Re: [AlpacaTalk] My Boy Won't Eat Grain - Help!
Pia, The "bunking" under the hay feeder rang a bell with me - not that I think it's a symptom. I also have a 4 month old male cria that bunks under the hay feeder. He was one that for some reason one day just caught my attention and I couldn't figure out what was different. We were scheduled to weigh everyone in anticipation of the monthly shot and were shocked to find that he had not gained any weight from the previous month. Now I really watched him and noticed that every so often he would gingerly put his rear right foot down and sometimes it would be his rear left foot....The AHA moment - a Vit D deficiency. As I don't usually do injections, I immediately gave him the oral ADE liquid. He gait was improved within days, his appetite within a week and he no longer bunks under the hay feeder Two and a half weeks later, he weighs 43 pounds. The vet was scheduled here for other things and I requested a Vit D injection which will be
repeated in a month until Spring and the sun returns.
The lack of activity and weight gain would have me looking at Vit D issue instead of a Thyroid issue. Kathy
Kathy & Earl Klay
Jefferson Laurel Farm
8181 Havens Road
Blacklick, Ohio 43004
(614) 855-9194
--- On Mon, 2/16/09, Pia Al-Ubaidi <fioridelcamposuris@
From: Pia Al-Ubaidi <fioridelcamposuris@
Subject: Re: [AlpacaTalk] My Boy Won't Eat Grain - Help!
To: AlpacaTalk@yahoogro
Date: Monday, February 16, 2009, 1:08 PM
Hi Heather, my boy stopped gaining weight in November and has been wearing a coat the entire time. I don't know about the ADEB paste. Right now he weighs about 40 some odd pounds right now. Mom is average sized, but not on the larger side like some of my other dams. Dad weighs about 190 - 200#. He is eating plenty of hay, is constantly chewing his cud, and is getting loads of milk still from mom (evidenced by his messy lips after nursing! :-) He's just not interested in grain, the creep feeder, or playing for the last number of weeks.... He did start bunking under the hay feeder in November, and as you know a lot of hay collects there. It's always seemed like he liked it there because it was warmer, even with his coat on....
Pia
Best regards,
Pia M. Al-Ubaidi
Fiori del Campo Suri Alpacas
____________ _________ _________ __
I do agree about the Thyro-L, that's not really something to treat
with unless it's medically necessary - prescribed by the vet. That's
why it's not an over the counter item! :) And checking for E mac is a
good idea.
Does your farm give crias ADEB12 paste? That should be done at least
monthly, especially in the cold and less sunny months. It does help
stimulate appetite and does furnish some calories.
So how much does your boy weight right now? If his body score seems
good, there may well NOT be a problem. He is likely to be cold if he
doesn't have a cria coat on. Suris are susceptible to cold because
they don't have that fluffy fleece at the topline. If he weighs 50
lbs, that's quite normal. We like to see 60 lb weight by 6 months,
generally.
Also, some crias don't have an interest in pellets even at 6 months.
It's frustrating to the humans, but there's not a lot to do except
try to convince them that they're tasty! We've even had some
weanlings who weren't too quick to show interest in pellets.
Another thought, he may be a small alpaca. We have a one or two crias
who, even with good appetite and energy levels, normal bloods, just
turned out to be on the small side. They do continue growth until 5
years of age, so you can't know what his full size will be at 4 1/2
months.
Finally, all crias do grow at different rates. Mothers' milk
production rates differ, so crias of the same age won't always be the
same size. We have one 8 month old here, who is as big as our 18
month olds. No kidding! And we have a little 6 month old who is a
good 10 lbs or more smaller than a 5 month old. But they're all doing
fine, in their own way.
Heather
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posted by Chaddo at 11:09 AM
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