ALPA CAS
Call us at
Heartsong Triple D Farm for beautiful registered alpacas for sale 865-475-3777
or ddtarr@usit.net
Alpacas can be trained to pull a cart.
Alpacas are one of the smallest members of the camelid
family. Camels and llamas are better known members. The forerunners were
vicunas and guanacos. These animals come from countries such as
Alpacas are beautiful, gentle, endearing, quiet animals. Their basic
sound is a soft hum. They are herd animals and are shy of people unless handled
regularly from birth. Babies take about 11 ½ months to come into the world and
are called crias. There are shows across the country
for this breed that feature conformation, ease of handling in public relations
situations, fiber, even their agility and cooperation in going through obstacle
courses.
Their fiber comes in a wonderful natural variety of gorgeous shades and
colors and is one of the most highly desired by spinners and weavers because of
its warmth and softness in finished products. Alpaca fiber is some of the finest in the world. It is as soft as
cotton and as warm as wool. We sell it raw (straight off the animal) and as
yarn at Heartsong Triple D Farm. We often trade with hand spinners –
fiber for spinning. If interested, email us at ddtarr@usit.net.
There are two types of alpacas in the
Two of every kind of bird, of every kind of animal and of every kind of
creature that moves along the ground will come to you to be kept alive.
Genesis 6:20
For more information contact: Please let them know
where you got their address!
|
Alpaca Owners and Breeders Association - www.alpacaowners.com 615-834-4195 |
Contact ddtarr@usit.net |
See photos below:
Heartsong Triple D Farm Alpacas and
Friends! Check our FOR SALE page for available animals!
DANCY - A COMPROMISED LIFE
JOURNEY THROUGH AN AL
by Deirdre D. Tarr
The baby was due any day. A
dilemma arose: go to the annual animal fiber fair over five hours away in a
neighboring state or sit staring at the mother in the pasture awaiting the
blessed event. A friend and I had
completed plans with lodging secured and registrations in for workshops. We decided to go on Friday.
Of course, the female baby was born on Saturday morning. After the excited call from, home multiple
instructions were reiterated to get Dancy off to a
safe start. Iodine on the navel, make
sure she is nursing, watch her bodily functions (urination and defecation) to
make sure all was working well, put deep bedding in the stall and put up a heat
lamp (the weather took an unseasonable plunge to 20 degrees at night). Being the main animal-tender I knew what needed
to be done and how to do it, but my family was left with the actual
duties. Concern arose when the cria appeared not to be energetically seeking to
nurse. She had a 12 pound birth weight
which would have indicated enough strength to stand and pursue her mother's
essential, life-sustaining and warming colostrum.
My beyond-the-call-of-duty husband rose to the occasion. (In addition to his previous title of
"goat mid-wife" he now added "cria
surrogate mom"!) Since the baby was
not nursing, he began an every three-hour bottle feeding routine. We had attended Equitana
If I had been there I could have milked the colostrum
and fed it to the baby. My husband tried
but was unable to get any to flow. He
reconstituted the equine IgG with 250 mg of saline
solution (from a local pharmacy) and mixed that with evaporated goat's milk
(from Wal-Mart). Dancy
took over 4 ounces at the first feeding.
He continued to place the baby under the mother in the hope that she
would nurse on her own. When I arrived
home the next day, I cleaned the mother's teats with a warm wet cloth,
lubricated my fingers with cooking oil to cause less discomfort as I milked
her, and proceeded to milk the colostrum out and feed
it to the baby. Each time Dancy was fed I smeared colostrum
on the mother's teats and guided her mouth to them to encourage her to
nurse. Before the day was over she had
begun to nurse on her own. That was an
answer to prayer that made everyone happy.
I felt that Dancy's
life had been compromised because she had not gotten the colostrum
within the first crucial 24 hour period when the cria's
digestive system can absorb the mother's first milk transferring lifesaving
antibodies from the mother to the baby.
After consulting with my vet, I took her to the
After explaining the situation, we were taken to an examination area in
the large animal clinic where her vital signs and basic condition were
checked. (It was rather humorous to see
tiny Dancy on a table just a few yards away from a
1000 pound plus cow!) The silky cinnamon
colored fiber from Dancy's neck was clipped so that
the jugular vein would be easily visible.
A catheter was inserted into the vein, which would be used for several
purposes. First, blood was drawn before
the transfusion to check the IgG level she had on
entering. After the count was processed
24 hours later, it read 170 milligrams per deciliter. (She was very low, but the equine IgG may have added enough antibodies to get her through the
first two days. Being born on Saturday
we were unable to have her treated at the vet school until Monday.) A second vial of blood was taken to check her
white cell count to see if any infection was adding additional stress to her
body. (The normal count should have been
anywhere from 8,000 to 25,000. Since
hers was 2,000 she was put on a .5 cc dose of Naxcel
twice a day for five days as a preventative measure.)
After a cleansing flush of the needle and tube, Dancy
was hooked up to the previously defrosted and warmed llama plasma which is the
non-cellular portion of the blood containing the immunoglobuline
needed to help the immune system fight off disease. Plasma is collected by taking whole blood
from an animal in a special plastic bag, which contains an anticoagulant to
prevent clotting. The blood is
centrifuged (spun rapidly) to separate the white and red blood cells from the
fluid part of the blood, the plasma.
This top layer of plasma is siphoned off to be used immediately or
stored at -20 degrees to -40 degrees Centigrade until needed.
With Vet Wrap securing the catheter, the tiny cria
was carried to a stall area to be held and kept quiet for the 30-45 minute
process of the plasma flowing into her body.
I might add that she was a trooper throughout the process hardly
protesting during any of the procedures.
When the Vet Wrap was applied to hold the needle and tubing in place,
she stretched her long neck out and laid her chin on the table. The technicians joked that she had sudden
neck fatigue because of the lightweight wrap.
Dancy was cradled to keep her from moving and inadvertently dislodging the
IV. She shivered periodically so a towel
was placed over her. When the
transfusion was completed more blood was taken before removing the needle to
check her post transfusion IgG level. (After the 24 hour processing period it was
reported to be 1,202 milligrams of IgG per deciliter,
a great improvement!) There is some
variation in veterinary circles about the level at which a transfusion is
necessary. Some say a transfusion should
be done if the IgG count when the baby is 24 hours
old registers under 400. Others state
that anything under 800 indicates a need for plasma. The best approach is to check with your own
veterinarian. The needle was removed, a
sterile bandage placed on her neck, and Dancy headed
home for a much desired afternoon "milk shake" a la mom.
We continued to bundle her up in a special cria
pajama outfit at night and take the pajamas off for her to exercise outside and
become acclimated to the temperature during the day for the next week. We weighed her daily to make sure that she
gained weight, which she did.
This procedure, a plasma transfusion, can make the difference in a cria living or dying.
If you find yourself in this situation, the $199.00 cost and 3 hour
process may well be worth pursuing. The
playful jumps and darting runs, the bold fake spitting when she was introduced
to her three-month-old pinto cria playmate a few days
later, even the quick kick when she was touched on her back legs were a delight
to see considering all she and we had been through!
Deirdre D. Tarr
Leave me a comment.