BVD Protocol

I am not an expert on BVD (bovine viral diarrhea). I hope I never have to become one. The people I know who are experts are either vets or breeders who have had a breakout on their ranch. So I repeat, I’m happy in knowing just what I need to know and letting my vet shoulder the burden for the rest.

With her, I’ve defined a protocol for ensuring I can retain my state of blissful semi-ignorance. I’m sure there are people who have tighter biosecurity than I do but plenty who have less.  We all have to decide what we can and cannot accommodate to strike the comfortable balance between manageability and peace of mind. And that’s all I’m striving to do here. Things I’ve defined as totally outside my control I’ve decided to ignore – these include constraining the movements of my cats from pen to pen, stressing over whether flies or mosquitoes can transmit the disease, and endlessly pondering whether BVD could spread airborne, all current possibilities.  Once again, the words blissful semi-ignorance are key here.

Rule #1: No nose to nose contact with any animals that may have been exposed.

These include animals that have been on transport, at shows, or at another ranch.  These animals go into quarantine for three weeks, the amount of time it takes an acute infection to run its course and convert to titres. Do I maintain the recommended 30 foot buffer between quarantine and my regular herd. Nope. It’s a limitation I live with because of how my layout was originally designed. I’ll have the possibility to provide that much distance in my new paddocks that I’m putting in next year. Sometimes I test an animal that’s in quarantine but in that case, I have both a PCR and a serology done. One tells me if I have an acute infection from whatever put them in quarantine in the first place (PCR) and the other (serology) tells me if they ever have. This assumes I have a previous PCR that proves the animal is not PI (persistently infected).

Rule #2:  Test after every event that matters

What the heck does that mean? I’m trying to state that I test for BVD titres after every exposure that could impact a next action. For instance, I test each animal I purchase for exposure when it arrives to establish a baseline so that if a test is positive later, I know it has happened since they arrived. I test each female who returns from an outside breeding after she emerges from quarantine so I know before the baby is born if I have a risk of a PI cria.  I don’t test each cria after each show but do try to test after the last show for females if they are leaving for an outside breeding.  Make sense? Of course, each newborn is tested for BVD with a PCR test, but if I’ve followed the exposure rule, I pretty much know if the dam has had any opportunity to expose the fetus.

Rule #3: Isolate clothes and equipment for quarantine

Winter quarantines are horrible. There’s nothing like changing clothes and shoes in an unheated barn when it’s below zero. But if you’re going to quarantine, you might as well do it right and that means a change of clothes, shoes, and work gloves when going between the barn and the quarantine. It’s just easier to have duplicate supplies of everything in quarantine, including feed and hay. If I have to reuse the quarantine without having tested the previous inhabitants, then I bleach down the walls, feeders, and equipments and spread a layer of hydrated lime on the ground. If I have a serology done on one of the inhabitants before the next ones go in and it comes up negative, then I just do a normal clean up.

Rule #4: Follow common sense

Everything else falls under the “how do I feel about it” category. For instance, do I make very person stomp on my biosecurity mat filled with Nolvasan and scrub down their hands? No. For strangers, shearers who go farm to farm, people I don’t know too well – yes. For people I trust, they know to come with clean shoes and clothes and I ask them just to check.  In reality, the guidelines for disinfection are that the liquid (bleach, nolvasan) has to be in contact with your shoes for ten minutes before it does its magic and wipes out any lurking viral agents. I know no one has never asked me to stomp or dip and then stand outside for that long. But I still use a mat- it can’t hurt. And I have plastic booties on hand. If I ever had a large horde of people going through, plastic shoes would be the way to go to be safe.  It’s all relative to your assessment of the risk.

Like I said, I’m no expert. This is what I do to straddle that fine line between feeling safe and not tearing my hair out.  As always, consult your vet.

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For New Breeders: Planning Your Fencing

Yesterday I was planning out the fencing for my new paddocks and pasture.  By now, I know exactly how I want it to work but I remembered that this was perhaps one of the most difficult plans to come up with when I first started out, so I thought I would share the whole gruesome experience.

