Today I received a request for Alpaca Helmet liners for US troops. here is the email from Debra Edwards.

We are getting ready for my son Taylor's deployment. He is a Cavalry Scout with the 1st Infantry Division out of Fort Hood, Texas. He will be deploying sometime in June. He is coming to California for 10 days in May. Can hardly wait to see him.

He is deploying to Afghanistan, where we do not know yet. I understand he will be in the mountain region, which gets below 0 degrees in the Winter. From what I hear helmet liners would be a great comfort for the troops. I was reading a request for wool helmet liners and thought alpaca helmet liners would be even better! I have enclosed instructions on making the liners. They request that the fiber be non-flammable.

My son's platoon has 20 soldiers, his troop (Company) has 78 soldiers and the Squadron(Battalion) has 500 soldiers. Whatever you can supply would be so very wonderful and so very appreciated by our soldiers.

My cell phone number is 805 625-2661, if you have any questions.

Thank you in advance for your support of our troops and my very heartfelt thanks for your interest in my son.

Sincerely,

Debra Edwards

Here are the instructions for those of you who can crochet...

Support Our Troops…Crochet a Helmet Liner

Materials:
Size K and H hooks
6 oz. soft worsted weight 100% wool yarn
Accepted colors are tan, brown, olive, gray and black (black is
preferred and was requested)

Size: Adult Large
Crochet Notes:
Made in rounds – that is, do not join and do not turn.
Other Notes:
The headgear our military issues are usually made of
synthetic fibers or blends and our troops in places like
Afghanistan, Iraq and Kosovo are still cold. Please use a soft
100% wool worsted weight yarn to keep them warm.

Rnd 1 ...........Form a ring around your finger, work 6 sc in ring
Rnd 2 ...........2 scs in next 6 sts (12 sts)
Rnd 3 ...........(sc in next st, 2 scs in next st) 6 times (18 sts)
Rnd 4 ...........(sc in next 2 sts, 2 scs in next st) 6 times (24 sts)
Rnd 5 ...........(sc in next 3 sts, 2 scs in next st) 6 times (30 sts)
Rnd 6 ...........(sc in next 4 sts, 2 scs in next st) 6 times (36 sts)
Rnd 7 ...........(sc in next 5 sts, 2 scs in next st) 6 times (42 sts
Rnd 8 ...........(sc in next 6 sts, 2 scs in next st) 6 times (48 sts)
Rnd 9 ...........(sc in next 7 sts, 2 scs in next st) 6 times (54 sts)
Rnd 10 .........(sc in next 8 sts, 2 scs in next st) 6 times (60 sts)
Rnd 11 .........(sc in next 9 sts, 2 scs in next st) 6 times (66 sts)
Rnd 12 .........(sc in next 10 sts, 2 scs in next st) 6 times (72 sts)

Work over 72 sts until piece measures 7 inches.
Chain 22 ,skip 20 sts, continue working around until piece measures 10 more inches.
Fasten off and weave in ends. Attach yarn anywhere in face hole and sc around with
H hook. Fasten off and weave in all ends.

Pattern designed Aunt B © 2005. All rights reserved. Copies may be made only for the purpose of donating helmet liners to our service personnel. For additional patterns and helmet liner project information go to Skein Lane’s community page.

Alpaca shearing season is upon us! This is an important event for members of the Ideal Alpaca Community who each year send in samples of all their fleeces so that EPDs can be calculated for all the alpacas.

IAC members have made it possible to produce the only Estimated Progeny Differences program that spans the country.

The results of the 2007 EPD analysis will be available within 60 days. It has taken us a bit longer than we anticipated, but we are almost there. Dr. David Notter of Virginia Tech has just about completed the analysis. Also, we will post the EPDs of all the Studmaster males on the IAC website, along with additional articles. In late Summer or early Fall the Ideal Alpaca Community will be presenting live webinars on understanding and using EPDs.

By submitting fleece samples through the IAC you put yourself in the unique position of receiving enhanced histogram reports that include 12 measurements and statistics. More importantly, you are participating in the IAC’s Estimated Progeny Differences Program. This advanced program is a huge step forward in quantifying heritable traits and facilitates scientific selection of breeding partners. Using EPDs makes breeding decisions easier and increases the probability of desirable outcomes. Using EPDs tremendously accelerates genetic improvements in your herd.

In addition, the shear list preparation and fleece sample submission tools on the IAC website greatly simplify the organization and efficiency of your shearing day.

To maximize the benefits of the new IAC tools, it is vitally important that all IAC members enter their alpacas onto the IAC database. Alpacas do not need to be related to a Studmaster male to receive an EPD evaluation.

If you have alpacas and you want to improve the quality and value of your herd through genetic improvement then you need EPDS - it really is that simple.

