Placenta help needed now

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Permalink Reply by Liz Mitchko on August 20, 2009 at 7:26am

Chuck;
Oxytocin in the primary drug used to cause contractions and loosen placenta. If not passed by sun-up, please don't wait and call your Vet. Make sure it is inspected - and if in doubt, have her flushed to avoid infection.

Do you have LGD's? If so - ask them... :>) Many times we have to race them to the placenta (check their paws for signs of blood).
Good Luck
Liz Mitchko, Whirliwnd Ranch - Lebanon MO

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Permalink Reply by chuck domm on August 29, 2009 at 11:22pm

Thank you for the info and suggestions. We appreicate it!

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Permalink Reply by Maryann Marsh on August 20, 2009 at 10:16pm

Also, milking momma causes contractions as well and you want to keep that milk flowing for cria. We have had much success in milking so if you need one on one, please call me anytime!! 321-724-0477

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Permalink Reply by Heidi Christensen on August 20, 2009 at 10:39pm

Chuck,

How is your girl? I had a girl with a uterine prolapse this summer which looked alot like the placenta. Luckily we were already at the vet, and after a quick second look, the vet figured out what was going on, detached the placenta, and replaced the uterus.

Heidi Christensen
WingNut Farm
Graham WA

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Permalink Reply by Janet Tapply on August 21, 2009 at 7:37pm

To bad there is not a follow up after several suggestions have been posted. We are all a caring bunch and like to know how the problems are going so that we know if the information given was helpful or not.
I sure hope this girl does not have (or had) a prolape.... We had one of these happen last year and it is an awful sight and I am guessing very painful for the mom. The vet was out here very quickly, got it cleaned off and back in. This could not have been corrected without the great vet care and we didn't have any further issues with the female.

This is a great forum to learn from!

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Permalink Reply by chuck domm on August 25, 2009 at 9:31am

Well thanks for the responses and help...we did not realize that we were dealing with a prolapsed uterus at first due to the Mother being our major "drama queen" in all things and here she elected to cush at the fartherest field shelter. The cria tried to engage other females, who evidently are not with milk...even though some seemed helpful. Where we are, there is no help, no vets willing to make the trek nor any who know about alpacas. We checked into The Ohio State Veterinary College and received personal attention from Dr. Pam Walker who asked for photos...and, as wrong as things can go, the computer online services crashed. The delays in getting photos to her probably have helped cause the deaths of the two alpacas...we did all we could to clean, feed, nurse, comfort, give anti-biotics, etcetera...through the several days and just early this morning (about 2 a.m.) was a Sprint techy able to get our aircard working so I could check emails and send replies. The female passed away just about that same time (Interestingly she had a tear in her eye as we sort of "said good-bye" to her and thanked her for her service with Alpaca Angels over the years). There is a lot to share about some things that happened, but at the moment, I have to return to the field and take care of "funerary arrangements" to prevent any more problems. This pregnancy and birth was the result of a midnight "orgy" of sorts last August when several of the boys broke through their gate and got to the girls' barn for a while before we could get them back. We really hadn't expected this birth and prolapse condition but such needs to be known about and prepared for to protect the alpacas. We did reach a couple vets who we have worked with, but they were "out" for days and the resulting late call backs basically gave little hope for recoveries. To get the Oxytocin, I had to have a vet order it and drive to a veterinary supply about 50 miles away to get it, so we have some on hand and "milked" the female frequently before she passed, saving her milk for future use. Thanl you all soo much for the help. By the way, I photographed the prolapsed uterus and the close-ups and angles will be helpful for future references. The OSU Veterinary Doctor is happy to have use of those for her work. So, if there are conditions that seem unusual, please take photos if you have time and some help in dealing with the situation. These may help others clear up "visual questions".
Another thing is that she voluntarily separated herself from the other girls...moving as far away as possible. And, our girls will always run through an open gate to another field or travel back and forth when gates are open. Not so when this condition occurred. The nine "life long" buddies of LEAH simply moved into another field and never once bothered to go "visit", even her daughtter BINDI stayed with the senior girlfriends...which is amazing since LEAH and BINDI were like VELCRO ALPACAS, seldom separate for anything.
Very likely an instinct for survival is taking place, where the "injured" or "diseased" or less healthy alpaca is most likely to be hunted and killed by predators...and sort of sacrifices itself for the sake of the herd that moves on. LEAH never once bothered to go to the herd...with this condition. In fact, she chose the farthermost shelters. We saw no need for quarantine fielding since this was an external uterus and not disease per se.

