I have found that drawing blood from the alpaca’s tail is usually very easy. There appears to be minimal discomfort to the animal. On a couple occasions I was only able to get a little blood, other times I could have filled a coffee cup! After the initial first time jitters, it is an easy way to get blood for progesterone tests or FTA cards for DNA testing.

First restrain the alpaca. Clean the area with rubbing alcohol. Hold the alpaca’s tail up but do not bend it backward over their back. This will tend to constrict the blood. You want to insert the needle about 1" up from the base of the tail, dead center and straight in. It will go in a little way before it hits the tailbone. If you hit the tail bone, back out a tiny amount and slowly draw on the plunger. The vessel is much closer to the tailbone than to the skin surface.

I like to use a 20 gage needle. ARI is supplying an 28 gage needle, which seems a little small to me, as blood is pretty thick. I pull the plunger back slightly before inserting it. This enables me to operate it with one hand.

If the needle comes out, don’t try to go back into the same hole. Just move down the tail a little and start over. If the blood is flowing you can suck it up with the needle without reinserting it.

Do not apply a FTA card to the tail, this will contaminate the card. Either catch the blood with the syringe or another vial of some sort. It is helpful to have something on hand just in case. Even a plastic spoon would work.

When you have the blood you need, apply pressure to the site until it stops bleeding. Sometimes a little BloodStop is helpful.

For progesterone testing you only need a few tenths of a cc (about a quarter of a teaspoon).

Call M & M Veterinary Lab or Rocky Mountain Lab and they will send you some small plastic vials for your progesterone tests. These do not need to be packed in ice. I do, however, keep them in the fridge until I mail them. I put them in a padded envelope or use a little bubble wrap and send them Priority Mail.

Write the animals name on the vial and place it in a zip lock bag with the animals name and your name and phone number written on the bag. If you are sending more than one, put each one in a separate bag. Even if they become crushed the blood will not be contaminated by other’s and probably can still be tested. Mel, from M & M will call you with the results. Other labs will fax or call the results.

Rocky Mountain Lab has some really good info about progesterone testing if you are interested in how this test works. www.rockylab.com.

Provided by Elsa Leyden
Longbranch Fiber Farm
PO Box 1020 Vaughn, WA 98394
253-884-4523, elsa@longbranchfiber.com.
www.longbranchfiber.com

Elsa is not a medical professional. These techniques are suggested only as I use them on my farm with my animals. I recommend consulting your veterinarian before you perform any of the techniques described.

There are three places that you can send your blood for progesterone testing:

M & M Veterinary Lab
13615 Wabash Rd
Milan, MI 48160
734-439-2698
www.mmvetlab.com
Will supply plastic vials on request.

Rocky Mt. Instrumental Lab
108 Coronado Ct.
Ft. Collins, CO 80525
970-266-8108
Will supply plastic vials on request. Interesting article on llama pregnancy testing on website.

Clinical Endocrinology
Dept PH
1114 Tupper Hall
1 Sheilds Ave
UC Davis
Davis, CA 95616
530-752-0298