Hoosier Hummer April 2011

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In this issue:

A message from the President - p1

Midwest Lama Conference - p1

Calendar of Events -p4

Happy trailering - p2

Caring for stressed or thin llamas

- p8

HLAA/MLA Sweepstakes Award

Program - p9

Mycoplasma haemolama - p10

Whats Different? - p12

Message from the President - Marilyn NenniIts May and the season is Spring.

Dandelions are coming up, leaves

are starting to burst out on the

trees, and the pastures are start-ing to grow again. But another

seasonal sign seems to be in short

supply this year the sun! Hope-

fully Indiana will soon have some

typical warm Spring days before

the heat of summer takes over.

Indiana llama shows are on the

calendar, 4-H clubs have started up

again. There are many additional

show opportunities offered this

year for all 4-H llama membersat the Indy Open show, the Allen

County Show, and the All Ameri-

can Youth Jamboree. All these

shows will have an open youth

show. See details on the Event

Calendar. Two deadline dates that

I want to bring to your attention are

those of the HLAA Youth Scholar-

ships and the Earl Wells Memorial

Award. All HLAA scholarship

applications must be postmarkedby June 1st. Applicants must be

graduating high school seniors

and up to two scholarships can be

awarded each year. Details about

the scholarships are on the website

at http://www.hlaa.us/scholarship.

html. Nominations for the Earl

Wells Memorial Award must be

sent to the Chair of the Member-

ship Committee and postmarked by

September 1st. Details about thisaward can be found at http://www.

hlaa.us/earlwellsaward.pdf.

As suggested by many HLAA

members, a fall show is now

planned for the weekend of Octo-

ber 1st and 2nd. Whether, in addi-

tion, this show will also be a Buck-- contd on page 3

Midwest Lama Conference

- a fun and educational event!The Midwest Lama Conference,

held in March, was the rst such

get-together for Indiana lama

owners in quite awhile. Chaired

by HLAA Vice-President, Becci

Young, and supported by BOD

members, the conference turned

out to be a huge success with at-

tendance topping 100 youth and

adults.

The guest speaker was Dr. Fran-

cois Bertin from Purdue University

Large Animal Hospital. Dr. Bertin

gave a fantastic presentation on

Parasite Control followed by a

welcomed question and answer- contd on page 2

Download the QR Reader app for your smart-

phone and scan the image above for easy link

to the HLAA Website.

April 2011


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session. The rest of the day was

lled with workshops for both

adults and youth. ALSA Judges

Doug Overman and Marilyn Nenni

conducted workshops on Halter

Showing and Showmanship. An-

other workshop offering judging

tips for Performance classes wasgiven by Joe Young. Sean Hart

and Patti Hodge worked together in

the Fiber workshop giving instruc-

tions on preparation for shearing,

an actual shearing demonstration,

and then preparing the shorn ber

for use or ber shows. In another

area Becci Young conducted a

Youth Quiz Bowl with such chal-

lenging questions that any adult

would be hard pressed to answer.

The relaxed lunch hour gave time

-contd from page 1to catch up with old friends and

meet new members to the HLAA.

A close watch for results was on

the animals outside who were

participating in the Poop Bingo.

At the end of the day, both win-

ners of the Poop Bingo generously

donated their winnings back to theHLAA to go to the HLAA Youth

Scholarship Fund.

Following the Conference, the

HLAA held their annual meeting

with the membership. Minutes

from this meeting will be posted on

the HLAA website.

The 2011 HLAA Midwest Lama

Conference was both fun and

educational and the BOD looksforward to making this an annual

event. (see photos on pages 5 & 6)

Happy Trailering- Laura Keller

With the show and sale season

upon us, many of our llamas will

spend countless hours in trailers.

Whether you use a simple horse

or stock trailer, or custom llamatrailer, some safety tips are worth

reviewing or sharing with new

owners.

The rst rule is never to tie a llama

inside the trailer. Horses are often

tied in a trailer, but horses do not

generally lie down when traveling.

The vast majority of llamas will lie

down almost as soon as the trailer

begins moving. Llamas have been

found hung by their lead ropes, orhad their halters pulled over their

noses, causing them to suffocate.