The big day has finally arrived and today is the start of our irrigation schedule for the summer of 2007.

The garden around the house is now slowly coming to life



And the house swallows are starting to build their nests in the bird house...they are amazing aerial acrobats.



But we didn't bother running the irrigation as there is a 70% chance of rain tomorrow.......

Still the grass in the pastures is now coming on in leaps and bounds so its time to start getting out there with the tractor and topping some of these pastures. Its the damned alpaca poop thats to blame even when you pick it up everyday the affect it has on grass growth is amazing.

As some of you no doubt know I am putting together a Library of articles on EPDs these articles have all been hand picked by Dr Sara Via at Maryland University. There are so many articles we are going to have to create a website to host them all. So watch this space for when www.epdlibrary.org goes live which should hopefully be some time later this week.

Now back to the website building........

here is some interesting information on Coronavirus courtesy of Sue Ives the President of VAOBA.

Coronavirus does have carrier animals (animals that do not show any signs of disease but carry it). Winter dysentery of cattle is "easily carried on shoes, clothes or fomites" (objects) so it looks like it would be very easy to bring home from an alpaca show even if you did not take alpacas to the show.

Coronavirus is common in alpacas and was associated with diarrhea in adults and young animals in the fall of 2005 or 2006 associated with shows in the northeast but I think it is pretty much everywhere. In my experience, the tests run in labs in VA are negative but testing with electron microscopy at Texas A & M will pick it up (a virologist at Cornell told me to send poop samples to TxAM).

The coronavirus is found in the respiratory or GI tract, but virus isolation is not easy. It is gonna be a really tough thing to prevent spread if you have a carrier animal coming back from the show. It is not clear how long the animal might carry the virus. Apparently it is more of a problem when in conjunction with other diseases or stressors.

That being said, I think quarantine of 2-4 weeks is good but must involve different clothing and shoes from the quarantine animals to the healthy. Minimize other diseases (parasites, etc,) and stresses and that is all you can do. Some farms have their "show string" animals in a completely different area from the non show animals to avoid bringing things home any unexpected "visitors" but this is a luxury not everyone can accommodate.

Of course it should be SNYP rather than SNIP..as SNYP stands for Spay Neuter Your Pet....



Thinking back to my own childhood on the farm when the barn cats had too many kittens we would simply drown them in a bucket of water.... quite cruel really but that was 40 years ago.
My plan felt much more humane...catch them in separate traps and whip them off to the vet to be spayed or neutered depending on what she found.

Well everything went pretty much to plan except one of the barn cats died under anaesthetic so we had to have a small burial in the afternoon...all very sad and when I arrived at the vets to collect the barn cats poor Alice the DVM had been crying as it was the first cat she had lost in 8 long years.....

They are all now safely back in the barn and eating normally so hopefully all will be well and we won't have any unwanted kittens...

Rural properties have more than their fair share of dirty jobs and not being on mains sewage means that you have to have more than a passing acquaintance with the workings of a septic system.

Which reminds me that recently a very nice man from Roto Router told me never to use Charmin toilet tissue as it can block a septic system and cause real problems. I couldn't help but pass on this piece of information to Proctor and Gamble the makers of Charmin toilet tissue. I didn't expect to hear anymore but today I did receive a reply thanking me for my interest and enclosing a 42 voucher off Charmin Toilet... I suspect they didn't actually read my email..oh well!

Our septic system is 14 years old and was not built with a flush out which is now mandatory with all new septic systems so we have had to retro fit one and providing you can find the pipe which comes out of the septic sand pit easily then the rest really is a piece of cake....so to speak!

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Yesterday was Earth Day and I happened to see this cool rainbow.....



Although its something of a pain that its still raining in mid April when we have been looking forward to spring weather and alpaca shearing is just around the corner. Another part of me is relieved that we don't have to start running the irrigation in the alpaca pastures just yet....

Yesterday, I went out to check some fencing on anew alpaca ranch and with the exception of some barbed wire everything was fine. Then I noticed some juniper bushes and after some online investigation I managed to confirm that Juniper is in fact poisonous to alpacas. I thought it was but wanted to be absolutely certain.

Its funny how sometimes when we introduce new owners to alpacas we can take so much for granted and not bother to give them the support (advice and guidance) that makes life so much more enjoyable. So while my trip out there took an hour, in the grand plan of things it was actually invaluable for the new owners.

Yesterday, I also received an e-mail from further east and was amazed at the level of support a friend and client of mine was receiving:

Jess and Cookie have spent several days visiting our ranch instructing us in alpaca care, giving CDT and Ivermec shots for m-worm prevention and gave us a good supply of grain, Bermuda hay, yeast, oats, halters, parasitology microscope and equipment, medical records on the girls, and nail clippers, etc. They also brought a supply of panels to form a holding pen for the front of the alpaca barn which have proven immensely useful.....

