Of Veterinarians, Renovations, and New Pastures
We had the vet out yesterday for what we call "spring cleaning". There were no major or urgent items on the agenda, but we have accumulated a number of small issues or nagging questions over the winter and it was time to have the vet out to address them. Fortunately, the issues ranged from routine to good news.
Sindre had his fighting teeth trimmed and immediately returned to grazing. Ipo had her foot checked and the recovery is so good the vet had to ask which foot had been injured. Most of the herd got poked, prodded, looked at, and pronounced healthy. Jubilee and Ipo had blood drawn for progesterone (pregnancy) tests. We're reasonably certain Jubilee is pregnant based on behavior, so her test is basically for confirmation. We think Ipo is also pregnant based on behavior, but it's her first pregnancy and we need to make sure we're reading her behavior correctly.
Chloe escaped the vet entirely because we don't want to stress her so close to her due date. We'll probably have the vet out for a well baby check when the cria arrives, and we'll go over Chloe then as well. In the meantime, our princess can think she's too special to see the vet.
Today was shed renovation day. Ever since Ipo's injury, we have been intending to install a plywood "kickboard" along the base of the shed to prevent a repeat injury. Today, we installed two-foot high sheets of plywood along the base of the shed where the alpacas roll. Now, when they kick the side of the shed as they roll, they will hit the plywood instead of kicking the metal siding and injuring their feet.
While we were installing the plywood, we also installed some used papermaking felt over some of the shed floor. This felt comes from the belts used to carry paper through the mill during the papermaking process. We attempted to attach the felt between the baseboard and the plywood where possible and nailed the rest of it down with eight inch landscape spikes. Other local alpaca farms use this felt as shed floors and like it. We'll see how it works for us.
Today's other major change was to move the female herd into the small west pasture. We were trying to wait two or three more days before making this move, but Jubilee was sticking her head through the fence in places and the little ones were trying to reach underneath the fence to get the grass on the other side. When they're willing to work that hard to eat the grass on the other side of the fence, it's time to get the message and rotate pastures. The girls are enjoying the lush grass in the new pasture and hopefully, we can maintain them in that pasture into early May and only return them to the front pasture when Chloe goes into labor. We need that front pasture as a birth pasture, but in the meantime, that pasture needs as much recovery as it can get.
Sindre had his fighting teeth trimmed and immediately returned to grazing. Ipo had her foot checked and the recovery is so good the vet had to ask which foot had been injured. Most of the herd got poked, prodded, looked at, and pronounced healthy. Jubilee and Ipo had blood drawn for progesterone (pregnancy) tests. We're reasonably certain Jubilee is pregnant based on behavior, so her test is basically for confirmation. We think Ipo is also pregnant based on behavior, but it's her first pregnancy and we need to make sure we're reading her behavior correctly.
Chloe escaped the vet entirely because we don't want to stress her so close to her due date. We'll probably have the vet out for a well baby check when the cria arrives, and we'll go over Chloe then as well. In the meantime, our princess can think she's too special to see the vet.
Today was shed renovation day. Ever since Ipo's injury, we have been intending to install a plywood "kickboard" along the base of the shed to prevent a repeat injury. Today, we installed two-foot high sheets of plywood along the base of the shed where the alpacas roll. Now, when they kick the side of the shed as they roll, they will hit the plywood instead of kicking the metal siding and injuring their feet.
While we were installing the plywood, we also installed some used papermaking felt over some of the shed floor. This felt comes from the belts used to carry paper through the mill during the papermaking process. We attempted to attach the felt between the baseboard and the plywood where possible and nailed the rest of it down with eight inch landscape spikes. Other local alpaca farms use this felt as shed floors and like it. We'll see how it works for us.
Today's other major change was to move the female herd into the small west pasture. We were trying to wait two or three more days before making this move, but Jubilee was sticking her head through the fence in places and the little ones were trying to reach underneath the fence to get the grass on the other side. When they're willing to work that hard to eat the grass on the other side of the fence, it's time to get the message and rotate pastures. The girls are enjoying the lush grass in the new pasture and hopefully, we can maintain them in that pasture into early May and only return them to the front pasture when Chloe goes into labor. We need that front pasture as a birth pasture, but in the meantime, that pasture needs as much recovery as it can get.
posted by Upper Alpacas | 3:58 PM
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