Time to Vaccinate?

 

This last week we have been preparing some of our alpacas for the trip to their new owner in Texas.  Brucellosis and TB Testing is required by the State of Texas on any alpacas over 18 months entering the state, then a permit number is required to be entered on the health certificate before the alpacas can travel.  That takes care of the mandatory requirements but then we also like to make sure we send our alpacas off to their new owners in good condition and up to date on their health care.  Toenails are trimmed and teeth are checked and trimmed if necessary.

 

We also check the alpaca’s vaccine schedule and if necessary bring their vaccinations up to date.   A question we are often asked by prospective and new breeders is when to vaccinate their alpacas and what to vaccinate them for.  That seems like a simple question, but it is one where the answer varies, for vaccination needs vary from farm to farm.  In a way the answer to the vaccination question is a simple one – ask your vet.  Your local vet will know the risks for your area and will also be up to date on new vaccination protocols.

 

When we first started raising alpacas we vaccinated the crias with Covexin 8 and also an oral E-Coli vaccine, we then vaccinated all of the adults every year with Covexin 8.  As time has gone on we have adjusted that schedule on the advice of our veterinarian.  In recent years veterinary medicine has started to sway more to not vaccinating as frequently.  Many people are already aware that where their dog and cat used to have annual vaccinations now they often are only vaccinated every 2 –3 years.  In some areas of the country the same thought process can be applied to alpacas, but only under guidance of a veterinarian.   The last thing you want to do is put your alpacas at an unnecessary risk by not vaccinating.

 

For us the vaccination routine is quite simple, the crias are still given their initial vaccinations, but where as we used to vaccinate them at a few weeks of age, we now vaccinate them around weaning age unless they have a low IgG rate following birth.   The reason for our switch is that our vet feels that if good passive transfer has occurred from dam to cria via colostrum then the need for vaccination prior to weaning age is small.  As the cria gets to weaning age it starts to rely more on it’s own antibody production and so at that time vaccination is more effective.  If we did not run IgG tests on our crias or if we had experienced problems with particular illnesses on our farm the vaccination protocol for crias would be different.

 

Our pregnant dams are all given an annual booster of their vaccinations in the time between them giving birth and being bred back again.  We used to vaccinate the pregnant dams about six weeks prior to giving birth.  We never experienced a problem with that protocol, but heard of other breeders who had dams abort pregnancies following vaccination due to the stress of receiving the vaccination.  When we first made the switch in the timing of vaccinating our pregnant dams we were concerned we would not get high IgG results in our crias, but having spoken to other breeders who had made the switch to vaccinating after birth and before the next breeding we were reassured that our IgG levels in our crias would not be effected.  To date if anything the IgG levels have been higher, this may be due to other factors as well as vaccination, but certainly the switch to vaccinating at an easier time for the dam has not had a detrimental effect.  To me anything you do to reduce stress to a heavily pregnant dam is beneficial.

 

Our adult boys now only receive boosters every three years.  The majority of the boys never leave the farm and those that do are put in quarantine before being allowed to rejoin the herd.  With veterinary science indicating that less frequent vaccination is often sufficient and our low exposure risk we are happy with our three year vaccination cycle for the boys.

 

As time goes on it may well be that we change our vaccination schedule again depending on risks in our area and other developments in veterinary science, but whatever changes we consider regarding our vaccination schedule one thing is for certain, they will only be done on the advice of our vet.

 

Rosemary

There’s Nothing Quite Like Good Manners

Mile High Peruvian Merry Me

 

At feeding time alpacas are usually not shy in coming forward, they love their feed and as you walk into the pen you are met with the jostling of the herd as they vie for the position closest to the feed bowls.  In the girls pen our Anya is always first in the queue, with Theresa not far behind.  Rosie, Shiimsa, Velvet and Willow are normally in the next “row” in the hope that they too can get their noses in the feed bowls before anyone else does.  With the junior boys I know that Zeus and Blast will make a mad dash for the boxcar as they know that they get fed in there first, while in the adult boys pen Braveheart will always be first in line, reaching over your shoulder to get the first munch on the pellets.