Moral of the story, relationships are everything even when it comes to alpaca breeding and as you drive home from sharing what you know you might well be rewarded with a rainbow of your own......

Okay farming duty calls....have a great day.

Adrian

Yesterday afternoon a wildfire broke out on some pasture land on the outskirts of Ashland.
A controlled burn of blackberry bushes at the Billings Ranch resulted in a fire that got out of control after winds picked up. Ashland Fire responded to quickly contain the blaze. But not until 5acres had been destroyed.


This afternoon I am going out to check some fences for a friend who is going to start breeding alpacas. It would be nice if the sun were shining but its cold and wet.

I realised over the weekend that I didn't really know why we agist alpacas, or to be more precise why when we care for someone else's alpacas we call it agistment.

So here is an explanation for the more curious among you....

When we put our cats or dogs in the care of others it is usually referred to as boarding. And so we have Boarding Kennels.

With horses we talk about livery. Livery is another term for rented horse accommodation, which may or may not include other services. Different forms of livery service may be provided to clients including full livery which might include exercising, riding and even training the horse, part livery, DIY livery and grass livery. And so we have Livery Stables.

With alpacas we call it agistment and here is where that terms originates from:

To agist is, in English law, to take cattle to graze, for a remuneration.
Agistment, in the first instance, referred more particularly to the proceeds of pasturage in the King's forests, but now means either:

1/ The contract for taking in and feeding livestock on pasture land, for the consideration of a weekly payment of money, or

2/ The profit derived from such pasturing.

In English law agistment is a contract of bailment, and the bailer is bound to take reasonable care of the animals entrusted to him (or her);

"the bailer is responsible for damages and injury which result from ordinary casualties, if it be proved that such might have been prevented by the exercise of great care."

There is no lien on the cattle for the price of the agistment, unless by express agreement. Under the Agricultural Holdings Act of 1883,

"agisted cattle cannot be distrained on for rent if there be other sufficient distress to be found, and if such other distress be not found, and the cattle be distrained, the owner may redeem them on paying the price of their agistment."

The tithe of agistment or "tithe of cattle and other produce of grass lands," was formally abolished in 1707 by the act of union.

Agisters, in the United Kingdom were formerly the officers of the forest empowered to collect the agistment. They have been re-established in the New Forest to carry out the daily duties of administering the forest.

In the Western United States, agisters are land holders who hold themselves out as providing pasturage services, or who seek to enforce agistment liens. For example, in Washington State, agister is defined as

"a farmer, ranchman, herder of cattle, livery and boarding stable keeper, veterinarian, or other person, to whom horses, mules, cattle, or sheep are entrusted for the purpose of feeding, herding, pasturing, training, caring for, or ranching."

Revised Code of Washington RCW 60.56.005

Well there you have it... I think it would be quite good if we could keep using the term agistment and calling male alpacas Machos and female alpacas Hembras and young ones Cria....it makes the alpaca industry more interesting ..........

If you didn't know this current outbreak of diarrhea is being described as the Splats as it follows on from a previous outbreak that was known so charmingly as the Snots !

Coronavirus is the most common viral infections of camelids from what I have gathered talking to various vets. Coronavirus, and to a lesser extent Rotavirus, damage the intestinal lining and cause diarrhea. Dehydration, anorexia, and obtundation (a dulled or reduced level of alertness or consciousness) may be present in severely affected alpacas.

Younger alpacas are affected most frequently, but coronavirus also affects adult alpacas. Outbreaks of coronavirus are common by all accounts.

Diagnosis is by fecal examination by electron microscopy, which is usually available at the local veterinary diagnostic laboratory.

Treatment consists chiefly of supportive care with fluids and electrolytes, and possibly antibiotics to prevent secondary bacterial infections of the intestines.

In August 14th, 2007 investigators at Oregon State University, Department of Biomedical Sciences published new data on coronavirus genetics

According to a description of the scientific paper the OSU scientists discuss in "Analysis of the genome sequence of an alpaca coronavirus" new findings in coronavirus. "Coronaviral infection of New World camelids was first identified in 1998 in llamas and alpacas with severe diarrhea. In order to understand this infection, one of the coronavirus isolates was sequenced and analyzed," researchers report.

The full report is archived in Virus Weekly

This morning Macario our trusty farm manager received the keys to his first house. Here is Mac and family for the grand handover..... about 50 people turned out to cheer and wish them well.


Macario and Angelica Ramirez and their five children, it was great day and all thanks to Habitat for Humanity.

