Free Alpacas Newsletter- How to Profit from Alpaca Farming

Monday, September 29, 2008

RE: [AlpacaTalk] Low milk production

Hi List,

Domperidone can be started post partum.but in any case should be started as
soon as you see the need.the closer to parturition, the more likely to
bring in the milk quickly and fully. We have had occasion to use it
once.and it does work.if you want to ensure a shy milker will bring in full
milk at birth.use Pollard's lactation herbs in the last 6 weeks or so of
pregnancy.maybe you won't need the Domperidone later!

Allison

New Moon Alpacas

Santa Clara, CA

http://www.newmoonalpacas.com

From: AlpacaTalk@yahoogroups.com [mailto:AlpacaTalk@yahoogroups.com] On
Behalf Of Heather Zeleny
Sent: Monday, September 29, 2008 9:27 AM
To: AlpacaTalk@yahoogroups.com
Subject: Re: [AlpacaTalk] Low milk production

My thoughts are to continue trying to bottle feed her. She's young
enough that she'll take to it. We used to have a dam who had low milk
production and had to supplement all of her crias. One of her daughters
also had low production, but not as low as her dam, and all of her
crias refused the bottle. I gave them ADEB12 paste weekly, and although
they were on the slim side compared to their pasturemates, they grew up
fine. After they started on hay and pellets, you'd never know their mom
had poor milk.

The orange poop is probably due to rich milk. The straining and
difficulty evacuating is something I notice a lot on many new crias. It
just takes them time to learn how to control everything! I wouldn't
worry that the cria is under mom too much, if mom lets her nurse,
that's a good thing!

We also had a small cria born on Friday to a first time dam. She was at
343 days gestation but cria's teeth weren't erupted and she only
weighed 12.6 lbs. On Sunday, she weighed 12.2 lbs. While we definitely
don't want crias losing weight, especially ones who are so small
starting out, it is not uncommon for babies to lose 5% of their birth
weight in the first week. So we're keeping a close eye on her and we'll
weigh her again daily to track. If she continues to lose, we'll start
bottle feeding her, too. Otherwise, she looks great (MRG female!) and
is already running around with the rest of the crias, who are all 2-3
times her size! You say your girl isn't thriving, is she lethargic and
dull? Babies often do sleep a whole lot for the first couple of weeks.

I don't have experience with Domperidone, but I think I've read that it
needs to be started a month or two before delivery? That may be totally
incorrect so hopefully someone with first-hand knowledge will report.

Heather

Heather Zeleny
White Lotus Alpacas
Creswell, OR

541.895.0964

Holistic Farm and Elite Fleece
http://www.whitelotusalpacas.com
http://tech.groups.yahoo.com/group/AlpacaTalk/join

On Sep 29, 2008, at 4:16 AM, turkeycreekalpacas wrote:

> Hi all,
>
> We had a cria born on Thursday about noon who just isn't thriving.
> This was a first cria for the dam and took a little while to drop her
> milk (a few hours) - not surprising. She did appear to have colostrum
> and adequate milk when it arrived. However, the cria is not gaining
> weight. She was not a premie but on the smaller side - 13.2# and as
> of last night (day 4) is up to 13.8# - no gain at all during this
> day. She's not active like she should be and spends much more time
> than she should under mom. The dam's milk now seems to be lessening
> and very warm so I'm wondering if it's mastitus .. ?
>
> We do give our crias Ecolizer+C and have not had problems with
> diarrhea since we started using it a few years back. However, this
> little girl seems constipated and when she does evacuate her bowel,
> it's very liquidy and orange. I have not seen this before - any
> thoughts on this? We started supplementing her yesterday with whole
> milk and yogurt but she is not a willing subject! Others I've had to
> supplement were a bit more willing to take it (on the hungry side) so
> I'm a bit puzzled with this one.
>
> I will be calling the vet as soon as their office opens this AM and
> am going to track down some Domperidone.
>
> Any thoughts or suggestions would be appreciated. My vet is wonderful
> and has been working with our farm for 7 years but I would not
> consider him a "camelid specialist" by any means and generally do our
> best to have suggestions ready when problems arise. The alpaca groups
> have been a huge help!
>
> Thanks, Liz Clark, Turkey Creek Alpacs, northern Indiana
> turkeycreek@maplenet.net <mailto:turkeycreek%40maplenet.net>

[Non-text portions of this message have been removed]

[Non-text portions of this message have been removed]

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posted by Chaddo at 8:38 PM 0 comments

Free Alpacas Newsletter- How to Profit from Alpaca Farming

Re: [AlpacaTalk] Re: Teeth-REALLY Horrible Sounds

Hi Chuck,
You're absolutely right about teeth grinding and pain. I was referring
specifically to new crias cutting their molars. Every one of ours has
done what I described, smoothing off the sharp edges of the newly cut
teeth, making an awful grinding noise during teething. In cases where
there is grinding of teeth in any but new crias, we definitely
investigate infection or parasite... or whatever to identify the pain.

