Figuring It Out

Beautiful Morning!

Since Sweet Caroline's demise I've been concentrating on raising the alpacas we have.  I've spent the last month getting to know these eight strange but wonderful creatures. They are graceful when they run and are beautiful to watch.  They are curious, never too bored or nonchalant to not check out a Linus cat silly enough to wonder into their pasture, bounding up to and after him with unbridled passion.  Good thing Linus can run fast!

Home, sweet alpaca home!

They issue an "alert" when they notice something out of the ordinary (like a Linus cat or a deer) sounding short high pitched squeals to put the rest of the herd on their toes.  They are enthusiastic about eating and the queen and king have first dibs, usually snatching bites out of each kibble bowl before allowing the rest of the herd to commence eating.  The queen of the girls would be Miss Felicity.  The king of the boys would be Rafael.  Some of the herd are non-stop "talkers".  Rafael is famous for humming, grunting, squealing or just making noise.  The guy never shuts up!  

Rafael -  Even though he never shuts up he is quite the handsome boy.

As they have gotten used to me I can now walk in between and around them without having them flinching and running off.  Twizzler and sometimes Daisy Mae will allow me the honor of touching them.  My hope is that they all will eventually allow me to touch and halter them without any drama.

I've bred three of the "girls", learning important lessons each time.  Like, always have a halter on the male and female.  Don't breed in the paddock with the other females.  If the other females are available they may lay down next to the one you're trying to breed making it hard for you to direct the male to the correct female.  Too many choices! 

Rafael and Miss Felicity having a moment.  Notice they both have halters on and they are separated from the rest of the girls in the small catch "pen" I constructed.

Especially don't breed in sight of the other "left out" males.  They get a tad competitive and start fighting amongst themselves.  Much spitting, squealing and general mayhem may ensue.

Whoever said alpacas don't spit was confused.  I've been spit at for putting a halter on an alpaca (Birdie) and asking said alpaca to walk with me.  I've been spit at for not allowing more than the chosen male to breed with the females (Comanche).  How dare I be so exclusionary!  I've been in the cross fire between alpacas "expressing" their displeasure with each other. The good news is that it isn't painful just kinda stinky and gross.  Fortunately it does wash off.

Their daily care is easy.  Feed hay, alpaca kibbles and fresh water morning and night.  I like to also clean the stalls and clean up the paca poo piles daily.  Did you know alpacas all use the same area for their bathroom?  It makes clean up so much easier than cleaning up after any other type of livestock.  They do generate a lot of manure though, or maybe it's because I have eight of them?  No matter, I'll just have a generous amount of paca poo for the garden in the spring!

Andraya working on creating that paca poo!

When the girls get to squabbling, they tend to spit and squeal and wrap their long necks around each other.  The first time I observed this I was ready to throw a bucket of water on them.  How would they ever unentwine themselves from each other?  After having an altercation, the two combatants will walk around in a daze with their lower lip hanging down for several minutes.  Silly animals.

For the record, the females tend to be messy.  They have decided they need three paca poo piles.  One in the pasture, one in the paddock and unfortunately one in their stall.  Cleaning the stall is the most cumbersome because I keep it bedded with straw.  Since their poo resembles large rabbit pellets, it is sometimes challenging to extract just it and leave the straw behind.  The boys only have one pile and it is located in their paddock. To date they have not soiled their stall.  Good boys!

The females also don't like to be out in the rain.  The boys are much hardier and don't seem to care.  It will be interesting to see how they handle the snow.  Also the girls like to eat their hay lesiurely, often laying down while they chow down.

Birdie and Felicity having a lesiurely hay snack.

  
It has been quite the tutorial learning their habits and personalities.  I'm excited to learn more.

Done.

Sunrise the other morning.

The vet came out today.  We chose to end Sweet Caroline's suffering.  I couldn't post about her condition this past week because it was just too agonizing.  She never started eating. If she had I feel she would have survived.  Due to the nerve damage the vet observed on her right side or injured eye side her ear and lip drooped.  That I think was why she wouldn't eat.  She just couldn't figure it out.  I spent the week hand feeding her with a syringe a mixture of water, alpaca pellets and molasses.  She lost weight and was down to skin and bones.  On Thursday the vet came out and removed her stitches from her eye surgery.  The incision had healed nicely and her ear was clean and infection free.  Because she wasn't eating, however, the vet said her prognosis wasn't hopeful.  As a last resort he started her on a steroid in hopes that it would repair the nerve damage and encourage her to eat.  By Friday evening I noticed a small area of cloudiness in her good eye.  By Saturday evening her good eye had completely clouded over and was oozing.  Possibly the infection from the damaged eye remained in the optic nerve and as she became weaker she was more vulnerable to the infection.  I found her out in the middle of the pasture by herself in the dark with a cold rain coming down.  I had trouble getting her up but was finally able to lead her back to the barn.  I put her in a stall by herself.  She was now totally blind.  I honestly thought I would find her dead on Sunday morning.  She made it through Sunday but when I went out this morning I could smell death on her breath.  The vet arrived about 11:30 a.m.  It has been a heartbreaking experience.  She was so stoic and brave and refused to give up.  I'm sorry I won't have the opportunity to share life with her.  I buried her out back behind the pastures.  We have a sand "pit" there will a mini hill.  This way she will be close to her alpaca companions.  RIP Caroline!

