Farewell To A Special Boy

There is much sadness today on the farm as yesterday we had to say goodbye to one of our alpaca boys –Mags.  Mags started to be unwell on Monday, rallied a little on Tuesday but by Wednesday we knew he was really in trouble.  On Wednesday the vet decided to keep Mags at the clinic administering fluids and pain killers to him while he tried to figure out what was wrong.  By Thursday it was apparent that Mags was suffering greatly and that the treatment the vet was trying was not working,  so with heavy hearts we told the vet to euthanize Mags.  Such hard words to say and for us to accept but so necessary to relieve Mags pain.

Mags life had been a challenge from the day he was born, a large cria he got stuck during the birthing process and the owners of his dam had to get a vet to deliver Mags by C-Section.  Despite his difficult birth Mags came out strong and fighting, sadly though his dam Maggie had sustained damage during the birthing process and died the next day.  Mags owners raised Mags on the bottle and loved him dearly but as time went on it became apparent that Mags was starting to develop behavioral issues, something that can happen with bottle fed alpacas, particularly males.  Mags owners did their best to establish correct boundaries with Mags from day one, but his personality was such that he persisted in bonding more strongly with them than other alpacas.  At that point is when Mags made his first visit to our farm.  He arrived here with another bottle cria Song, who had lost her dam at a slightly later stage than Mags and who would not nurse from a bottle.  We agreed to work with both Mags and Song, trying to instill appropriate behavior in Mags and working with Song to get her to nurse.  Song by this time had decided that Mags was her new mother and milk source and would try to nurse off him, much to Mags surprise!  By holding a bottle underneath Mags we were soon able to get Song to nurse from the bottle,  Mags played an important part in Song’s survival.

In time Mags behavior did improve and he was able to return to his owners, while Song went on to her new home.  But Mags was always an alpaca who had to be handled carefully and with awareness.

Mags owners later decided to leave the alpaca business; as part of our agreement in working with Mags we had become his co-owners and so Mags returned to our farm.  The change of location threw Mags world in a spin for a while and once again we had to work to establish boundaries and encourage good behavior over bad.  By this time Mags was maturing and testosterone was being added into the mix, but our male herd helped us keep Mags in check, educating him in the hierarchy of a male alpaca herd.  Once again he settled down and even started to bond with a couple of the boys, in particular our black herd sire Champ.

Today Champ is wondering where his buddy went.  Champ is a very intelligent alpaca, described by the transporter who delivered him here as one of the smartest alpacas he has met.  I think Mags was on a similar level to Champ and that is why the two boys bonded.

Throughout his life Mags wanted attention and affection, but he sought in from humans instead of other alpacas and not always in the best way.  We certainly did not want to wrestle with him, but in alpaca boys that is often how they play.  We would have loved to give him the attention he sought, but knew that to do so would only encourage his inappropriate behavior and so we were very much hands off with Mags.

In the last few days of his life, as we cared for Mags we were finally able to hug him and give him the attention he had so longingly sought for all of his life.  His eye contact with us was direct, in times of pain he gained some relief and comfort from our touch and our voices, he put his trust in us completely and was so incredibly strong through some difficult days.

It is always hard to decide to let one of the alpacas go, but in Mags case it was even harder, he was fighting so very hard for his life and we wanted to give him every possible chance, but when suffering is great and there is no chance for recovery all we can do is provide merciful relief.   Mags lived up to his registered name until his final moment – Lionheart.

Sometimes  in life we experience meaningful connections, things happen that seem to be guided by a gentle spirit, not seen but often felt.  As I wrote to a dear alpaca breeder friend last night to inform her of Mags passing, Ric had the television on in the other room, through my tears I could hear the words of a song from the The Secret Sisters.  I have never heard of The Secret Sisters before and while I love music I am not familiar with their work.  The song is from the sound track of the movie The Hunger Games, a movie that has not interested me at all and which I would probably not have planned on seeing.  I had not been paying attention to the noise of the TV, but The Secrets Sisters song reached me clearly and perhaps with a purpose.  The song is titled “Tomorrow Will Be Kinder”, the words could not have been more fitting for the emotions we are feeling.

