While others I know are selling their alpacas, I am having to put another of mine down.  The vet called on Friday afternoon and told me that Kardigan's white blood cell count was off the charts and that he did test positive for Valley Fever.  His breathing had deteriorated and he was really suffering.  He would not take all of his medication on Friday morning.  The vet said she did not believe that he would make it to Monday.  So late Friday afternoon about 5:30 Steve and I loaded Kardigan up and took him for his last trip to the vet.  I hugged him good-by and he was gone before we even got back in the car to go home.  I was sad to see my beautiful black alpaca go.  I will miss seeing him in the pasture.  But more than anything, I think I was angry, angry that this disease took another animal.  And helpless because there was nothing I could've done to prevent it.  

The vet said that I was doing the right thing and I know in my heart that letting him go was the right thing.  I just wish I could've prevented it.  I am also afraid for the remaining 3 boys.  I asked the vet if moving them to another pasture would make a difference.  She just said that I could try.  She said no one can predict where the spores will show up and sometimes they just get blown in by the wind.

I made appointments for the 3 alpacas I still have, Prince, Cimarron and Stewie.  They will be checked by the vet and she will take blood to test them for Valley Fever also.  Then I plan to have her vaccinate them against anything else that she recommends for alpacas.

I cannot in good conscience replace Tinker or Kardigan.  I would not want to risk the health of other alpacas by putting them in this environment.  Like I said before, maybe alpacas are native to South America and not here for a reason.  So, if the three are free from Valley Fever , I will try to sell them.  If they already have it, I will keep them for tax deductions for our little farm.  Either way my days as an alpaca farmer are done.

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!

Farmer's Market wasn't so hot last weekend.  The city of Benson was having their annual "Butterfield Days".  I think that diverted people who would normally come to the market.  I did sell some fleece to a lady who was recovering from breast cancer.  She wanted to use it in her bra instead of the usual stuff because she said it was warm, light and comfortable.  What an excellent way to use alpaca fleece!  

On Monday I visited the home of one of the ladies I have met at the market.  She raises the vegetables she sells in a greenhouse that she and her husband built and I wanted to see that.  She was a gracious host and shared the greenhouse and lots of her agricultural knowledge with me.  Thank you Lorna!

On Wednesday my good friend from Lakeside, AZ came down for a visit.  We spent the day over in Tombstone.  I bought a new necklace of sterling silver with a little koko-peli pendant on it.  Koko-peli is made of turquoise and another brown stone.  I love it.  And Tombstone is always fun.  We looked in the haunted "Birdcage Hotel", ate lunch at the Crystal Palace Saloon and, of course, shopped at all the old interesting shops.

I have been wanting another goat but really hadn't found one.  Then I got a phone call from my neighbor.  She said her female goat had died and she had a wether all by himself that she was feeling sorry for.  She asked me if I wanted him! Ha!  So now I have another little goat.  He is beautiful and has blue eyes like Frankie.  Afraid my neighbor didn't have much imagination when she named him though.  She said his name was "Billy".  So now Frankie and Georgie and Billy all live in my pasture together.


On a sad note, my black alpaca, Kardigan, is not doing so well.  He has had a cough for awhile which I thought was due to the pellets.  His cough has not gone away since I changed them back to timothy hay however.  The last 2 weeks or so I noticed he is losing weight and the last 2 days he seems to have labored breathing.  I made an appointment at the vet which is on Wednesday.  I don't know what is wrong but I think it may be the Valley Fever has struck again.  I really hate it when an animal gets sick or is in pain.  I hope it is something less serious than Valley Fever.  And I'm wondering if all the alpacas are eventually going to get it.  I will ask the vet about changing their pasture or something so they don't get it.  I will keep you posted.

I have been reading "The Dirty Life" by  Kristen Kimball.  It is about a couple in their 30s who find some land in New York and build a big old fashioned farm.  Their goal is to provide local people with all the food they need using organic methods and horses instead of tractors.  The work they do is incredible and back breaking.  The book covers the first year up to their wedding and then sort of summarizes and highlights things that happened in the 6 years after that.  They actually succeed which is amazing and, at least to me, surprising.  In most of the other books I have read like this, the author usually gives up and moves on to something less demanding.  

When I first started my little farm, I too thought I would like one of those all around old fashioned farms but I only wanted to feed my family, not 100 families in addition to mine.  I have discovered just how difficult it is and how demanding.  I cannot even begin to do it all myself and it is a good thing that Steve still has a job.  Perhaps if he was a full time farmer we could make a go of it.  I have friends that do but most of them also still have income from something other than their farm.  Maybe if we were younger or more dedicated we could do it, but I don't think so.  I think now that it is something people did because they absolutely had to to survive.  I am grateful for the little farm I have.  I can manage most of the work by myself and I am not totally dependent on the success or failure of my tomato crop.  It was an interesting book that I would recommend, especially to anyone who is thinking of farming.

I had the most successful day at the Farmers' Market this week that I have had so far.  The art lady was very pleased with her apron.  She took it out of the bag and wore it all around the market showing it off to everyone!  Great advertising for me! Ha!  I also sold a teddy bear and another llama doll.  People seem more excited about the soft fleece blankets, gloves and hats now that the weather is cooling down some.  The Farmers' Market runs til the end of October so I hope to sell many more items over the next few weeks.  

I have decided to stop feeding the alpacas pellets because of the choking hazard they present.  The cost of timothy bales has gone down some and they still carry them at a Tucson feed store.  Sometime this week Steve and I will go get a truckload.  Steve is also planning on rebuilding the goat shelter this week.  The straw bale shelter is not very stable and the goats, active as they are, tend to knock the bales around and knock the roof off.  We'll probably pile the bales around the new shelter once it is completed to give them more insulation when it gets cold and something to climb on.

The monsoon is lingering longer than anyone ever thought it would.  We had rain and thunderstorms again today.  It is starting to cool off though.  I re-potted two big plants today, a fern and a large leafed tropical one.  I cut off most of the tropical leaves and put it in a hanging basket.  I asked Steve to drill some new holes in the Arizona room to hang more of the plants when I have to move them back inside.  He should be able to get that done sometime this week too.  As for me, I hope to get more aprons made and maybe some Christmas stuff.