In case you are wondering, that is a sigh of relief! Nobody is sick this week. No animals have died or gotten sick. We have done homeschool every day. Life is looking up!! :)
In fact, even Math has gone well this week during homeschool- for BOTH boys!! I'm in Heaven!!
They had both been struggling just a tad. Judah kept pressing through but I kicked Thomas out of Math for about 4 weeks. (He didn't notice. I just didn't ask him to do any.) This week I started Thomas back and it's like a light bulb went on!!! Yeah!
Today Judah asked to do an extra 8 pages of Math ABOVE his required 2. Hehe. Seriously, was I hit over the head in the last few days and I just don't remember????
We have made homemade muffins twice this week. The boys love them and they love to help. Gideon is proving to be just as avid of a cook as the other two.
OH! This last week has been a breakthrough week for Gid in the speech dept. Most of you know that he is severely delayed. He has been diagnosed with speech apraxia. He is VERY smart (his speech pathologist confirms this) and his motor skills are super but he's about 2 years behind in language. Anyway, he has been working with my friend Karen for about 6 months now and he can say a few WHOLE words now!! Up. Help. and soup are now complete and consistent! We are very proud of him and very grateful to Karen. Also, Karen thinks that he is on the verge of really getting it. She is expecting a big breakthrough soon. :) That would be GREAT!
So, good things this week. Thanks for praying for our family the last 3 weeks. We are all over the flu and sick or dying animals and we are very happy about that. :)
Blessings!- Angela :)
Wednesday, March 25, 2009
Friday, March 20, 2009
Mommy's Brain
As most of you know, the last few weeks here have been extremely busy and stressful here. At the end of last week I decided that the kids had been put off for most of 2 weeks with Rico dying, paperwork for the insurance co, Rowdy getting sick, visits to the vet at least 4 times, etc. We hadn't done school (some spring break) and we hadn't really played together much in those two weeks. So, on one of the nights last week (I think it was Thursday) I decided to surprise the 2 oldest.
Michael and Gideon had gone to bed. The other boys were coloring in the dining room. I snuck around the corner and they looked up like they were going to try to talk me out of going to bed. Before they could say anything I said, "Wanna go get some ice cream?" They looked at me like I had perhaps fallen off another planet. (we don't do much sugar here) I smiled and repeated the question. Thomas asked, "Right now?" with a very perplexed look on his cute little face. "Yes! Right now. Do you want to go get some ice cream at Sonic?" Someone (I cannot remember which one) reminded me that it was "night time". I said, "I know. Let's go on an adventure!"
They quickly and quietly got ready lest I change my mind. I think they still weren't sure whether I was kidding or not. We drove there without music which was very rare for me. We enjoyed looking at the stars and the moon. We live in the sticks so there are no streetlights for a bit. You can see them well. We decided that we would go to Dairy Queen instead of Sonic since it was still open.
Judah was shocked when I let him get a whole banana split. (I KNEW he wouldn't finish it!) Thomas got a normal sized treat. For those who are wondering I got the Brownie Earthquake.
The funny part was on the way to the ice cream place. Judah was just sitting there and out of the blue said, "Mom, tomorrow when Daddy hears about this he's going to think that you have something wrong with your brain." I just laughed.
Then he added, "But don't worry, I think that your brain is working JUST FINE!" ROFLOL!!
Michael and Gideon had gone to bed. The other boys were coloring in the dining room. I snuck around the corner and they looked up like they were going to try to talk me out of going to bed. Before they could say anything I said, "Wanna go get some ice cream?" They looked at me like I had perhaps fallen off another planet. (we don't do much sugar here) I smiled and repeated the question. Thomas asked, "Right now?" with a very perplexed look on his cute little face. "Yes! Right now. Do you want to go get some ice cream at Sonic?" Someone (I cannot remember which one) reminded me that it was "night time". I said, "I know. Let's go on an adventure!"
They quickly and quietly got ready lest I change my mind. I think they still weren't sure whether I was kidding or not. We drove there without music which was very rare for me. We enjoyed looking at the stars and the moon. We live in the sticks so there are no streetlights for a bit. You can see them well. We decided that we would go to Dairy Queen instead of Sonic since it was still open.
Judah was shocked when I let him get a whole banana split. (I KNEW he wouldn't finish it!) Thomas got a normal sized treat. For those who are wondering I got the Brownie Earthquake.
The funny part was on the way to the ice cream place. Judah was just sitting there and out of the blue said, "Mom, tomorrow when Daddy hears about this he's going to think that you have something wrong with your brain." I just laughed.
Then he added, "But don't worry, I think that your brain is working JUST FINE!" ROFLOL!!
Thursday, March 19, 2009
Alpaca Q and A
Several people have asked questions... I will attempt to answer them.
A few months ago I was asked and I answered these questions:
Jane asked:Cocoa Powder is so perdeee! to bad she can't give cocoa flavored milk;) If she is giving birth in June, can they bread her and have her ready for shipping by July? Poor girl...nothing but prego for her!
