Some photos of my brother’s visit to our farm. It was his first opportunity to feed the animals and interact with them. I think they really liked him.
If you’re interested in alpacas we welcome people to visit us by appointment.
Visit us at Dutch Hollow Acres for more information.
We’ve all seen portraits of Lincoln but did you ever wonder what that infamous black coat, vest and trousers were made out of? Why alpaca of course! How do we know? Lincoln was the first president to have a paparazzi following. Letters, articles, editorials were all written about him and what type of man he was and of course what style he wore. Mention of his coat has been found in numerous readings and here are just a few:
“Lincoln became one of the first Republicans. The oratory of this strange, serious man seemed to inspire the hopes of the people. They looked upon him in bewilderment as they saw this giant of the woods, in a black alpaca coat, with his sleeves rolled up, hammering away at the institution which he believed to be unjust.”
“Old ABE” With Alpaca Coat and Grip-Sack”
“While we were sitting in the hotel office after supper, Mr. Lincoln entered, carrying an old carpet-bag in his hand, and wearing a weather-beaten silk hat – too large, apparently, for his head, – a long, loosely fitting frock-coat, of black alpaca, and vest and trousers of the same material.”
“Lincoln and the Tools of War”
“While Robert went in to invite Stanton along, Lincoln entertained the others with some of his stories. Noticing a torn pocket in his black alpaca coat, he mended it with a pin taken from his waste coat. “It seems to me,” he said smiling, “that this does not look quite right for the Chief Magistrate of this mighty Republic.”
On your next visit to our Nation’s Capital, make sure to stop by the Lincoln Memorial and admire Lincoln and his alpaca coat.
One morning I noticed a crust on one of my female’s nose. It was pretty muddy so I figured it was caked on mud more than anything else. A couple of days later I looked at her nose again. Nope, it wasn’t mud but a really thick scab. Thinking maybe she got a cut I put anti bacterial ointment on it and turned her back out.
A day or 2 later I looked at her again. Now both sides of her nose had crusty scabs. Now I know it wasn’t a cut and was something else so I read up on skin problems in alpacas.
She ended up fitting the bill for Munge: Nasal Nyperkeratoxic Dermatitis and is common in alpacas under the age of 2. My girl Bella was just over 2 years. Causes for Munge aren’t really known nor are they sure which virus causes it.
What to look for:
Munge usually is found around the nose and mouth. The skin thickens up to a hard crust. The crust will split and either bleed or some puss will leak out.
Treatment:
Treatment is surprisingly simple and for my case very effective.
The Munge Cocktail as I prepared it:
– 60cc DMSO
– 10cc Ivermectin
– 100ml Gentamicin Piglet – No prescription required when using this strength
WEAR GLOVES!!!! DMSO allows the Ivermec and Gentamicin to penetrate skin. So when you mix this solution up and any time you handle it wear gloves.
Shake up the concoction thoroughly before each application. I soak a cotton ball in it and squeeze out the access. Catch your alpaca and dab the cotton ball on the affected area. Repeat every other day.
On off days use M-T-G. Shake thoroughly before each use. Again I use gloves and a cotton ball and dab it on the affected area. M-T-G is an oil product with Zinc. It softens up the scabs, assists in any zinc deficiencies and promotes hair growth.
Alpaca with munge: 1 week of treatment
Same alpaca after 2 weeks of treatment. Scabs are gone and skin is pink
and clear. Hair has not yet started to regrow.
2 of my girls need to be medicated every other day. One for munge the other has dry skin. I’m 2 weeks into having to catch them and put stinky stuff on the infected parts and they’ve just about had enough of it. Today they were not about to come into the stall for breakfast knowing that I will end up locking them in.
I got out my alpaca poles and tried to herd them into the stall but that wasn’t going to work either. They were bound and determined NOT to be caught.
So, I ended up having to make a chute where I could slowly confine them and herd them into the stall. It worked so I opted to make it more permanent.
I used step in posts and 1.5” wide tape. Since this a perimeter fence it’s not electric nor did I opt to put the bottom 2 strands on. It’s just there so I can herd them into the stall easier.
With spring comes the shearing of our alpacas and a whole lot of fiber. We carefully handle the prime blanket fleece and collect the 2nd and 3rd cuts off into their separate bags. However there are always leftovers, little bits that are too short or too coarse and aren’t worth collecting to be processed. Fiber is your livelihood, you hate to just throw it away. There has to be something or someone who could use all those scraps.
The answer: The Fiber Feeder! Mother Nature really wants your scraps. This time of year all of our beautiful song birds are coming back and diligently making their nests. What better way to help out our feathered friends than to collect your scraps and make fiber feeders.
You can either fill up an empty suet feeder with your scraps or make one out of chicken wire like I did. I sewed up the sides with bailing twine. If you use chicken wire be sure to turn all the ends in so you A) don’t stab yourself with wire and B) poke the poor birds who come to pick out fiber from the feeder.
If you’d like fiber to fill a suet feeder of your own I’ll be happy to mail you some for $5 which just covers my costs of packaging and shipping charges. Email me for a PayPal invoice. Requests are mailed out next day by 9am. I believe in fast shipping!