First off, I had requirements that were specific to my situation and location:

• Handling ease: I wanted to be able to herd and sort animals by myself so my paddocks were designed to be long and narrow and end in smaller pens that connect to each other so they can double as catch pens, sorting areas, and connecting alleys between paddocks.
• Keep out predators: For protection against coyotes and neighboring dogs, I went with a 5′ no climb fence. For perimenter fencing close to the barn, the fence posts have a top rail. For outer pastures, top lines are reinforced with a thick wire. For my new paddocks, I’m going with 4′ high no climb fencing for the inner fence lines to reduce costs and staying with the 5′ high fencing for the outside fencelines. The metal gates that do not have additional fencelines between the main paddocks have to be additionally heightened as they are only 4′ high.
• Uneven terrain and shifting soil: I live on a hilly property that is heavily forested with ponderosa pines. My fenceposts had to be sunk in with concrete to increase stability in the sandy top layer. I also had to go back where the bottom of the fencing did not sit flat on the ground due to slope and fill those gaps. Originally, I used the pricey smart latches to close all my gates, but I’ve since learned that these quickly come out of alignment unless the area is flat. Now I’m going with hooks and chains instead that don’t require perfect alignment. Cheaper too!
• Accommodate machinery: My gates range from 4′ to 10′ wide depending on terrain and location. For all fenced areas,  I have gates that are at least wide enough to allow a bobcat through in case I need additional work or cross fencing done.
• Septic: My septic and leach field location are right in an area that I would have liked to include in pasture. I had to push back the fenceline to exclude this area.
• Quarantine:  No one was talking BVD or Coronavirus when I first started.  I bet a lot of people would have totally different fencing layouts if they had known then what we know now! In my new area being planned, I have a 30′ buffer area that separates the paddocks attached to two shelters for visiting dams.
• Natural flow : No doubt, gates can provide a possible weak point ( more points where a gate can be left open and where dogs can more easily jump over or dig under) but when in doubt, I’ve found you can never have enough gates. When I planned out my fencing, I tried to picture how animals would be moved in all different scenarios in determining where the gates should be. I wanted animals from each stall to be routable to each pasture.  More gates are better!
• Temporary paddocks: This overlaps into barn design, but I also wanted the option of splitting certain paddocks in two or even three in different ways, so some of the fenced areas are designed to allow easy temporary cross fencing with panels

Everyone’s situation is different, but giving the fencing layout a lot of thought will pay off big. The converse is true as well. Trying to fix poor fencing decisions would be a very costly nightmare. I’d recommend staking out your plan and walking it through by simulating different situations. And last but not least, once you find a good fencer, treasure him or her!

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Things That Never End

I’ve just come in from weeding the pasture. My husband is reframing the door to the barn after extensive rewiring work. The mice ate through one of the wires that brought power from the house to the barn so now we’re down to one plastic coated strand for all the barn needs. On the east side of our property, our very generous neighbor is scraping away scrub oak with his bobcat. Next year I plan to seed a new pasture there along with a new shelter for visiting dams and additional paddocks.

As I rush into the house to prepare lunch, I see my dams contentedly chewing their cud, watching the goings on of man and machine. They have no idea how much time and effort is expended on their behalf, or how many priorities have been reshuffled to improve their habitat.  And it’s day in and day out, week after week. I’ve come to terms that there are certain things involved with alpacas and life here that never actually end.

Whether you agree or not, find it humorous or tragic, here are things that you too , may come to know as the Laws of Ad Infinitum:

Law Number One: No matter the size of your property, you will never have enough fencing.

Law Number Two:  Regardless of how many weeds you kill each year, this number will always be exceeded by the number that spring up the following.

Law Number Three: Your barn will never be absolutely finished.

Law Number Four: There will always be more mice.

Law Number Five: Replace “mice” with flies, mosquitoes, or moths in Law Number Four.

Law Number Six: The search for good hay will never end.

Law Number Seven: Laws Number One through Six will never change.

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Herd Maintenance Recordkeeping

Ugh, I don’t know anyone who likes recordkeeping. Even blogging about it makes my fingers numb and my brain cells go dormant. However, it’s one of the most important parts of maintaining a healthy herd. Obviously, I am only talking about records relating to herd management. And for the purposes of both reading and writing sanity, let’s limit the scope of these records to routine herd health and not delve into breeding records you need to supply to your customers.

There are all kinds of nifty software programs available now if you like to go the private database route. I have a tiny herd so I don’t find that worth the expense. It’s the “what” not the “how” that is most important. As long as you have the information, it doesn’t matter what system you use to maintain it.

