[AlpacaTalk] RE: OB wire/teeth
Great description, thanks Heather. I have no idea off the top of my
head what 1 to 1.5 mm looks like (they just never did get around to
teaching us metrics in school tho they kept threatening to! Any time
metrics is spoken to me my brain twists into knots and I have to go find
a conversion table), but when you said the spool it was on was 1/4" high
- now *that* I can immediately picture! The OB wire I purchased is 12 m
- I guess that means 12 meters in length tho it does not say that, just
12m - so about the same as the 11 yds you get from VV. For the same app
length my spool is also about 2.5 inches or so across, but an 1" high.
Your wire therefore has to be much slimmer than this. Is yours
twisted/multi strands?
So from your description of the process, you *are* putting the wire
between/around each individual tooth? Like dental floss?
I am planning to trim the teeth when my shearer is here this year. I
don't have a chute so he brings a huge very thick rubber mat and we lay
them gently on their side on it. Usually his wife comes as well, but
last year just he and I were able to manage. He ties their legs out to
a stake - front together and back together; again very gently, he is a
"gentle giant", his mannerisms are always so calm and tho he is in great
demand and travels all over, he always acts as if I am his only customer
and he has all day. I sit at the head and gently hold it and talk and
coo to the paca. If his wife or another 3rd person is here she sits at
their back and is at the ready should the animal start struggling to get
up. She sits close enough that they know she is there, but she doesn't
touch the alpaca. I take this opportunity to really look them over, esp
arm pits, under the tail, etc; places they won't ordinarily let me look.
I trim their nails and give them their decto (this year Ivermec), and
vaccines - if I am giving any. So this year I want to be ready mentally
and supplies and be able to describe to him exactly what we are going to
do, as I try to do all of this as quickly as possible and not take
advantage of his time.
If I wasn't needing to trim their teeth so badly I would skip the
shearing this year and just do a little hand trimming if needed later in
the summer. He trimmed them so close last year that they *still* don't
have much of a coat and winter is almost over. I hate tor spend the
money for shearing when it doesn't look needed, but I just cannot let
their teeth go on - they are SO long. What do alpacas in the wild do
that our guys are not doing that keeps their teeth down? We really
shouldn't have to trim teeth, their must be some natural management
practice that would eliminate that - at least for the incisors, maybe
not the fighting teeth. I'll have to do those as well on my breeding
male. Aren't those on the top?
Thanks! Janice
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posted by Chaddo at 5:35 PM
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