“Black clouds are behind me, I now can see ahead

Often I wonder why I try, hoping for an end,

Sorrow weighs my shoulders down and trouble haunts my mind

But I know the present will not last and tomorrow will be kinder

Tomorrow will be kinder, it’s true I’ve seen it before

A brighter day is coming my way, yes tomorrow will be kinder

Today I have cried a many tear and pain is in my heart

Around me lies a somber scene I don’t know where to start

But I feel warmth on my skin, the stars are all aligned

The wind has blown but now I know

That tomorrow will be kinder

Tomorrow will be kinder, it’s true I’ve seen it before

A brighter day is coming my way, yes tomorrow will be kinder”

The alpaca business is often joyous, but any time you are raising lifestock there will come a time when you have to say goodbye to those in your care.  It is never easy and though we have been raising alpacas for 12 years and have said had to say goodbye to our dear alpacas before it doesn’t get any easier.

The picture at the top of this post is of Mags when he was young during his first stay at our farm, and that is how I will choose to remember him, full of life, curiosity and wanting so much to be loved.  Dear Mags you were a special boy, we really miss you.   I still feel your presence, can still feel your warmth, wherever your spirit soars I am hoping that for you too today and tomorrow will be kinder.

Fetching the Feed

Monday I had to make a flying visit to Albuquerque to pick up a load of feed.  It’s about a four hour drive from our house to the feed mill, a drive that might seem excessive to some, but when it comes to getting good quality, fresh feed the drive is worth making.

Our feed is milled by Onate Mills using a pre-mix supplied to them by Dr. Norm Evans.  Dr. Evans is one of the top authorities on alpaca nutrition in the United States and has formulated feed to suit the different nutritional needs of alpacas in different states.  While some might think that one generic feed would be sufficient for all the alpacas in the US that is not the case.  Differing mineral soil content, varying amounts of sunlight, weather conditions and differing water qualities are just a few of the factors that can cause different nutritional requirements in alpacas across the US.

We could purchase the feed under a different brand name from a closer store, but that brand sells the feed in 40 lb bags instead of the 50 lb. bags we get from Onate and the price on the other brand is quite a bit higher.  When you are feeding 60 plus alpacas every day a difference of 10 lb. per bag and a couple of dollars per bag soon adds up.  So when all the factors are taken into consideration it is worth our time to drive to the mill in Albuquerque to pick up feed.  We also know that the feed is fresh as the mill manager can tell us when the feed was milled.  This last load was actually milled on Saturday – pretty fresh feed!

Fortunately my drive was uneventful, with some good CD’s to listen to and some snacks for the trip I was able to sit back and enjoy the New Mexico scenery.  Ric was able to take care of chores for the day and so I was able to get a reasonably early start and was back home before dark – perfect.

With alpacas being a fiber producing animal to us it is of the utmost importance that their nutrition is the best that we can give them.  Over the years we have seen how much difference good nutrition makes not only to the alpacas fleeces but also to their overall health – we are what we eat and that phrase most definitely applies to alpacas too.

Rosemary

More Arrivals – Ladies First!

Tuesday saw more arrivals at the farm as the new alpacas we had purchased were delivered to our farm.  We had purchased Ana Lynette from Theresa Reyes Tassel of Hagen Heights Alpaca Farm back in the summer.  We left Ana Lynette at the farm where she was boarded until she had her cria – a pretty fawn male who we are calling Roadrunner for now.  Not long after we purchased Ana Lynette we purchased our new black junior herdsire Alpaca Knights Challenger’s Champ from Carol Knights of Alpaca Knights.

Having purchased our new alpacas we then had to figure out how to get Ana Lynette and Roadrunner from New York to Clovis and Champ from Kentucky to Clovis.  While we could have driven to pick them all up that would have been quite the road trip and so we started contacting a few trusted alpaca transporters to see who was available to transport them for us.