Have a halter on your llama that- contd on page 3


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eye Regional Show or a qualifying

show for the ALSA Grand National

Show is yet to be determined by

the ALSA BOD. The HLAA fall

show will also have a 4-H show on

the schedule.

When attending Indiana shows,dont forget to be present for the

free HLAA Members Mystery

Class that will be offered at every

Indiana show. One fun class will

be held for adults and one class

will be held for youth. Cash pre-

miums are planned for both classes

big bucks! Another new benet

of the HLAA is the Sweepstakes

Program. We hope you have now

nominated your show animals forthe HLAA/MLA Sweepstakes

Award Program. Animals and

youth in the program will be ac-

cumulating points for the end-of-

the-year Top Five recognition. Get

your nominations in now.

Wishing everyone a wonderful

Spring season with your llamas

and alpacas and great fun at all the

shows, fairs, and events in yourarea.

- contd from page 1

ts properly but remove the lead

rope and leave him untied. Make

sure you have enough room in the

trailer for all the llamas to move

around and lie down. If traveling

with males and females in the same

trailer, you can use gate panels at-

tached rmly to separate the sexes.

Just be aware that a stud male will

try very hard to get to other fe-

males in a trailer, so care must be

taken to safely and securely sepa-

rate the sexes.

Teach your llama to safely load and

unload in your trailer. This avoids

delays as well as potential injuries.

Forcing a llama into a trailer can

result in injuries and even brokenlegs. Exiting the trailer improperly

can also cause injuries, especially

in the case of a jumper. A jump-

er will leap a great distance out of

the back of a trailer, and may either

break out of the handlers grasp,

or even jump accidentally into the

handler. Teach your llama to step

out of the trailer; not jump. An-

other problem with a jumper is that

he might loose his footing inside

the trailer as he takes off. This can

result in the llama falling out of the

trailer and lead to serious injury. If

you know your llama might tend

to jump out of a trailer, make sure

his footing inside is secure, and be

prepared for his jump and landing.

Even a previously trained llama

might get spooked and jump, so be

prepared.

When a llama exits a trailer, the

surface where he lands is also

important. Be sure there is solid

and safe footing. I have seen an

occasional llama that does not

seem aware that the oor of the

trailer is a fair distance off the

ground. We had a llama at a show

that was so interested in looking at

his new surroundings that he failedto anticipate the step down to the

ground. He fell right out of the

trailer onto an indoor slick concrete

surface. When he landed, all four

legs splayed on the hard concrete.

Fortunately, he was not injured, but

we sure learned a lesson. We now

take the lead of the llama and force

him to look down and see that he

must step down before leaving a

trailer or our minivan.

You read correctly; llamas can

travel in minvans! This can be

very convenient, and also allows

the llama to travel in air-condi-

tioned comfort. Train your llama

beforehand to enter and leave the

minivan safely. We use a rubber

mat on the oor of our van in the

event of a potty accident. For short

trips this is generally not necessary,but I would advise it if you want to

protect your minivans carpet.

As for ooring in the trailer, we

always use a thick layer of straw

over rubber mats. This serves both

to cushion the ride, and absorb

urine and manure. We feel the

added cushioned is necessary for

- contd from page 2

- contd on page 11


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Calendar of Events

Indy Open 400 & 500

May 21 & 22, 2011

Noblesville, Indiana

http://www.shagbarkridge.com/

indy.html

Two full ALSA shows, the 400 and

the 500, and a 4-H show.

Huge complimentary barn buffet

breakfast! Cash premiums.

Allen Co. Llama Show

June 4 & 5, 2011

Ft. Wayne, Indiana

http://www.hlaa.us/showforms.

html

Full ALSA show & 4-H show.

Fun show with easy in and out.

Hoosier Hills Fiberarts Fest

June 3 & 4, 2011

Franklin, Indiana

Johnson County Fairgrounds

http://www.hoosierhillsberartsfes-

tival.com/

National All American Youth

Jamboree

Shows and Conference

June 24, 25 & 26, 2011

Noblesville, Indiana

http://www.youthjamboree.net/

ALSA Youth Show & 4-H Show, all

classes in each show.

