Summer is here!! (And a new cria!)

Well the semester is finally over, so I can get back to my life!  Luckily I get to spend the summer back home on the farm, so I promise there will be lots of llama and fiber-related posts!

First, results from the Hillsdale Hobo show, our 2012 show season opener!  T and Ralph both did very well for hardly being worked with all winter (my fault, I know!).  T was really freaked out in showmanship for some reason, and I forgot a vital part of the showmanship "pattern" (I forgot to smooth down T's wool after the judge pet him), so we didn't place.  The class was competitive though.  I guess we both need some practice before the state fair!  Halter was awesome though.  T won his class (of 4)- Yearling Non-Breeder.  He didn't get Grand or Reserve, but he didn't behave very well either.  He did compete in Get of Sire for his previous owners though, and they placed second in a very competitive class.  Both boys did great in performance (for them!), doing obstacles I never thought they'd do.  And Ralph finally decided the dreaded stuffed moose wouldn't kill him!  Took 4 years!  Oh, and Ralph got his haircut!

Can you say curls?  I can't wait to shear T!

T modeling his 1st place ribbon!

Such a handsome boy.  I'm really getting attached!

Ralph modeling his new haircut.  His head definitely needs work, and I haven't decided if I should try to trim his legs more or not.  Though after how Bluff's shear job turned out this weekend I probably shouldn't bother!

And next, a puppy update.  Abby has been spoiled the past couple of weeks, and we've gone on some cool hikes.  One up in Lansing, and another in Indianapolis.

The first hike was at an old brick factory!

Hiking down the trail. 

Abby modeling her new Easy Walk harness.  She reacts to it a lot better than the Halti or Gentle Leader head halters, and it works almost as well.

I have a feeling this is an old quarry.

Abby was getting rather pooped!

Turtle!  One jumped into the river just before I took the picture.

The trails follow the Grand River in Grand Ledge, MI.

The second walk was at Fort Benjamin Harrison in Indianapolis.  Kaya (Australian Shepherd) got to join Abby for this one!

My sister and I are planning on taking our two dogs (she has a rescued German Shepherd/Border Collie (?) mix) on a bunch of hikes this summer to get them both socialized.  Abby is definitely over-socialized and needs to calm down around people, while my sister's dog Cerro needs to realize people aren't scary.  Hopefully they can both find a happy medium!

I ended up going home over the weekend, and quickly became knee-deep in llama stuff!  Bluff finally had her cria on the 29th of April, a beautiful little girl my sister delivered and named Autumn Hill's Karakoram (aka Kara).  Apparently Kara's legs were twisted around her head, and my sister calmly figured out the situation and straightened her out.  She's doing great now, and gaining over 1.5 lbs daily thanks to Bluff's amazing milk supply!

Newborn Kara.  She started out at 30 lbs!

Kara at 1 week of age.  Up to 40 lbs already!

Since the cria was delivered and the weather was back in the high 80s, we decided Bluff needed a haircut.  So we carefully groomed her out and gave her a bath Saturday morning, and then started shearing her later that night.  I'm having some clipper problems, so we had to finish up on Sunday.  I knew Bluff would be nervous being in the chute (away from her cria), so we groomed her in the creep feeder with Kara at her side.  We then let Kara loose in the front yard while I washed Bluff, and then they both spent the afternoon in a pen under the barn overhang.  I even sheared 90% of Bluff in the creep feeder, just tied loosely to the fence!  I did eventually have to put her in the chute to finish her belly and legs, but by Sunday Kara nor Bluff were nervous about being separated.  That bodes well for showing them at the state fair in August!

Bluff getting her toenails trimmed before we started grooming.

Gotta love a calm momma llama...Kara was nursing on and off the whole time we were grooming Bluff!  And Bluff was never tied up.

The *before* shot.

The *after* shot- part 1.  She still looks a bit rough here (Saturday night).  She looks better now (I evened her up Sunday), but I still have to finish her back legs.

In fiber news, I finally finished my llama show vest!  It needs buttons and a band in the back to cinch it in a bit, but otherwise I'm very happy with how it turned out.

Hopefully it won't look as frumpy in person!

Close-up of the cable pattern and button band on the front of the vest.  I love the tweedy look of this yarn.

So that's about it for now.  Abby and I are back in Michigan for one last week, then home until late August!  I have lots planned for Kara, T, and Ralph!  And of course tons of state fair projects to work on.  Should be a great summer!

Crias!

No, no cria from Bluff yet, but all this waiting gave me the idea to write about what to expect when a cria is born and what supplies to have on hand.

Ralph saying hello to Cattera's newborn cria, Catallegre.

Hands down, crias are my favorite part of raising llamas!  There's nothing cuter than a fuzzy little baby llama!  And after waiting ~11.5 months, their birth tends to be a big deal on most farms.

