If you are expecting to have crias born in 2021, having plasma in your freezer could literally be life-saving for a cria that is premature or has problems feeding from mum.
Newborn crias sometimes don’t get enough of the all important colostrum from their mothers’ milk, leaving them vulnerable to infection and septicaemia. If you have plasma, your vet can give the cria a transfusion to give it the antibodies it would have got from colostrum. Plasma will ideally be prepared in advance and stored in your freezer so you don’t have to worry about organising it when you have are in the middle of caring for your newborn or sick cria.
- One or more adult donor alpacas (usually these are males).
- A vet who can take the blood and has access to the necessary equipment (blood bags and centrifuge).
We have vets in the EAG region who are experienced in doing plasma for alpacas – please contact them:
- Westpoint Farm Vets (Chelmsford) (contact Ami Sawran) (covers Essex and South Suffolk), 1 Whitbreads Farm Lane, Little Waltham, Chelmsford, CM3 3LQ phone 01306 628489
- Cambridge Farm Animal Veterinary Services, (contact Eleanora Po) The Queen’s Veterinary School Hospital, Madingley Road, Cambridge CB3 0ES. Phone 01223 337647.
- Westover Veterinary Centre, Manor Farm Cottages, Old Church Road, Norwich, NR10 3BG phone 01603 899930
- Ryder-Davies and Partners, (contact Ben Ryder-Davies) 18 Grundisburgh Road, Woodbridge IP12 4HG phone 01394 380083
- Oakwood Veterinary Group, Oakwood House, Fuller Road, Harleston, Norfolk, IP20 9EA (contact the Farm Department) phone 01379 852146.