It is important to us to use a transporter who is careful in their care of the alpacas onboard their trailer, has a trailer that is well constructed and equipped for transporting alpacas and who practices good biosecurity.   Alpacas being transported are under a little stress, they have been removed from the farm which they know as home and don’t know why they are in the trailer or where they are going.  The additional stress could make them more susceptible to illness and so you want their journey to be as comfortable and safe as possible.

Not too long after we put out the word that we were looking for transport for our new alpacas we heard from Dick Hegeman of Alpacas in the Forest.   Dick was making a transport run that could accommodate our alpacas. Having used “Captain Dick’s” transportation services in the past and knowing what an excellent transporter he is we made arrangements for him to bring our alpacas to us.

Originally we thought the alpacas would be with us the day after Thanksgiving, but Captain Dick’s trip went well and on Monday we learned that our new alpacas would be arriving on Tuesday evening.   One thing always to bear in mind when working with an alpaca transporter is to be flexible about the arrival date of your alpacas.  Typically the transporter is making many stops to collect and deliver alpacas and things can and do happen that can cause a change in the timing of the trip.

At 10:15 p.m. on Tuesday evening Captain Dick and the alpacas arrived.  Dick made sure we got everyone settled in their pastures, including carrying Roadrunner to our female quarantine pen which gave Dick his workout for the day as Roadrunner is already over 30 lbs!, before heading off to his next stop.

So here they are our new arrivals – the beautiful, soft and dense Ana Lynette

Ana Lynette on her first day with her cria Roadrunner and Primera in the background

 

Her charming cria Roadrunner (who has that lovely soft buttery feel to his fleece and who greeted me with a kiss on the nose)

 

Roadrunner Standing Proud

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

And our handsome black junior herdsire Champ (who has a fleece you just want to sink your hands into – and he’s very sweet too!).

 

Champ

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

It’s great to have our new acquisitions on our farm at last and we look forward to getting to know them better over the next few weeks.

 

Rosemary

Guess the Weight of the Cria

 

McKinley - He's heavier than he looks

 

 

If we had been playing that game at the weekend we would have lost!  As part of our routine we had scheduled to weigh Whisper and McKinley.  Whisper was born August 31 with a birth weight of 14.7 lbs, while McKinley was born September 5 with a birth weight of 19.1 lbs.

McKinley is quite a tall cria and Whisper is just the opposite small and compact.  They were the last of the summer crias to be born and are very close in age.  With the exception of Theresa’s cria, the latest cria to be born on our farm, McKinley and Whisper are the two smallest crias of our summer cria crop.

When Ric picked up McKinley it was obvious from Ric’s face that McKinley was a little heavier than expected.  Ric valiantly carried him to the scales and back, but by the time he got to the pasture gate he was calling out “help me” for McKinley indeed was no light weight having weighed in at 54.5 lbs.

Next to go to the scales was Whisper – surely she weighed a lot less.  Were we in for a surprise!  Again as Ric picked up Whisper his face showed the strain (is Ric really getting out of shape I began to wonder, no more Open Farm Day cookies for him!), but Ric had good cause to be taken aback by Whisper’s weight for she weighed in at 58.7 lbs!  She weighed even more than McKinley!

 

Little Whisper - only she is not that little anymore!

 

 

 

We have been raising alpacas now for over 10 years and so usually are pretty in tune with how much a cria weighs based on its size, but these two really have surprised us for they do not look that big.  Both McKinley and Whisper have dense fleeces though and I suspect that some of that weight is fleece weight.    Whatever the reason for McKinley and Whisper’s weights, I think it is safe to say that they are both healthy, hearty crias and that their dams Bjorn and Willow are doing a great job in the milk department!  Keep up the good work girls (and stay away from those cookies Ric!)

 

Rosemary

Remember When …

 

It only took us 30 minutes to do toenail trimming for the whole herd. That was several years back when the herd was really small! These days it takes us a lot longer.