Catastrophie standing proud over her newborn cria, Annapurna.

Llamas are very stoic animals, and this applies to birthing as well.  With most females, you will have no idea when they are going to deliver.  I like to watch udders, but you have to know your particular female(s).  I have had some females who won't produce milk until the day they deliver, while others (including Bluff) will have a full udder for a month or two before they are due.  When I had multiple females due every year I would keep a record of when they started to develop an udder, and then use that information the next year to try and determine when they would actually deliver.  Some alpaca breeders swear by checking the ligaments around the tail- they should soften the day of delivery.  Another possible sign is a relaxed vulva- it will look a lot bigger and even show the pink lining when birth is imminent.  Some females will go off by themselves to deliver.  I had one female who wouldn't ever deliver when someone was home!

This can be a bad sign- lying on their side with the back legs thrown out to the side.  This is Bluff (pregnant with her first cria), who was experiencing a uterine torsion.

This is a normal sign: a relaxed vulva.

When birth is really near, most females will get up and lie down repeatedly.  They'll visit the potty pile a lot, but won't actually go to the bathroom.  Sometimes they will shift from side to side when they are lying down.  You may actually see the water break, or you may just see the nose and toes appear!  If everything is going right, you want to see the head and two front legs first.  If you have anything other than the head and both front legs, CALL YOUR VET!  Delivery tends to stall at this point for a few minutes, don't be worried if the cria just dangles there.  It's good so that the fluid can drain out of the cria's nasal passages.  If there is any membrane around the cria's nose or mouth, go ahead and remove that.  It normally won't take more than 15-30 minutes for the shoulders and the rest of the cria to be delivered- if it is much more than that, you might want to call the vet or assist the dam yourself.

Once the cria is delivered, stand back and let mom and baby bond for a few minutes.  The cria will thrash around a bit in an attempt to kush upright or even stand.  As long as the cria is breathing and moving around, you don't have anything to worry about immediately.  After a few minutes (or right away if it is particularly wet or cold), try to sneak in and dry off the cria.  Some dams will freak out if you try to mess with their crias, while others have no problem.  Just be cautious and watch your particular female.  Pretty soon the cria will try to stand.  You'll want to dip or spray the navel with 7% iodine or novalsan right away, and at least a few more times that day and the next.  If the umbilical cord is particularly long, you may want to tie it up so that it doesn't get stepped on or ripped.  It should fall off in a few days.

Cattera and her newborn cria, Cataleya.

Now that the cria is standing, it will start looking around for the milk bar.  Most crias will try to nurse every possible spot on the dam before they find the right spot.  I tend to let the cria explore on their own for 15-30 minutes, but if they still haven't latched on by that point I will steer them in the right direction.  Again, hopefully the dam will let you assist.  Crias nurse a bit differently than most people would expect- they switch between nipples rather quickly (I believe it is something like every 3 seconds they will switch), and don't nurse for very long at a time (normally no longer than a minute or two).  You can check the cria's lips for milk residue to tell if they have been nursing successfully.  The cria needs to nurse in the first 6 hours to get the beneficial colostrum.

May allowing her cria, Camissia, to nurse.  Notice how May's tail is wrapped- we like to do this a week or two before the female is due, as it helps keep them clean during delivery and makes it easier for us to see what is going on back there.  Camissia's ears are also taped- they were very floppy at birth.

After the cria has nursed, you can do a bit more hands-on examination.  Make sure the teeth have erupted (no teeth is a sign of prematurity), and you can stick your little finger in their mouth to check for a good suck reflex (a weak suck reflex can cause nursing problems).  Droopy ears or weak pasterns are other signs of prematurity.  You may want to take the cria's temperature- normal is 100-101F.  You'll definitely want to weigh the cria at some point.  Normal birth weight can range from 20-35lbs.  The important thing is to weigh the cria at the same time every day for at least a week- the cria should gain between 0.5-2lbs a day.  Any weight loss or stalling of weight gain should be talked over with a vet.

A perfect example of droopy ears.  All of May's crias were born with ears like this (actually May herself was too!), I believe it was partly genetic, partly because they all were somewhat premature.  We routinely would tape up droopy ears to help them hold shape.

Within 1-6 hours, the dam should deliver the placenta or afterbirth.  If this doesn't occur within 24 hours or the placenta doesn't look to be in one piece, CALL THE VET!  Whatever you do, don't pull on the placenta!  We learned this the hard way!  Some dams are really uncomfortable until the placenta passes, and won't let the cria nurse until then.  As long as it doesn't take more than 5-6 hours, don't worry too much.

Catastrophie with her first cria, McKinley.  Alpacas Alejandro and Moreo look curiously at the new addition.

