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| Quick Links & Events |
Hypothermia -- Are You Ready for winter? - a winter preparedness article by Dr. David Anderson
Heritage Farm - Explore our website and discover more about Heritage Farm and our alpacas
Getting Started Guide -Download our free guide full of information to help get you started with your own alpacas.
Newsletter Archive - Review past issues of Alpaca Works for information about alpacas and alpaca husbandry.
Starter Packages - special prices on packages of Alpacas and Services that will get your new herd off to a great start!
The Suri Network - The homepage of the Suri Network, an organization of Suri alpaca breeders dedicated to the preservation and promotion of the Suri Alpaca.
Indiana Alpaca Invitational - April 5-6, 2008 at the Memorial Coliseum in Fort Wayne, IN. Heritage Farm is proud to be a Grand sponsor of Indiana's first AOBA sanctioned show.
Mark your calendars:
Spring Shearing Day open house - April 26th.
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| Greetings! |
Winter always presents special challenges to life on the farm. Whether it's navigating icy roads on the way back from the Co-op with a load of feed (thankful for the  extra weight in back!) or overcoming the shell-shock from a more- than-doubled
electric bill (due to bucket and cria heaters being on nonstop), challenges are as common and unique as the snowflakes that fall this time of year.
Challenges make this venture rewarding and are a natural part of navigating this lifestyle change called raising alpacas. Whether its learning a new skill, trying to effectively market, or making good breeding decisions; I always feel good when I figure something out and actually become proficient at it.
This issue focuses on a challenge that many non-medical people have -- calculating drug dosages. I have the advantage of being educated as a pharmacist, so I learned how to do this proficiently early in my education. In the article below, I share an easy formula for calculating prescribed or recommended doses based on your alpaca's weight. By understanding the concept and practicing several times you will become comfortable doing this, and feel good about it too.
Sadly, another challege many people face is the challenge of caring for a loved one with Alzheimer's disease. An article in this newsletter presents an opportunity to bid on a beautiful hand spun and woven alpaca shawl in a heritage log cabin pattern. This lovely piece was crafted at our National Farm Day open house last fall. All the proceeds will go to the National Alzheimer's Association for research and support of struggling families.
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| Camelid Drug Formulary - James M. Jensen, DVM |
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I am always interested in good resources on drug use in camelids (probably because of my training as a pharmacist). This book is a compilation of referenced drug doses for South American camelids (alpacas, llamas, guanacos, vicunas) and Asiatic (Bactrian) and Arabian (dromedary) camels. It is a unique and valuable text that has an abundance of information for veterinarians, technicians as well as camelid owners. This text contains approximately 1500 drug dosages derived from over 360 scientific references.
The content of the book is physically divided between South American and old world camelids. This allows quick acquisition of dosage information. It also has sections on nomenclature, drug classification, unique physiology, weight estimation, and metabolic drug scaling. This text is spiral bound for easy use and is approximately 400 pages in length. The pages are color-coded; white pages for South American camelids and beige pages for camels.
Besides dosage information for various classes of drugs, the reference contains these unique sections:
Drug Classification
Abbreviations
Research and Retrospective Studies
Special Considerations Related to Camelid Therapy
Unique Physiology
Weight Estimation
Maximizing Treatment Success
Extra-label Drug Use
Metabolic Drug Scaling
Snakebite
Surgical
Toxins
Vitamins, Minerals
Ordering Information
Cost: $64.00 (USD) plus $7.00 shipping and handling; (residents of Texas add $5.20 for taxes). Payment: Cashier's check or money order made out to Game Ranch Health, Inc (Send to: 4419 James Bowie, San Antonio, Texas, USA 78253) or order online at: http://www.gameranchhealth.com/Products.html |
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| Now Standing at Heritage Farm - Ameripaca's Jericho |
Jericho is the newest addition to our Herdsire line-up. His fleece is jet black to the tips and extremely lustrous. He has uniform pencil locks right to the skin. His sire is the award winning herdsire from Ameripaca, AABC Zeplin. See a large photo of Jericho by clicking here.