 

It would be nice to be able to do maintenance tasks for the whole herd in one day, but with over 60 alpacas on the farm and just Ric and me to do the work that is not a realistic expectation. So instead we break the tasks down to groups of alpacas. One day we will do the junior males, the next day the senior males, the following day the female herd and then the next day the quarantine pen. It makes the work load a little easier and by doing tasks by groups then it makes the record keeping a little easier too.

 

The female herd is by far the largest group and Saturday morning found us giving all the girls and crias a pedicure and manicure (toe nail trimming), treating their ears for ear ticks and weighing all of the spring crias. We didn’t do badly, and were completed with chores and our maintenance tasks by noon. Considering the temperature was headed to the 100′s as we worked we don’t think we did too badly.

 

Thankfully all of the spring crias have now reached the 40 lb. mark and so instead of the weekly weighing that has been happening since they reached 30 lb. they can now go onto the monthly weigh schedule – and at 40 lbs each its time to start some halter training as we don’t want to be carrying them over to the scales any more!

 

The next couple of days will see us taking care of the maintenance tasks for the rest of the herd. It’s not difficult work, it just takes a little time, but it is work that needs to be done and also it gives us a chance to get our hands on each alpaca to make sure everyone is hale and hearty.

 

Following our morning working in the heat it was time to retreat to the cool of the house and enjoy a nice cold drink, write up the herd notes and take care of a few things inside the house before starting afternoon chores. Not a bad way to spend a day really!

 

Rosemary

The Heat Is Back

A Very Pregnant Willow Keeps Cool

 

After being thoroughly spoilt with some cooler temperatures and rain we are now back to experiencing triple digit heat.

 

Having been shorn in the late spring our alpacas are at least experiencing the heat minus their fleeces, but they still seek out the shade and enjoy the cool breezes created by the fans in the shelters. The crias seem to feel the heat the least and still find the energy to have a chase around the pasture now and again. Black Prince though has been well taught by his dam Chai and was found in the prime position in front of the fan yesterday afternoon. I can guarantee that if there is rain, snow or extreme heat Chai will be one of the first alpacas to take up residence in the shelter and she teaches her crias to always secure their place in the shelter at the earliest chance.

 

Our newly arrived visiting alpacas Mira Bella, Lady Belle and Jillie Belle are probably relishing the fact that our heat does not come along with the humidity that is present at their home farm in Louisiana. Still though they have taken to sitting in front of the fan in the shelter. With only the three of them in the quarantine pasture it is easy for them to spend the whole day in their shelter nibbling on the hay, sipping cool water and enjoying the shade and breeze. At times it would be easy to think that the quarantine pen has been abandoned, but by the evening the three girls come out at the first rattle of the feed bowls. Little Jillie Belle also tries to join in with the cria games that she sees taking part in the main pasture, a few more weeks and we can let her in with the main herd and give her the chance to run and play with the other crias.

 

It seems like the spring breedings have only just finished, yet already we are starting to keep a close watch on the two girls who are due to have late summer/early fall crias. Willow is due to have her cria by Travesura’s Altiplano Treasure at the end of August, her cria “bump” is quite large (and perhaps a little exaggerated by her compact body style) and she waddles around the pasture these days. Bjorn is due to have her cria by Enchantment’s Prince Regent at the beginning of September, her cria “bump” has been large and very active for several months now and Bjorn’s appetite is telling us that she once again is carrying a large cria. Bjorn’s crias are usually over 20 lbs. when they are born and toward the end of her pregnancy Bjorn always seems to be hungry as she feeds her unborn cria and herself.

 

Let’s hope that by the time Willow and Bjorn give birth the temperatures will be on their way down again without having plummeted to the range of “cold”. You would think that would be unlikely but remember we are in New Mexico where as far as the weather is concerned anything could happen!

 

Rosemary

Taking Care of the Herd Elders

 

 

Primera - our oldest girl

As an alpaca herd grows it is inevitable that you will have older alpacas within the herd. Alpacas can live for a long time with some being reported to live into their twenties and even still being able to breed at that age. Personally I have found that there seems to be a drop off point around the seven year mark, I am not sure why that is but it seems that if alpacas make it past seven years of age they go on to live a long and happy life.

