Not sure about the liver values. Are they high or low? Not that I'd know what it might mean either way... Perhaps try some Milk Thistle? It supports and assists in liver repair. Also, I don't know how you feel about antibiotics, but with my sick alpacas, I am liberal with them. Of course I only give the correct dosage, and at the correct interval, unless directed otherwise by my vet.
What about Mycoplasma? Has that been ruled out?
That's all that I can think of off the top of my head. I'll keep thinking, maybe something will come to mind.
And, as always with our poor doers, we give ADEB paste every two weeks, and Probios as often as we like. Our vet says there's really not any danger of overdosing on that.
Heather
Heather Zeleny
White Lotus Alpacas
Oregon
Holistic Farm and Elite Fleece
On Jul 18, 2010, at 12:21 PM, Allison Moss-Fritch wrote:
Heather,
We are so sorry you lost Hoyln; but glad you could save her cria, even as a bottle boy. Your hard work will pay off---and it is a tribute to Hoyln that you aretaking such great care of her baby for her.
So far we have not had to bottle feed any crias yet---but I am sure we will have our chance. We do have a failure to thrive girl who at 10 months is bone skinny and about the size of a 4 month old at 58 lbs, last weighing. She is a very sweet cria---and I give her extra pellets, creep feed, all the extras I can think of. She has confounded two vets---they all agree that something neurologic happened, that her liver values were unique---that she is better than she was---but nobody has any idea, even after consulting with the Universities that trained them, what the problem is.
Of course, this girl has the most wonderful fleece that we have ever bred on our farm, bar none. Crimp even into the topknot, crimp that is lustrous, zippery and exceptionally (14.4 microns) fine---and very dense. Crimp at the tail, crimp into the lower legs---and no stress break---which is a miracle given the health profile. We thought PEM, it is not; we ran fecals,----no infestations; we checked teeth, took exrays, ultrasounded the gut----no hint of any problem---yet there she is with her backbone and hips sticking out like a little milk cow.
I am out of ideas at this point and wonder if I should, looking at the long term prognosis, make some very hard decisions. Have any of you ever had a baby like this that "outgrew" the problem over time???
Allison
Allison E. Moss-Fritch
New Moon Alpacas
350 Cloquallum Rd.
Elma, WA 98541
360 861-8584
From: AlpacaTalk@yahoogroups.com [mailto:AlpacaTalk@yahoogroups.com] On Behalf Of Heather Zeleny
Sent: Sunday, July 18, 2010 11:44 AM
To: AlpacaTalk@yahoogroups.com
Subject: [AlpacaTalk] Another bottle baby this year
I don't know if any of you remember my saga with Izumi last year. She got caught between a wall and a gate after she was born and was a wall baby. Refused to nurse from her mama.
This year, her dam delivered a lovely full Bolivian true black boy, and all seemed to be well until he was a week old and she began bleeding, either from her uterus or kidneys/bladder. As she was over 15 years old, our vet felt surgery was not an option, as anesthesia is touchy with alpacas even when they're young and strong.
Well, my dear old grumpy Bolivian import dam died 11 days after delivering her boy. So I have another bottle baby. It was tough getting him to take the bottle at first, but now he sees me and comes running for it, however I still have to trick him into catching him. He's trusting me more each day, though. And, he's gained over a pound in just 3 days.
The baby is almost identical to his 2 year old full brother, and I believe he'll be a keeper. He may be Hoyln's best cria. She was a great old girl, and even though she was grumpy as heck, I will miss her.
Holistic Farm and Elite Fleece
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