 

Feeding time is definitely a time of bustling alpaca energy, so when we run into the occasional polite alpaca it almost takes us by surprise.

 

Mile High Peruvian Merry Me belongs to our alpaca neighbors Bob and Regina Dart.  Merry Me is staying at our farm along with several other of the Dart’s breeding females who came here to deliver their cria.

 

Merry Me is a well built girl and would have no problem physically shoving another alpaca out of the way should she choose to do so, but that’s the thing with Merry Me, she never would do such a thing.

 

I think Merry Me is the most polite alpaca I have ever met.  Every morning when we feed she waits until her seven pen mates have entered their feeding pen before she even thinks about entering the pen herself.  Once her feeding companions are in place, then and only then will she come forward.  If there is another alpaca standing between Merry Me and the pen entrance she will not push past them, she will either gently walk around them or wait for me to move them out of her way.  This girl really does have good manners!

 

It took us a little while to realize why Merry Me would not rush into the feeding pen as the other alpacas do.  It’s not that she is shy, it’s not that she is timid, she is just well mannered.   I’m not sure if Merry Me’s politeness is just her nature or whether her breeder taught her her manners, but what I am sure of is it is certainly nice to have such a polite alpaca on the farm.  Now if I can just get her to give some lessons in manners and etiquette to some of the others…

 

Rosemary

Longer Days, Warmer Temperatures…

 

And a herdsire’s thoughts turn to alpaca girls!  This last week we have really noticed the days are getting longer and we have also had some unseasonably warm weather even for the southwest.  Temperatures have been in the high seventies and on Monday reached 80 degrees – can it really only be February?

 

Our herdsire Zin has started to think that spring is in the air and has taken up position by the gate in his pasture.  He just knows that when he goes through that gate he usually goes for breeding, unless of course we are doing behavior tests when he is more likely to get a rejection from a pregnant female than a hot date, but he’s always willing to risk that chance.

 

While alpaca females are induced ovulators and can breed year round I do feel that spring is a natural time of rebirth in the plant and animal kingdom.  Maybe scents that indicate a female is receptive to breeding are stronger, maybe the warm air just makes those scents travel father but something in the air is definitely telling Zin he should be breeding.

 

Unfortunately for Zin he is going to have to wait a while yet.  If we bred our open females now they would be having cria at the end of January beginning of February 2010.   January in New Mexico is often colder and wintrier than December and is definitely not a time of the year when we want to be planning on delivering and caring for newborn cria.

 

The earliest we will resume breedings for our girls will be mid to late May with the aim of delivering our 2010 spring cria crop in late April.  Anytime before then our weather could take a turn for the worse, our average last freeze is April 15^th and we have seen some pretty chilly weather in past years in March and early April.

 

If we get some females from other farms sent to us for breeding then Zin may well get lucky before May, some of the alpaca breeders in more temperate areas of the south do breed for crias to be delivered in January – March.  If that doesn’t happen then Zin will just have to wait by the gate, happily day dreaming about that young female alpaca he just spotted in the girls pasture.  Happy dreams Zin!

Rosemary

Young Man, Just What Are You Doing?

Open Wide! Atlanticus rubs his dental pad on a fence panel

 

I have been watching young Atlanticus over the past week or so.  He caught my eye because he always seemed to be chewing on the fence panels, except when he was eating that is.

 

A closer look revealed he is not actually chewing the fence panel, but rather rubbing his dental pad on the metal of the panel.  If alpacas grew teeth on their top dental pad I would suspect he is teething, but alpacas do not grow teeth on their top dental pads.

 

Years ago when we first had alpacas someone told us alpacas that chew on fence panels have a mineral deficiency, but I have never found any information to back that up.  We monitor the alpacas diet very carefully so I would be dubious that Atlanticus is lacking in minerals.  So what is Atlanticus doing?

 

The only thing I can think is that Atlanticus is bored.  He does have six other crias to play with, but since his birth he has always been an independent cria and a bit of a loner.  He joins in with the other crias games occasionally but for the most part he likes to explore the pasture alone.  So maybe it is boredom that is leading him to rub his dental pad on the fence panels, or maybe to him it just feels good.

