Camel Dairy Diary

Camels for Sale

2010-07-14T12:08:00.001-07:00

Hi Everyone,
I added some new text to the website which outlines a few of our wonderful camels we have for sale. Tomorrow, I'm going to add photos! I love doing the photos... the camels are such hams in front of the camera!

Camel Dairy Diary: VISITING WITH HUELL HOWSER

2010-02-20T15:33:00.000-08:00

Camel Dairy Diary: VISITING WITH HUELL HOWSER

VISITING WITH HUELL HOWSER

2010-02-20T09:31:00.000-08:00

A California Treasure helps us turn the Oasis Camel Dairy into California Gold.

I've never written about our visit with Huell Howser. Huell came to visit our farm seven years ago before I knew about blogging or facebook or instant messaging...
He is re-airing our California Visiting episode March 22 at 7:30 p.m. on KCET and KPBS.

We ran into Huell at the Western Fairs Association annual convention this past January where he announced the beginning of a new series: California's Golden Fairs, set to debut in 2011, the 200 anniversary of American Fairs.

Seeing Huell again was fantastic. He hugs like a big teddy bear and his smile melts write through to your spine. Getting to talk with him reminded me of the great time we had with Huell here at Oasis Camel Dairy seven years ago... an encounter that started us on the road to hosting tours of our dairy and literally put us on the map.

I am trying to remember how Huell found us in the first place. I think the story goes back to fall of 2000 (I think) when Gil took Clyde to the Family Expo at the California State Fairgrounds. It was Clyde's first ever camel ride gig. A camel ride is not all that uncommon at fairs and festivals but Gil had lots of signage about our fledgling Oasis Camel Dairy. Gil met a scout from California Gold at the event and talked to him about our Camel Dairy and our Camel Milk Soap.

Intrigued, the scout took the information and a couple of bars of milk and honey soap back to Huell. A few months later we got a phone call from the man himself. I remember it was pretty surreal to hear that famous smooth, southern man on the other end of our telephone. We set a visit date for some time in February. We planned to milk camels and go for walks through the pastures... unfortunately, we wouldn't have any new babies.

As the visit date grew closer, the weather was not cooperating. In addition, none of our camels were currently milking... we were still waiting for new babies. So I tentatively called Huell and asked to change the date. I knew that would be a pretty big deal... filming schedules are very structured and changing one day can effect countless others. Huell was reluctant to change the date. Luckily, he did have another opening for a film visit in late May. I was ecstatic ... we should have a new calf born by then! So Huell agreed to wait.

Three days before Huell's arrival, Cleopatra gave birth to Guliver. Cleopatra wanted nothing to do with being a mother (and still doesn't) so we took Guliver into the garage and began to bottle raise him.

We were a bit nervous when the day came to meet Huell. We still felt uneasy about "putting off" such a big star and hoped he would see Guliver and deem him worth the wait. Guliver was in a giant "play pen" when Huell and his camera crew drove up. It was love at first sight!

Huell barely had time to shake hands and say hello before he exclaimed, "Oh my gosh! Look at that little guy! Get the camera - lets start right away!" The day was fantastic. We milked camels, we took a beautiful stroll through lush, spring green pastures and met all the animals on the ranch including Stormy the wonder sheep and Scarlet who, thanks to Huell, will forever be known as the "camel dog".

Huell is a great interviewer. His questions are genuine and intelligent. But beyond being very smart, it is his infectious enthusiasm that makes his shows so watchable. And that accent.... priceless! I can listen to that man all day long!

Near the end of the day, Huell sat down with us, cameras off and very candidly offered his sage advise. He said "listen you two, you need to get your tours going right away. My viewers like to visit the places I visit and they are really going to want to come here."

Well, Gil and I had been thinking about offering tours, we just weren't sure what the tours would be. Huell leaned back, opened his arms wide and looked around, "its all here you guys. Just be yourselves and share what you love and the people will love it!"

So that's what we did. Two weeks after Huell first aired our Oasis Camel Dairy Visit on his show, he held our first public tour. It was everything he said it would be. Gil and I just were ourselves. We shared our animals with our new friends. We walked and talked and brought animals out of their pastures and enclosures to meet and be touched by our guests. We laughed and joked and hugged camels.

And Gil and I have been doing tours here at the Oasis Camel Dairy ever since. So many of our visitors come to the dairy to see Baby Guliver (who is now gorgeous, huge and living at the Living Desert Zoo in Palm Desert.) Luckily, there are always new dairy residents to meet: new babies (we have one due in the next two weeks!) New camel dogs (Noodle the Chiweenie is a big favorite! Her little feet never touch the ground.. everyone just wants to hold her!) and more.

