News

Summer has got off to a busy start here at the Clinic. We have had several female patients visit the clinic for breeding soundness examinations. Having the right facilities and equipment are key to performing a proper, successful and safe examination. We have a customised alpaca-specific restraint chute at our clinic in Oxfordshire that means that the alpaca can be properly and safely examined. Instruments may be put up inside the back end of the alpaca and if the alpaca is free to jump around, a successful examination is not possible and it could be dangerous for the patient. We…

We performed our first plasma transfusion of 2019 earlier in the week. Happily, this one was in a cria that was not yet showing any signs of illness other than failure to gain weight, but was identified as having an IgG level of 300mg/dl (ideally it should be 1000+). The plasma transfusion should prevent the cria from deteriorating into sepsis.The owner checked the cria’s IgG as they were not happy with its weight gain (it had lost since birth). Proactive IgG testing is much better for the cria as a plasma transfusion can prevent it from becoming ill and potentially…

We have been working hard over the past few months to develop our new website. We appreciate we are probably far more excited about it than you are! However, we thought it would be useful to point out a few changes we’ve made to help make using our services a little easier. Resources We have created a library of FREE downloadable resources to help you manage the health and welfare of your animals. At present you can find guidance relating to Body Condition Scoring, Vitamin D Supplementation and Assessing Anaemia, as well as a timely Feeding Guide for Crias! This…

I have been working with Pet Blood Bank UK to develop and launch a UK wide processing service for camelids.I am delighted to tell you we have now also created a Camelid Plasma webinar which will provide you with practical guidance and support to help ensure plasma can be collected and transfused safely and effectively.The webinar is split into two distinct sections;Part 1 – guides you on how to safely collect whole blood in a closed manner from camelids which can then be processed into plasma using the Pet Blood Bank processing service,Part 2- provides advice on how this plasma…

We are looking for alpaca breeders to take part in a study that we will be conducting over this coming breeding season. Little is known about the incidence of birthing difficulties (“dystocia”) in alpacas, specific information about the type of problems experienced during birthing and the periparturient period, or the outcome of the problems experienced. Reproductive success and cria survival is crucial to the alpaca industry. This study aims to evaluate the incidence of periparturient events and neonatal illness and mortality in order to highlight where potential improvements can be made in both management and veterinary care of the species.Please…

Camelid Veterinary Services (CVS) officially opened its doors on 23rd April this year. The clinic is the brain-child of Specialist Camelid Veterinarian Claire E Whitehead, and is the only facility in Europe, and outside South America, focusing solely on South American Camelids, mainly alpacas. Local MP for Henley John Howell planted a tree to mark the occasion and gave warm support to a new rural business that could provide jobs in rural South Oxfordshire.More than 70 guests attended the Grand Opening, mostly alpaca breeders from around the UK, and were given tours of the new facility which includes a large…