Depending on the weather, time of day, and your female, you can put the mom and baby in a stall, or leave them in the pasture to continue bonding.  If its raining, cold, or almost dark, we'll normally go ahead and bring them in the barn.  Otherwise just leave them outside.  If you have any pushy individuals in your herd, you might want to put them in the barn or a different pasture.  We like to keep the mom and baby in the barn at night for the first few nights (less if the weather is nice, normally at least 2 nights).  We bed a stall down with straw, and add water and hay for the dam (plus some grain).  Make sure there isn't anything the cria can get into.  If the weather is cold but dry, you can use a cria coat (or a child's vest) to keep the cria warm.

Catastrophie and her second cria, Annapurna.  Annie was born in late September, and wore a coat on and off her first winter.

Some people like to give an enema to the cria within a few hours of birth, to help them pass the meconium (first feces).  We don't do this anymore, unless the cria doesn't pass the meconium within 24 hours or appears weak or lethargic or is straining.

A very tired Catallegre laying in the pasture with his mom, Cattera.  Being born is a lot of work!

You'll want to continue dipping the navel for another day, monitor nursing, and weigh the cria daily for at least a week.  Make sure the cria pees and poops (it is not uncommon for the cria to have a thick, yellow feces for awhile, especially if the dam is a heavy milker- however, if this turns into persistent diarrhea, call the vet).

Bluff letting her first cria, Rainier, nurse.  Bluff is an extremely heavy milker, and both of her crias experienced "mustard poop" on and off for their first few weeks of life.

Now all that's left is to sit back and enjoy your healthy cria!  I'll try to post stories of some of our llama births over the years.  No birth is ever the same!  I apologize for not having birthing sequence photos to show, but they are all in hard copy and I don't have a scanner!  There are tons of great websites with photos though!

April keeping watch over the fall 2005 crop of crias (L-R: Trillium, Catastrophie, Inali).

Oh, and our list of cria supplies:
             Powdered colostrum
             20 oz. plastic pop bottle (washed out)

 Red Pritchard nipples

 Baby bottles and nipples

 Enema

 KY jelly

 Thermometer

 Bulb aspirator

 Novalsan/iodine

 Film canisters w/ lids (washed out)

 Cotton gauze pads

 Clean towels

 Digital scale & sling

 Cria coat

 NurseMate (colostrum paste)

 Electrolytes

 Cria books

One of my favorite photos...3 generations!  The brown cria is McKinley, his mom is the appy (Catastrophie), and Taz's mom is the brown/silver girl sniffing the cria (Cattera).

Happy Birthday April! (And other updates!!)

First and foremost I must with my beautiful llama, April, a happy 18th birthday!  It's hard to believe she's that old, she's in amazing shape.  If I didn't have 2 little geldings to show I would definitely be taking her back into the show ring this summer!

April and I in 2002 at the Great Lakes Regionals.  She placed 1st in Heavy Wool Adult Female & Top 3 Heavy Wool Female!  

Next, an Abby update.  She's recovering nicely from her spay, today was her first day of freedom!  She built up a lot of energy not being able to walk or play for 10 days, but she's finally tired out tonight...it took a lot of work!

Sound asleep...upside down!  I have a weird dog...

Fell asleep mid-chew.  Notice her cool new collar...its a topo map!

This is an older (pre-spay) pic...but too adorable not to share!  Hank is sleeping on Abby!

It takes quite a lot to make Abby cock her head these days!  She was very amused with the sound of my desk drawer closing.

And the quintessential "guilty dog" look...or rather she's trying to make me feel guilty for not playing with her!

Sitting around with Abby while she recovered (since we couldn't play or take walks for most of the time), I got a lot of knitting done!  I finished 2 more baby gifts for a friend, a cute frog bib and the most adorable stuffed turtle toy ever!  The turtle took a lot of time, and I'll probably never make another (the shell was pretty complicated to put together), but I love how he turned out!!  There's some pics of older projects too, plus the roving that I just spun up.

Fingerless mitts I made over spring break.

Baby hat made with the leftover yarn.  I plan to add a flower or two.

My long awaited handspun convertible mittens!

Sheldon the turtle.

Abby making friends with Sheldon.

Froggy bib!

Shetland/alpaca/glitz roving I spun up.  May turn into a state fair project.

And last but not least, some llama updates.  Bluff is due in 2 weeks, though my mom swears she's going to have the cria before her due date.  She's huge, so I'm sure the cria is plenty big.  Now to get started on picking a name...the theme is mountains since the dad is Ridge Runner.

Bluff and her 2010 cria, Lily.  Lily is the cria that we lost to a dog attack January 2011.  Bluff's new cria will be a full sibling to both Lily and Bluff's first cria Rainier.

