Mimosa Gets A Makeover
BEFORE. When this little alpaca female was born a couple of weeks ago…
…her ears were a bit wonky. Inside out, if you will.
This is something that happens occasionally. It is not genetic and is no cause for alarm. Ears like this can occur from prematurity or just being positioned that way in utero. Several times a day we work with the ears and “fix them” the right way with our fingers. Often this will be enough and the cria’s ears will then remain in the correct position. In some cases, like this one, more intervention is required to correct the ears.
With little Mimosa here, we taped her ears. The ears were placed into the proper shape, next we used vet wrap (pink – she’s so girly) to secure the shape. The vet wrap was slippery and wanted to just slide right off so we added vet tape at the base of the ear to keep it in place. We were concerned that using the really sticky vet tape over the whole ear would take out lots of fiber with it when we pulled it off (OUCH!) so we only used the sticky tape at the base of the ear.
I wish Mimosa would have held her ears up for these pictures. She usually had them up and alert. She looked like she had pink horns. It was too cute. Once the camera came out, though, she wouldn’t do it. (kids…)
We left the ‘ear wrap’ on for a couple of days. You don’t want to leave it on too long and you may have to do this several times for the ears to get with the program. Mimosa’s ears were fine within a few days.
AFTER. Here’s Mimosa after her ears were taped for a few days. Pretty as a picture!
Now it’s not her ears that make Mimosa stand out. It’s her curious personality. She and Dexter have become best friends. They are always hanging around each other, playing. Thick as thieves. I’ll have to post some pictures of them playing soon.
May 12th, 2009 at 7:07 am
OMG she is just tooo cute! I’m waitng for the first cria to arrive here and the photos of Mimosa make me even more anxious!
May 12th, 2009 at 7:08 am
she’s a doll! i’m glad that taping is the way to fix those ears! pretty simple/painless.
now i really want to come visit your farm. V would love it!
maya | springtree roads last blog post..At Grandmo’s
May 12th, 2009 at 7:11 am
What a cute little cria girl!
Thanks for the tip on the ear tape, too!
May 12th, 2009 at 7:30 am
What a cute closeup of Mimosa! She’s just the cutest! Great tape job. The ears look great.
Kathys last blog post..Time Out for Spring – Only $35.00
May 12th, 2009 at 10:13 am
Mimosa is soooo cute! Such a sweetheart.
Did she get a special treat for having to endure such embarrassment in front of the other alpacas?
May 12th, 2009 at 1:34 pm
lol! i love the one with her ears sticking out/back, all wrapped up! cutie!
vtknitboys last blog post..First: A Bit on Twitter….then, about spinning!
May 12th, 2009 at 3:29 pm
She is so cute! But you are right, the ears were a bit distracting. She has beautiful eyes!
Ellens last blog post..Random Thoughts on Being Famous
May 13th, 2009 at 3:25 pm
ok, i am weird…i like the ears she was born with…but then i am sort of a naturalist…if nature wants them that way, it’s ok. i will always love her …she is so adorable.
spvaughans last blog post..want to go but can’t afford to go?
May 14th, 2009 at 2:39 am
I love this blog, it’s always full of useful info. Keep up the great work!
May 22nd, 2009 at 8:58 am
Mimosa is ridiculously cute!
By the way, some dog breeders do this ear taping thing too.
AND… Katy, love the names of the new cria… like, Lewis & Clark… too funny.
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