Answer- Yes Jane that is the life of an alpaca. Breed, give birth, re breed in 14-17 days. They don't seem to suffer at all with it. :)
She won't be shipped. We will bring her home in our van. :) Seriously. All the alpaca owners do that. :)
Veronica asked:
OK,
A. How long, or how many times can they breed, give birth, re breed in a lifetime? Still seems tough :)
B. Will she sit in the front seat like dogs do? Or are alpacas too dignified for that?
Answer:
A. They can start having babies at 1 1/2 years old. They can continue having babies all the way up to old age (15-20 years). If a vet recommends you retire them, then you do. Other than that, they are very stoic animals.
B. Haha! Not on the front seat. They are WAY too dignified for that. :)
Jane asked:
how long is their gestation period?
how long do they nurse their babies?
why don't they shave their legs too?
Answer: (3 months later- SORRY Jane)
Gestation period= 11- 11 1/2 months
Alpacas nurse for approx 6 months
I have no idea why they don't shave the legs. Probably because it's too short to spin it and some of the owners might do it for show purposes. ????
A few days ago I was asked these questions:
Jane asked:
why the need for the working dogs???? to keep wild animals away?
and Lea asked: I was also wondering why you need the guard dogs for protection. What is the threat to the alpacas?
Answer:
One of the biggest threats here is the coyote. We also have bears here and bobcats. A bobcat wouldn't take down an adult alpaca but they might a baby. A coyote would try for any of the herd. We also have a rogue dog pack that runs this area.
Our dogs would be able to defend the animals. Alpacas cannot take care of themselves like llamas can.
Lea asked:
Also, why do the alpacas need to have on the covers when they are covered with their own fleece. One would think that their own fleece would keep them very warm but I think you mentioned they can get hypothermia very easily?
Answer:
Healthy adult alpacas don't need coats. They can be out in the snow and be just fine.
In the picture you saw Destiny, who was a few days old, wearing a coat because little crias don't have the fiber length that the older ones do. They need the warmth, so, you use cria coats and you can also use warming lamps.
Rico was underweight a bit and that's why he was susceptible to the hypothermia. Also, he was very ill and we didn't know it. That was probably why he couldn't get his body temp back up on his own. :(
Lea asked:
Are you planning to use the fleece yourselves to make things or will you sell it? It is hard to imagine that the fleece alone would make enough money to cover a return on your investment, but I'm sure it must be or you (and others) would not have gotten into the business.
Answer:
Yes we are planning to use the fleece to make things to sell. We will take it to the fiber mill (located somewhere near here- can't remember the exact location) , get it spun into yarn, and have FUN!
The fleece does NOT cover the investment. The money is in the breeding and selling of the alpacas. The fleece is just a side business/hobby that HOPEFULLY will become more popular in America. It's VERY VERY warm and repels water. It's also hypoallergenic and comes in a WIDE variety of colors.
Kidcraze asked:
When will the new cria be due, assuming her re-breed went well?
Answer:
Sometime in January
Andie asked:
Hey, how is Cygwyn's leg?
Answer:
I had mentioned a few days ago that he developed a pretty serious limp. I also mentioned that we were praying for a divine healing. He limps less every day! Today he was using it almost full weight! We're still praying. :)
A few months ago I was asked and I answered these questions:
Jane asked:Cocoa Powder is so perdeee! to bad she can't give cocoa flavored milk;) If she is giving birth in June, can they bread her and have her ready for shipping by July? Poor girl...nothing but prego for her!
Answer- Yes Jane that is the life of an alpaca. Breed, give birth, re breed in 14-17 days. They don't seem to suffer at all with it. :)
She won't be shipped. We will bring her home in our van. :) Seriously. All the alpaca owners do that. :)
Veronica asked:
OK,
A. How long, or how many times can they breed, give birth, re breed in a lifetime? Still seems tough :)
B. Will she sit in the front seat like dogs do? Or are alpacas too dignified for that?
Answer:
A. They can start having babies at 1 1/2 years old. They can continue having babies all the way up to old age (15-20 years). If a vet recommends you retire them, then you do. Other than that, they are very stoic animals.
B. Haha! Not on the front seat. They are WAY too dignified for that. :)
Jane asked:
how long is their gestation period?
how long do they nurse their babies?
why don't they shave their legs too?
Answer: (3 months later- SORRY Jane)
Gestation period= 11- 11 1/2 months
Alpacas nurse for approx 6 months
I have no idea why they don't shave the legs. Probably because it's too short to spin it and some of the owners might do it for show purposes. ????
A few days ago I was asked these questions:
Jane asked:
why the need for the working dogs???? to keep wild animals away?
and Lea asked: I was also wondering why you need the guard dogs for protection. What is the threat to the alpacas?
Answer:
One of the biggest threats here is the coyote. We also have bears here and bobcats. A bobcat wouldn't take down an adult alpaca but they might a baby. A coyote would try for any of the herd. We also have a rogue dog pack that runs this area.
