Fecal exams are fun!

Well, they aren't really, but I thought this would make a catchy title.

I've been trying to better understand parasite management with my llama, Kai. As with my donkeys, I am uncomfortable simply injecting her with a random (although vet-recommended) anti-parasitic/de-wormer every 3 or so months with the hopes that it will take care of whatever issue she has. I really want to be able to knowledgeably treat and dose my animals.

These are some of the parasites and worms that llamas can have:

As you may recall, my Kai is a rescue llama. (You can read here about how she came to live at Critter Farm a year ago last November.) Sherri, the lady who rescued Kai, along with Kai's mom and sister, owns a llama farm called Hidden Oaks Llama Ranch. Sherri is an extremely knowledgeable llama owner and breeder. She is also incredibly well versed in conducting fecal exams. She does all the exams on her approximately 80 llamas and has even posted documents teaching others how to do their own tests. (Side note: This is one of the handful of items on my New Year's Resolution list: "Learn how to do your own fecal exams on your critters".)

Since I recently located this:

...my husband's super cool microscope (that he's had since he was 12 years-old!), this gives me one of the primary tools - and extra incentive - to learn:

But until I have the rest of the gear I need (glass slides and cover slips, fecalyzer test vials, sodium solution, etc), I won't be ready to attempt doing fecal exams on my own yet. I still need my vet's assistance with this.

Recently, I've noticed that Kai has an increased appetite and is showing an urgency around food that is a little unusual, which makes me wonder whether something might be going on with her that I should have checked out. So, off I go to collect some llama beans:

I had put Kai in her stall during breakfast yesterday morning, hoping she would kindly provide me with a small sample:

With trusty Ziploc baggie in hand, I head off to check the stall for my sample:

Ah, good girl, Kai:

One only needs to gather a few beans for the test:

Kai seemed a bit concerned that this particular bag contained none of her beloved carrot coins:

The test result came in from the vet this morning: It was 100% clean. Absolutely no signs of any parasites!

How can this be? This struck me as highly unlikely. Granted, she is the lone llama on my property and cross contamination between donkeys, llamas, goats and chickens does not occur, but still. When I conferred with Sherri over this, she said "I have some llamas that always seem to have something, then others can go for years without de-worming. Lucky you :-) "

Yes, indeed, lucky me. Not at all what I expected, but excellent news. Now I need to check the goats:

Do any of you do fecal exams on your own animals? Does anybody want to maybe mentor me?
:-)

The Indecision of February 22nd

I woke up to this:


Fed critters to this:



Watched it transition to this:


Only to feel suddenly really warm when it did this:


The sunshine drew both George and me to the garden:

Where we stopped to admire the garlic. Get out of the way, George, so we can see the garlic:

There it is:

On our way back to the house, George stopped to admire his reflection in the deck windows. Look how handsome he is:

We then both peeked over the edge of the deck to see what the chickens were up to. They were in the middle of some serious sun-worshipping:

Just in the nick of time, too - because then, this happened:

And the whole cycle started over again.

The next few days are looking to be pretty consistent, though, so I guess indecision isn't always a bad thing:

Beau and Chester... in oil

I got a fun surprise today when I checked my email and had a message from my new blogging friend, Pattie Wall at Dust Off the Butterfly, telling me she had just completed a painting of my donkey boys, Beau and Chester.

Pattie does beautiful paintings of all types of subject matter, but most touching to me is how she depicts her animals. It is striking how she is able to capture the eyes and spirit of her animals so well.

Pattie had asked my permission a few weeks ago to use some critter photos from my blog to paint, but I didn't know which one she would use. Until today.

You can see the in-process painting of Beau and Chester on Pattie's site by clicking: here. The final version is located here.

Beautiful!

Taking pity on poor Roxy

Poor Roxy.

We love our farm pup beyond all belief, but if there is one aspect of her care we fail in, it is in the grooming department. You see, we prefer her hair to be quite long:

We love the shaggy, tough girl look:

You know, the kind needed for tending goats:

Keeping donkeys in line:

And protecting her farm girl during photographic assignments:

Roxy is a Cairn Terrier and Shih Tzu mix. She is blessed with the feisty Terrier disposition and intelligence and cursed with the silky, easily knotted and quickly tangled Shih Tzu hair. This time, we waited far too long to get her hair cut and, by the time I got her in to the groomers, her silky hair was matted and tangled tight in a number of places very close to her skin. Bad Mama!

I actually got a phone call from the groomer chastising me for the condition of her hair. (I was so embarrassed.) The end result was as close to a buzz-cut as this pup has ever seen. Poor lass. Not a good time to year to be sporting this look. Tell me this dog doesn't look cold to you:

Fortunately, I am very lucky to have blogger friends who look out for my pup.

I received the following comment from Denny at Fun in the Desert shortly after I posted that top pic of Roxy (post-shave) a few weeks ago:
"I have a little fleece dog jacket that's not being used these days (Buddy's gone to doggy heaven). I'd love to send it to Roxy! If you're interested, send me a note."

Of course, I responded right away. When Denny wrote back, she sent me a picture of her sweet pup and it's clear why she thought of Roxy. Buddy looked a great deal like Roxy.

Denny wrote in her email:
"Buddy weighed just a bit more than Roxy, but not by much. Just a pound or two, I think. The vest is fastened across the chest and under the tummy with Velcro. I just measured it. It's about 22" around the tummy. I'm happy to send the vest to you, if you want it. If it's too big somewhere, it's pretty easy to adjust parts of it with scissors and meager sewing skills. Buddy thought he was pretty hot stuff when he wore it. Got a bit of a prance in his old doggy step. I'd be honored if Roxy might wear it. "

Here's the photo Denny included of her sweet Buddy wearing his special fleece coat:

Roxy was very excited to get a package in the mail and couldn't wait to try on her new coat:

The funny thing was, she was instantly comfortable in it and went about doing her normal stuff:

without paying any attention to her beautiful, new turquoise attire:

Here's Roxy modeling her new coat outside:

It's a bit large around the waist so I'll have to pull out my "meager sewing skills" (seriously, they are meager!) and see if I can't pull it in a bit:

Thank you Denny and Buddy for helping me keep my farm pup warm!

Just keep swimming

The joy of having a White Leghorn tell me how it is:

Seeing a tree with more textures than I can count:

Catching my Buff Orpington right in the middle of a dust bath shake-off:

Seeing the sun shine on a spot in my garden where it hasn't shone before:

Dreaming of spring during cold winter days:

Being present for funny goat faces:

Having the perfect light to catch the rich colors of my Rhode Island Red:

Filling thumbprint cookies with homegrown and homemade raspberry jam:

Reigniting my interest in running:

Sweet-smelling goat faces waiting for me every morning:

Being led to the barn:

Being surprised with an anniversary basket overflowing with love:

Adoring my donkey's muzzle:

Laughing at my llama:

Watching my goat, Reggie, balance on top of a door:

Having my husband make me pose for an awkward (why do I have two shovels in my hands?) picture because 99.9% of the time I'm the photographer:

...These are just a few of the things that are making me smile -and getting me through- this winter...