[AlpacaTalk] Re: teeth, Arnica
Hi Janice,
Arnica Montana is a plant, which has medicinal properties. It is only
used topically as ointments and other topical preparations, internal
use can cause heart problems and mucous membrane irritation. Even
topical use can cause skin irritation and blistering if used to excess.
When we use Arnica Montana, we're usually talking about a homeopathic
remedy. Or sometimes we'll mention a cream or ointment. It is important
to specify what type of treatment we're talking about!
Teeth trimming with the ob wire: Yes, what you described probably was
an ob wire. It's hard to say if your boy was really in pain while
having his teeth trimmed. None of our animals like to have us messing
with their mouths, so they struggle and fight during the entire
procedure. If the wire was old and dull, it probably took longer than
necessary, and it indeed might have gotten a bit warm and smoked a
little. Or it was probably dust from the tooth itself as it was being
cut. I don't think that expensive, loud, bulky machine is less
stressful on the alpacas. And, it can only do incisors, can't do
fighting teeth. But it also saws away the tooth, and runs at lord knows
how many rpm, and anything going that fast will also create a lot of
heat and smoke. I know, I have used the Highcroft trimmer.
That's why it's so great to just get 12 yards of the wire from
valleyvet.com for only $11, then you will always have new, sharp wire
when the first one gets dull. But believe me, it takes years and
hundreds of tooth trimmings for it to wear out and become dull.
We do have a chute, and for some of the more unruly animals, we do have
to use it to do the teeth. But no matter what, it is a 3 or 4 person
job. One person to hold the head, one person to put the "thing" (dog
rope chew toy, short length of pvc pipe, etc.) in the mouth to hold it
open and pull lips back, keep tongue out of the way, one person to
actually man the wire (usually me), and it's nice to have one more
person to hold the back end of the animal if you're not using the
chute.
There are people who will tell you that a shearing table or ropes on
the ground to restrain your animals during shearing is inhumane and
dangerous. But, after many years of shearing with no restraints, only
people holding them, I would never go back to the old way. It's safer
for everyone involved. One jump by an alpaca during shearing can cause
serious injury. We've had it happen. Well, we haven't had any serious
cuts, but they can happen. I've heard of people having thumbs and
fingers broken from animals lunging and jumping. One large female
injured my daughter's arm pretty badly one year.
So anyway, that's my opinion on the tooth trimming. The ob wire is
quick, precise, and safe. And quiet! And economical!
Heather
Heather Zeleny
White Lotus Alpacas
Creswell, OR
541.895.0964
Holistic Farm and Elite Fleece
http://www.whitelot
http://tech.
Change settings via the Web (Yahoo! ID required)
Change settings via email: Switch delivery to Daily Digest | Switch format to Traditional
Visit Your Group | Yahoo! Groups Terms of Use | Unsubscribe
__,_._,___
posted by Chaddo at 9:12 AM
0 Comments:
Post a Comment
<< Home