Our dogs would be able to defend the animals. Alpacas cannot take care of themselves like llamas can.
Lea asked:
Also, why do the alpacas need to have on the covers when they are covered with their own fleece. One would think that their own fleece would keep them very warm but I think you mentioned they can get hypothermia very easily?
Answer:
Healthy adult alpacas don't need coats. They can be out in the snow and be just fine.
In the picture you saw Destiny, who was a few days old, wearing a coat because little crias don't have the fiber length that the older ones do. They need the warmth, so, you use cria coats and you can also use warming lamps.
Rico was underweight a bit and that's why he was susceptible to the hypothermia. Also, he was very ill and we didn't know it. That was probably why he couldn't get his body temp back up on his own. :(
Lea asked:
Are you planning to use the fleece yourselves to make things or will you sell it? It is hard to imagine that the fleece alone would make enough money to cover a return on your investment, but I'm sure it must be or you (and others) would not have gotten into the business.
Answer:
Yes we are planning to use the fleece to make things to sell. We will take it to the fiber mill (located somewhere near here- can't remember the exact location) , get it spun into yarn, and have FUN!
The fleece does NOT cover the investment. The money is in the breeding and selling of the alpacas. The fleece is just a side business/hobby that HOPEFULLY will become more popular in America. It's VERY VERY warm and repels water. It's also hypoallergenic and comes in a WIDE variety of colors.
Kidcraze asked:
When will the new cria be due, assuming her re-breed went well?
Answer:
Sometime in January
Andie asked:
Hey, how is Cygwyn's leg?
Answer:
I had mentioned a few days ago that he developed a pretty serious limp. I also mentioned that we were praying for a divine healing. He limps less every day! Today he was using it almost full weight! We're still praying. :)
Monday, March 16, 2009
Why Alpacas?
I'm sure that some of you are wondering WHY in the world we got into alpacas. If not, surely some of you are wondering HOW we got into alpacas. If none of you are wondering those and you're still reading I am going to assume that you want something to read while you finish that cup of tea/coffee and get ready to start your day. :)
Here's the scoop:
For like forever Michael had been wanting to have a small farm. He figured that this would be something that would keep the boys busy and earn a little extra income for us.
Idea #1- Chicken houses. Seriously. He wanted chicken houses. I didn't. At all. I made my opinion known and also let him know that honestly if I had to live near them I might throw up; if I ever had to set foot in one I would DEFINITELY throw up; and I also didn't like the inhumane way they are raised. (lights on to overproduce/grow rapidly, crammed quarters, etc) Plus, there is the little thing (HA!) of chicken poop. Ew.
Idea #2- Cattle. This was an idea that I was okay with because I like to eat beef raised without hormones/steroids, etc. Yum! However, I would have been a FREAK about cow poop. I hate germs. A lot. I was okay with this option but a bit nervous about me or the kids getting kicked in the head by a large animal. I also would NEVER have let the kids play in the field with the cows. Two words- Kick & Poop.
Idea #3- Goats. Michael decided this wasn't something he wanted to do. In his words, "Goats are a pain in the butt."
I will add here that I am VERY allergic to horses. I am also allergic to dogs and cats. Different breeds vary on the severity.
One day about 2 years ago Michael came home from the route and told me about this woman he had met (new customer) that had just moved to town. They had a family and raised alpacas. "Al-what?" I said (or something to that affect) He was explaining that she made things out of the fleece of the animals and that they homeschooled, etc. He said they were really nice. I thought, "They sound weird."
I KNOW! It was NOT NICE of me. I'm not saying it was right. I'm just being honest. *snicker, snicker*
Fast forward to the last Sunday in September 2007- Alpaca Farm Day. Yes, there is a national Alpaca Farm Day. Who knew? Anyway, Michael wanted us to visit the farm. He was interested in alpacas. I had never seen one and figured this would be a nice field trip that we could count as school. Sounded good.
We arrived and there were these three beautiful animals in a pen in their side yard.
Donna Juanita
Rico Arcani
and Wade Hampton who I don't have a picture of. (Yes, I do realize that I just ended a sentence with a preposition. Get over it. )
They were letting people pet them through the pen. I was intrigued. I had seen llamas before and liked them but I didn't like that they spit on people. Ew! These animals were about 1/2 the size of a llama (well Donna was, the other 2 were much younger) and much more gentle. Their fleece was so beautiful! I touched it over and over even though the animals didn't necessarily love it. Alpacas are hypoallergenic! Who knew?!! Michael made sure that I RUBBED my FACE all over the animals' fleece. No hives. No wheezing! Wahoo!!
Then I went up the driveway to talk to this petite and very smiley lady about alpacas. I realized they homeschooled. I told her that we did as well. They had 2 teens and 2 young boys. Hmmmm. We have 3 young boys. They were obviously Believers. We are too. Hmmm. Interesting. I practically DROOLED over Rico's picture. I just FELL IN LOVE with that alpaca. I also noticed that EVERYONE else was asking about him too. He was such a looker! A heart stealer for SURE!