Free dinners, auction, show work-

shops, vet workshops, ber work-

shops, Farmer Olympics, Obstacle

Sweepstakes, and other fun chal-lenges. Cash premiums & ribbons

awarded.

Indiana State Fair Llama/Alpaca

Show

August 5 - 7, 2011

Indianapolis, Indiana

http://www.in.gov/statefair/fair/

competition/open_class_handbook.

html

ALSA Llama, Alpaca Show, 4-H

Show, ILR-SD Show

Four separate shows in one week-

end. Entry can be made online.

HLAA Llama Show

October, 2011

Location to be conrmed.


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IRC CouncilNational Lama Intervention & Rescue Coordination Council

PRESS RELEASE

Caring for Stressed or Thin Llamas

After hearing concerns last year about the handling of stressed or emaciated llamas in a number ofrescue/re-homing situations, the National Lama Intervention & Rescue Coordination Council (IRC Council)worked with consulting veterinarians at the International Camelid Institute (ICI) to put together a protocol to helpprevent serious illness or death due to over care of these animals. When the IRC Council was informed about theclosure of the Montana Large Animal Sanctuary & Rescue (MLASR), the protocol was forwarded to those involvedwith caring for and transporting the llamas from the sanctuary.

The recommendations below should also prove helpful to anyone else involved with rescue llamas,especially if the animals are very thin. Besides feeling the stress of being underfed, the llamas may undergo

additional stress due to capture, transport and perhaps being separated from herdmates they have been close to. Justlike feeding thin or ill people, you dont start with a full steak dinner; you have to work up to it. The following arerecommendations from ICI for dealing with emaciated llamas:

*Start with moderate quality hay, limited to 1% body weight*Free choice minerals without molasses*Free choice water*No grain*No fat*No antibiotics or dewormers metabolized by liver (even though liver enzymes might not be elevated). Ifparasites are an issue, dose with dose Fenbendazole every other day for three treatments.*After two weeks you can give better quality and more hay to 1.5% body weight.

*After two more weeks, increase to free choice hay.*No grain for four to six weeks.*The above program can be modified accordingly if the llamas are not emaciated, but are thin to moderate.


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HLAA/MLA Sweepstakes Award Program!

Members, have you sent your Sweepstakes Award nominations in yet?

The first two 2011 Indiana show participating in the HLAA/MLASweepstakes Award Program will be held May 21st & 22nd in Noblesville,Indiana the Indy Open 400 & the Indy Open 500. Two Michiganparticipating shows have already taken place and points are beingaccumulated towards the final cash pot which now totals over $2,000! Makesure your animals or youth are nominated to accumulate points for thispresent show season its not too late! Placings in all shows in Michigan andIndiana, including 4-H shows, apply to the Sweepstakes Award Program. Its just up to you toget your nomination in to get a share of the big bucks at the end of the year!! Send yournominations in today!!

Speaking of big bucks, the Sweepstakes committee is truly pleased to announce to you thatour cash pot now totals just a little over $2,000.00! A huge, huge thanks goes out to HubbardFeeds, our top sponsor! Hubbard supplies many llama and alpaca farms throughout this areawith top quality feeds and trace minerals. If you have any questions about the nutrition of youranimals, Hubbard offers consultations and will work closely with their customers to evencustomize nutritional programs. Hubbard offer feeds for all livestock, so you might want to getin touch with them for your other 4-H animals also. Youll most likely see Mark Foerder fromHubbard at a Hubbard Feeds booth at some of our shows, so be sure to stop by and give him ahuge thank you and a nice welcome.

Just to brief you again, your nominated animal or nominated youth (4-Hers included) willearn points at every recognized Indiana or Michigan shows attended. This is for all 4-H shows,llama shows, and youth shows. The points will be cumulative through 2011, and at the end ofthe year, the Top Five in each Sweepstakes Division will be recognized and awarded prizes.

Fees are very reasonable. Plan to join in the fun and friendly competition and climb into a TopFive position to win great prizes. Very simple to enter! The Sweepstakes Nomination form isattached to the end of this newsletter and also is at http://www.hlaa.us/nomination.pdf. The fullrules and details of the award program can be found at http://www.hlaa.us/sweeps.pdf. Thenominations and points accumulated as of April are posted athttp://www.michiganllama.org/sweepshowresults.html for your viewing.