 

I have discovered that if I walk over and put some hay in front of him Atlanticus will stop rubbing his dental pad, this makes me think that if he was hanging out with the other crias spending more time at the hay feeders he would not have his fence panel fixation.

 

Health wise Atlanticus is doing well.  He is a sturdy, active cria with beautiful bundled, bright white fleece so I can’t think that it is a health issued causing his behavior.  He has a good body score and weight and eats well.

 

Perhaps I should find some pasture toys to entertain Atlanticus, I know they make pasture toys for horses so why not alpaca toys? 

 

Hopefully Atlanticus will grow out of his fence panel fixation over time.  He is a beautiful male alpaca and is destined to win ribbons at shows, in time he will probably be used for breeding, although I really hope by then he has stopped rubbing his dental pad on the fence panels, it might make breeding a little difficult and it surely won’t impress the ladies!

 

Rosemary

Alpaca Fiber – Today, Tomorrow and Beyond

That’s the theme for the Alpaca Fiber Symposium, which will be held April 3, 4 and 5 at Gaston College Textile Center in Belmont, North Carolina.

 

I love the theme for this Symposium as it expresses how far we have come with the focus on the fiber side of the alpaca industry.   When the alpaca industry was first established in the US the focus was definitely on breeding stock with little to no attention being given to the fiber side of the industry.  At that time alpaca breeders were interested in growing and improving the national herd.

 

Over the years we have witnessed the gradual change of focus within the alpaca industry.  The focus on improving and development of the national herd is still there, but now as the numbers of both alpaca breeders and alpacas in the US swells more attention has been given to the fiber side of the industry, and quite rightly so.

 

We are often asked by people researching the alpaca industry if it is going to follow the direction of the llama, emu and ostrich industries, all of which eventually collapsed causing the pricing of llama, emu and ostrich to bottom out.

 

My answer to that question is that the alpaca industry has studied what happened in the llama, emu and ostrich industries, learned from their mistakes and taken steps to ensure that the alpaca industry does not follow suit.  One of the biggest steps that has been taken is the development of the alpaca fiber industry. 

 

In any livestock business you have to have a purpose and an end product to market and sell.  While alpacas themselves could be considered an end product, the real end product of the alpaca industry lies in the beautiful fleece our alpacas produce year after year.

 

It’s not been an easy path, there have been mistakes along the way, no doubt there will be more mistakes in the future, but gradually the alpaca industry has put more attention on the fiber side of the business, developing product, improving processing techniques and educating consumers in the wonders of alpaca products and the availability of alpaca products made from North American alpaca fiber.

 

The Alpaca Fiber Symposium has a variety presenters including the Alpaca Owners and Breeders Association (AOBA), The Alpaca Fiber Cooperative of North American (AFCNA), The Alpaca Blanket Project, North American Alpaca Fiber Producers (NAAFP) and more.  Keynote speakers will be Dean Godfrey of North Carolina University’s College of Textiles and John Anderson, the Director of the Textile Center at Gaston College, Belmont, North Carolina.

 

To me this is an exciting time in the world of alpacas, there are many things going on behind the scenes to develop and promote North American alpaca fiber and the products that can be made from alpaca fiber.  Where once it was said that there was not enough alpaca fiber in the US to run commercial mills, we now have commercial mills producing runs of product made of alpaca fiber and that, to me, is a significant step for the alpaca fiber industry. 

 

Many of the people involved in this development have devoted numerous hours of their time to ensure the future success of the alpaca fiber industry, a subject that they are passionate about.  Several of those “alpaca fiber pioneers” will be at or represented at the Alpaca Fiber Symposium where they will get the chance to share news of their efforts with attendees.

 

The Alpaca Fiber Symposium promises to be an interesting event, not only for alpaca breeders new and old but also for those contemplating purchasing alpacas who want a more in depth explanation of the history of the development of the alpaca fiber industry and where the future lies for the alpaca fiber industry.

 

Rosemary

The Places Alpacas Take You

Manflas Grapes Logo

 

Have you ever noticed how when something or someone enters you life you suddenly start to notice things connected to that new interest appearing where you would not have noticed those things before.  Sometimes, if you are lucky that interest will take you on a little magical journey away from the routine chores of everyday life.