Heather

On Sep 29, 2008, at 12:30 PM, Chuck Rademacher wrote:

> Hi Heather & Deborah,
>
> I'm not sure what's happening with your teeth-grinding alpaca. But,
> whenever we've encountered this situation, the animal has been in a
> lot of
> pain. On two occasions, the animal had severe Haemonchosis and most
> likely
> would have died had we not noticed the grinding teeth.
>
> I would check your paca over carefully for signs of internal
> parasites and
> other causes of pain.
>
> Regards,
>
> Chuck Rademacher
> Kaipara Pines Alpaca Stud
> 2247 South Head Road, RD 1
> Helensville, New Zealand 0874
> Phone: 09-420-2133 Mobile: 027-204-9406
> www.alpacafarm.co.nz

[Non-text portions of this message have been removed]

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posted by Chaddo at 2:57 PM 0 comments

Free Alpacas Newsletter- How to Profit from Alpaca Farming

RE: [AlpacaTalk] Re: Teeth-REALLY Horrible Sounds

Hi Heather & Deborah,

I'm not sure what's happening with your teeth-grinding alpaca. But,
whenever we've encountered this situation, the animal has been in a lot of
pain. On two occasions, the animal had severe Haemonchosis and most likely
would have died had we not noticed the grinding teeth.

I would check your paca over carefully for signs of internal parasites and
other causes of pain.

Regards,

Chuck Rademacher
Kaipara Pines Alpaca Stud
2247 South Head Road, RD 1
Helensville, New Zealand 0874
Phone: 09-420-2133 Mobile: 027-204-9406
www.alpacafarm.co.nz

-----Original Message-----
From: AlpacaTalk@yahoogroups.com [mailto:AlpacaTalk@yahoogroups.com]On
Behalf Of blackpearlfarm
Sent: Tuesday, 30 September 2008 6:56 a.m.
To: AlpacaTalk@yahoogroups.com
Subject: [AlpacaTalk] Re: Teeth-REALLY Horrible Sounds

Thanks Heather,
I appreciate the input , like you I have always watched and listened to
my animals chewing and on shearing day everyone gets everything
looked at, cleaned and poked and trimmed and prodded .
So you know I wasn't trying to sound dumb, but one cria in eleven years
really had me worried he sounds like he's rubbing big sharp gravel
together when he chews. Thank you for mentioning the "horrible
grinding sounds" gave me some peace of mind.
The vet will be coming to geld a couple of fiber boys next week I think
I'll have him checked because I've never heard one this severe.

Really appreciate the input.
Deborah
Black Pearl Farm
Colbert, WA

--- In AlpacaTalk@yahoogroups.com, Heather Zeleny <alpacatalk@...> wrote:
>
> Generally, they do just have the two front teeth at birth, or soon
> after. In the following week or two, crias will cut their molars and
> begin making horrible grinding sounds wearing down the sharp edges. The
> rest of the incisors follow, of course, but honestly I have no idea
> what the timeline is. They definitely get the next two incisors while
> nursing, I'd say by two months. By a year they should have three sets
> of incisors, I don't have a number for when those erupt. By two years
> or so, they should be losing their first two incisors. As alpacas are
> mammals, these are deciduous teeth and there will be no cause for
> alarm. The following two sets of deciduous teeth will be replaced
> within the next year. For males, fighting teeth can begin to erupt
> around 2 years, but it can happen earlier. I had a 2 year old who had
> longer fighting teeth than his 3 year old buddy. They can appear
> seemingly out of nowhere, so it is important to keep an eye on them!
>
> I do look at all of our alpacas' teeth when I can. I don't catch them
> and open their mouths and count teeth, but when I see them eating (like
> always) or yawning, I do take a look to see what's going on. It's just
> something I tune into automatically, and I'd say I notice every one of
> our alpacas' mouths each and every day, and we have over 50. And I am
> especially cognisant of the boys' fighting teeth. They really are
> trouble and can cause serious injury. The best time to see is when
> they're yawning, that's how I notice most fighting teeth. So it just
> takes hanging around for a bit an looking nonchalant.
>
> Heather
>
> Heather Zeleny
> White Lotus Alpacas
> Creswell, OR
>
> 541.895.0964
>
> Holistic Farm and Elite Fleece
> http://www.whitelotusalpacas.com
> http://tech.groups.yahoo.com/group/AlpacaTalk/join
>

