s e v e n i s a j o u r n e y

So, this week we have had our first health-related drama. Tizona, the first cria of the season (from Persil) was clearly crook. The last few weeks her weight gain had slowed down, but she seemed okay otherwise. Monday morning she was lethargic, and standing with her head lolling down by the ground. Not a good sign! I put her in the boot of Tams little car, and shot off to the vet. Julia could hear a little rattle in one lung from a minor respiratory infection.She gave us some antibiotics to make sure she didn’t get any secondary infections, and electrolytes to get her re-hydrated.
We also posted the info of her condition to a alpaca-health mailing lsit we read, and a vet in the US thought it might be neurological (early stage PEM). So we starting giving her vitamin B1, too (since it can’t hurt).

I think the chain of events went like this. Persil (the dam) got a bit wormy and started losing condition. Her milk production also dropped. Tizona was getting a bit malnourished, which made her vulnerable to the respiatory infection. We have treated the mother, and Tizona is getting supplemental food daily until Persil is back to full health. The good news is that 4 days on Tizona is looking much better. She still sleeps lots, and tires quickly,  but if you did not know she was sick, you would not be able to guess that she was sick (if you know what I mean).

So, knock wood, this should all turn out okay. We will just keep up the supplemental feeds, and vitamins/antiobtics as necessary.

Last Saturday we delivered the other 5 boys (Zahir, Zafar, Brocket, Basilisk, Enfield) to their new home in Mangaroa, Upper Hutt.They immediately started circumambulating thier new home, exploring all the nooks and crannies- while stuffing their faces with the fantasic grass. The horse next door was rather freaked by the new arrivals- some horses just lose it when then see a camelid for the first time. I expect the boys will be fat and happy in their new home.
I think I will miss Enfield the most. He is the end of Latte’s line. We lost Latte’s previous cria Nabaztag last January to drowning, and then Latte herself last April to Leukemia/Lymphoma. I ended up supporting Enfield with a bottle while Latte lived, and then he was totally dependent on me after she died. I am proud that Enfield is not mis-socialized (proto-berserk), instead he came out a very quiet, friendly animal. I think this was exemplified when he allowed me to catch him in the paddock and inspect his foot (for a minor infection) without any restraint except my hand on his withers!   That is a calm, trusting alpaca!

The rest of Saturday was spent at the Jousting, the biennial event held in Harcourt Park, Upper Hutt. I spent most of the day as a living, moving target for the “shoot the knight” fundraiser. Even with my heavy armour, I was a bit sort at the end of the day (having been shot hundreds of times). I tried to vary the difficulty so people would hit me about 60% of the time to ensure customer satisfaction.  Enough money was raised to get the university SCA fencing club 3 or 4 new swords, so all is well.