 

While preparing my lunch on Wednesday I looked down at the bag of grapes I had brought out of the refrigerator.  There on the bag was the company logo for the grape producer and the logo featured an alpaca!  This is the first time I had seen an alpaca logo on something that did not appear to be alpaca related.  I read the print on the bag, the company name appeared to be Manflas and the grapes were marked Produce of Chile.  Now things were starting to make sense, while many alpacas are found in Peru there is also a pretty good alpaca population in Chile.

 

Being curious about anything alpaca I decided to do a little research to see what I could find out about Manflas grapes and why they have an alpaca as part of their logo.  (I guess it could also be a llama, but the ears look more alpaca shaped to me).

 

It wasn’t hard to find the company who produced my grapes and I soon found myself on a little virtual trip to Chile courtesy of Agricola Manflas (also know as Manflas Ltd. Agricultural Company).

 

Agricola Manflas are located in the valley of Copiapo in the north of Chile.  According to the information on their website, the valley where they are located was named by the Incas “The Enchanted Valley” as a kind of homage to the majestic and colorful hills surrounding it.   Looking at the pictures of the area on the Manflas web site you can see why the Incas were so taken with the valley.  The mention of Incas on the website reinforces the alpaca connection as the Incas treasured alpacas.

 

Agricola Manflas have a beautiful website at www.manflas.cl with the whole site being available in both Spanish and English.  The website describes the history and goals of the company, the process of growing and harvesting the grapes, the type of grapes grown and the facilities available to their workforce.  Houses, a school that has an agricultural farm, a nursery, adult study programs and Internet access are some of the facilities available to the workers at Agricola Manflas.  There are even a couple of virtual tours of the Hacienda Manflas available to visitors to the web site.

 

If you have a few minutes to spare its worth paying a visit to the Agricola Manflas website.  Sadly I didn’t find a picture one of an alpaca or llama on the site and neither did I find any explanation of their logo.  The fact that there is mention of the Incas having been in that area leads me to believe that at some stage there probably were alpacas in there as the Incas treasured alpacas.  Most likely there were llamas in the area too.

 

I enjoyed my virtual trip to Chile, it was a nice little break from the dusty, windy day we were having – and I enjoyed the grapes too.   If I didn’t raise alpacas my curiosity would not have been aroused about the logo on my grape bag and the company that grew the grapes I was eating.  I would have never learnt about Agricola Manflas and the process those grapes went through to get from a valley in Chile to a grocery store in Clovis, New Mexico.  Sometimes alpacas take you places that you never expected to go – and talking of going places its time to go and get some more of those tasty grapes before Ric eats them all!

 

Rosemary

Still Bragging!

Blast's Fleece

 

Having unpacked the truck I have had a chance to examine the scorecard for Windrush White Blast’s fleece that won white color champion at the TxOLAN Alpaca Spectacular last weekend.

 

One of the reasons I like fleece shows so much is that no matter where you place you get your scorecard back with your fleece giving you some feedback on where you fleece scored high and where it scored low.  The scorecard is a good record that you can look at and keep with your alpaca files.  In halter classes if you place the judge will give oral reasons for your placing, but then you have to remember what the judge said, which when you are showing several alpacas over the course of the day can prove to be a bit of a challenge.  Oral reasons are not given to the alpacas that place outside of the top six.  We figure to have half a chance of remembering accurately what the judge said in a halter class you would have to have a) a good memory b) a tape or video recorder running during the show or c) use a tape recorder immediately after your class to record what the judges comments were about your alpaca, which could be difficult if you have back to back classes.

 

With AOBA fleece shows the scoring is done using an absolute point system.  You have the potential for scoring 100 points total and that 100 points is divided over several fleece traits.

 

Below is a copy of our scorecard for Blast’s fleece.  As you can see he scored high pretty much across the board, with his lowest score being in the area of fleece weight.  I had suspected that the score for the annualized weight of Blast’s fleece would be a little low because he has fine fleece and also he is not a very big alpaca.