I use a three part system. Before that even makes your eyes cross and your vision blur, it’s really very simple:

1. Calendar:  Everything is driven by my calendar. Everything that has to be done gets on here.  It’s my trigger to do anything and also allows me to see if I have any conflicts. If I ever lost the stuff on my calendar, I’d be clueless. Nothing would get done, I’d be a disorganized mess, my brain would implode, and next thing you know, they’d find me wandering down the grocery store aisle with a bewildered look on my face, repeatedly whispering “Peanut butter? Peanut butter?” to the air.

Examples of stuff that goes on my calendar: shows, shots, breeding attempts, behavior testing, due dates, shearing, appointments, animal arrivals and departures, follow up

2. Journal : The journal is the spiral bound book that goes with me to the barn and is filled with almost illegible scribbles (the colder the weather the more illegible) that show on each date what happened. It’s like a diary in that it records not only what was done but also the result. I also use it to track traffic of people and animals through the barn. It doesn’t always agree with the calendar. For example, I may have on the calendar to give a shot on that Friday, but I do it on Saturday instead. The journal records what actually happened, not what was planned.

You may wonder why I record who comes and goes. That’s to track exposure. If it ever were to happen that I had a BVD or corona virus event, the journal would be the only record I have that would delineate the timeline for me to figure out the source and who might be at risk. It’s kind of like insurance: Make the effort and hope you never have to use it.

Examples of stuff in a journal: dates and weights of animals, arrivals and departures of people and animals, vet visits and what was done and the results, dates and shots/treatments, breeding activities (breedings, behavior testing etc)

3. Animal Records:  After I’ve recorded something in the Journal, everything gets transcribed into individual animal health records. Along with the input from the journal, the animal records also record any events that happen off the farm when they are at another breeder.  In addition to herd management details, individual animal records I keep include shear weights, pictures at set periods (usually one-few days old, two weeks, one month, six month, full fleece weanling, shorn yearling, full fleece adult, shorn adult), histograms, BVD PCR,  and ARI. I also like to keep a gallon size bag of prime fiber from each year’s shear.

I’m sure other people have slicker ways of doing all of the above but this system suits my current size very well. Plus it can all be done on paper if you’re PC averse or all in soft copy. My calendar is both online and on paper, my journal is hard copy, and my animal records are all spreadsheets. I like to keep all the individual animal records in soft copy (photos, ARI, BVD PCR, and histograms) because I am pro-email and anti-fax. If I had a really large herd, I’d probably go to a software program and a terminal in the barn. You could input from there and the program would organize the data for you, plus it would probably have an internet interface so you could access your records online anytime anywhere. Now that would be sweet.

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A Starter Alpaca Library

When you get serious about the prospect of owning alpacas, you develop a voracious appetite for knowledge of all things alpacas, especially on how to take care of them. There are quite a lot of good reference books available and they can prove invaluable as you get started. Regardless of how extensive your library becomes, however, nothing can replace a good vet and a good network of alpaca breeders who stand ready and willing to answer all your questions.

I thought I would post the books that I find particularly valuable. This is not meant to be a comprehensive list – these are just those focusing on herd care and management that I found myself reaching for the most.

Caring for Llamas & Alpacas by Claire Hoffman, DVM and Ingrid Asmus

Llama/Alpaca Neonatal Care by Bradford B. Smith, DVM, PhD, Karen I. Timm, DVM, Phd, Patrick O. Long, DVM

Alpaca Field Manual by C. Norman Evans, DVM

The Camelid Companion:Handling and Training Your Alpacas & Llamas by Marty McGee

The Complete Alpaca Book by Eric Hoffman

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The Story of Thisbe

Thisbe

 Thisbe was born on Thursday, May 28, 2009 through the painful efforts of her dam, my vet, and my own hapless assistance. It was a difficult delivery to say the least and that episode was detailed in my last post Exhaustion Redux.

A few people asked me about her unusual name. It comes from a tale that I first read in Edith Hamilton’s Mythology way back when I was a teenager. It was only later that I learned that it provided the inspiration for Shakespeare’s “Romeo and Juliet”. He also retold the tale in “A Midsummer’s Night Dream”. When Thisbe (my cria) arrived after much struggle, she was covered in blood. So much so that she was stained pink, even though I could see she was white.  From there came the idea of naming her Thisbe.  If you know the story of Pyramus and Thisbe, you’ll understand this oblique reference right away. If not, read away (Pyramus and Thisbe as retold by Josephine Preston Peabody, Old Greek Stories Told Anew, 1897):

But there once lived in Babylonia two lovers named Pyramus and Thisbe, who were parted by a strange mischance. For they lived in adjoining houses; and although their parents had forbidden them to marry, these two had found a means of talking together through a crevice in the wall.