He has performed well in the show ring, despite his limited exposure. Jericho took 2nd at the 2007 Buckeye Show and 1st and Reserve Champion at the 2007 AOBA National Show!
Last year's 2007 AOBA show consisted of 51 Black Suri males and 14 in the Championship class. Despite the stiff competition, Jericho brought home Reserve Color Champion at one of the largest shows of the year!.
Jericho is co-owned with Ravada Hills Alpaca Farm who have confirmed a pregnancy via ultrasound.
If you're looking for a True Black herdsire with rare genetics, consider Jericho for your female. Call or email for more information.
 Awards Received
- 1st Place - 2005 Northern IL Extravaganza
- 4th Place - 2006 Futurity
- 3rd Place - 2006 Northern IL Extravaganza
- 2nd Place - 2007 Buckeye
- 1st & Reserve Champ - 2007 AOBA Nationals
Stud Fee: $3000
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| Look Good and Help a Worthy Cause |
 How would you like to look great and and help support a worthwhile cause at the same time? You could if you win the bid on the lovely handmade 100% alpaca shawl. This one-of-a-kind piece was hand spun and woven during our open house for National Alpaca Farm Day last fall. Starting with carded fleece, a volunteer group of spinners and weavers donated their time and talents to produce this log cabin patterned shawl in natural fawn and brown. It measures a full 24" by 70" long.
We thought it would be a fitting tribute to their talent and generosity to auction it off on e-Bay and donate 100% of the proceeds to the National Alzheimer Association. Click the "View Auction" link below to see more photos and information on e-Bay and to place your bid. Thanks in advance for considering this worthwhile cause.
Click to "Learn more" link to read a touching article from a Chicago Tribune staff writer chronicling her story of caring for two parents who suffered through Alzheimers simultaneously.
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| Drug Dosage Calculations Made Simple |
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Many alpaca owners are nervous when it comes to drug calculations. This article will outline the common concepts related to drug calculations and walk you through a few exercises. By understanding these basic conversion factors and formulas, you will be able to calculate drug doses for your alpacas with confidence.
Let's Getting Started
The amount of active ingredient in a drug is commonly referred to as its strength. For example, an extra strength Tylenol capsule contains 500mg of active ingredient. Therefore, 500mg is its strength.
 For liquid drugs, both oral and injectable (see injection tips), concentration is an important factor in dosing. Concentration refers to the amount of active drug (strength) in a given volume of vehicle, usually a liquid, but could be a paste, etc. For example, the concentration of Safe-Guard Suspension is 100mg/ml. This means that in every 1ml of liquid there is 100 mg of active drug.
Concentration = Strength / Volume
Concentration = 100mg / 1ml
Another factor that is often required when calculating doses is the animal's weight. The weight of the animal affects how the drug is absorbed, distributed into the tissues and utilized by the animal's body. Generally, the more the animal weighs, the more drug is required for the desired effect. It is important to use an accurate weight in your calculations, otherwise, you may be giving too little or too much medication (see article on importance of weighing).
Recommended Doses
Because weight is such an important factor, most drug dosages you will see in reference tables and prescribed by your vet will be written as giving so much drug (strength) per pound (lb) or kilogram (kg) of body weight. For example, you will see the prescribed dose of Ivomec often expressed as 1 ml / 70 lbs. This simple means that a 70 lb alpaca needs 1ml Ivomec. But what if your alpaca doesn't weigh 70 lbs.? This is where we need to use a simple formula to determine the amount to give.
more ...
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| Spring Show Season Alpacas |
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Spring show season is here and we have made plans to attend four shows with Argonaut's Telemon, Sweet as Heaven and Sienna, a male and two young females that we are excited about. Look us up if you attend any of these shows. We would be happy to talk alpacas with you!
MOPACA Invitational - Mar. 29th-30th at Springfield, MO.