Participating shows, other than the many 4-H shows, are as follows:Hillsdale Hobo Hootenanny - MIIndy Open 400 & 500 INNorthwestern MI Llama Show - MI

Mid-Michigan Show MIAllen Co. Llama Show INLamafest - MI

All American Youth Jamboree INStatewide 4-H Llama Show MIIndiana State Fair IN


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the llamas comfort, even if we do

need to do some re-grooming be-

fore entering the show ring. Cars

and trucks have both springs and

shock absorbers, but trailers have

only springs, not shock absorbers.

Rough roads and even irregulari-

ties in pavement on the interstate-

--which you may barely notice in

your car---can cause the trailer to

bounce a great deal. I do not advo-

cate personally riding in a trailer;

however, I rode in our trailer one

time with a llama that had just had

surgery. There were times when

the llama and I were bouncing

more than a foot off the oor of the

trailer! Since then, I have alwaystried to provide adequate straw

bedding for cushioning and not

rely just on rubber mats.

In the summer, trailers can be very

hot, especially when not moving.

Make sure all the windows or vents

are open and do not have the lla-

mas stay in the trailer longer than

absolutely necessary unless you are

moving. Traveling at night or early

morning is also advisable when

it is very hot. We take fans and

a small Honda generator with us

on long trips just in case we break

down or get stuck on the road in

the heat. Take water along as well,

and check the llamas frequently

to be sure they do not suffer heat

stress.

In winter, open trailers can be very

cold, especially with a 55 mile per

hour-plus wind chill caused bydriving. Close all the vents on the

trailer and provide a thick bed of

straw for warmth.

Dont forget to check that all your

lights and trailer brakes are work-

ing properly every time you use

your trailer. Check that your tires

are in good condition and at the

correct air pressure. Make sure the

hitch is fastened correctly, and the

doors of the trailer are all closed

and latched. We have all heard the

stories of someone driving down

the road with the rear door open!

Always check all your doors after

a rest stop, in case a curious by-

stander tried to open a door to take

a closer look at the llamas.

Safe trailering is necessary to share

our llamas with others and go to

shows and events. But a trailer is

a foreign vehicle to our llamas, andso we must take care and look out

for our wooly friends in order to

have a safe trip. Drive carefully,

and Happy Trailering!

- contd from page 3

Mycoplasma haemolama- Marilyn Nenni

One particular part of the Parasite

Control program presented by

Dr. Francois Bertin from Purdue

last March really hit home with

us. We have been dealing with

Mycoplasma haemolama since last

August in one of our adult females.

I had been aware of Mycoplasma,

but have never known anyone that

has had to deal with it. Until 2004,

Mycoplasma had been classied

as Eperythrozoonosis, more com-

monly known as Epe.Last August one of our adult fe-

males developed extreme diarrhea

that we couldnt clear up. She had

a cria nursing at her side and had

lost a lot of weight which wasnt

too unusual for her to do when she

was nursing. However, this time

her weight continued to go down.

I did a fecal using the fecal solu-

tion method and it revealed no

parasite eggs. I continued to treat

the diarrhea with no results. A

week later, I did another fecal

using the Stolls method, which

requires a centrifuge, and that test

revealed a heavy load of Strongyle

eggs most likely of the barber

pole worm species. I immediately

de-wormed her with Quest a

de-wormer that I reserve only for

use for that deadly BarberpoleWorm. A second dosage was given

14 days later to get any hatched

larvae. Her weight now reached a

low of 212 lbs and her backbone

protruded as if she was starving.

She was eating but still losing

weight. Her membranes were very

pale showing signs of acute ane-

mia. Her overall being just was

not good.

She was taken up to Purdue for

examination. Fecals showed noparasites. Suspecting Mycoplas-

ma, Purdue sent a blood sample

to Oregon University to test for

that red cell blood parasite and it

proved to be positive. A blood

transfusion was recommended.

Two of our males were taken to

Purdue and tested to see if they

could be acceptable blood donors.- contd on page 12


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Whats Different?**Can you spot the 3 differences in each of the photo sets below?

Hoosier Hummer April 2011

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