Mite treatment.

Hi Folks. One of the things that is currently bothering us at the moment are the mites that have targetted some of our Alpacas and in particular, three of our Australian girls. I have reported it before and we previously used such treatments as Dectomax mixed with Sudacrem and also Eprinex wiped onto the effected parts. As they didn't seem to have much impact and following some recommendations from other breeders, we decided to use a little garlic powder mixed in with their camelibra and fibregest supplements. We tried the mixture yesterday and all was fine but today, one of the girls who spent a fair amount of time lapping up the remnants in the feed bowl, had an adverse reaction to it as we suspect she overdosed on garlic! She spent the next 30 minutes trying to rid herself of the mixture and as we were not expecting such behaviour, we were a little worried to say the least! Close observation followed and upon recovery she was soon busy grazing again.........Phew! Next time, I will reduce the portion of garlic and make sure they do not lap up the powder remains.

We are looking forward to this weekend as a close friend of mine will be visiting Easter-Wood for the first time. Colin and his wife, Jane are coming over from Singapore where they have been living for close on 20 years. Sheila and I went over to see them in 2000 and whilst we have met up with Colin in France last year, we haven't seen Jane since 2000. It will be great to catch up again!

Another date in our diary is the veterinary talk by Gina Bromage in a couple of weeks time. This was set up by the Southern Alpaca Group and if the Fibre meeting is anything to go by, it will be a well received and most enjoyable day. Sheila and I attended the fibre day back on the 20th September at Meon Valley Alpacas and we were very impressed with Karen and Peter's Alpaca farm. We picked up many tips and met some very nice breeders. All in all, a very pleasant day out with us even having lunch in one of the Alpaca paddocks!

Will be back soon with more news.