The same day as Bluff is due also marks the start of our show season for 2012!  The summer may be rather sparse, but I'm anticipating a busy fall!  I'm going to post a show season preview soon!

Ralph and T (the two red guys in front) are my main show string for this year!

Puppy Post!

Since I'm currently away from the farm in grad school, its often hard to come up with llama-related topics to write about!  (That will change this summer though, can't wait!)  So I decided tonight to write about the topic that is near and dear to my heart, and the one I currently think about the most on a daily basis...my adorable puppy, Abby!

The weekend I brought Abby home...she was so tiny!

As I mentioned before, I got Abby back in October as a 9-wk old pup.  She is a full-blooded Golden Retriever, and a gorgeous girl if I do say so myself!  The first several weeks with Abby were filled with the typical puppy problems...housetraining and crate training.  Luckily Abby has never been much of a chewer, so destroying the house wasn't an issue.  She actually took to her crate pretty well too, but housetraining was a whole other matter!  Abby drinks more water than any dog I've ever seen, so she constantly needed to go outside.  She learned to ring a bell on the door when she wanted to go out though, which did help.  Now, at 7 months of age, she's a lot more reliable in the house, only having accidents if she gets over excited (as in when she meets someone new or plays really hard).  And she can sleep for 12 hours in her crate at night, which is awesome!

Abby and Hank (my roommate's German Shorthair Pointer).  February 2012.

Pretty soon after I brought Abby home we started in a "puppy kindergarten" obedience class.  Abby was the youngest in the class, but did very well.  We worked on the basics: sit, stay, lie down, come, and walking on lead.  Abby even passed her AKC Star Puppy test with flying colors!  The "advanced puppy" class this winter was a bit more challenging though.  We worked on more extensive stays (especially with distractions) and heeling, as well as brushing up on the basics.  At the end of this class we took the AKC Canine Good Citizen (CGC) test, but no one ended up passing.  It was a lot harder than the puppy test!  I'm planning on continuing to work with Abby over the spring and summer though, and try to pass the test again in the fall.

Abby and Hank "playing".

Now that Abby (and I) have gone through some pretty extensive obedience work (and know what we need to work on and how to accomplish the goals I have for her), I decided it was time for something more fun!  I wanted to do an intro to agility class with her, but it didn't work out so we signed up for flyball instead!  Flyball basically involves the dog running over a set of low jumps, retrieving a tennis ball from a box-like contraption, and then running back to the handler.  There are competitions where it is like a doggy relay: a team of dogs runs back and forth over the course as fast as they can.  Check out YouTube for videos if you haven't seen flyball before, it is amazing!  We have only been to 2 classes so far, but it seems like Abby is quite a natural.  She has no problems with the jumps, and isn't afraid of the box at all.  Now she just has to learn to grab the tennis ball and bring it back, she tends to get distracted!  Hopefully I'll be able to work on that at home, once she heals up a bit more.

Which brings me to my next topic...miss Abby got spayed last Wednesday.  After losing 2 dogs to reproductive cancers (including a Golden Retriever), I knew I wanted to have her spayed before she came into heat the first time.  The vets at the MSU Vet Hospital where I take Abby said she could be spayed anytime after her last round of shots at 4 months of age, but I decided to wait for her to grow a bit more, and she was spayed a few weeks after her 7 month birthday.  She's currently 3 days post-surgery, and has completely bounced back to her normal self.  That's a good and a bad thing...I'm glad to know she is on the mend, but its hard to keep an energetic 7 month old puppy quiet for 10 days!  She's being confined to my room when I'm home, and in her crate when I'm at school.  She has clearance to start going on walks again after 7 days, and can play as normal after 10.  And we get to go back to flyball after 14 days!

February 2012.  She's getting big!

This summer we're going to take an agility class back home in Indianapolis.  We're skipping the intro class and starting in the beginner class, so Abby and I will have some pre-class "homework" to work on before we start!  It should be a lot of fun though.

How could you resist that face?  She definitely has the "guilty" eye thing going already!  Christmas 2011.

Maybe I'll start doing "Abby Updates" every once in awhile.  So for March 2012:  Abby is 7.5 months old, weighs in at 48 lbs.  She's as tall as my parents' Australian Shepherds, but not quite as tall as my roommate's German Shorthair Pointer.  I think she's had 2 accidents in the house in the past month.  As far as obedience goes, she knows how to sit, lie down, and stay (with minimal distractions) very well.  We're still working on heeling, loose lead walking, and coming when called (though she has gotten a lot better about coming!).  My current flyball goal for her is to learn to grab the tennis ball off the box and bring it back.  My overall training goal is to get her to quit jumping on people when she meets someone new!