quickly!

Luckily Paul thinks that Velvet is rather cute. I do think that she would be hard for anyone to resist. A Jack Russell x Cocker Spaniel:

Velvet...no wellies!

Oscar checking out Velvet

 In a playful mood

She may be the smallest but Velvet is not the youngest resident at Beck brow; Nutmeg still retains that title. Nutmeg is the reason that Paul was a wedding gooseberry.  Blanche was supposed to be due around now but decided to deliver at 323-days!

Nutmeg is growing well. I love the way that she does a really big stretch when she stands after wakening. My Mum was is a farmer's daughter as well as a farmer's wife and always says "they're not ailing much when they stretch like that" . So I always take it as a good sign.

Nutmeg having a good old stretch!

Alpaca shelters and dog beds...

Yet another wet start to the weekend with haymaking off the agenda again. By the amount of poo cleaning required in the barn this morning it looks like it has rained for most of the night. Our girls really don't like getting wet.

Our 'barn' was actually purpose built to breed chickens (previous owners) and we have converted it to provide a number of pens and a handling system. We have taken off some panelling to make it completely open on one side leaving an overhang to keep out the rain. It seems to be this openness that the alpacas really like as this is without doubt the most popular accommodation that we have.

We have learned along the way that the alpacas have definite preferences about shelters. One of our buildings, designed for horses, was initially not at all popular with any of the alpacas.We took down the internal stable walls but still they didn't seem happy. Eventually, we decided that the problem was lack of light due to the single opening. Cheapest solution; we hung acrylic mirrors on the darkest walls to reflect the light back and make any dark corners less scary.

Now you may be thinking that I am mad, but it has worked (something I learnt from my horse owning days). However, as that particular shelter has wall heaters as well as mirrors, I do have to put up with quite a few quips about "getting a flat screen T.V. for the wall!". But joking apart, plenty of light does seem to be important if shelters are to be used.

We had some visitors yesterday who are possibly interested in keeping alpacas at some point in the future. It was raining when they arrived but at least all the mums and babies had come inside to be seen. Nutmeg was especially sweet and let 18 month old Savannah stroke her nose. Thankfully the rain did ease off as Josh was especially keen to see the boys:

Almost Illegal and Nimrod enjoying some attention...can you just see that little hand at Nimrod's nose...It's not easy feeding an alpaca with such tiny hands!

I have just started introducing Tyke into the cria field. The girls are usually pretty good with Tyke and Oscar (dogs that they know) but it is always best to be careful where new mums and cria are concerned. Katkin especially gives him some frightening looks but he knows to stay well away from her. Roma did think about chasing him but even a miniature Yorkshire Terrier can look scary when it wants to:

Tyke standing his ground with Roma

Please note Paul was on dog watching duty, I was just the photographer!

It was more spit-offs again this morning and with everyone refusing his advances we decided to let Hollwood have a date with Blanche. Blanche was only 2 weeks postpartum yesterday but she had a very easy birth and was keen to be mated. Blanche will be the last of our girls to be mated here this year as we have decided to leave Bahati empty over winter. We will mate her with Viracocha Black Sabbath early next year (fingers crossed that he will be working).

Completely non-alpaca related but as Tyke got a mention it is Tyke related; We have just got a new bed. A 6ft super king size bed to be exact. What luxury to be able to toss and turn without someone complaining. Tyke however seems to think we have bought a bigger bed to accommodate a small dog!

Cute?

Finally I sure you may have already seen the CGU Insurance advert - Bill the alpaca breeder, but if not I am sure that it will make you smile .Click on following link to You tube to view (you will need the volume on to appreciate)  www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZkJnRStDRNw - 93k

Bravery awards for all...

Well what a start to the day; This morning I went downstairs to be greeted by a bat sitting on the worktop. Now I am used to finding headless rabbits and bits of mouse lying about the house thanks to Sam the alpaca cat, but this looked a bit scary. I opened a few windows and pointed then out to Mr Bat but he was obviously as blind as… In the end I managed to remove him from the premises with the aid of a cereal bowl and a chopping board. All in one piece I should add. He flew off happily and I felt rather pleased with myself...no screaming at all!

Drama number 2; an alarm call from the boys paddock. Now Nimrod can be a little highly strung, his high alert call usually just means that a stray cat has looked at him. However on this occasion the boy did well. I looked out and I immediately saw that Julius was in some kind of trouble. He was down on his side and wasn't for getting up when I called. Nimrod was screeching and keeping the other boys away from him (a very green scene). When I got closer I could see that Julius had somehow managed to get all four legs tangled in the wooden gate. Now I know this is sounding like an episode of Skippy the Bush Kangaroo (need to be middle aged to understand that one) but my heart was racing.

Nimrod had got himself into such a frenzied state I wasn’t sure that he would let me near but he was fine. I managed to get Julius freed and couldn’t see any obvious damage but he was clearly rather sore. He got a shot of Finadyne (anti-inflammatory) and I will keep an eye on him. But what a hero Nimrod turned out to be. He and Julius have always been inseparable but alpacas still never cease to amaze me. Maybe Explorer will rescue me from the beck one day after all!