[Non-text portions of this message have been removed]

__._,_.___
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posted by Chaddo at 12:30 PM 0 comments

Free Alpacas Newsletter- How to Profit from Alpaca Farming

[AlpacaTalk] Re: Teeth-REALLY Horrible Sounds

Thanks Heather,
I appreciate the input , like you I have always watched and listened to
my animals chewing and on shearing day everyone gets everything
looked at, cleaned and poked and trimmed and prodded .
So you know I wasn't trying to sound dumb, but one cria in eleven years
really had me worried he sounds like he's rubbing big sharp gravel
together when he chews. Thank you for mentioning the "horrible
grinding sounds" gave me some peace of mind.
The vet will be coming to geld a couple of fiber boys next week I think
I'll have him checked because I've never heard one this severe.

Really appreciate the input.
Deborah
Black Pearl Farm
Colbert, WA

--- In AlpacaTalk@yahoogroups.com, Heather Zeleny <alpacatalk@...> wrote:
>
> Generally, they do just have the two front teeth at birth, or soon
> after. In the following week or two, crias will cut their molars and
> begin making horrible grinding sounds wearing down the sharp edges. The
> rest of the incisors follow, of course, but honestly I have no idea
> what the timeline is. They definitely get the next two incisors while
> nursing, I'd say by two months. By a year they should have three sets
> of incisors, I don't have a number for when those erupt. By two years
> or so, they should be losing their first two incisors. As alpacas are
> mammals, these are deciduous teeth and there will be no cause for
> alarm. The following two sets of deciduous teeth will be replaced
> within the next year. For males, fighting teeth can begin to erupt
> around 2 years, but it can happen earlier. I had a 2 year old who had
> longer fighting teeth than his 3 year old buddy. They can appear
> seemingly out of nowhere, so it is important to keep an eye on them!
>
> I do look at all of our alpacas' teeth when I can. I don't catch them
> and open their mouths and count teeth, but when I see them eating (like
> always) or yawning, I do take a look to see what's going on. It's just
> something I tune into automatically, and I'd say I notice every one of
> our alpacas' mouths each and every day, and we have over 50. And I am
> especially cognisant of the boys' fighting teeth. They really are
> trouble and can cause serious injury. The best time to see is when
> they're yawning, that's how I notice most fighting teeth. So it just
> takes hanging around for a bit an looking nonchalant.
>
> Heather
>
> Heather Zeleny
> White Lotus Alpacas
> Creswell, OR
>
> 541.895.0964
>
> Holistic Farm and Elite Fleece
> http://www.whitelotusalpacas.com
> http://tech.groups.yahoo.com/group/AlpacaTalk/join
>

__._,_.___
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posted by Chaddo at 10:56 AM 0 comments

Free Alpacas Newsletter- How to Profit from Alpaca Farming

Re: [AlpacaTalk] Low milk production

Hi Heather,

Thanks for your thoughts. I will keep trying to supplement. I probably got 2 oz. in earlier this AM. I figured the strange colored poo was probably due to richness too, but can't say I've ever seen such a bright orange! I mix up lactation herbs for my first time moms too and it could be from that. The vet came this AM and confirmed that thought. He also was able to get a good stream from both back teats but only drips from the front - more than I could get so I felt good about that.

The Domperidone (Equidone) generally is given to dams who don't have milk or have lost it for some reason. We'll keep and eye on them both but are always happy to have other thoughts about possibilities!

Thanks, Liz

----- Original Message -----
From: Heather Zeleny
To: AlpacaTalk@yahoogroups.com
Sent: Monday, September 29, 2008 12:27 PM
Subject: Re: [AlpacaTalk] Low milk production

My thoughts are to continue trying to bottle feed her. She's young
enough that she'll take to it. We used to have a dam who had low milk
production and had to supplement all of her crias. One of her daughters
also had low production, but not as low as her dam, and all of her
crias refused the bottle. I gave them ADEB12 paste weekly, and although
they were on the slim side compared to their pasturemates, they grew up
fine. After they started on hay and pellets, you'd never know their mom
had poor milk.