 

As in humans the elderly alpaca can be as vulnerable as the newborn or very young alpaca, so as your alpacas age it is good to pay special attention to them. With alpacas being stoic an elderly alpaca might be quite ill before he or she shows symptoms.

 

At 14 years old Primera is the oldest alpaca in our herd. Primera came to us when she was about 5 years old, she had been donated to our vet for research as she had never had a cria survive. Primera would get pregnant easily and carry the cria to term but once her crias were born they would start to decline and eventually die. When Primera arrived at our farm she had a female cria “Aniera” at her side. Aniera was struggling, she had very little muscle but lots of fiber and long toe nails. Despite our vet having transfused Aniera and giving her supplemental milk she had become hyper thyroid. Aniera was born during the foaling season and our vet was busier than ever, so he asked us to take in Primera and Aniera and care for them. Sadly when she was three months old Aniera died.

 

Our vet decided to breed Primera again, but this time brought her to us to give birth so that we could care for her and her cria. When the cria was born (this time a little boy “Geraint”) we intervened from day one. Geraint was transfused, put on a bottle, transfused again and had blood-work done on a regular basis. Geraint also started to become hyper thyroid, but this time we caught it really early and put him on thyroid medication. Geraint survived and is now four years old.

 

Our vet feels that perhaps Primera has something in her milk that kills her crias, or has some genetic trait that she passes on to her crias that affects the way they process milk, preventing them from building muscle. Like Aniera, Geraint was very thin as a cria and yet produced a very long staple of fleece and toe nails that grow like weeds, so we do wonder if there is something strange about how Primera’s crias utilize protein.

 

Primera has not been bred since Geraint and has established a role here as a great companion alpaca for visiting alpacas that are in quarantine on their arrival here. Of course Primera still produces fleece, it has very little crimp style, but it is quite fine and consistent and she produces a good amount of it so she is still contributing to the income of the farm.

 

Primera is very much a hands off alpaca. She does not enjoy human contact, cushes when we try to trim her toe nails and becomes very vocal when we try to handle her. Primera is definitely an alpha female and the other alpacas all respect her position in the herd.

 

So when I was doing evening chores three nights ago and I noticed Primera cushed in the pasture and not eating I knew something was not right. When Primera let me sit beside her and stroke her I was convinced that all was not well with our girl.

 

Primera seemed to be in some pain, not bad pain but she did appear to be almost wincing. I offered her hay and she nibbled a little bit but really was not too interested. Her temperature was fine, she was breathing normally and there were no real indications of what could be wrong. I tempted Primera with some alfalfa and she ate it readily showing that she still had some appetite. I gave Primera some MSE drench (a great pro-biotic and enzyme drench) and also offered her some warm, soaked beet shreds as she seemed a little shivery. The drench she was not impressed with, the shreds she ignored.

 

We had received a lot of rain that morning and our temperature had cooled off a lot, I started to wonder if perhaps the change in pressure was bothering Primera. I had noticed during the winter months she seemed to sit around more on the days that the weather changed and had wondered then if perhaps she was starting with arthritis.

 

I kept an eye on Primera until very late at night, she was reasonably comfortable when I left her but allowed me to stroke her neck and even give her a kiss on the nose as I wished her goodnight. I do believe that alpacas understand when we show them that we care for them and that can sometimes be a good motivator for them to hang in there and battle whatever is bothering them. Primera rested her chin on my hand and seemed to relax a little as I scratched her under the chin.

 

By the morning, Primera was up and about, nibbling at hay and drinking water, but she had now developed watery diarrhea. We stated Primera on some antibiotics, gave her some more MSE drench and also some Biosponge to help firm up the diarrhea. Over the past few days Primera has definitely improved, she is still not back to normal, but each day she is a little livelier, each day her appetite is a little stronger.