Caroline's grave marker.

I found a nice selection of granite rocks to mark her grave and celebrate her life.

Grave site at the bottom of the hill.

View from the sand "hill" looking towards the pastures, barn and house.

Caroline's grave is just in front of this view.  It was hard to let go and "give" up on her.  As the week came to an end, however, I could barely stand to go out to the barn because it was so disheartening.  Every time I looked at her I wanted to cry.  Though this was not the outcome I envisioned when we brought her home three weeks ago it was for the best.

Now it is time to move forward and concentrate on fiber, halter training, and breeding.  Life goes on and the best tribute I can pay to Caroline is to do just that.

Sweet, Sweet Caroline

Caroline is not doing well.  Her eye is healing but she is not eating.  That's not good.  It's been nine days since she came home from the vet on Friday the 18th.  Since then I have not observed her really eating.  Apparently the nerve damage on the injured side of her face is affecting her ability to eat.  I've tried tempting her with molasses and applesauce mixed in with her alpaca crumbles.  The other girls are quite taken with it as I feed it to them when she doesn't eat it.  I've been isolating her in a small pen I fenced inside the larger girl's paddock so she can eat (if she would) without having to compete with the other girls for food and she can take her time.  I've been giving her a slurry of water, alpaca crumbles and molasses.  I mix it all up and then draw the liquid into a large 60 ml syringe.  Then I put the syringe into her mouth on her left uninjured side and slowly squirt into her mouth.  She manages to swallow about 90% of it.  I will refill the syringe as many times as she will tolerate it.  To say she dislikes the process would be too obvious. 

Caroline's good side.

I'm still giving her 5 ml of antibiotic once a day.  Now I'm also giving her 2 ml of a steroid to help with the nerve damage.  The vet had wanted to hold off giving her steroids until her eye was healed further but he is afraid her liver will shut down if she isn't eating soon.  I don't know if Caroline is just running out of steam or she has gotten used to me sticking pointy needles into her.  She isn't even fighting me as much when I give her the slurry.  She is such a pretty girl and I'm finding even tempered despite all I'm doing to her.  I don't want to lose her.

Caroline's eye this morning.  Notice the drooping ear and lip compared to the above photo.  The swelling has definitely gone down on her eye, compared to the photo below from a few days ago.

Caroline's eye a few days ago.

I don't know what else I can do for her.  The vet wants me to call him 1st thing Monday to see if the steroids have helped at all.  I haven't noticed any improvement as of today.  If you pray I ask for prayers for healing for her and that God can bring her through this.  I hate to see her suffer and I feel she is slowly starving.  Her weight loss is becoming quite obvious.

The girls in the back of their pasture yesterday.  It was a beautiful day.  Caroline even joined them.  She is the fawn colored one in the center not grazing.

 

An Update To The Update

Sunrise the other morning.

The latest Caroline news is cautiously optimistic.  I've spent the last three days worrying about Sweet Caroline and I'm tired of worrying.  Her eye is swollen but appears to be healing as the swelling has gone down marginally from yesterday.  My biggest worry is that she is not eating much.  She still follows the girls out to the pasture when they go to graze and then she will plop herself down in a cush (alpaca form of lying down with all four legs tucked under them).  I just don't see much grazing going on.  In a conversation with the vet today he was concerned too.  He feels, because her ear and lip are still drooping on the injured side there is some nerve damage.  His hope is that it will heal over time, provided Caroline eats enough to sustain herself.  He suggested I give her a slurry of alpaca crumbles mixed with water.  I tried.  It went over like a dog bite.  I did succeed in getting some to stay inside her.  She doesn't like me to touch her, look at her, or talk to her.  She basically is hating me right now.  Can't say I blame her.  Every time I put a lead rope on her she knows I'm going to do something unpleasant to her.  

This is Caroline's "new look".  The reddish color is due to the Scarlet Oil I spray on her sutures each morning.  It is an antiseptic and helps keep the flies away.

In the mean time with the help of our wonderful friend Ray, we've completed the stalls.  I'm so pleased with the way they turned out and once again, we are so thankful for Ray's help.

The Girl's "Stall"

The Boy's Stall

We've gotten one load of hay.  This week we hope to get a load of straw and another smaller load of hay.  This alpaca business is such a big learning curve for me.  Having had horses I thought I would be prepared.  Huh!  Nothing about an alpaca is like a horse.  From how much they eat and what they eat, to their behavior, to, of course, their looks.  I find myself second guessing every decision I make.  Ask me in a year if I'm comfortable with alpaca care.  Right now I'm stressing.

I'm excited though that we have stalls and hay!  One small step forward.  Many more to go.

The girls in the pasture.  Caroline is right in the middle cushing away.

