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Tuesday, August 25, 2009

Re: [AlpacaTalk] Shearing cria

 

Depends how hot it is where you are.  In Southern CA I don't know anyone who doesn't shear their crias, it is just too hot here.  Cria fleece is fluffier and warmer than adult fleece, so I would take it all off.  By the time they are old enough to show, it is growing back anyway.
 
SUSAN OLSON
Alpaca Loco
Riverside, CA

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posted by Chaddo at 9:55 PM 0 comments

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Re: [AlpacaTalk] Re: Cria weight gain has slowed way down.

 

Good eye, Susan, your animals are lucky they have you! 
 
There is a saying amoung veterinarians about ADR animals - if an owner says their animal "Ain't Doin' Right" (ADR) - LISTEN.  They are always right.
 
SUSAN OLSON
Alpaca Loco

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posted by Chaddo at 9:53 PM 0 comments

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Re: [AlpacaTalk] Re: Cria weight gain has slowed way down.

 

I just had a 2 month old cria that had a doggie like poo and had started refusing her supplemental bottles. Her weight was mostly stable with just a small loss, but when I realized it was her giving me the 'bad' poo, I knew something was up. I had a fecal that came back clean, but went ahead  and treated her for e mac with Baycox(with suggestions and input from another site as well as that still small voice within) . When I saw the poo, I did some quick arithmetic -- and realized emac made sense. It has a prepatent period of about 45 days and she was certainly mouthing everything by about 15 days....and she was a little more than 60 days.........it all made sense given that emac doesn't always show.
 
In any case, that was on Saturday that she got the Baycox and by last evening she was whining for a bottle...and taken 2 more since then. I learned something very valuable with all of that! (btw -- her appetite remained very good for hay, grass and pellets)  I would definitely run a fecal and look for something even with nice formed beans. AND, you can have a total protein done with a blood specimen and if it's dropped below 5, there's a good chance you're dealing with emac. There is other blood work that is valuable too and that can point to emac....but even if it isn't emac and you're concerned, I'd start by running a fecal. The other thing that I've noticed is that my crias all slow down a little after about 2 months. They just don't grow as quickly here. My own personal thinking is that there is always the chance that they've got some parasite that we don't see and their little bodies are just working to keep it in check.....but that's just my take on it with nothing to back that up -- I've realized there are all kinds of things their little bodies have to learn to live with and there's not much we can do with some of those things but keep a close eye on them...
 
Good luck!
 
Susan
 
Susan Forman
Dewey Morning Alpacas
Washington Court House, OH 43160
740-636-1899
http://www.alpacanation.com/deweymorning.asp
Home of Huey, Louie, and Dewey!
 
 
----- Original Message -----
Sent: Tuesday, August 25, 2009 11:56 AM
Subject: [AlpacaTalk] Re: Cria weight gain has slowed way down.

 

He was 16.2 lbs at birth. He is now 37.2 lbs. Has only gained two pounds in the last two weeks, but he doesn't lose any weight, he maintains the same weight. Heather I think your wall baby was born just after mine was. He was born on 6/10/09. His body score is good and he plays with the other cria all the time. He does not act sick or lethargic in any way.

--- In AlpacaTalk@yahoogroups.com, Heather Zeleny <alpacatalk@...> wrote:
>
> Can you give us specifics? Birth weight, current weight, daily weight
> gain, etc.
>
> I have a bottle/wall baby, and she is now 9 weeks old. She still has
> not quite doubled her birth weight, but almost!
>
> The rule of thumb is a minimum of 1/4 lb per day of weight gain, or 2
> lbs per week.
>
> My girl did have some challenges and had some scours, then we had a
> heat wave and almost lost her to that... For 3 weeks she gained then
> lost, gained then lost... Even now, every once in a while she'll lose
> a bit from the day before, but she is gradually gaining overall.
>
> My girl seems to have a bit low body score, but she does have good
> energy and good poop, and a healthy appetite for forage. Sometimes
> she doesn't want the bottle at all.
>
>
> Heather
>
> Heather Zeleny
> White Lotus Alpacas
> Oregon
>
> Holistic Farm and Elite Fleece
> http://www.whitelotusalpacas.com
> http://tech.groups.yahoo.com/group/AlpacaTalk/join
>
> On Aug 24, 2009, at 2:02 PM, chrystella.volk wrote:
>
> > I have a cria that reached two months old and I noticed that in the
> > last two weeks, he has not been gaining as much weight. Not sure if
> > this is normal. He is eating hay, running around like a nut. I am
> > not sure if this is pertinent, but he was a wall baby.
> >
> > Also someone mentioned that they feed flax seed to their alpaca.
> > Can you tell me how much you feed?
> >
> > Chrys Volk
> > Suri-nity Meadows Alpaca Farm
> > chrystella.volk@...
> > Ruggles, OH
>

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posted by Chaddo at 10:03 AM 0 comments

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[AlpacaTalk] Shearing cria

 

I have heard some people say you should shear a cria and others that don't. Do you shear your crias? If so, why and what effects does that have on showing them?

Sorry for strange questions, but I am a newbie and I just had my first two baby boys.

Chrys Volk
Suri-nity Meadows Alpaca Farm
Ruggles, OH

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posted by Chaddo at 9:01 AM 0 comments

Free Alpacas Newsletter- How to Profit from Alpaca Farming

[AlpacaTalk] Re: Cria weight gain has slowed way down.

 

He was 16.2 lbs at birth. He is now 37.2 lbs. Has only gained two pounds in the last two weeks, but he doesn't lose any weight, he maintains the same weight. Heather I think your wall baby was born just after mine was. He was born on 6/10/09. His body score is good and he plays with the other cria all the time. He does not act sick or lethargic in any way.

--- In AlpacaTalk@yahoogroups.com, Heather Zeleny <alpacatalk@...> wrote:
>
> Can you give us specifics? Birth weight, current weight, daily weight
> gain, etc.
>
> I have a bottle/wall baby, and she is now 9 weeks old. She still has
> not quite doubled her birth weight, but almost!
>
> The rule of thumb is a minimum of 1/4 lb per day of weight gain, or 2
> lbs per week.
>
> My girl did have some challenges and had some scours, then we had a
> heat wave and almost lost her to that... For 3 weeks she gained then
> lost, gained then lost... Even now, every once in a while she'll lose
> a bit from the day before, but she is gradually gaining overall.
>
> My girl seems to have a bit low body score, but she does have good
> energy and good poop, and a healthy appetite for forage. Sometimes
> she doesn't want the bottle at all.
>
>
> Heather
>
> Heather Zeleny
> White Lotus Alpacas
> Oregon
>
> Holistic Farm and Elite Fleece
> http://www.whitelotusalpacas.com
> http://tech.groups.yahoo.com/group/AlpacaTalk/join
>
> On Aug 24, 2009, at 2:02 PM, chrystella.volk wrote:
>
> > I have a cria that reached two months old and I noticed that in the
> > last two weeks, he has not been gaining as much weight. Not sure if
> > this is normal. He is eating hay, running around like a nut. I am
> > not sure if this is pertinent, but he was a wall baby.
> >
> > Also someone mentioned that they feed flax seed to their alpaca.
> > Can you tell me how much you feed?
> >
> > Chrys Volk
> > Suri-nity Meadows Alpaca Farm
> > chrystella.volk@...
> > Ruggles, OH
>

__._,_.___
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posted by Chaddo at 8:56 AM 0 comments