 

As I have treated Primera I have discovered that this hands off alpaca actually enjoys a little massage. Every time I give her medicine I follow it up with a massage down her neck and along her spine. Primera doesn’t move away but stands still and enjoys the massage, particularly in the area above her kidneys. Imagine how achy we feel when we have a stomach bug and how some warm soothing touch can feel good and lift the spirits. I think that is why Primera is so willing to stand for her massage every day.

 

I am sure in time that Primera will really start to feel better and at that point will go back to being her grumpy, growly self, but that’s okay as it will be a sign that she is better. In the meantime we will continue with the medicine and the TLC and enjoy our time with our eldest girl.

 

Rosemary

Keeping The Bugs At Bay

Natures Defender Alpacas and Llamas Insect Spray

With our recent rains and warm weather the fly population is rapidly increasing. As we live in an area that is highly populated with dairy cows flies are a part of life. The dairies do their best to keep the fly population under control, many of them use fly predators and some spray for flies but the flies still manage to repopulate. The other insect of concern is the mosquito who is no doubt laying eggs like crazy in any water that has collected as a result of the rain.

We use food grade diatomaceous earth as a top dressing for our feed (it is most important it is food grade and not pool grade) and that helps not only with the flies but also with other internal parasites. For our stock tanks we use something called mosquito dunks which effectively kill mosquito larvae while leaving the water in the stock tank safe for our horses to consume.

With alpacas being fleece animals there is always the risk of lice getting your herd. We have unfortunately experienced lice in the herd in the past when some alpacas brought to us for shearing managed to pass them on to our herd. That was in the pre-quarantine days when alpaca owners would casually allow visiting alpacas to intermingle with their own herd. Now we know better and visiting alpacas are quarantined for three weeks prior to joining our herd and we are careful to clean our shearing mats and equipment after shearing visiting alpacas or llamas.

We are always on the lookout for new products that are helpful in keeping the bugs at bay and recently came across one that really has impressed us. “Natures Defender Alpacas and Llamas Insect Spray” is an all natural topical insect spray. Made from Cedar oil and Silane Fluid this spray is USDA approved and safe to use on most animals (it is not suitable for exotic birds). To us one of the best features of this product is that you can safely use it on pregnant alpacas and llamas.

Our past experience with lice in the herd has shown us how difficult it is to eradicate lice when you have pregnant females. Most lice treatments are not safe for pregnant and nursing alpacas which means that your pregnant and nursing alpacas cannot be treated for many months, preventing you from being able to treat the herd 100%.

The Nature’s Defender spray though allows us to spray pregnant and nursing alpacas if needed and as it is safe to use on crias we have been able to provide some fly relief for our crias whose beautiful young eyes often attract flies.

In addition to killing flies and lice the spray also kills ticks, mites, bacteria and fungal infections. You can also use it around the house to repel and kill insects. Actually we are finding more uses for this product every day – we have sprayed the alpacas, sprayed the dogs (including our puppy Blue), we have even sprayed Ric (well we sprayed his t-shirt before he did chores and the flies left him alone). We have also used the Nature’s Defender product on our alpaca products to keep moths away including lightly misting our fleeces that have not yet been shipped for processing. We didn’t experience any staining on our products as a result of using the spray and everything has a nice cedar scent to it.

You can read more about Nature’s Defender Alpacas and Llamas Insect spray at http://www.alpacasllama-insectspray.com/ and if you check out the distributors page you will see we are listed as distributors. We like this product so much we decided that we wanted to be able to supply it to our clients and friends.

** (August 28, 2009) You can now purchase the Nature’s Defender Alpacas and Llamas Insect spray through our AlpacaNation Farm Store at

http://www.alpacanation.com/alpaca-stores/03_viewstore.asp?name=11586

If you are looking to keep the bugs at bay try Nature’s Defender Alpacas and Llamas spray, I’m betting you will like it and will soon be using it for many things as we do!

Rosemary

Did She or Didn’t She?

I realize that I did not follow up on my post Back to the Waiting Game   where I thought our TeQueely was in the early stages of labor.

