24/05/2026
We've had a tough couple of days.
Whilst we were longing for some nice weather, this sudden change from cold and wet to damp and hot plays havoc with with worms, parasites and flies for the animals.
On Friday evening, I went out to bring the big boys (alpacas) up from the bottom fields. Whilst down there, I decided to check a couple of things, so the boys were waiting at the gate, because they assumed they would be going straight out for their tea! 😆 Cosmo was particularly impatient, running a little after me, calling. I thought it a bit strange, and told him not to be so impatient! Looking back, maybe he was trying to tell me something. 🤷♀️
Anyway, I finished what I was doing and let them through. They all went running through as usual. I decided to let them loose so that they could graze the front yard, Y Pantri's car park, as they love this. I carried on working until I noticed Doni hadn't gone through and was lying down on his own.
Now Doni is rather like his mum, Rosie, and doesn’t like fuss. He'd rather approach you, than you approach him. So, when he let me sit down next to him, I knew something was seriously wrong and called the vet. Typically, it was after hours. They never go sick in working hours or when a vet is already here! 😕
As I sat with him, with his head on my lap, he deteriorated and I really thought I was going to lose him. Carlos, one of our amazing vets, arrived and started to do some checks. Doni was severely anaemic. Carlos raced back to the surgery in Carmarthen to get everything he needed and raced back to us.
So, what caused it? The weather. The sudden change from cold to hot. It causes worms and parasites to suddenly explode into life. Certain ones, like Nemotodes, roundworm, and Barber's Pole, a parasite, suck on the stomach lining and cause anaemia. The impact is very quick and can be fatal if not treated quickly.
We dosed Doni with a specific wormer and gave him 3l of fluids, direct into the abdomen. Then, I just had to wait. He still had fight left in him. Whilst I went to get him a friend so that they could spend the night together in the stable, he decided to walk back to the alpaca barn on his own. Unfortunately, by the time he got there he was exhausted, so lay down under the hay.
I set up the barn, so that he was separate from the others, but able to see them. When I gave him his feed, he wouldn't eat. Lovely Eclipse came and sat down the other side of the gate to him. 🥰 We had done all we could for him, and now just had to hope he'd get through what was left of the night.
Early Saturday morning, I went straight to him and was relieved to see him still with us. Phew! When I approached him, he got up. This was also a relief, as it indicated Doni was feeling much more like himself. He wouldn't eat, but when I fed the others outside, he got up and went to the door. I felt it worth letting him out to see if he would eat with them. And, he did have a nibble. But, after that, he was exhausted and went for a lie down inside. This time when I approached him, he stayed down. Again, just giving me a little more information about his condition. He does a little and is then very tired. Pretty much how a human would be with anaemia.
Today, he is much brighter and is up more than he is down.
We don't do routine worming because it causes resistance and certain drugs used stop being effective. So, a few years ago, I went on a course to learn how to do faecal egg counts. We take a sample, add it to a sugar solution, then examine it under a microscope and count the eggs present. Depending on the number and type, depends on whether we treat and what we treat with. Certain levels are acceptable, so if the animal shows no signs or symptoms, it may be that we just monitor and consider the figures when we do the next test. If I have any concerns, I will ask the vet to do a test or there are companies that run tests that you can send samples to.
So, with what has happened to Doni, whilst Carlos was collecting what he needed, I quickly gathered up some samples and also checked everyone's eyes, to make sure the membranes were pink. If they are very pale or white, it indicates anaemia. Thankfully, everyone was pink. My parents, who were at the smallholding, quickly went and checked the sheep and alpacas, all the girls. They checked the membranes in the lower eyelids and collected some faecal samples ready to deliver to the vets in the morning. All were of good colour.
Carlos ran tests for us on Saturday morning and called with the results. It was a mixed bag. Some were clear, some just need monitoring, but Mr Darcy and the sheep had levels of worm eggs that needed treating. So, wormer collected, yesterday evening was spent worming sheep.
I mentioned at the start that this weather also causes problems with flies. We have to be watching the animals closely at the moment for fly strike. Because we are damp and hot now, the ground is still damp, still having light showers, and the fleece is damp too, flies will lay eggs on the damp parts of the animal. They quickly hatch and maggots then start to burrow through the fleece and then munch on the skin. Incredibly itchy and then painful, fly strike can be fatal, with the animal going into shock or the area becoming infected. Time is really of the essence here. So, whilst worming, we took the opportunity to check the sheep and trim their backends. With such thick fleece on them, as they are not due to be sheared until the end of June, when they go to the toilet, some can land on the fleece. This can then quickly build up and become smelly, which attracts the flies.
Thankfully, there was no sign of fly strike and all sheep, including the lambs, were in good shape.
So, we are hoping that we all get to eat before 10.30 / 11pm this evening, unlike the last two nights. 🤦♀️
Alpaca shearing on Tuesday. The herd will shrink to less than half the size they are now!