Our boys LOVED the alpacas. When we were pulling away to go home I said, "I want to breed those!" Michael said that he was VERY interested too but that we had to go slowly because of the economic status of the country. I replied, "I want Ryan!!" (That was Rico's first name) Gideon, who wasn't saying more than 5-6 words at the time piped up, "PACA! PACA!" We all were shocked! He continued to ask about the pacas over and over for the next few weeks. I started a "Bring Ryan Home!" campaign with Michael. Michael decided that this might be a good time to pull our stocks in the market and buy a few alpacas. We talked a lot with Becky and Lee (who I discovered were NOT weird! Shame on me! LOL! I actually told Becky that story awhile back and she LOL!) and they came over and looked at our property. They told us what we would need to get started. I became "obsessed" with researching the animals, the industry, getting financial information for Michael. I wanted to HURRY so that we could "bring Ryan home"!!! I was worried that someone else would buy him before we made up our minds. Turns out others WERE interested in him. Becky and Lee called to let us know and we made our decision- We bought both him and a pregnant Delight. They would board there till Delight had here baby and was re bred. We would get our fencing up, our shelter built, etc.
We also needed dogs for protection. So we found both the dogs (who were living in different homes) on puppyfinder.com. We bought them and paid to board them at their current homes until we brought the "pacas" home.
Then life got crazy busy and we lost our driver!
During that time the boys and I went over to visit.
I always spent the most time with Rico/Ryan. I LOVED that guy!!
We were there hours after Delight gave birth to a little GIRL cria. We named here Delight's Destiny.
She was such a doll!!
Then we visited even more often! I couldn't wait to "Bring Ryan/Rico home!"
The first week of December we purchased Cocoa Powder from another farm. She will live there until after she gives birth to her cria in June. She will be re bred and then come to live with us here.
A few weeks ago we brought them home for the first time. Two short weeks later our beloved Rico died. It was such a blow! Then Destiny had to go back till her Mom was finished breeding.
Now Delight and Destiny live here happily.
And THAT'S how we got into the alpaca business. :)
p.s. We still love our family pet/border control dog Ginger! Just in case you were wondering. ;)
Here's the scoop:
For like forever Michael had been wanting to have a small farm. He figured that this would be something that would keep the boys busy and earn a little extra income for us.
Idea #1- Chicken houses. Seriously. He wanted chicken houses. I didn't. At all. I made my opinion known and also let him know that honestly if I had to live near them I might throw up; if I ever had to set foot in one I would DEFINITELY throw up; and I also didn't like the inhumane way they are raised. (lights on to overproduce/grow rapidly, crammed quarters, etc) Plus, there is the little thing (HA!) of chicken poop. Ew.
Idea #2- Cattle. This was an idea that I was okay with because I like to eat beef raised without hormones/steroids, etc. Yum! However, I would have been a FREAK about cow poop. I hate germs. A lot. I was okay with this option but a bit nervous about me or the kids getting kicked in the head by a large animal. I also would NEVER have let the kids play in the field with the cows. Two words- Kick & Poop.
Idea #3- Goats. Michael decided this wasn't something he wanted to do. In his words, "Goats are a pain in the butt."
I will add here that I am VERY allergic to horses. I am also allergic to dogs and cats. Different breeds vary on the severity.
One day about 2 years ago Michael came home from the route and told me about this woman he had met (new customer) that had just moved to town. They had a family and raised alpacas. "Al-what?" I said (or something to that affect) He was explaining that she made things out of the fleece of the animals and that they homeschooled, etc. He said they were really nice. I thought, "They sound weird."
I KNOW! It was NOT NICE of me. I'm not saying it was right. I'm just being honest. *snicker, snicker*
Fast forward to the last Sunday in September 2007- Alpaca Farm Day. Yes, there is a national Alpaca Farm Day. Who knew? Anyway, Michael wanted us to visit the farm. He was interested in alpacas. I had never seen one and figured this would be a nice field trip that we could count as school. Sounded good.
We arrived and there were these three beautiful animals in a pen in their side yard.
Donna Juanita
Rico Arcani
and Wade Hampton who I don't have a picture of. (Yes, I do realize that I just ended a sentence with a preposition. Get over it. )
They were letting people pet them through the pen. I was intrigued. I had seen llamas before and liked them but I didn't like that they spit on people. Ew! These animals were about 1/2 the size of a llama (well Donna was, the other 2 were much younger) and much more gentle. Their fleece was so beautiful! I touched it over and over even though the animals didn't necessarily love it. Alpacas are hypoallergenic! Who knew?!! Michael made sure that I RUBBED my FACE all over the animals' fleece. No hives. No wheezing! Wahoo!!