Well …… still no cria!  We were convinced that we would have a cria last Saturday following TeQueely’s uncomfortable behavior, but no cria arrived and TeQueely has been happily eating and chewing her cud since.  We can see TeQueely’s cria move and TeQueely is huge but there are now no signs of impending labor.

So I guess TeQueely’s cria was just doing some serious rearranging the other day, or for some reason changed its mind about coming out into the world.  We have had some stormy weather in the area with areas of high and low pressure appearing quite rapidly, sometimes those pressure changes will trigger labor, but not in the case of TeQueely’s cria.  That little one has decided that it is quite happy sheltered from the weather while lounging in TeQueely!

Last year TeQueely was a couple of weeks overdue in delivering her cria and that may be the case again this year.  With our temperatures really starting to heat up and highs expected in the 100’s for the rest of the week I am hoping that TeQueely does not go too long past her due date.

Still there is nothing we can do but sit and wait for an uneventful labor that results in a beautiful healthy cria.  I’ll keep you posted!

Rosemary

Meconium Matters

 

Meconium or rather the passing of meconium from a cria really does matter, a point that was reinforced at the farm recently.

Following the birth of Shiimsa’s cria Rio all seemed well.  We found a good sized meconium plug in the pasture the following day, Rio was lively and alert and gaining about a pound a day.

The following day though Rio had a large weight gain, Shiimsa was producing lots of milk so the large weight gain was not too out of keeping with our expectations.  Rio was still looking good, running around the pasture with the other crias despite the high temperatures.  I kept and eye on the crias throughout the day for signs of overheating and was pleased to see them taking frequent breaks in the shade, napping and nursing from their dams.

At evening chores though it was apparent something was not right with Rio.  He was squatting funnily with his rear end.  I watched him, he did not appear to be straining to poop, but Rio was obviously uncomfortable.  In addition to the squatting, Rio would also hang his head down and then eventually cush – he was not a happy cria.

Having seen the meconium plug in the pasture we were dubious that a blockage from meconium was the problem, but whatever the problem was it was bothering Rio’s hindquarters.

We took Rio’s temperature and it was slightly elevated, but in a young cria even a slight elevation can be a red flag. 

Of course Rio’s problem appeared outside of the hours of the veterinary clinic, while his condition did not appear life threatening it was concerning.

Our first suspicion was that Rio perhaps despite us having found a meconium plug in the pasture Rio had retained a piece of meconium.  This would prevent him from being able to poop properly and could cause him discomfort, it might also explain the larger than normal weight gain.  We gave a shot of banamine to help keep his temperature down and to help him relax, we then gave him an enema to see if he would pass anything.  The banamine seemed to provide Rio with some relief and a little while after the enema was administered he stood up and started to strain.  First Rio passed a black thin sticky stream that did look like meconium, and then he passed a much harder lump.  This harder lump was about the size of a large peanut, but it was definitely hard and large enough to have caused a blockage.  Once that hard lump had passed Rio continued to pass what appeared to be normal fecal matter.

It took a couple of hours before Rio was looking truly at ease again, but by the morning he was back to his usual self, chasing around the pasture and nursing up a storm.

Our thoughts are that a small piece of Rio’s meconium did not pass when he passed his meconium plug.  That small piece was enough to prevent Rio from being able to pass poop and as he ran around in the heat he became a little dehydrated making that piece of meconium hard and not easy to pass. 

It is always important to monitor young crias to make sure that they pass the meconium plug; sometimes it is hard to find the plug in the pasture especially if you have long grass.  Often once the cria has passed the plug you will see some evidence of fecal matter on the crias rear, but not always.  A crias behavior can let you know a lot about how he or she is feeling which is why it is important to get to know your crias.  If a lively happy cria starts to become lethargic or uncomfortable that cria is trying to tell you that all is not well. 

We were fortunate that Rio’s problem was easily fixed, if he had not shown improvement as quickly as he did we would have called out the vet, even after hours.  Crias can deteriorate quickly when they are not well and often time is of the essence when it comes to treating sick crias.  In Rio’s case meconium certainly mattered – even if it was just a little piece causing the problem.

 Rosemary