Indiana Alpaca Invitational - Apr. 4th-6th at Fort Wayne, IN
The Buckeye Alpaca Show - May 3rd-4th, Columbus, OH
- HFS Argonaut's Telemon - Born in August, Telemon is a great looking white male out of Argonaut. He is developing good lock structure and the luster his sire is known for.
- HFS Sweet as Heaven- Born in September, Sweetie is the first cria sired by Macgyver's Hotazel and from one of our best females, HFS Lovely Lady (Uribe and Mahogany Prince lines). She is a fantastic dark brown girl with incredible luster and density.
- HFS Sienna - This is another dark fawn girl we are excited about. Another cria sired by Argonaut, Sienna has incredible luster and density. She is a full sister to Argonaut's Quest who showed very well last year (including a reserve color champion at the Kentucky Classic).
- HFS Silverado - This is a sharp gun-metal-grey male yearling out of Platinum Marquis, an outstanding male that has an extensive silver gray heritage. Silverado has consistent coverage, uniform lock and great luster.
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| Foundations for Success - Starting and Building Your Alpaca Business |
 This day-long seminar is sponsored jointly with Ravada Hills Alpaca Farm. It is designed to help new and existing alpaca breeders as well as those just exploring the possibilities of owning alpacas. The day is packed full of great alpaca information. Learn to build for success in selecting the best alpacas, setting up your farm, keeping your alpacas healthy, running a profitable alpaca business and much more! This event will be held two times this year:
Saturday, June 7th at Ravada Hills
Saturday, Sept. 13th at Heritage Farm.
The events are identical, so pick your best date and mark your calendar. Here are some highlights:
- The Alpaca Industry - Past, Present and Future
- Creating a Home for Your Herd - Facilities, fences and pasture layouts
- Maintaining a Healthy Herd - Nutrition, management and herd health
- It Pays to Be Different - Finding Your Niche
- Selecting Your First Alpacas
- All About Fiber
- Marketing for Success
- Why Consider Suris?
- Buying from "Farms of Distinction"
...and much more! Detailed information and registration forms will be on each farm's website soon!
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| Heritage Farm Profile |
 We are excited to have a 3-page farm profile published in the Srping 2008 issue of American Livestock Magazine. We purchased this profile at the Suri Network Symposium auction last summer. A special thanks to American Livestock Magazine who donated our winning bid to help support the Suri Network's marketing campaign for 2008. The following is an excerpt.
"Heritage Farm Suri Alpacas is home to 25 beautiful suri alpacas in the Hoosier heartland of North-Central Indiana. For the owners, Tim and Beth Sheets, Heritage Farm is a dream come true and a return to their rural roots. Heritage farm came into existence four years ago with the purchase of their first suri alpaca. When considering their farm identity and logo, Tim recalls, "We chose a rendition of a log cabin to convey what our farm stands for. But it is not just any cabin. The circa 1850's hand-hewn cabin at Heritage Farm represents a treasured part of our heritage. It reminds us every day of our agricultural roots, solid values and the importance of faith and family".
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| Our Heritage Cornerstones |
Heritage Cornerstones is a selection of noteworthy quotes centered around a theme appropriate for the season. This issue focuses on...
Just as no worthy building can be erected on a weak foundation, so not lasting reputation worthy of respect can be built on a weak character.
R.C. SAMSEL
Vermont's a place where barns come painted / Red as a strong man's heart / Where stout carts and stout boys in freckles / Are highest forms of art.
ROBERT TRISTRAM COFFIN
Behold the fowls of the air: For they sow not, neither do they reap, nor gather into barns; yet the heavenly Father feedeth them. Are ye not much better than they?MATTHEW 6:26
The old barn embodied practices which had suffered no mutilation at the hands of time. Here at least the spirit of the ancient builders was at one with the spirit of the modern beholder.
THOMAS HARDY
How the cold creeps as the fire dies at lenght / How drifts are piled / Dooryard and road ungraded / Till even the comforting barn grows far away.
ROBERT FROST |
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