Is there a rehab for an Alpaca?

We have an alpaca at the ranch who is quite the clown. His name is Thing. He can be very entertaining.

Thing the chicken grain addict

He loves chicken feed so much, that when I walk into the Alpaca's pen to feed the chickens, I have to have my husband fend off Thing. He will follow me and try to get his head into the bucket to eat all of the chicken grain.

Thing with his head in the bucket of grain!

Gary removing the bucket.

If Thing can't get his head into the bucket then he tries plan B. He gets his head into the chicken coop thru the opening that the chickens use  to come and go outside.

Things rear

There is nothing more funny than for me to be in the chicken coop feeding the chickens and collecting the eggs to see this!

Thing looking for chicken grain.

Once he gets his fix for the day, then he just wanders off to eat hay with the rest of the guys. He may be a pain to us at chore time, but we still love him.

Wintertime is here

Winter did finally arrive here in Northern MI. It has been a very strange winter. Above average temps and little snow. Gary & I were enjoying it as far as working outside and doing the chores. But it finally turned into winter with a big bang. We had a snowstorm a couple of days ago that dumped on us here locally about 14 inches and now it has been snowing every day since the storm. We also have been experiencing very cold temps, with wind chills below 0 at times. It is a good thing the Alpacas have their nice warm fleece to keep them warm.

Qtip

I do so much love their soft and silky fiber.  You might be interested in some facts about Alpaca fiber based on a study by the Alpaca Owners & Breeders Association:

 1. Alpaca is flame resistant, meeting the standards of the US Consumer Product Safety Commission's rigid testing specifications as a Class 1 fiber for use in clothing and furnishings.

2. Alpaca is resistant to external water penetration like wool, but can slowly wick away perspiration because of its unique ability to act like cotton in moisture regain. These factors are what makes alpaca feel lighter than wool, but warmer than cotton in cool, damp conditions.

3. Alpaca is water resistant, making spills easy to clean up before water saturates the fiber allowing stains to develop. It is also adsorbent to oils, meaning that the oils do not penetrate the fibers, but merely cling to the fiber for easy cleaning without harsh chemicals.

4. Alpaca is free of lanolin, and thus can be processed without the need for high temperatures or harsh chemicals in washing.

5. Alpaca is a natural renewable fiber with a wide range of applications.

There are of course many more wonderful facts about Alpaca's fiber. You can read more here at Wikipedia about Alpaca Fiber and it's wonderful benefits.

Thumper with snow on his nose.

White Cria is Snowflake

 The girl alpacas staying nice & warm.  The standing white alpaca is our spring cria Snowflake. Baby Alpaca Fiber is the ultimate softest fiber. I just love it.  Enjoy the winter and stay warm.

A dogfight at the ranch

Well now that the holidays are behind us and it is a New Year, one of my resolutions is to post more on the blog. My personal life became very busy last year and I just didn't have the time to post like I wanted. So here is the first post for 2012.

You remember the rescue dog Chloe that we adopted last February? 

Chloe

She has been growing like a weed. She has gained 19 lbs since she has been here. She now weighs 98 lbs. She is very loveable with my husband and myself.  Her job here at the ranch is to guard our goats and  the house.  She takes her job seriously and loves it.  The only problem we have is that she does not like our other dogs. Of all the dogs that we have, she only likes Pan. (I don't blame her as he is a good looking boy). 

Pan

Well just the other day, Meadow our other female Maremma was here at the house.