The question we get asked most often about our visit with Huell Howser is probably the one you are asking yourself right now. So, what is he REALLY like? I'll tell you. He is really that guy you see on television. He is enthusiastic, full of energy and very positive. He is a gracious host, a magnificent guest and I am very happy to say, a dear friend.

be sure to tune in to KCET or KPBS March 22 at 7:30 p.m. to watch us with Huell Howser on California Visiting. Visit our website: http://www.cameldairy.com/ for more information about tours, upcoming events and latest news.

GOING POSTAL... in a good way

2010-02-17T15:18:00.000-08:00

Today's nonstop sunshine was punctuated with a truly action packed trip to the post office!
Gil is away from the farm for the week. He took our cow, Holy, and our donkey, Liberty, to Santa Cruz to be bred. After that, he is headed off to Yuba Sutter to an amazing private ranch who is getting knee deep in new camels and needs some training help.

I am home holding down the dairy... which I do love to do. The weather feels like early spring and every chore; from feeding animals, cleaning the fish pond, mowing, weeding.. even hanging laundry is a joyful excursion into sweet sun-drenched heaven.

Before Gil left, he boxed up three very special, overseas parcels and asked me to mail them when the post office opened after Presidents day. I am always kind of squinky about international mail... what insurance to do, what form to fill out... Gil assured me it would be a snap... all the info was already printed on the mailing labels.

So today, on my way to pick up hay, I grabbed the boxes and took them to town. I stood in line with a variety of forms and, being unsure of which ones would be required, I decided to fill out all of them.

After rifling through my purse for a pen (I was thrilled to dig out my Maricopa County Fair pen... it has nice ink flow I began copying the information from the labels to the forms.

That's when I switched abruptly from walking on sunshine to panic. Gil had labeled the two parcels traveling to his niece and brother in Israel in HEBREW!

For those of you are are unfamiliar with the language, the letters are dots, squiggly lines, dashes and more squiggly lines. They are also written backwards... right to left instead of left to right.

I laughed out loud and asked, "I don't suppose anyone here speaks Hebrew?" To my astonishment a lovely young blond girl in her very early twenties responds, "I do.. a little."

So she joined me at the counter and together we sort of phonetically figured out what the addresses might be. What are the odds! It was actually a lot of fun and she knew the language very well.

My panic cloud lifted as I walked to the truck loaded down with hay, flipping through the mail in the warm sunshine. I paused to open a beautiful red envelope addressed simply to "Clyde the Camel" at the Oasis Camel Dairy. Inside the envelope was a beautiful Valentines Day card from Floyd and Dianna from Carlsbad; Clyde's unofficial, self appointed, totally enthusiastic "fan club". Being a HUGE fan of Clyde myself, I am very proud of his popularity.

Tucked inside the card was a check for $50.00 with a note that read, "Clyde's Valentine gift - let him "treat" the herd! I turned right around and went back to the feed store and picked up some oat hay and orchard grass... special treats indeed. What a sweet gesture from such lovely people. Gil and I (and Clyde) will enjoy paying this forward.

This may seem like an odd little day. But that is the beauty part... it's really pretty much a normal day around here!

Mozel Tov!

CAMELBACK AMERICA PART 2 ... Exploring Personal Limits

2009-12-29T12:24:00.000-08:00

Although the official date and location has not been set, our camel trek is most definitely on.
The preliminary response has been so overwhelming, funny and positive even at this early stage, there seems to be no turning back now.

Being away from our farm for two solid months while we "trek away" seems to me as though it would possibly create strain here at home. But one month... that seems quite do-able. I am trying to talk Gil down to one month.

We have determined from the get-go that this trek is NOT to be a test of the camels' limits. They will not be asked to go without food or water. The trek will be an adventure. And the only limits to be tested will be ours... the human participants. And as Gil and I discuss the trek in more detail I am discovering, I have limits.

Please forgive me if you were looking for a more GI Joe, Survivor type rendering... my mom took my sister and I camping at National Parks as a kid... but that was long, long ago.

Here are some of the "limits" we've discussed so far.....

Eating nothing but dried dates and camel's milk:
Bedouins crossing the desert have done this for centuries. I am kind of excited to do it. I teeter on the brink of high cholesterol and think this might actually be an awesome way to counteract it! Gil and I are going to get complete physicals and blood work done before the trek so we can compare our condition before and after.
We are also planning on a trek-less trial... perhaps at the State Fair or the Riverside County Fair? We can lock ourselves up in our Camel Dairy Adventure Exhibit for the run of the fair and eat nothing but dried dates and the camel milk we "milk" during the run of the fair. How is that for weird fair food. Riverside is 10 days... State fair is 18 days! Hmmmm. I am anxious to try either one!

