From the midst of heartbreak and confusion often come enlightement and focus. That is what happened late last summer at Pearson Pond Ranch in the mountains of northwest Georgia. The ranch is home to many kinds of animals, but 175 llamas ar the main core of their operation. For more than 20 years, Tracy and Jack Pearson have been passoniate about llamas. As Tracy puts it, "Llamas grab hold of your heart and don't let go."

Rain, heat and resistance to dewormers that had been the mainstay of the Pearson's healthcare program all come together in a deadly mix in mid August 2005, when several Pearson Pond llamas began to lose large amounts of weight rapidly and inexplicably. The culprit was found to be the haemonshus parasite, coupled with coccida. Tracy soon discovered many who shared this common problem, as other llama and alpaca ranches around the country also were affected and had lost animals.

According to Tracy, "In every necropsy we did the cause of death was fatty liver brought on by the stress of the parasite load. Once a llama starts the fatty liver slide, you have less than five days to do something to turn it around. If you do nothing, death is a certainty."

"First," says Tracy, "the compromised llama must have nutrition. Without that, there is NO hope for treatment or recovery. By the time we figured out what to do, we had lost several llamas, but our discovery helped us save 11 who would have died. We found a product called FIBRevive (fiber that revives), which was not yet on the market. It was one of the nutritional keys to the puzzle."

FIBRevive can be fed with an oral dosing gun or feeding tube for animals that won't or can't eat without assistance. Also, food can be top dressed wet or dry to provide extra nutrition for animals that are able to eat on their own. "Getting adequate nutrition into each llama was the first step," says Tracy. "FIBRevive was the key to stopping the fatty liver slide. It's an essential product that every farm should keep on hand.

Since we discovered the product, we have recommended it to many. Results have been nothing short of miraculous. The photos below show Chip, a llama who weighted 115 pounds when he was rescued in October. Chip's new owners brought him back to life with FIBRevive and lots of TLC. Five months later and 100 pounds heavier, Chip competed at a show and was a Champion."

Tracy recently learned of another success story from Tom Riley, who mixed yogurt with FIBRevive and medication the llama needed to take for a month. He then rolled it into small balls. The llama happily ate the "special treat" along with the rest of its morning meal.

"Second, we put our regular mineral supplementation program into high gear, adding every ingredient we knew of that would help our llamas build strong immune systems, so they could fight the parasites. It was quite expensive, but it worked. The minerals, combined with the exceptional feed manufactured by Golden Blend, helped our llamas grow stronger and more vibrant."

That's when Tracy realized she had found the other nutritional key. "If it had worked for us, then it would work for others also. I contacted Golden Blend Milling to ask if they could develop a supplement that included all of the ingredients we had used. We wanted to be sure the supplement had a correct balance of ingredients. We also had to get the cost down to a reasonable level, and we did!

MasterPlan Minerals was born. The cost of this cutting edge product, which includes all of the ingredients we previously had purchased separately, was very competitive. Even better, the formula was complete," says Tracy. "Veterinarians analyzed the formula and gave it two thumbs up."

Guaranteed Analysis

• Calcium (Ca) Min - 13.00%
• Calcium (Ca) Max - 15.60%
• Phosphorus (P) Min - 3.50%
• Salt (NaCI) Min - 6.00%
• Salt (NaCI) Max - 7.20%
• Magnesium (Mg) Min - 1.00%
• Potassium (K) Min - 2.00%
• Iron (Fe) Min - 2,000 PPM
• Manganese (Mn) Min - 1,500 PPM
• Zinc (Zn) MIn - 9,000
• PPM Copper (Cu) Min - 90 PPM
• Cobalt (Co) Min - 15 PPM
• Iodine (I) Min - 300 PPM
• Selenium (Se) Min - 5
• PPM Vitamin A Min - 190,000 IU/LB
• Vitamin D-3 Min - 25,000 IU/LB
• Vitamin E Min - 1,000 IU/LB
• Thiamine Min - 39 MG/LB Niacin Min - 19 MG/LB
• Biotin Min - 0.09 MG/LB
• Ascorbic Acid Min - 112 MG/LB Lysine Min - 1.12%

MasterPlan Minerals are now available for purchase from Custom Milling, Pearson Pond Ranch and several supply companies.

"We also revamped our entire parasite control program and it is working. The fall and winter seasons gave our llamas and us time to grow stronger, while we fine-tuned our prevention and treatment programs," says Tracy. "Over the winter, fecal tests have been clean and our herd has been the picture of health," Tracy reports.

"We understand the parasites have cards still in play, because it will be up to 10 years before a new, unrelated dewormer will be on the market. Today we are more experienced players, and we have the savvy to compete," says a smiling Tracy. "The game continues, so we are vigilant and we focus on winning, one hand at a time."

If you have questions, Tracy invites you to contact her by EMAIL or call 706-276-3658. She's always happy to help!

MasterPlan Llama Minerals with Chelated with Probiotics - After years of experimentation with nutrional suppliments, we have developed in cooperation with Golden Blend Mill and their labs an ultimate in llama Mineral. This mineral is both effective and palitable and very resonably priced. Detailed Information

FIBReviveTM - High-fiber formula for use in camelids, macropods, goats, sheep, and livestock when illness, injury, or surgery prevents normal feeding behavior.
Detailed Information