 

Caroline Update

Caroline

Caroline's surgery went well according to the vet.  They came and picked her up at 11:30 this morning.  When I checked in at the clinic at 4:00 p.m. the receptionist said she was still in surgery.  The vet called at 5:00.  It took a lot longer than I was expecting but I'm glad to know that everything went well.  She is spending the night at the clinic and they will bring her back in the morning.

Hopefully she will have a quick healing process.  Her ear and lip on the injured eye side of her face had been drooping.  The vet is hoping as she heals and the infection is conquered that they will return to their normal pre injury state.

Thank you for all the well wishes and prayers.

Dream Or Nightmare?

The girls chilling today.  Notice Daisy Mae on the left.  She's zonked!

Today was a stressful day here in alpaca land.  Please note the next picture is not for the faint of heart (I'll leave plenty of space between the text and picture if you choose to forgo the image of Caroline's injured eye).  

Caroline has been struggling with an eye injury she received last Tuesday.  When we picked the alpacas up from Benchmark Farm on Sunday, Barrie Lynn, the owner, offered to let Caroline stay at their farm.  Due to the high cost of board and transportation issues, we chose to bring Caroline home. 

It's been a hell of roller coast ride since.  Her eye never looked good, even the day we picked her up.  I called a recommended alpaca vet on Monday that I thought worked in our area.  She is located out of Cadillac and said she didn't come as far south as Evart.  She did prescribe some eye drops.  She said she would be in Evart next Monday and would come by then. Caroline also was on penicillin.  I've been trying these last few days to administer the medicines, including giving the penicillin as an injection.  It's been a struggle.  

Last night a good friend of ours, Ray, single handily, constructed a beautiful stall in the barn on the girls side (Jeff and I mostly got in the way).  Thanks to the stall it was easier today to give Caroline her meds.  

She, of all the alpacas, appears to be the most shy and skittish.  As I observed her today she appeared listless and wasn't eating or just barely.  When an alpaca doesn't eat, things can go south in a real hurry.  Desperate, I called another vet closer to home hoping they worked with alpacas (note to future alpaca owners, be sure there is a competent alpaca vet in your area).  After a drive to their clinic to get more meds and a conversation with the vet there, I was assured that someone would try to come today or tomorrow.  I'll spare you the drama with the vet from Cadillac, just suffice it to say that I hope to not ever have to talk to her again.  The local vet did finally come at 6:00 this evening.  His prognosis is that Caroline's eye is beyond help, the cornea has a large gouge in it.  He thinks it's best to remove the eye and lids and stitch the skin together over the eye socket.  The eye socket is infected and is probably why Caroline is so listless.  She is in pain.  I so want Caroline to feel better.  I feel awful that she feels awful.  I guess we will have the surgery done tomorrow.  The vet said the sooner the better so she can be out of pain and feel like eating again.  This whole scenario is so sad.  This is not what I wanted my alpaca life to start out like.  That's the kicker with owning livestock, you never know what the new day will bring.  It could be beautiful or heartbreaking.  As I was trying to come to terms with the vet's suggested course of treatment I was treated to a show of alpaca high jinks, as the other alpaca girls raced around the pasture, jumping and kicking.  Like I said, the good with the bad.

Caroline's injured eye.

They're Here!

There are now officially alpacas in the field!

The boys checking out the girls in the next pasture.  L to R: Commanche, Bo Jangles and Rafael.

The girls next door.

The boys seem to be enjoying their grass.

Finally I can look from the back deck and see alpacas.  The boys are in the pasture to the left of the barn and the girls are in the paddock to the right.

It was a hectic morning as Jeff and I scrambled to finish the fencing.  We worked yesterday until it was dark but didn't quite finish.  So we were at it bright and early this morning and just finished in time to pick up the alpacas.  When we arrived at Benchmark Farm, Barrie Lynn had me give everyone their invermictin shots (wormer).  That was a much needed hands on trainer but a tad nerve wracking.  I sure was nervous.  Apparently I did okay and we got every paca loaded up in Craig's (our generous neighbor's) stock trailer.  The boys were quite excited to be so close to the girls.  The trailer had a partition, so they were only close enough to see and smell them but not touch.

They all settled down once we hit the road and we had an uneventful ride home.  That was a relief.  

Checking things out just before we unloaded at home.

Once home we got the boys in their pasture and girls in theirs.  Unfortunately, Caroline still has a wonky eye (actually it looks like something out of a horror show).  She still needs penicillin shots two times per day.  So I had to give her shot to her this evening.  Corralling her was the hardest part.  Barrie Lynn made it look so easy.  Jeff and I chased the girls around the paddock several times before I got Caroline cornered.  I'm kinda dreading tomorrow mornings shot.  Jeff was less than enthusiastic about helping (understandably) but he did.

I will need to have the vet out as soon as possible just to make sure the eye is healing properly and to get more penicillin and eye drops.

Tomorrow is a new day to start with a fresh approach and some much needed sleep. I can't believe my seven year dream has become a reality!