Then I went up the driveway to talk to this petite and very smiley lady about alpacas. I realized they homeschooled. I told her that we did as well. They had 2 teens and 2 young boys. Hmmmm. We have 3 young boys. They were obviously Believers. We are too. Hmmm. Interesting. I practically DROOLED over Rico's picture. I just FELL IN LOVE with that alpaca. I also noticed that EVERYONE else was asking about him too. He was such a looker! A heart stealer for SURE!
Our boys LOVED the alpacas. When we were pulling away to go home I said, "I want to breed those!" Michael said that he was VERY interested too but that we had to go slowly because of the economic status of the country. I replied, "I want Ryan!!" (That was Rico's first name) Gideon, who wasn't saying more than 5-6 words at the time piped up, "PACA! PACA!" We all were shocked! He continued to ask about the pacas over and over for the next few weeks. I started a "Bring Ryan Home!" campaign with Michael. Michael decided that this might be a good time to pull our stocks in the market and buy a few alpacas. We talked a lot with Becky and Lee (who I discovered were NOT weird! Shame on me! LOL! I actually told Becky that story awhile back and she LOL!) and they came over and looked at our property. They told us what we would need to get started. I became "obsessed" with researching the animals, the industry, getting financial information for Michael. I wanted to HURRY so that we could "bring Ryan home"!!! I was worried that someone else would buy him before we made up our minds. Turns out others WERE interested in him. Becky and Lee called to let us know and we made our decision- We bought both him and a pregnant Delight. They would board there till Delight had here baby and was re bred. We would get our fencing up, our shelter built, etc.
We also needed dogs for protection. So we found both the dogs (who were living in different homes) on puppyfinder.com. We bought them and paid to board them at their current homes until we brought the "pacas" home.
Then life got crazy busy and we lost our driver!
During that time the boys and I went over to visit.
I always spent the most time with Rico/Ryan. I LOVED that guy!!
We were there hours after Delight gave birth to a little GIRL cria. We named here Delight's Destiny.
She was such a doll!!
Then we visited even more often! I couldn't wait to "Bring Ryan/Rico home!"
The first week of December we purchased Cocoa Powder from another farm. She will live there until after she gives birth to her cria in June. She will be re bred and then come to live with us here.
A few weeks ago we brought them home for the first time. Two short weeks later our beloved Rico died. It was such a blow! Then Destiny had to go back till her Mom was finished breeding.
Now Delight and Destiny live here happily.
And THAT'S how we got into the alpaca business. :)
p.s. We still love our family pet/border control dog Ginger! Just in case you were wondering. ;)
Thursday, March 12, 2009
Update on the Farm Animals
Okay, so here's the latest...
Yesterday I called the vet in the AM and asked the vet tech if he (Rowdy) had eaten anything yet. He had not. :( I asked if we could come and feed him. She said, "Yes." They suggested chicken. :) We brought him some and he ate a little bit. He wasn't totally crazy about it and we had to coax him but we did get about 4-6 ounces in. :) Yeah!
They wanted to keep him the rest of the day to give another round of fluids and to make sure that he didn't throw it up or have any more diarrhea.
We had to do a bunch of things yest (paperwork for the alpaca insurance for Rico-ugh!, clean a little in the house, go play with a friend's kids who have the chicken pox- here's hopin!!) so it was, again, CRAZY busy here. I called the vet at about 3:00pm for an update. They wanted to keep him overnight again because he still had not eaten anything else. They wanted us to know that if we took him home that we would have to watch to see if he was eating and drinking and peeing and pooping correctly.
I asked if we could come and feed him one more time. If he ate for us we would feel comfortable about taking him home. If he refused then he could stay with them and they could continue to give him fluids. She said yes.
They brought him to us again and he put his paw up on Thomas. That's something he does all the time to show his love. :)
He smelled the chicken and he practically mauled me to get to it. HE ate it ravenously. The tech grinned and said they would removed the catheter in his leg right away! YEAH!
Rowdy came home last night. I just have to remember to give him his meds for the next 8 days. That should be interesting. I don't think I have EVER taken a full round of antibiotics correctly because I tend to forget every so often.
He did fine last night. He ate more chicken and a few dog treats. This morning he scarfed some canned food and this evening he ate his dry dog food!!!! Yeah!!! The poop is on it's way to becoming more and more solid. (I'm sorry- TMI!)
Anyway, he was playful and happy today. He wants to get out of the confined fenced area and back to the pasture. Hopefully by tomorrow he can go back to being with his buddy Cygwyn and his animals. :)
Cygwyn wants to be with him too. They are friends. :)
Oh, and just in case you thought it was all looking good...
Cygwyn developed a limp last night!!!!! AAUUUGGHHHH!!
Hopefully it's nothing. I'm praying for divine healing. :D
Delight and Destiny are doing just fine. Pictures soon. :)
Yesterday I called the vet in the AM and asked the vet tech if he (Rowdy) had eaten anything yet. He had not. :( I asked if we could come and feed him. She said, "Yes." They suggested chicken. :) We brought him some and he ate a little bit. He wasn't totally crazy about it and we had to coax him but we did get about 4-6 ounces in. :) Yeah!
