This entry contains information from our latest visit with a vet. It will be graphic in detail so you are forewarned. Nothing here is meant to be medical advice. It's a blog.
Last week this time I was taking two of my 'paca boys to be gelded, Marksman and Tamerack. This is a fairly common procedure for boy alpacas because they can't all be breeders. The idea is that if you get rid of all the hormones and all their energy goes to making you lovely, soft fiber. They are called "fiber pets". As with most animals that you geld it also calms them down and makes life a lot more peaceful for all involved.
Tamerack has been a particular challenge to me. I have been in love with his fiber since I laid eyes on him 5 years ago. As he grew up I was looking at him as a potential breeder. I had someone else come out and give him a more experienced look over once he reached maturity and it was decided that it would not be a good idea. He has one leg that is ever so slightly turned out and his coat is not uniform throughout. That was two years ago. Ideally boys should be gelded when they are two. I am a little behind (and in breech of contract technically). He was causing so much ruckus and picking fights with all his other pen mates that I was ready to geld him myself. (Not a good idea by the way. This is not the kind of livestock that can have that sort of thing managed with rubber bands. Kay?) Finally an opportunity and the finances happened at the same time and I took him to get the job done. Marksman was just the right age. No worries there. He is a story for another day.
Dr. Elaine Krieg of Grass Valley was excellent. This was my first experience with her and she was calm, professional, and efficient. The first thing she did was check out his "undercarriage" and she informed us that he was very irregular. One side was extremely large. I had never noticed this before but then everything is really very tight up there and hidden behind their tails.
I am alarmed by this but mostly relieved to know that in a few moments we'll know why and know if it's serious.
When she is done removing the first side it is too small and too soft. When she is done removing the second side it is very oblong and hard at one end. This does not make me squeamish, I love this stuff. With an excited look in my eyes I ask her if we can dissect it. When she opened it up there was a hair ball. Yes. A lump of hair inside. She says sometimes a cell will go crazy and start producing where it shouldn't. Not cancer exactly but more like a T-cell growing in the wrong place.
All's well that ends well. Tam would never have been a good producer anyway and for the last week there has been little to no fighting in the pasture. Tam, being so much older than he should have been to be gelded has lost some of the softness to his fluff so this year will probably be used for felting or for rugs but I have great hopes for next year. His color is like peach oatmeal.
I actually have a picture of this, but they are on a different devise than I have access to right now. More later.
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