Here, again and again, Pyramus on his side of the wall and Thisbe on hers, they would meet to tell each other all that had happened during the day, and to complain of their cruel parents. At length they decided that they would endure it no longer, but that they would leave their homes and be married, come what might. They planned to meet, on a certain evening, by a mulberry-tree near the tomb of King Ninus, outside the city gates. Once safely met, they were resolved to brave fortune together.

 

Thisbe by John William Waterhouse -1909

So far all went well. At the appointed time, Thisbe, heavily veiled, managed to escape from home unnoticed, and after a stealthy journey through the streets of Babylon, she came to the grove of mulberriesnear the tomb of Ninus. The place was deserted, and once there she put off the veil from her face to see if Pyramus waited anywhere among the shadows. She heard the sound of a footfall and turned to behold–not Pyramus, but a creature unwelcome to any tryst–none other than a lioness crouching to drink from the pool hard by.

 

 

Without a cry, Thisbe fled, dropping her veil as she ran. She found a hiding-place among the rocks at some distance, and there she waited, not knowing what else to do.

The lioness, having quenched her thirst (after some ferocious meal), turned from the spring and, coming upon the veil, sniffed at it curiously, tore and tossed it with her reddened jaws,–as she would have done with Thisbe herself,–then dropped the plaything and crept away to the forest once more.

It was but a little after this that Pyramus came hurrying to the meeting-place, breathless with eagerness to find Thisbe and tell her what had delayed him. He found no Thisbe there. For a moment he was confounded. Then he looked about for some sign of her, some footprint by the pool. There was the trail of a wild beast in the grass, and near by a woman’s veil, torn and stained with blood; he caught it up and knew it for Thisbe’s.

So she had come at the appointed hour, true to her word; she had waited there for him alone and defenceless, and she had fallen a prey to some beast from the jungle! As these thoughts rushed upon the young man’s mind, he could endure no more.

“Was it to meet me, Thisbe, that you came to such a death!” cried he. “And I followed all too late. But I will atone. Even now I come lagging, but by no will of mine!”

So saying, the poor youth drew his sword and fell upon it, there at the foot of that mulberry-tree which he had named as the trysting-place, and his life-blood ran about the roots.

During these very moments, Thisbe, hearing no sound and a little reassured, had stolen from her hiding-place and was come to the edge of the grove. She saw that the lioness had left the spring, and, eager to show her lover that she had dared all things to keep faith, she came slowly, little by little, back to the mulberry-tree.

She found Pyramus there, according to his promise. His own sword was in his heart, the empty scabbard by his side, and in his hand he held her veil still clasped. Thisbe saw these things as in a dream, and suddenly the truth awoke her. She saw the piteous mischance of all; and when the dying Pyramus opened his eyes and fixed them upon her, her heart broke. With the same sword she stabbed herself, and the lovers died together.

There the parents found them, after a weary search, and they were buried together in the same tomb. But the berries of the mulberry-tree turned red that day, and red they have remained ever since.

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Shots for Beginners

Unless you come from a livestock background (which I did not), that first year of alpaca ownership can introduce you to a new vocabulary when it comes to healthcare – specifically when it comes to taking care of your own shots and vaccinations.  And you can feel like a total idiot – breeders and vets will reel off acronyms easily that fall on neophyte ears like a foreign language. Luckily, not only did I have an outstanding vet (thank you so much, Dr. Kim Gardner-Graff) , but also some wonderful mentors who answered all my questions patiently. But even now, years later, I still remember the awkwardness of the first year and thought I would publish my own schedule of shots and vaccinations, along with full explanation of those pesky acronyms.

As always, care may vary according to region, your own particular herd needs (due to size, ranch layout and practices etc), or your vet may prescribe a different practice. I always go with what my vet says so we’re always on the same page.