 

 

 

Blast's Fleece Score Card

 

 

 

 

Blast’s total score was 84.5 – not too shabby!  I like the judge’s comments too “Overall wonderful traits!  Wow!  I might be biased but I have to agree with the judge on the Wow factor of Blast’s fleece.

 

Blast will turn two in June and his breeding career will hopefully begin by fall of 2009, so if you know of any single female alpacas looking for a hot date give us a call or drop us an email as we are sure Blast will be willing to oblige!

 

Rosemary

They’re Back!

Carissima's Fleece

 

Ric and the show alpacas finally made it home at 7:30 a.m. on Monday morning.  With packing up the show equipment and helping one exhibitor who got his RV stuck in one of the doors to the showground Ric’s trip home was delayed.  Driving a long distance at night is not fun, even more so when you are on your own and hauling a trailer load of alpacas and Ric ended up having to stop a couple of times for rest breaks. 

 

The alpacas had become quite comfortable in the trailer and were not really inclined to get out once they had come home.  A little bit of coaxing and the sight of their alpaca buddies soon got them jumping out of the trailer and they are now happily settled in the quarantine pen for the next three weeks.  So far we have not had any reports of illness in the alpacas visiting the show, so fingers crossed all that came home with the alpacas was their show ribbons and not some nasty bacteria or virus.

 

The show alpacas were ready to eat once settled in their pen, I am sure they are happy to be home away from the hustle and bustle of the showground.

 

From all reports young Mags behaved very well at the show, we had been unsure of how Mags would react to being around a lot of people, but he settled down well and seemed to enjoy watching all of the activity around him.  When it came time to show he behaved very well.   Perhaps being in shows is Mags forte and that extra activity and attention is what he needs to keep him occupied.

 

Now we have the task of unloading all of the show equipment, cleaning it up, restocking supplies and repacking everything ready for the next show.  Over the years we have learned that it really is best to take care of everything immediately after the show, that way there is one less thing to worry about during the hectic days that occur just prior to a show, when we often wonder if we will ever be ready to leave!

 

I finally found out that Carissima took second in her class in the fleece show, not a bad result at all as it was a large, competitive white class and the first place winner was our “Windrush White Blast” who went on to take White Color Champion.  We can’t complain at that result can we!

 

Our next show will most likely be the Great Western Alpaca Show that takes place in early May in Denver, until then our show string will be taking a well deserved break and we will return our attention to the daily care of the herd while making our plans for shearing, spring breedings and the arrival of the spring crias – which will be happening before we can blink I’m sure!

Rosemary

Didn’t They Do Well!

 

Courtesy of Regina Dart of Llano Soleado Alpacas I have the initial unconfirmed results of how our alpacas did at the show and they did well.

 

Windrush Zindel’s Kanika took 6^th in her class – the judge loved Kaneka but felt her staple length (length of her fleece from skin to tip) was shorter than the alpacas that placed above her.

 

Windrush Zindel’s Atlas – 1^st Place – poor Regina had to literally run to the class with Atlas due to her having alpacas in the class before.  Regina was the last person to enter the class.  When the judge looked at Atlas’s fleece he told Regina “your going to be happy you made it to the class” so we take it he liked what he saw, especially as he awarded Atlas first place.

 

Maggie’s Lionheart of LSA (known to us as Mags) – placed 6^th in his class.  The judge loved the structure and architecture of Mags fleece but discovered that Mags fleece is tender (breaks easily).  Still the judge liked Mags well enough to place him in the class.  Tender fleece can be caused by a nutritional deficiency or stress.  With Mags being an orphan cria he has had a fair amount of stress in his little life, but we will be tweaking up his nutrition too to make sure that his fleece becomes stronger.

 

Windrush Zindel’s Pride – it seems as if Pride did not place in his class.  We are not really sure why as he is a beautiful alpaca.  The alpacas in the ring with him on the day must have pleased the judge more than Pride did.  We’re not giving up on showing Pride based only on this one result, he is young and will no doubt change as he matures.  We are sure he will get his ribbons in time.

 

Windrush Ashling’s Dream – placed 3^rd in her class.  The two alpacas that placed above her showed more fleece density than Dream.  Dream’s fleece is pretty dense so the two alpacas placing above her must have really dense fleeces.