The orange poop is probably due to rich milk. The straining and
difficulty evacuating is something I notice a lot on many new crias. It
just takes them time to learn how to control everything! I wouldn't
worry that the cria is under mom too much, if mom lets her nurse,
that's a good thing!

We also had a small cria born on Friday to a first time dam. She was at
343 days gestation but cria's teeth weren't erupted and she only
weighed 12.6 lbs. On Sunday, she weighed 12.2 lbs. While we definitely
don't want crias losing weight, especially ones who are so small
starting out, it is not uncommon for babies to lose 5% of their birth
weight in the first week. So we're keeping a close eye on her and we'll
weigh her again daily to track. If she continues to lose, we'll start
bottle feeding her, too. Otherwise, she looks great (MRG female!) and
is already running around with the rest of the crias, who are all 2-3
times her size! You say your girl isn't thriving, is she lethargic and
dull? Babies often do sleep a whole lot for the first couple of weeks.

I don't have experience with Domperidone, but I think I've read that it
needs to be started a month or two before delivery? That may be totally
incorrect so hopefully someone with first-hand knowledge will report.

Heather

Heather Zeleny
White Lotus Alpacas
Creswell, OR

541.895.0964

Holistic Farm and Elite Fleece
http://www.whitelotusalpacas.com
http://tech.groups.yahoo.com/group/AlpacaTalk/join

On Sep 29, 2008, at 4:16 AM, turkeycreekalpacas wrote:

> Hi all,
>
> We had a cria born on Thursday about noon who just isn't thriving.
> This was a first cria for the dam and took a little while to drop her
> milk (a few hours) - not surprising. She did appear to have colostrum
> and adequate milk when it arrived. However, the cria is not gaining
> weight. She was not a premie but on the smaller side - 13.2# and as
> of last night (day 4) is up to 13.8# - no gain at all during this
> day. She's not active like she should be and spends much more time
> than she should under mom. The dam's milk now seems to be lessening
> and very warm so I'm wondering if it's mastitus .. ?
>
> We do give our crias Ecolizer+C and have not had problems with
> diarrhea since we started using it a few years back. However, this
> little girl seems constipated and when she does evacuate her bowel,
> it's very liquidy and orange. I have not seen this before - any
> thoughts on this? We started supplementing her yesterday with whole
> milk and yogurt but she is not a willing subject! Others I've had to
> supplement were a bit more willing to take it (on the hungry side) so
> I'm a bit puzzled with this one.
>
> I will be calling the vet as soon as their office opens this AM and
> am going to track down some Domperidone.
>
> Any thoughts or suggestions would be appreciated. My vet is wonderful
> and has been working with our farm for 7 years but I would not
> consider him a "camelid specialist" by any means and generally do our
> best to have suggestions ready when problems arise. The alpaca groups
> have been a huge help!
>
> Thanks, Liz Clark, Turkey Creek Alpacs, northern Indiana
> turkeycreek@maplenet.net

[Non-text portions of this message have been removed]

[Non-text portions of this message have been removed]

__._,_.___
Message posts are the opinion of individuals posting and are not necessarily endorsed or approved by Yahoo! or the moderator of this group. The purpose of this discussion group is to ensure that all points of view can be aired. It is the responsbilty of all individuals who post to treat others with respect and civility.
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posted by Chaddo at 10:18 AM 0 comments

Free Alpacas Newsletter- How to Profit from Alpaca Farming

Re: [AlpacaTalk] Low milk production

My thoughts are to continue trying to bottle feed her. She's young
enough that she'll take to it. We used to have a dam who had low milk
production and had to supplement all of her crias. One of her daughters
also had low production, but not as low as her dam, and all of her
crias refused the bottle. I gave them ADEB12 paste weekly, and although
they were on the slim side compared to their pasturemates, they grew up
fine. After they started on hay and pellets, you'd never know their mom
had poor milk.

The orange poop is probably due to rich milk. The straining and
difficulty evacuating is something I notice a lot on many new crias. It
just takes them time to learn how to control everything! I wouldn't
worry that the cria is under mom too much, if mom lets her nurse,
that's a good thing!

