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Educational Alpaca ArticlesColusa Riverside Alpacas' mission is to advance the alpaca and the alpaca industry. One way we do so is by providing the public with valuable learning material in the form of educational alpaca articles published and written by author/owner Sheila Scroggins, as well as other public learning resources and materials. Please enjoy our articles...
Please check back as we continue to add more of our published articles to this page. |
At the spring Calpaca (California affiliate of AOA) meeting, U.C. Davis Professor of Equine Medicine and Epidemiology Dr. John Madigan presented new research on the syndrome of dummy foals, and a methodology to reverse it. Equine neonatal maladjustment syndrome is more popularly referred to as dummy foal syndrome. Dr. Madigan’s research findings have become known as the “squeeze method.” Dr. Madigan is the principle researcher in the “Clinical Trial of the Madigan squeeze method for treatment of equine neonatal maladjustment syndrome.” This groundbreaking research has clear application to the health and welfare of alpacas – read on to find out how.
How can we uncover any emerging or re-emerging disease in New World camelids unless we look for the cause of death when we lose an alpaca? This dilemma ultimately faces all owners at some point when raising alpacas. 
Do you have a room exclusively for medications and medical supplies for your herd? In my opinion it is a necessity for any alpaca owner. As a nurse practitioner who has worked in many medical offices and hospitals, I know each has a room to store and dispense medical supplies and medications. While I try to prepare for convenience and the ability to treat just about anything on the farm, my supplies are meant to treat minor medical problems, as well as the moderate medical problems I feel comfortable handling. Included in the medication room is everything I need for herd health, both in refills and a mobile medication supply bucket to take into the field. 
Conventional wisdom says cow or goat milk is a good substitute for alpaca milk. My research indicates neither of those are the most optimum milk substitute. Recently, we bottle fed a cria for two months with a unique formula that produced good results. I pursued further research to see if my choice of formula had real validity. What I learned may help others with bottle-fed crias. 
id you know there may be times when you can help your adult alpacas by providing them with supplementation of electrolytes? It may be that dam who decides to give birth in the spring during an unexpected heat wave. It could be in a condition described to your veterinarian over the phone where the recommendation is to supplement your alpaca with an electrolyte. There is an easy recipe you can prepare and have on hand which can provide a quality, easily stored, and easily administered form of electrolytes. And best of all it will only cost pennies per dose.
his
case study is about Moon River, a beautiful alpaca cria that
was born healthy. She appeared by all measures to be normal,
but lived for only four short days. Moonie, as we nicknamed
her, succumbed to an infectious process, the result of insufficient
amounts of colostrum in the first hours of her life. All this
was unbeknownst to her owners, until it was too late. My hope
in writing this case study is that you develop an understanding
of the consequences for a cria who fails to get enough colostrum
in the first 12 hours of life. "Sepsis is a severe illness
in which the bloodstream is overwhelmed by bacteria."
In
1990, with lightning speed, the means for finding information
for the general public went from the library to the Internet.
The Internet started by linking universities and quickly spread
to its use by the public. Hence came the vernacular "Google
it". So when someone wants information about alpacas
they will "google it". The words they choose to
seek information will depend on many variables; however the
results you want is for that person to link to your website.
The only way to do that is either pay a significant amount
of money each year to a web optimization service or to do
it yourself. 
My
husband Dave and I started a new alpaca business just like
you. We were three months into the business and all I can
say is what did people do before the Internet. Thank goodness
for the Internet. Of course, it was a recession, right, we
couldn't start with two alpacas like everyone else. No, no,
we started with 10 alpacas and two llamas. You know the thinking,
why start with two when you can get 10 for the same price.
Sounds good, right? Who thinks like this? Someone with no
knowledge about alpacas? I hope you enjoy my look into the
past with humor and I hope you can say to yourself, thank
God I am not there anymore too!
Colusa Riverside Alpacas David &
Sheila Scroggins, 4360 Indian Creek Rd. Lincoln, CA 95648
Dave's cell: (530) 863-9581.
Sheila's cell: (530) 218-6255
E-mail:
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