Steve took off from work half the day on Wednesday so that he could assist in taking Kardigan to the vet.  Kardigan was a very good boy especially since he had never been loaded in the back of my SUV before.  Steve managed to lift his front legs in and then push him in the rest of the way.  The alpaca stayed cushed the whole way to the vet without stressing or jumping around.  We had to wait about half an hour before the vet got to us.  Kardigan let me pet him and rub under his chin while we waited.  His breathing was not good and I could hear rattling in his throat and lungs.  The vet took blood and listened to his chest.  He weighed about 138 pounds but looks like skin and bones.  The vet confirmed my suspicions, that Kardigan has Valley Fever.  We have to wait for the blood test results to be positive.  They should come back in 3 days or so.  I have not heard from the vet yet.  In the meantime, she prescribed two medications for Kardigan, 2 different pills.  One prescription is for 6 pills twice a day and the other is for 3 different ones, also twice a day.  I tried grinding the pills up and adding water to them the first day.  Then had to administer them with a turkey baster.  This takes two people, one to hold the alpaca and the other to force the medication down his throat.  Not fun!  So I got some sweet feed and have been crushing the pills and dumping them into the feed.  The alpacas love sweet feed although they do not really need it on a regular basis.  I also bought a small red feeding dish so I can feed Kardigan his medicated feed while I toss some un-medicated feed to the other boys.  This keeps them busy so that he can eat his in peace.  So far it is working pretty well.  I will feel better when his breathing gets better.  However, it may not.  If the medication does not help, he may die or have to be put down anyway.  If he does get better, he may have to be on the medication for a long time or the rest of his life.

I asked the vet about moving the alpacas to another pasture because Tinker and Kardigan both got Valley Fever and have always been in the same pasture.  She said that I could try it but it is hard to say if it will make any difference.  There are just places around here that have the spores and places that don't and no one ever really knows where they will show up.  I have heard of breeders in this area losing whole herds to the fever.  I am not happy having had 2 out of 5 alpacas get the disease.  Makes me wonder if that may be the reason they are native to South America and not North America.  It also makes me wonder if I am in the right business. 

I attended the Farmers' Market in Sierra Vista yesterday.  They had a lot more vendors and people than the one I have been going to in St. David.  I found a lady selling, you guessed it, alpaca stuff from her own farm.  It was great fun talking to her and exchanging info.  She said she sold almost all of her stuffed alpaca and llama dolls too.  We talked about hay prices and alpaca people we know.  I don't know that I will try to sell my stuff in Sierra Vista though.  I'd rather not compete with her.  She had lots of yarn and finished stuff and she was very nice.  She told me to contact her and she would tell me where she gets her fleece processed and other good stuff.

There was also another vendor selling aprons.  They were only half aprons, that is, they did not have a "bib" like my aprons and they did not have the water-proof backing that mine have.  She was selling them for only $12 though.  Seems like that would make my $30 aprons seem a little high priced to customers.  I guess it would depend on what they wanted and how much they are willing to pay.  My aprons are definitely worth the $30!