In the afternoon Bill came by to see his new alpacas and sign the contracts which was also a great moment. Bill has previously raised championship winning pigs so has high expectations for his alpacas....



Next week I have promised to visit Bill and check the fencing will be okay for his new alpacas. They will be staying at Mulberry for a while until Minne gives birth and shearing is over.

Today Dr Leslie Richardson from Crater Animal Clinic came out to perform medical exams on two alpacas that have recently been purchased from us. Both of the alpacas - Minne a heavily pregnant female and Johnny a newly weaned alpaca cria passed their medicals with flying colors.

Johnny isn't registered just yet, so we had to draw blood for his DNA card which now goes off to ARI the Alpaca Registry, where they check that his Dam and Sire are correct by matching up their DNA profiles.

One tip here which I can share is that when you head off to the barn with your blank DNA cards, one way to keep them safe is in an old school audio cassette box.





Just a quick update on the apparent coronavirus outbreak. Thanks to Nancy Wright:

We took 5 alpacas to a show. The youngest was 9 1/2 months, about
100 lbs. We came back from the show on a Sunday. He started very watery
diarrhea on the following Wednesday. His quarantine mates then got
it, and by the following week some of the alpacas in other pastures
who did not attend the show got it as well. Nobody else that got
it, whether show kids or not, were juvies, under 100 lbs, or of poor
body score.

Nancy Wright


The fecal results just came back from Oregon State. They are positive
for coronavirus.

Nancy Wright

Many of you will no doubt have read about the diarrhea that alpacas appear to be suffering from after attending shows this year. And some of those infections have been identified as Coronavirus. So what is Coronavirus?

Coronavirus is a genus of animal virus belonging to the family Coronaviridae.
Coronaviruses are enveloped viruses with a positive-sense single-stranded RNA genome and a helical symmetry.
The name "coronavirus" is derived from the Latin corona, meaning crown, as the virus envelope appears under electron microscopy (see below) to be crowned by a characteristic ring of small bulbous structures.



Coronaviruses primarily infect the upper respiratory and gastrointestinal tract of mammals and birds. Four to five different currently known strains of coronaviruses infect humans. The most publicized human coronavirus, SARS-CoV which causes SARS, has a unique pathogenesis because it causes both upper and lower respiratory tract infections and can also cause gastroenteritis.

Coronaviruses are believed to cause a significant percentage of all common colds in human adults. Coronaviruses cause colds in humans primarily in the winter and early spring seasons.

Coronaviruses also cause a range of diseases in farm animals and domesticated pets, some of which can be serious and are a threat to the farming industry. Economically significant coronaviruses of farm animals include:
Porcine coronavirus (transmissible gastroenteritis, TGE) and
Bovine coronavirus, which both result in diarrhea in young animals.

Feline enteric coronavirus is a pathogen of minor clinical significance, but spontaneous mutation of this virus can result in feline infectious peritonitis (FIP), a disease associated with high mortality.

There are two types of canine coronavirus (CCoV), one that causes mild gastrointestinal disease and one that has been found to cause respiratory disease.

Mouse hepatitis virus (MHV) is a coronavirus that causes an epidemic murine illness with high mortality, especially among colonies of laboratory mice.

In alpacas a good deal of work has been done by Chris Cebra at Oregon State University and basically in a study from 2003 they found that of 45 unweaned cria suffering from diarrhea 19 (41%) tested positive for coronavirus.

Well unlike unicorns apparently llama caddies do exist. I had an e-mail this morning from Pam a regular blog reader who gave me the facts on llama caddies. Alpacas are very cute but llamas can be very useful. Anyway ,here is the story.

The Village of Pinehurst in North Carolina is home to the new Talamore Golf Resort. Where the Rees Jones-designed Talamore Golf Club and the Arnold Palmer-designed Mid South Club, Talamore Golf Resort is apparently at the top of its class in the historic North Carolina Sandhills.

The great news is that Talamore have a competition going on right now to win a Llama Golfing vacation!

The Pinehurst area golf trip you will never forget! Two nights lodging at the Mid South Lodge, one day of play on the Arnold Palmer designed Mid South Members Course and a second day of play on the Rees Jones designed Talamore Resort Course. The Resort Course round will be played using the Club's world renown Llama caddies. Some restrictions will apply.

Restrictions:
* The Dollie Llama golf packages are only available during the months of November, December, January, and February. In addition, Llama Caddies only work on Sunday through Wednesday afternoons.

Pam tells me that they like the llamas because their padded feet don't tear up the courses and they can handle the weight of the clubs. Sometimes they carry drinks and food in cooler packs for the golfers too. I think this sounds like great idea and hopefully more golf courses will be taking on llama caddies in the not too distant future.

Thanks for the information Pam, much appreciated.