They wanted to keep him the rest of the day to give another round of fluids and to make sure that he didn't throw it up or have any more diarrhea.
We had to do a bunch of things yest (paperwork for the alpaca insurance for Rico-ugh!, clean a little in the house, go play with a friend's kids who have the chicken pox- here's hopin!!) so it was, again, CRAZY busy here. I called the vet at about 3:00pm for an update. They wanted to keep him overnight again because he still had not eaten anything else. They wanted us to know that if we took him home that we would have to watch to see if he was eating and drinking and peeing and pooping correctly.
I asked if we could come and feed him one more time. If he ate for us we would feel comfortable about taking him home. If he refused then he could stay with them and they could continue to give him fluids. She said yes.
They brought him to us again and he put his paw up on Thomas. That's something he does all the time to show his love. :)
He smelled the chicken and he practically mauled me to get to it. HE ate it ravenously. The tech grinned and said they would removed the catheter in his leg right away! YEAH!
Rowdy came home last night. I just have to remember to give him his meds for the next 8 days. That should be interesting. I don't think I have EVER taken a full round of antibiotics correctly because I tend to forget every so often.
He did fine last night. He ate more chicken and a few dog treats. This morning he scarfed some canned food and this evening he ate his dry dog food!!!! Yeah!!! The poop is on it's way to becoming more and more solid. (I'm sorry- TMI!)
Anyway, he was playful and happy today. He wants to get out of the confined fenced area and back to the pasture. Hopefully by tomorrow he can go back to being with his buddy Cygwyn and his animals. :)
Cygwyn wants to be with him too. They are friends. :)
Oh, and just in case you thought it was all looking good...
Cygwyn developed a limp last night!!!!! AAUUUGGHHHH!!
Hopefully it's nothing. I'm praying for divine healing. :D
Delight and Destiny are doing just fine. Pictures soon. :)
Tuesday, March 10, 2009
The Continuing Saga
I wrote this yesterday-
Y'all know that last week was terrible for us. Well, I thought this week would be better. However, this is day three that our dog, Rowdy will not eat. He is a working farm dog an the one that is the best with the animals.
He ate a VERY small amount yesterday. Today, 2 small biscuits. Normally this dog should consume about 4 cups of food a day.
PLEASE pray that God will heal him.
We spent an astronomical amount (to me anyway) at the vet last week with the dying alpaca, the dogs, etc. I really DON'T want to take him in.
The girl alpacas are supposed to be delievered today. Please pray that that goes well also. Delight needs to be NOT stressed about the move, as much as possible.
Destiny should be just fine.
Gotta go. It's NUTS here and I don't do this much stress very well. sigh.
Here is today's update-
He wouldn't eat more than a bite or 2 of anything. :( :(
We took him to the vet at 9:00am this morning. We were there for over an hour. (with all three young boys and a 95 pound dog who was sick. It wasn't that fun.)
He threw up on my foot on the way out of the pasture. I had to lift him into the van (thank goodness I'm strong). He vomited about 3-4 times in the van on the way over. sigh. Thank goodness for bleach. Oh, and I DID have a blanket down but he had moved that and then threw up. sigh.
Most of it did get on the blanket, thankfully.
The vet noticed that he had also had some diarrhea. Poor guy!! The stool sample was negative for most things.
They kept him overnight. They gave him fluids all afternoon as he was still refusing to eat. He is a very emotional dog. I WISH we were there to love him and comfort him. He is our best work dog.
I told the vet that I had tried to force feed him. The vet chuckled and said that Pyrenees will NOT be force fed. I laughed and said something like, "No kidding!"
HOPEFULLY we will pick him up tomorrow. We have to take samples of the alpaca's poop anyway to make sure that they have been cleared of worms.
I was a bit upset when the vet said he wanted to keep him. We just spent a bunch of money last week. SIGH. Such is life on a farm I guess.
Thanks for your continuing prayers. Thomas is upset that his puppy is not here tonight. Michael is upset because we can put Cygwyn (other work dog) near the alpacas but not in the fence because he will stress Delight. He is too bouncy and excited. Too much stress will cause an alpaca to lose a baby. :(
Someone thinks they saw a Bobcat walking down our driveway about 10 days ago. Lovely. There was a message on our business line. It was a night where the dogs were barking like CRAZY!!
I'm rambling. Sorry. That's all folks. Thanks again for caring and praying.
Y'all know that last week was terrible for us. Well, I thought this week would be better. However, this is day three that our dog, Rowdy will not eat. He is a working farm dog an the one that is the best with the animals.
He ate a VERY small amount yesterday. Today, 2 small biscuits. Normally this dog should consume about 4 cups of food a day.
PLEASE pray that God will heal him.
We spent an astronomical amount (to me anyway) at the vet last week with the dying alpaca, the dogs, etc. I really DON'T want to take him in.
