Alpaca Health Care -
a diary...
As we move forward in our ownership of alpacas, along the way and despite
the hardy and healthy disposition of our herd, things happen. But not just
individually... all of a sudden!
The first hint that something was wrong was a little bit of tearing from
one eye of Electra, our maiden who is nearly ready to breed. She seemed
to hide... almost stoic like and kept to herself... next day the eye had
almost closed up completely and I felt like thumping the panic button. A
quick call to my mentor suggested eye solution just to ease any pain and
tri-xxxx to aleviate any infection. I could se no improvement and as vet
was due the following day I waited... It was a small grass seed lodged under
the lower eye lid. As a result of this a search of the web produced a very
valuable information on eyes from The Alpaca Registry Journal...
My Vet did make the observation that eye ointment (antibiotic not steroid
works well. Eye injuries or infections can quickly become serious. Permanent
damage may result without quick and aggressive treatment. An eye ointment
is most effective. However, an eye drop can be administered easily by one
person.
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The next event - in the same time frame - I picked up Emma, our new cria,
who now at 10 days weighed in at 25lbs, promptly deposited about 1 - to
2 oz of highly liquid feces in my lap. I checked out the web after the fact
and found some interesting data in the ARI Journal that gives an indication of
how prevalent the diarreah problem is. However I found no solution per se.
My panic button stuck down and two urgent phone calls later to my mentor
I was delivering orally via syringe 6 cc of Kaopectate. Can they struggle,
and squeal, and Mum comes running..."what are you doing to my babe?"...
So the first thing I will do next time is make sure I pen Mum up first before
I steal her babe away so that she does not try to bite my ear.
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Hazards
of moving pregnant females long distances. |
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Barn Cleanliness - I have the good fortune to have a barn with
a concrete floor and a high pressure cleaner. This tool is invaluable for
eradicating traces of poop from a birthing pen. Typically I do this daily
which may seem like overkill until one sees a cria going round the barn
tongueing everything in sight. This tool is a recent acquisition and since
doing the regular cleaning I have seen no issues with diarrhea like what
I saw with Emma... The main thing is to maintain this cleanliness for at
least the first two weeks. After that the crias' immune system should have
gained sufficient protection from Moms' colostrum to fight off these types
of bugs.
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Medication delivery techniques, a review |
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