 

Windrush Zindel’s Zianna – placed 1^st in her class.  I don’t have any feedback on the judge’s comments but with Zianna’s bright, soft handling fleece I am not surprised that she did so well.

 

In the fleece classes we also did well.

 

Windrush Shiimsa  - 3^rd in her class

 

Windrush White Blast – 1^st in his class and also white Color Champion.  Well done Blast!  To get a color champion ribbon in a white class is a great achievement and for an up and coming junior herdsire it is a great acknowledgement of the quality of Blast’s fleece and his breeding potential.

 

Windrush Zindel’s Carissima – we’re still waiting to find out how Carissima did, hopefully she also placed in her class.

 

Regina and Bob Dart also did well with their alpacas – Nightingale took 4^th in her class, Swiss Miss took 1^st in her class, Dulcie took 1^st in her class (Dulcie is a particular favorite of mine as we bonded when I gave her an impromptu halter lesson when I visited Bob and Regina one day – well done Dulcie!), Athena took 6^th in her class and Charlie took 6^th in his class.

 

Song who was also an orphan cria and who was bottle fed at our farm at the same time as Mags took 5^th in her class and has now met her new owner Debbie Conkle of DJ’s Classic Alpacas.  Song will be staying in Texas after the show.

 

Our Stormy who we sold to Bob and Regina for their daughter Abby to work with also performed well at the show.  Both Abby and her brother Nathan used Stormy in their Performance and Obstacle classes, Public Relations Classes and Showmanship Classes.  Nathan and Stormy took 2^nd in their Performance and Obstacle class and 1^st in their Public Relations Class, while Abby and Stormy took 5^th in their Performance and Obstacle class and 2^nd in their Showmanship Class – congratulations Nathan, Abby and Stormy!

 

So all in all it was a good show for us.  Bob and Regina still have three alpacas to show in the white alpaca classes on Sunday and we will be keeping our fingers crossed that they win some good ribbons.    The white classes are the most competitive at any show.

 

A big Thank You has to go to Bob and Regina who took part in their own form of competition – the alpaca 300 yard dash as they worked hard to make sure that all of the alpacas from our two farms made it to their classes on time.  There is quite a distance from the alpaca pens to the show rings, with crowds and alpacas to negotiate along the way.  To keep up with all the classes and persuade some first time show alpacas to make the dash to the show ring with them was no mean feat – I think we need to award Bob and Regina the alpaca handler gold medal!

 

Rosemary

Today’s The Day

Dream's beautiful head

 

The show classes begin today at the TxOLAN Alpaca Spectacular.  Alpaca show classes run the darkest fleeced animals first gradually working toward the lightest fleeced animals.  With this in mind I fully expect Kaneka (black), Mags (dark brown), Athena (medium brown), Atlas (who color checked as light brown rather than dark fawn), Pride (who color checked dark fawn rather than medium fawn) and Dream (medium fawn) to show today.  Zianna who is light fawn may also show today but may show first thing on Sunday morning depending on the speed at which the classes progress.

 

Young Dream has been receiving lots of attention and admiring looks from other alpaca breeders at the show.  Dream has a stunning head and great coverage making her very striking.  Dream is still not too enthused by all of the attention but I suspect by the end of the show she will be getting used to it.  Mags too seems to be settling down to all the attention.  At home he actively seeks out attention, but as of yesterday evening he was starting to remain cushed when visitors came to our pens indicating that even he had more than enough human attention to satisfy his needs.

 

The fleece show started judging yesterday and hopefully will be completed by this afternoon.  Once the fleece show has been opened for viewing we will be able to fins out if the any of the fleeces we entered won a ribbon.

 

Back home things have been reasonably quiet.  The four girls in the weaning pen who did not go to the show were a little unsettled the first day after their pen mates left for the show, today they are settled and more interested in hay than anything else.   Once the show alpacas return home the four girls in the weaning pen will be rejoining the main female herd group and the show alpacas will be put into the weaning pen for a three week quarantine period.  By the time the show alpacas return home they will be more than ready to stretch their legs and take a good roll in the dirt and then happily relax in familiar surroundings – even for alpacas there is no place like home.

 

Rosemary