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Permalink Reply by Kim Vander Till on August 25, 2009 at 9:42pm

So sorry to hear of your dillema. How sad for you. We have lost cria, but not a mom. It's heartbreaking. The one fortunate thing is that you have to get back to the other alpacas. In a strange way...it has a healing effect. Will keep you in our prayers.

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Permalink Reply by chuck domm on August 28, 2009 at 8:48pm

Thank you...for the thoughts and prayers. We greatly appreciate both.

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Permalink Reply by chuck domm on August 28, 2009 at 8:41pm

Again we appreciate the responses. The problems were in the timing, with us having to leave the farm to take Lorraine's severely brain damaged son, Joey, to a doctor about a hundred miles away...and no help in either that or on the farm. Otherwise, it likely may have been possible to save the cria and recognize that the uterus had to be inserted. But losing both animals was more having to do with not being able to be here...and running late for Joey. Worse possible timing.
On the other hand, amazing things occurred here. I am still in awe of how it was that the other girls never once stepped into the rear field where Leah, the mom, was having her problems. She was up, walked, cushed, ate...acted relatively normal excepting for the uterus being exposed. We tried to reinsert it after wetting and sugar coating to help it shrink, but no luck, even with an experienced rancher who came over to help who had reinserted cow and horse uteruses.
The local farmers and a vet suggested tying a string to help it shut down blood and perhaps "rot" or "fall off." We had pennicilan
on hand to administer and made a solution of aspirin for oral ingesting. The recommended wrapping with plastic or some similar material really didn't work...as the vets we talked to said may not or more likely to fall off. I have tube socks and we greased up the uterus with vaseline, put the tube sock over it, which worked really well to keep it clean and keep flies off. Through the next couple evenings, apparently coyotes may have gotten a scent of a dying animal...and they really started howling and yapping in a 7000 acre pasture across from us. What is interesting, is that our five guard donkeys came as close as they could to our front fence and started braying really loud back at the coyotes....sort of warning them what they would face should they come to our farm. Our Rottweiler, Bruiser, got into the act by barking loud while the donkeys cut loose with more braying.
No coyotes came on our property and the adjacent cattle rancher sent out a helicopter crew to chase them off or shoot some down the next morning.
Very shortly after I removed the carcus of the dead mom, Leah, from the field, all the other girls went into that field, which they had avoided for three days. They stayed there all day and when I went back to them in the evening, they came out in a single file, with the first three just brushing against me much like a cat does against your shins sometimes. We do well at communicating with our animals...the alpacas, the cats, dog, donkeys and even with the chickens...which is why we dubbed this place "The Farm of Eden." And I don't want to "read into" some things, but sometimes it seems obvious that there are emotions shared here between us and the critters as well as between each of our species. And so, in a gentle way, it is like the nine remaining girls just wanted to show some affection to me in maybe recongizing what we tried to do for Leah. Even though none came into the field, most of them took turns looking in from afar as we worked on her each day and evening. When she passed away, the remaining herd was very subdued and seemed to show a sense of mourning for a day or two. By the way, as usual, when the cria was born, the first ones surrounding the area were our donkeys outside the field fence while the other female alpacas had formed a semi-circle, looking out the other way from where the donkeys had things covered. They really do work together to protect the herd with the alpacas trusting the donkeys to cover their backs. We humans have a lot to learn from our animal friends. When I can post them, I'll have several photos of the Rottweiler with the newly born cria...Bruiser realized instantly that the baby alpaca needed protection and simply stayed with him unless it went to try feeding from one of the other females. He literally trailed the cria and when it cushed, he sat right next to it, keeping chickens and everything else away. Again, absolutely amzing stuff to see.

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Permalink Reply by Heidi Christensen on August 28, 2009 at 10:56pm

Hi Chuck,

I too am sorry for your loss. I know with my girl who prolapsed, it wasn't really obvious what was going on. My dam survived, but I found the cria dead the next morning. My girl just walked right off when I let her out of the pen - never did look back at her cria, even though it was her second one and she was a great mom last time. I think they do know when something is mortally wrong with one of their herdmates.

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Permalink Reply by chuck domm on August 29, 2009 at 11:26pm

Yeahm the animals seem to be the very best indicators of whether one is mortally in trouble or not. And, perhaps it is a scent that stirs, which may have fired up the coyotes around here from miles away. Dunno for sure.

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