The girl alpacas are supposed to be delievered today. Please pray that that goes well also. Delight needs to be NOT stressed about the move, as much as possible.
Destiny should be just fine.
Gotta go. It's NUTS here and I don't do this much stress very well. sigh.
Here is today's update-
He wouldn't eat more than a bite or 2 of anything. :( :(
We took him to the vet at 9:00am this morning. We were there for over an hour. (with all three young boys and a 95 pound dog who was sick. It wasn't that fun.)
He threw up on my foot on the way out of the pasture. I had to lift him into the van (thank goodness I'm strong). He vomited about 3-4 times in the van on the way over. sigh. Thank goodness for bleach. Oh, and I DID have a blanket down but he had moved that and then threw up. sigh.
Most of it did get on the blanket, thankfully.
The vet noticed that he had also had some diarrhea. Poor guy!! The stool sample was negative for most things.
They kept him overnight. They gave him fluids all afternoon as he was still refusing to eat. He is a very emotional dog. I WISH we were there to love him and comfort him. He is our best work dog.
I told the vet that I had tried to force feed him. The vet chuckled and said that Pyrenees will NOT be force fed. I laughed and said something like, "No kidding!"
HOPEFULLY we will pick him up tomorrow. We have to take samples of the alpaca's poop anyway to make sure that they have been cleared of worms.
I was a bit upset when the vet said he wanted to keep him. We just spent a bunch of money last week. SIGH. Such is life on a farm I guess.
Thanks for your continuing prayers. Thomas is upset that his puppy is not here tonight. Michael is upset because we can put Cygwyn (other work dog) near the alpacas but not in the fence because he will stress Delight. He is too bouncy and excited. Too much stress will cause an alpaca to lose a baby. :(
Someone thinks they saw a Bobcat walking down our driveway about 10 days ago. Lovely. There was a message on our business line. It was a night where the dogs were barking like CRAZY!!
I'm rambling. Sorry. That's all folks. Thanks again for caring and praying.
Thursday, March 5, 2009
Our Nightmare of a Week
On Monday one of our alpacas died. It's been a HORRIBLE week. :(
Here are the details...
Rico and Destiny came to our farm on February 16th. Delight was still breeding so she stayed at the other farm. She will come next week sometime after the positive (we hope) ultrasound.
Destiny is our bottle fed cria. She is 3 months old now and the cutest thing.
Rico was our future Herdsire. He is the REASON we bought this farm when we did. You see we wanted to start a farm but the economy was going down so Michael said that maybe we should wait. Well I fell TOTALLY in love with Rico when we first went to see their farm. I HAD to have THAT alpaca. He was my boy!! So, Michael said we could go ahead and do it. He liked him too.
After we bought him, while he was boarding at their farm, almost EVERY (it may have been every) person who came to look at their alpacas was interested in purchasing him. He was a NICE animal and we got a killer deal on him.
Anyway, I based my other alpaca purchase (Cocoa Powder who is at another farm out of state and will come here in late July) on who to breed with Rico.
He was the heart of my farm, to me.
It rained here on Friday, Saturday, and Sunday. Sunday afternoon it changed to snow for about an hour and then back to rain. When I went out to do Destiny's 8:00pm bottle I noticed that the roof of the shelter was leaking water...like a sieve.
Rico was laying in the water and not moving. This is not too big of a deal. He had a very long staple length to his fleece. He might not have felt it. Anyway, I got him to move a few feet out of the water but he wasn't wanting to. I forced him and dried him off a bit.
The next morning I went out to do the morning feeding and Rico hadn't moved all night. Destiny was upset and the dogs were barking at the fence where he was.
I was trying to call the vet but his office was closed because of all the snow they had gotten.
I was getting desperate. You see, a rule of thumb in the alpaca industry is that if you have an alpaca down... you should have called the vet yesterday. Downed alpacas rarely live.
Michael got ahold of another vet who said they would see him. I finally was able to get our vet's emergency number. Our vet said that it sounded like hypothermia. I carried him from the pasture into the house (86 pounds in case you are wondering). We started blow-drying him, covering him with warm blankets, and running heaters around him. I couldn't get his temp up. He was obviously declining.
We loaded him into the van and took off for the other vet. When his blood was tested they found that he had humuncous worms (Barber pole worms). He had a 30% chance to live. HE needed a blood transfusion STAT. The other farm offered one of their animals but when we were loading him into our van and showing the kids how to give him manual oxygen...our kids were too scared. They just couldn't do it. He had a seizure while we were in the parking lot. They hurried him back in and we lost him about 5 minutes later. I sat in the lobby and bawled like a baby.
We had to have the body autopsied. So, we left the body with them and I went to a McDs so that the kids could eat their first meal of the day (at 2:00pm). We went home and tried to get Destiny to poop because we needed to test her. She wouldn't. Of course not. She also was freaking out. She wanted Rico back. Alpacas CANNOT EVER live by themselves. They are herd animals and will freak out!
