Monday 3 September 2012

Eventually, you will need plasma.



My last post was announcing the arrival of Apple Vale Golden Delicious - she is now just over three weeks old. After the expected first day loss of weight, she also lost weight on the second day (alarm bells rang, we got some goats milk in), and then was just about the same for three days. We were sure she had suckled frequently during the first day, though she was slow to start, but perhaps on reflection, she wasn't getting much milk. She's always been active, and bright, so we feel confident that she had taken some colostrum. So we have been giving her a bottle morning and evening, and she has gained steadily, albeit not at the rate of our previous cria - we haven't increased her bottle quanitity much, as we don't want to reduce what she does get from her mum, as that will still be better than milk suuplement. Eventually we had her IgG measured and this was found to be very low, so we asked the herd for a volunteer blood donation - since three are nursing mums, two are pregnant, and three are cria, the short straw was given to Moira, our maiden companion, by default. Since Moira is not halter-trained, and is a large animal, I decided we would use the shearing restraints to be more sure of a successful outcome - apart from a bit of squealing and spitting, the task was trouble-free, and a good 350ml bag-full came forth. The camper-van 'fridge' was brought into service, a quick trip to Classical Mile End, and their while-u-wait plasma-spin had me back on the road within 45 minutes. Our vet then came, and we found another use for the garden table, as it became the 'operating' table for Delicious to receive her plasma.
We also have some in the freezer now, in reserve. I've known that it was a good idea to have plasma in store, but the logistics put me off - another experience gained.
mmm, Delicious.

The evenings, when the cria are more playful, have often been gloomy, and so there haven't been many photo-opportunities.
A piano has not been air-brushed from this picture.

We have managed to secure the use of another small paddock near-by, which will assist with weaning the boys and getting Camelot back - we have a bit of fencing and bramble-clearing to do first, to make it secure.
"so, you want an alpaca scarf, do you?"

4 comments:

  1. Ah ... what a worry for Delicious, its great to have your own plasma at hand. I guess the logic being we all will need it at some point, its a life saver and a little bit of peace of mind knowing its there in reserve....excellent photos !! Hope all continues to go well for Delicious......Jayne

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  2. How lucky you are to have while you wait spinning so close at hand. I am still trying to find somewhere closer than two and half hours away! As you say it's pretty stress free and a life saver.

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  3. Well done guys, Deliciouis looks like she is going to progress nicely. Shirley & Robbie

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  4. We had to use plasma too this year but sadly the cria died. It is essential to have it on hand. Unfortunately we don’t have a centrifuge nearby so have to think what to do next season. Delicious looks suitably sweet.

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