Taking of my boy; he and Roma appear to have become very good friends since their trip out together to Fowberry Alpacas. The concern is... is Explorer having a negative influence on Roma? I am sure that they are beginning to look alike:

Roma trying out the Explorer look...just the right amount of grump!

Spot on Roma...even in profile

Kenzie, Explorer and Roma have obviously created the elite cria group. Membership appears to involve some kind of complicated secret neck shake:

I'm not sure if Noah was trying to undertake some kind of initiation test in order to join the group this morning; maybe the task was to steal a drink from Galaxy as Kenzie had done? Whatever, Galaxy was mighty mad with him:

Phoebe has had her last injection of florenfenicol (Nuflor) this morning. Her tooth abscess seems to have gone completely and the hole is healing over. I decided to complete the full 6-week course just to try to ensure we don’t get a recurrence as we did when using Amoxypen. Phoebe is very strange in that she much prefers to be injected intramuscularly (IM) rather than subcutaneously (S/C). She makes a real fuss about S/C injections but doesn’t even flinch about IM injections. Phoebe is not your average alpaca it has to be said!

Camelid IgG testing in practice.

Thank you for all your comments on the photo blog. I thought that I would do a more serious posting today, just incase I have given the impression that I just lie in the paddock all day...it was just a lucky 15 minutes Mark!

I thought it may be useful to share some thoughts on the IgG testing kit that we purchased earlier this year.
Some of you may recall that in an earlier blog I discussed the loss of a 4-day old cria from last year. We had waited 24 hours for camelid specific IgG results and then when we did find the result to be low, we did not have the required plasma to hand. We vowed never to be in that same position again.

Hence, this year we ensured that we had plentiful supplies of plasma, donated by our own boys and in the freezer ready for the birthing season. We also purchased a DVM rapid Test kit (for testing specific IgG levels) a centrifuge (for spinning the blood to obtain serum for testing) and camelid plasma reagent (required for the test). The test gives a camelid specific result within 30 minutes and is obviously much more accurate than a general serum protein level (also obtained relatively quickly)

When we purchased the kit it was suggested by our vet that that in order to monitor for failure of passive transfer (FPT) that we should test levels of IgG on all of our cria at 48-hours of age. We however, always envisaged that it would only be a tool to monitor levels of those predisposed to FPT e.g. premature or difficult births. For very sick cria we obviously wouldn't wait for results. It is really the ones that you are just not sure about where it is especially useful.

Our plan was to bottle feed plasma if necessary (or tube feed if the cria was weak) within the first 6 hours and up to 24 hours of age. However in practice we have found bottle fed plasma (even when mixed with powdered colostrum to improve the taste) does not appear to be especially palatable, whereas cow’s colostrum is taken readily.

Here lies the problem; if we give cows colostrum the camelid specific test results become meaningless. This morning I have been in contact with Light Livestock Equipment (our supplier) to ask their advice. It appears that the best solution would be to purchase some bovine reagent for testing levels, either in conjunction with camelid levels, or if the majority of the intake in the first 12 hours has been cow’s colostrum then to conduct the bovine test alone. Normal levels are different but these are easily converted as they have explained.

At the moment I have not been able to find a UK supplier of the bovine reagent. Shipping costs from the USA are expensive as refrigerated transportation is required (if anyone knows of a cheaper option please let me know!). Classical MileEnd Alpacas now stock the camelid reagent.

Thankfully we have only had to give a plasma transfusion to one of our cria this year. Explorer’s IgG levels were <100mg/dl (minimum level for adequate passive transfer considered to be 800mg/dl) putting him at high risk that any introduction to infection could have been fatal for him.

Plasma was given intravenously at a rate of 25mls/Kg BW. After an initial I.V. dose of flunixin meglumine (Finadyne) in case of an inflammatory reaction, the plasma was transfused slowly via a catheter inserted into the jugular vein. This was given in conjunction with a course of prophylactic antibiotics.

In conclusion; Has it been a good investment? We have actually only used the kit on one occasion so far (kit cost around £1000 complete with reagent). However, I do believe that without the facilities to test his levels quickly and administer the plasma at the appropriate time, Explorer would quite likely not be with us now. Therefore, would we make the investment again: 100% yes. Absolutely! I adore the grumpy boy with the garlic breath (please may he continue to thrive).

It looks like it has stopped raining. Time for a lie in the paddock with the camera and hopefully a more interesting blog next time!

The St Leger....

Apologies for over doing the cria blogging; I couldn't resist sharing this afternoon's entertainment:

On your marks: From the right Lucie, Tabitha & Kenzie.

and it's Tabitha who takes an early lead...

he's on long odds but Finnian appears from nowhere to go out front...

but is  Finnian too busy posing as they close in from behind? ...

...a  photo finish but Kenzie takes it by an ear!

Whilst lazing about in the paddock I even managed to get a photo of myself being stood upon...cheers Parisien: