We’re sure everyone thinks life at an alpaca farm is all cuddles and fun, but there is also a serious side to our work which is keeping our gorgeous herd happy and healthy.
Part of the unglamorous side is knowing all about our alpaca poo! With alpacas come potential parasites. Unlike our domestic pets, routine blind treatment for worms frequently misses problems and can end up causing resistance, meaning that the correct products don’t work when needed.
Coming from a dry climate in South America, alpacas are very susceptible to internal parasites that can sadly be fatal if undetected. Group samples tested by a vet just aren’t sufficient for accurate treatment. We need to know which individual animals are susceptible to heavy worm burdens (usually only 5-10% of animals in a herd) and individually check at risk animals who are old, young, pregnant or under stress eg. during weaning.
With this in mind we recently invested in a brand new microscope (and ancillary kit!) as well as a wonderful parasitology course with Sue Thomas at Lyme Alpacas, which now means that we can monitor the alpaca’s health from the inside!
Here’s a photo of a little parasite egg we found on the course which is affectionately known as ‘Nemo’ (Nematodirus battus for our very interested readers!). It’s not a problem in low numbers and didn’t need treating…yet…but the fantastic news is that we can regularly monitor our alpaca poo to keep an eye on the situation!
The things we do for love …