Meadow

We were outside doing the chores and  Meadow and Pan came to visit and walk to the barnyard with us. Meadow was just sitting and paying no attention to Chloe. All of sudden I look over just as Chloe leaps onto Meadow and grabs her in the back of the neck. Chloe had broken her lead that we had her on.  She decided to defend her territory from Meadow.  Chloe didn't care about Pan, just Meadow.  We were fortunate to be outside and to be able to break them up by pulling on their tails. It causes them to release the grip that they have on each other.  But dog fights are scary as they make a lot of noise and there was some yelping going on. I do not like dog fights. After separating them and putting them on leashes, we examined each dog. Meadow had a little blood from her ear, but not a puncture wound.  We did not find anything on Chloe.  I treated Meadow's ear for a few days, cleaning it and putting some antibiotic cream on it. It healed up nicely.  Tuesday morning when we went outside to do the chores, we noticed that Chloe had some blood stains on her side. We examined her and found a large abscess under her fur that she had been licking. So a call to the vet and an appointment was made. When we took her in to the vet, we placed a muzzle on her, as she does not like our vet or any other male strangers in the vet's office.  Our vet examined her and yes he did find a very small puncture wound above the abscess.  Dogs mouths are full of bacteria so a puncture wound should always be treated with antibiotics.The other problem was Chloe licking it and not allowing it to heal.  Our vet suggested that we place a t-shirt on her to keep her from licking. He gave us antibiotics for Chloe and we wash the abscess daily and place some other medicated cream on it. Then we put her t-shirt on and duck tape it to her back. This way she can't lick the abscess.  It is working and starting to heal.  Below is a picture of Chloe wearing her shirt. I think she looks cute in the color Fushia. She even smiled for the camera.

Chloe dressed in pink.

Happy Holidays from all of us

Chloe, Molly, Pan, Bailey, Meadow, & Furio

Amanda & the Alpacas

Goats & Chickens

Meet Molly our Stinky Dog

Our Molly

I do not remember introducing everyone to our wonderful dog, Molly.  I adopted her from an animal shelter many years ago. She has been our greatest companion and loyal friend.  Molly is as an active participant here at ranch. When we do the daily chores, she is right there with us every morning and evening.  The other night we were walking back from the barnyard to the house after completing the evening chores when Molly bolted into the dark chasing after something.  Usually she does this when there is a squirrel to chase up a tree.  I shined my light over in the direction that she bolted and said "Molly come." What I saw was this!

Of course the tail was going up and then the awful SMELL was in the air. Molly stopped chasing the skunk and came running over to me. Oh my, now she stunk!  Well she is an indoor dog and now we had to try and rid her of the smell. I tried bathing her with some dog shampoo, but of course that did not help.  So the next day I did some research and found on the internet a formula that was tried on the show Mythbusters. They said it worked the best.  So off to the store to buy some Hydrogen Peroxide.

 The ingredients are as follows.  1 Qt. 3% Hydrogen peroxide.  1/2 cup Baking Soda. 1 tsp of liquid soap (not dish detergent).  Mix the ingredients in a plastic bucket. Do not store this mixture as it can explode.

Be careful of not getting this in the animal's eyes, nose, or mouth. Put this on the dog and really work on the area where the spray is. Molly has a white patch on her chest and we could see the yellow spray from the skunk. Leave it on for 5 minutes, then rinse with tepid water.

Sweet Smelling Molly

Here is a picture of Molly after drying her off. The best part is that it really WORKED!  No left over odors on her.  She just smelled like a normal wet dog. The next problem was ridding the house of the odor.  Well that is another story for another day. I hope that Molly has learned her lesson and will not play with the skunks anymore, but if it happens again, I now keep all ingredients on hand.

Happy Thanksgiving

from all of us here at the ranch!

National Alpaca Farm Days

September 24^th & 25^th

Meet the Alpacas!

Where: Sundown Alpaca Ranch

4727 West River Ridge Road

Ocqueoc, MI

Time: Sat. & Sun. 11:00 am to 6:00 pm

Pet the Alpacas and see demonstrations of spinning yarn and weaving.

 

	Driving Directions to Sundown Alpaca Ranch
	From I-75, exit at (M-68) Indian River. Turn east on M-68 driving towards the City of Onaway. Drive thru Onaway continuing east towards Rogers City for 6 to 7 miles. Turn left (North) on Ocqueoc Rd. Follow another 6 miles to Schaedig Hwy. (Landmark is a white church). Turn right (east) on Schaedig Hwy. follow to the end of road (dead end) and then turn left on W. River Ridge Rd.(Private Rd). Follow around curve and driveway for Sundown Alpaca Ranch on left side. From US-23, turn south on Ocqueoc Rd (at the mouth of the river by the Hammond Bay Party store). Follow for about three miles to Schaedig Hwy, making a left (East, landmark is a white church). Follow to the end of the road and turn left on W. River Ridge Rd. (Private rd). Follow around curve and driveway for Sundown Alpaca Ranch on left side.