Protecting our investment

On Sunday, we gave Ivermectin shots to all of our female llamas and alpacas as well as a couple of boys who are inside the barn. This coming weekend, we'll finish up this round of shots with our group of older boys. We do this regularly to protect our herd from meningeal worm (sometimes called "brain worm").

Meningeal worm is a parasite that is carried by white tail deer and passed in their feces. It can be spread to alpacas and other animals by slugs that feed on the deer feces. An alpaca, llama or other animal that is grazing in the pasture may injest one of these infected slugs while eating grass. Once the parasite is inside the body, it can make its way to the brain stem and cause neurological damage to the animal. Signs to watch for are instability or wobbliness in the animal's back legs and difficulty standing up or laying down. If it isn't treated quickly, the animal will die. On the bright side, animals who are diagnosed and treated quickly can survive and be productive members of your herd. Preventive care is the best way to ensure that none of your animals will become infected.

Ivermectin is effective for about 30 to 45 days. We could also use Dectomax instead of the Ivermectin. The Dectomax is effective for 45 to 60 days. Both are given "Sub Q" which means we inject the needle just below the skin rather than into a muscle.

The main reason we use Ivermectin instead of Dectomax is that it is readily available at our local Tractor Supply Store and is usually more cost effective. However, it's easy to order Dectomax online and it's more convenient since we don't have to use it as often as the Ivermectin.

It's important to know the weight of each of your alpacas and llamas in order to give the proper dosage of any medications. We have a livestock scale in our barn and it is one of the most important tools we own as far as our animals are concerned. Be sure to consult your veterinarian for more information or for any questions regarding dosages for your animals. Also, an excellent resource that we refer to a lot is the Alpaca Field Manual from C. Norman Evans, DVM. This book has great photos and information that has been very helpful to us.

The internet has a wealth of information to help you properly care for your animals whether you are a new or experienced alpaca owner. Be sure to research all that is available to you to ensure that your animals stay healthy and productive!

Happy St. Patrick's Day!

This time of year always makes me happy and gets me out of that "winter funk"! The snow is melting and the temperature is in the 40's and 50's.... Yay! Spring is springing!

Now is also the time of year to make sure your alpacas are wormed if you gave it a rest during the coldest winter months. We've already started vaccinating with Dectomax over the weekend and have to finish up. We like to use Dectomax on our pregnant girls because there has been some thought over the years about the safety of using Ivermectin on pregnant females. I can tell you, however, that we have used Ivermectin on our pregnant females and thankfully never had problems. But when in doubt, use the Dectomax...it's more expensive though.

Safeguard is another wormer that will keep your alpacas (and llamas) safe from parasites. We used to buy the paste and squirt it in their mouths. It's thick so they try to spit it out and that gets very messy! We discovered over the winter the beauty of liquid Safeguard. They accept it much more easily so we know they are getting the proper dosage. I'll give you more info about that in an upcoming post...

I'm looking forward to corned beef and cabbage for dinner today --

Happy St. Patty's Day to all!