Update

Yesterday was the dreaded visit to the vet ! With a friend for moral support , the alpacas loaded easily and we set off for the vet , about 30 mins drive. In the event , reversing the trailer was not even attempted by me , and both Wendy and I were very impressed with the way in which the vet reversed straight into a gap we were dubious about , with no hesitation .

Athena was first out and she behaved absolutely perfectly. She stood patiently for nearly an hour whilst the vets ( at times we counted 5 ) played around with X-ray distances and other technical elements in order to get the perfect piccie which is being sent to various alpaca experts to determine whether her slightly bent legs are normal/rickets( my guess) / fixable etc . they also took blood and finally after much petting and admiration she returned to the trailer and out came

Veronica . Normally she can be a bit feisty and I expected trouble in strange surroundings , but I was completely wrong ( not something I often admit so savour that !) and she behaved beautifully . We did an X-ray of her jaw which showed up an abscess at the base of a tooth root . It was under control from the penicillin already administered , and she has already been eating and putting some weight back on , for which I am thankful. Even the vet agreed that she was doing well , phew! The choice is tricky , but we are going to try a new remedy , since nothing in the UK is actually licensed for alpacas it gives a greater degree of freedom in a strange way , some items are tried and tested and some are not . We are going to use a medicine usually prescribed to humans , for TB !! The rational is relatively simple - it will penetrate further into the bone than regular penicillin and hopefully negate the need for tooth removal . There is a slight risk , but my vet thinks it is worth taking and that the odds are in our favour hugely , so here goes !!!

The return journey was uneventful and everyone is back in their field s without too much stress. Thank you Wendy for standing around in the cold for 2 hours , and to the vets for their efforts . Lets hope we've got all the right solutions