You have a sick female alpaca. You take the dam to the veterinarian and there she is given medication. Since you are new to the business you have no idea how the medication will affect your dam. Believing everything is ok you take your dam home to realize a few days later she has given birth to a premature cria. What happened? Let us take a look back, the vet did not ask if your dam was pregnant and you did nOt volunteer the information either. The vet administered to the dam a steroid, which caused the dam to abort or give birth to a premature cria, who in most cases will not survive. This is a costly mistake that could have been avoided with a little communication between ranch and vet. This article we will discuss the relationship between ranch and camelid veterinarian.
Reviewing the scenario above it is easy to place the blame on the veterinarian. After all he/she is the doctor who should know better, but this is not a fair assumption. Mistakes can and will happen. Nobody is perfect. If you want to make sure the best of care is given to your alpacas, then I suggest you take the time to ask questions and learn about what is being prescribed to your animals. Communication between you and your vet is key. Always make sure your vet knows the current status of your alpacas, especially if they are pregnant. The more information you can provide to your vet such as temperature, respiration count, symptoms, etc. will help in making sure the correct diagnosis is made and how the alpaca is to be treated.
Camelid vets are not abundant in the United States. Once you select a vet you must remember that they too are learning everyday about alpacas and their illnesses. Creating a good working relationship with your vet will help the vet in knowing your animals. This can be accomplished by offering to send him/her to a seminar or clinic on camelids. Your vet will appreciate this gesture and realize how important this business is to you.
You need to know that there are no medications made just for alpacas. Veterinarians are prescribing meds that are used in sheep, goats, and cows. Therefore, you may find that your alpaca has a reaction to a medication that is of no fault to your vet. You need to understand the risks of administering the meds to your alpaca. There are plenty of ways to learn about the different medications. The easiest way is to speak to your vet. Ask what the medication is and what side effects it may cause. Then ask what you should do if you observe any of the side effects occurring. Another way to learn is to research the medication online. The Internet is a great source of knowledge and information is only a click away. Lastly, you can purchase books on animal medications or go to your local library.
No one will know your alpacas better than you. For the small alpaca rancher the loss of a cria, especially a female, is very costly. You have lost the initial breeding fee, a year of your cria production from the dam, and the female cria along with all of her possible crias. We are talking about thousands of dollars now and the loss of future income of over tens of thousands of dollars. With this in mind, do you think it is worth the time to learn and take interest in the care of your alpaca? If not, then you can only blame yourself for any mistake that can occur.
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