We also had a small cria born on Friday to a first time dam. She was at
343 days gestation but cria's teeth weren't erupted and she only
weighed 12.6 lbs. On Sunday, she weighed 12.2 lbs. While we definitely
don't want crias losing weight, especially ones who are so small
starting out, it is not uncommon for babies to lose 5% of their birth
weight in the first week. So we're keeping a close eye on her and we'll
weigh her again daily to track. If she continues to lose, we'll start
bottle feeding her, too. Otherwise, she looks great (MRG female!) and
is already running around with the rest of the crias, who are all 2-3
times her size! You say your girl isn't thriving, is she lethargic and
dull? Babies often do sleep a whole lot for the first couple of weeks.

I don't have experience with Domperidone, but I think I've read that it
needs to be started a month or two before delivery? That may be totally
incorrect so hopefully someone with first-hand knowledge will report.

Heather

Heather Zeleny
White Lotus Alpacas
Creswell, OR

541.895.0964

Holistic Farm and Elite Fleece
http://www.whitelotusalpacas.com
http://tech.groups.yahoo.com/group/AlpacaTalk/join

On Sep 29, 2008, at 4:16 AM, turkeycreekalpacas wrote:

> Hi all,
>
> We had a cria born on Thursday about noon who just isn't thriving.
> This was a first cria for the dam and took a little while to drop her
> milk (a few hours) - not surprising. She did appear to have colostrum
> and adequate milk when it arrived. However, the cria is not gaining
> weight. She was not a premie but on the smaller side - 13.2# and as
> of last night (day 4) is up to 13.8# - no gain at all during this
> day. She's not active like she should be and spends much more time
> than she should under mom. The dam's milk now seems to be lessening
> and very warm so I'm wondering if it's mastitus .. ?
>
> We do give our crias Ecolizer+C and have not had problems with
> diarrhea since we started using it a few years back. However, this
> little girl seems constipated and when she does evacuate her bowel,
> it's very liquidy and orange. I have not seen this before - any
> thoughts on this? We started supplementing her yesterday with whole
> milk and yogurt but she is not a willing subject! Others I've had to
> supplement were a bit more willing to take it (on the hungry side) so
> I'm a bit puzzled with this one.
>
> I will be calling the vet as soon as their office opens this AM and
> am going to track down some Domperidone.
>
> Any thoughts or suggestions would be appreciated. My vet is wonderful
> and has been working with our farm for 7 years but I would not
> consider him a "camelid specialist" by any means and generally do our
> best to have suggestions ready when problems arise. The alpaca groups
> have been a huge help!
>
> Thanks, Liz Clark, Turkey Creek Alpacs, northern Indiana
> turkeycreek@maplenet.net

[Non-text portions of this message have been removed]

__._,_.___
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posted by Chaddo at 9:27 AM 0 comments

Free Alpacas Newsletter- How to Profit from Alpaca Farming

[AlpacaTalk] Low milk production

Hi all,

We had a cria born on Thursday about noon who just isn't thriving.
This was a first cria for the dam and took a little while to drop her
milk (a few hours) - not surprising. She did appear to have colostrum
and adequate milk when it arrived. However, the cria is not gaining
weight. She was not a premie but on the smaller side - 13.2# and as
of last night (day 4) is up to 13.8# - no gain at all during this
day. She's not active like she should be and spends much more time
than she should under mom. The dam's milk now seems to be lessening
and very warm so I'm wondering if it's mastitus .. ?

We do give our crias Ecolizer+C and have not had problems with
diarrhea since we started using it a few years back. However, this
little girl seems constipated and when she does evacuate her bowel,
it's very liquidy and orange. I have not seen this before - any
thoughts on this? We started supplementing her yesterday with whole
milk and yogurt but she is not a willing subject! Others I've had to
supplement were a bit more willing to take it (on the hungry side) so
I'm a bit puzzled with this one.

I will be calling the vet as soon as their office opens this AM and
am going to track down some Domperidone.

Any thoughts or suggestions would be appreciated. My vet is wonderful
and has been working with our farm for 7 years but I would not
consider him a "camelid specialist" by any means and generally do our
best to have suggestions ready when problems arise. The alpaca groups
have been a huge help!

Thanks, Liz Clark, Turkey Creek Alpacs, northern Indiana
turkeycreek@maplenet.net

__._,_.___
Message posts are the opinion of individuals posting and are not necessarily endorsed or approved by Yahoo! or the moderator of this group. The purpose of this discussion group is to ensure that all points of view can be aired. It is the responsbilty of all individuals who post to treat others with respect and civility.
Recent Activity
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Share Photos

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photos and

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New business?

Get new customers.

List your web site

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posted by Chaddo at 4:16 AM 0 comments