[AlpacaTalk] RE: Supplies to keep on hand/shearing
<<<<Yogurt can be administered for a upset
belly just like probias which is another product you can keep on hand,
but remember to give these only if your vet says it is ok.
Hope these ideas help.
Mary Jane Fox>>>>
Thanks Mary Jane for all your input. My problem is no vet to ask. The
one vet that would help me last summer with my girl's severe eye injury
made it very clear that she has all the horse business she can handle
and is not at all interested in "learning a new species". The old cow
vet I used to use was willing, but made so many mistakes and I lost so
many I just stopped calling him and he has retired now (and I think
moved to WY) anyway. The 2 other horse/cow vets (they are the only ones
that do farm calls) I have spoken to around here in the past several
years are also not interested in working with alpacas. I had one tell
me that he just didn't work with llama folks (there are no other alpcas
around here that I know of) because they "always expect me to come right
away and are just unreasonable in their expectation"
But as a people nutritionist I cannot imagine why giving yogurt or
probiotics could be a problem or a question for a vet? My qustion
rather would be how do we know it is getting to the areas where it is
needed? I don't know a thing about the physiology of the gut in
ruminants (heck I'm still wondering just how many stomachs do they
have?). I know in humans the trick to supplementing with probiotics is
to get the live little critters to survive the stomach acid and get to
the intestines where they are needed.
I'd like to discuss shearing with you and anyone else that has done
their own. For one, I simply can no longer afford to pay the shearer!
I skipped year before last for that reason and it was a miserable hot
summer that found me out 2x every single day soaking them down with the
hose and buying a $300 fan for them (I could have had them sheared for
that amt of $$, but by then it was too late).
And still I had one to lay down and die after giving birth - don't know
if it was heat stress but that is what I suspect. So I bit the bullet
last year and had them sheared. I couldn't afford it then; even less so
this year. They don't have much of a coat now, but by summer they will.
We still have chilly nights up thru May, tho it can get quite hot
during the day. So I usually have him come close to the end of May;
last year it was mid-June and vrey very hot before he could get to me.
<<<<I do some shearing here and have started to on the older girls that do
not grow fleece, some farms have me leave 1/2 inch on them so I just tip>>>>
How old? My oldest girl is about 10. What is considered old for an
alpaca? When is she too old to safely reproduce? What is the average
expected life span? My dd asked me just last night and I didn't have a
clue as to their aging process or their life span. Are you tipping with
electric shears?
<<<<I use
the dog blankets to put on the animals if they are having difficulty
keeping themselves warm. Takes alittle bit of time for some animals that
have never had one on to get use to them. But they cover the chest and
back areas great.>>>>
Do you tie them somehow to keep them on? I can't quite picture an
alpaca walking around with a blanket draped over it without shaking it off.
Sorry for all the questions. I am on a mission to get this right once
and for all so I can move on to other things that need my attention as well.
Thanks! Janice
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posted by Chaddo at 9:41 AM
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