Those puzzling first acronyms that soon become your second language:

• CC = cubic centimeters. 1cc equals 1 ml but cubic centimeters are appropriately used for solid matter.
• IgG= immunoglobulin G. This is a blood draw to measure the levels of proteins that function as antibodies in the immune response. This has nothing to do with shots but you’ll run into it when you have crias born. An IgG on the day after birth can determine whether the newborn received adequate immunities from the mom’s colostrum.
• IM= intramuscular. The shot is injected in the muscle tissue, most commonly into the butt. Especially important that all air has been eliminated from the injection.
• ML = or “mil”= 1 milliliter. 1 ml equals 1 cc but milliliters are appropriately used for liquids e.g. blood, drugs etc. Syringes are marked in ml.
• SQ = subcutaneously. The shot is injected under the skin but not into the muscle. You tent up the skin to create a pocket. Most commonly done in the hairless area in the inner armpit, the top of the leg , or the base of the neck. Important that all air has been eliminated from the injection.

Those first puzzling meds that are injected:

• AD&E= Vitamin A,D &E. Non prescription and can be stored at room temperature. Viscous liquid. Used for growing crias at the rate of 1 ml per 100 lbs SQ to encourage good growth and straight legs. I also give it to pregnant dams 3 months before their delivery date as a boost for the baby.
• Banamine= flunixin meglumine is the generic term, Banamine is the brand name that everyone refers to it by. Prescription only and stored refrigerated to maximize life. It’s an anti-inflammatory and therefore a pain reliever. It also blocks a female from aborting during times of high stress and is sometimes used during transport and shearing. 1 ml per 100 lbs IM.
• CD&T= Clostridium Perfringens, Types C&D Tetanus Toxoid. Non-prescription vaccination stores in the refrigerator. Prevents enterotoxemia among others.  1 ml administered SQ to newborns unless dam was vaccinated 6 weeks prior to birth, in which case newborn is injected at 1 month old. Then 2 ml SQ at 2 mos, 6 mos, 1 year old and annually after that.
• Dectomax = brand name for doramectin. An injectable non-prescription parasiticide preferred by some breeders over Ivomec. Administer 1 ml per 70 lbs either SQ or IM. Like all parasiticides, I usually only treat upon discovery of parasites in fecals and do not usually treat on a set schedule.
• Epi= abbreviation for epinephrine (not to be confused with the parasite formerly known as “epe”, now called mycoplasma haemolame).Prescription only and store refrigerated to maximize life. Epi is used to treat anaphylactic shock if the animal reacts after you administer meds. 1 ml IM should be administered as soon as the signs of shock are evident as anaphylactic shock can be fatal. This med is like insurance – you have to have it but hope you never use it.
• Ivomec= brand name for Merial ivermectin which is an injectable parasiticide.  Non prescription and can be stored at room temperature. There is also Ivomec+, which covers what Ivomec does plus things like liver flukes. Ivomec covers only specific parasites so your vet should advise you based on the fecal results.
• Oxytocin= prescription only and stored refrigerated to maximize life. This is another med that you have on hand and hope you never have to use. It’s a mammalian hormone that can induce contractions in the uterus. It is used most commonly to bring the milk down in post partum dams for the benefit of the nursing newborn.
• Panacur= or Safeguard= both brand names for fenbendazole. Non prescription oral paste that can be stored at room temperature or refrigerated to maximize lifespan.  Another parasiticide with premeasured notches on the plunger. I do use this to treat dams for 3 days after they give birth as the stress of delivery may cause them to shed eggs. You should consult your vet for its appropriate use. Not a shot, unlike Ivomec.
• Vit B= non-prescription liquid that can be stored at room temperature. Used to boost appetite for weight-deficient animals. 1 ml per 100 lbs.

These are the most universal injectables that I could think of. There are , of course, many other meds that are specific to illnesses (like antibiotics like Naxel, Excenel, and Penicillin at 1 ml per 25 lbs) and region (West Nile (WNV), selenium).

Those first puzzling syringes:
To give a shot, you need a needle and a syringe. You can buy them separately or pre-assembled but they should all be sterile, of course.  I like the luer lock syringes that screw the needle on slightly vs the ones that are just pressed on (and seem to pop off just as easily). For all the shots above, you can stick with a 3 ml syringe and a 20 gauge needle, 1″ long. I used to have 18 gauge needles (which are bigger) and 22 gauge needles (which are smaller) but a 20 gauge is an all-around good-to-have size. As you use the meds, you will note the ones that are more viscous (AD&E) or more fluid (Ivomec) and can specialize accordingly.

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