We went back to pick up the body and then Judah and I drove Destiny back over to the other farm to board till next week. By that time it was 8:00pm. I was EXHAUSTED! The other farm owners were also exhausted. They had their males on their farm tested as well. One of theirs came out positive. The others were fine. That alpaca's name is Hampton. Please pray for him to pull through.
Destiny was totally stressed being moved at night but she is doing well at their farm.
The nightmare just keeps continuing...
Today we finally got the results from Destiny's fecal test that was done yesterday. (different vet- we have nothing positive to say about them) Hers was positive for TWO kinds of worms. She is being treated for both. Unfortunately, the dogs also need to be tested so we are waiting for them to poop so I can take samples from all three over to the vet tomorrow.
The vet that worked on Rico and Hampton thinks that these two alpacas just developed a tolerance to the worming vaccines. This is apparently a new prob in the industry.
As you can imagine we are a bit overwhelmed and sad.
Please keep our family and our farm in your prayers and if you made it through this entire novella of a post- Thanks for caring.
Love,
Here are the details...
Rico and Destiny came to our farm on February 16th. Delight was still breeding so she stayed at the other farm. She will come next week sometime after the positive (we hope) ultrasound.
Destiny is our bottle fed cria. She is 3 months old now and the cutest thing.
Rico was our future Herdsire. He is the REASON we bought this farm when we did. You see we wanted to start a farm but the economy was going down so Michael said that maybe we should wait. Well I fell TOTALLY in love with Rico when we first went to see their farm. I HAD to have THAT alpaca. He was my boy!! So, Michael said we could go ahead and do it. He liked him too.
After we bought him, while he was boarding at their farm, almost EVERY (it may have been every) person who came to look at their alpacas was interested in purchasing him. He was a NICE animal and we got a killer deal on him.
Anyway, I based my other alpaca purchase (Cocoa Powder who is at another farm out of state and will come here in late July) on who to breed with Rico.
He was the heart of my farm, to me.
It rained here on Friday, Saturday, and Sunday. Sunday afternoon it changed to snow for about an hour and then back to rain. When I went out to do Destiny's 8:00pm bottle I noticed that the roof of the shelter was leaking water...like a sieve.
Rico was laying in the water and not moving. This is not too big of a deal. He had a very long staple length to his fleece. He might not have felt it. Anyway, I got him to move a few feet out of the water but he wasn't wanting to. I forced him and dried him off a bit.
The next morning I went out to do the morning feeding and Rico hadn't moved all night. Destiny was upset and the dogs were barking at the fence where he was.
I was trying to call the vet but his office was closed because of all the snow they had gotten.
I was getting desperate. You see, a rule of thumb in the alpaca industry is that if you have an alpaca down... you should have called the vet yesterday. Downed alpacas rarely live.
Michael got ahold of another vet who said they would see him. I finally was able to get our vet's emergency number. Our vet said that it sounded like hypothermia. I carried him from the pasture into the house (86 pounds in case you are wondering). We started blow-drying him, covering him with warm blankets, and running heaters around him. I couldn't get his temp up. He was obviously declining.
We loaded him into the van and took off for the other vet. When his blood was tested they found that he had humuncous worms (Barber pole worms). He had a 30% chance to live. HE needed a blood transfusion STAT. The other farm offered one of their animals but when we were loading him into our van and showing the kids how to give him manual oxygen...our kids were too scared. They just couldn't do it. He had a seizure while we were in the parking lot. They hurried him back in and we lost him about 5 minutes later. I sat in the lobby and bawled like a baby.
We had to have the body autopsied. So, we left the body with them and I went to a McDs so that the kids could eat their first meal of the day (at 2:00pm). We went home and tried to get Destiny to poop because we needed to test her. She wouldn't. Of course not. She also was freaking out. She wanted Rico back. Alpacas CANNOT EVER live by themselves. They are herd animals and will freak out!
We went back to pick up the body and then Judah and I drove Destiny back over to the other farm to board till next week. By that time it was 8:00pm. I was EXHAUSTED! The other farm owners were also exhausted. They had their males on their farm tested as well. One of theirs came out positive. The others were fine. That alpaca's name is Hampton. Please pray for him to pull through.
Destiny was totally stressed being moved at night but she is doing well at their farm.
The nightmare just keeps continuing...
Today we finally got the results from Destiny's fecal test that was done yesterday. (different vet- we have nothing positive to say about them) Hers was positive for TWO kinds of worms. She is being treated for both. Unfortunately, the dogs also need to be tested so we are waiting for them to poop so I can take samples from all three over to the vet tomorrow.
The vet that worked on Rico and Hampton thinks that these two alpacas just developed a tolerance to the worming vaccines. This is apparently a new prob in the industry.
As you can imagine we are a bit overwhelmed and sad.
Please keep our family and our farm in your prayers and if you made it through this entire novella of a post- Thanks for caring.
Love,
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