Heat:
well, that one might not be too bad. We are planning the trip for fall or spring. And I like heat. I do. As long as its a dry heat. And I'm sure the desert will accommodate that.

Cold:
I'll bring a sweater

Lots and lots of walking:
At the risk of sounding like a Tums commercial, "that's something my body needs anyway!" My doctor has prescribed lots of walking for me. What ever my health issue is, hip pain, some joint and leg pen become pretty unbearable when I don't walk regularly. I can walk the camel ride for six hours and feel better than if I stood at a came display for one hour.

Dirty hair, face, feet, etc:
Did you know that it isn't good for your hair to be washed daily? It robs your hair and scalp of natural oils. So, going long stretches without washing your hair is in actuality a type of spa treatment. (and that will be my mantra every day) And besides, the many years of Survivor contestants have eased us into the wilderness grunge look quite nicely.

Chapped lips:
errrrr. I hate that! This might more than I can stand. Chapped lips are the worst! Gil has great desert lips and just doesn't have a problem w/ any of that sort of survival stuff. But I am so dang white! And I have yet to find a single lip treatment that doesn't make chapped lips worse the moment it wears off! (I am open to suggestions people!)

No bathroom:
Ok that's it! I'm out! When Gil and I started talking about the "facilities" of the great outdoors... we definitely hit a snag. I just can't see squatting in the bushes for anything other than to secretly observe nature. And even then, I would probably not squat, I would sit. So there it is, my limit. I am not a bear and I do not do THAT in the woods or the desert.
So Gil and our friend Lori and I sat down to a brainstorming meeting (translation: pizza dinner at Momma Rosa's in Ramona... best pizza EVER I might add) to figure out a solution to the bathroom dilemma.
All I need is a seat and some privacy. That's it. And some paper. A seat, some privacy and some paper.
So here is what we're thinking. I can get one of those camping toilets! Not like a porta potty or anything like that... I can rough it a little better than that! No, just one of those folding thingy's w/ a toilet seat and a bag! There you go! There's my seat! The camping toilet would be very light weight and could pack on one of the camels. The trek is back on!
But what about the privacy. I know we may be in the middle of nowhere and Gil can just turn his back... but still. What if we aren't in the middle of nowhere? In fact if you think about it, it is pretty much nearly impossible to be int he middle of nowhere ANYWHERE in the U.S.!
So here is Gil's idea. One of the camels will be the "bathroom" camel. We'll call him Lu or maybe John. On the lower edges of John's saddle pack, would be long swatches of material that can be rolled up or down like a window blind. When I need to use the bathroom, we simply stop, I set up my toilet under John and we drop the curtain.
Is he SERIOUS?! How do you train that?! As intriguing (and functional) as the idea sounds, I would sure hate to be in the middle of something when the camel decides to go. Or for that matter.... to GO!
So here is my idea. I will purchase one of those little, nylon kids folding play tents! They fold up in seconds (like those car windshield thingys) don't weigh much and "spring" into action as needed! Ta Da! I will make my own, automatic, "johnny on the spot" So now I will search for the perfect springy kids play tent.
.... the trek is on!

CAMELBACK AMERICA part one ... the BIG IDEA

2009-11-15T11:23:00.000-08:00

Gil is full of big ideas. And I love him for that. If it wasn't for Gil and his big ideas, we wouldn't be a camel dairy, we wouldn't have this ranch and our lives would not be as interesting and rich as they are.

But this idea is VERY BIG. He mentions it every once in a while, kind of like... wouldn't it be neat? But then reality crashes in and we are busy doing so many things... until it drifts in again... wouldn't it be neat.

Years before we ever squeezed out our first drop of camel milk from our first milking camel, Latifa, Gil was intrigued by the idea of Bedouins crossing the Sahara Desert, surviving months at a time with nothing to eat but milk from the caravan's camels. Now that we are milking camels regularly, I think Gil's big idea spends a lot more time in the front of his mind.

As we add more and more milking camels to our herd, Gil revisits the idea from time to time. "We could do this" He'll say. "We can make a desert trek right here in the U.S. for two months and bring Goldie and Tula with their babies for milk, and ride the geldings like Boo-boo, Camelot, Jamal... there are a lot of great candidates. He talks about having a camel outfitted w/ solar power and web-up links to bring the world along on the adventure. He talks about visiting schools and historical sites along the way. He usually loses me more than a bit when he mentions things like Bedouins washing there hair in camel urine and burning the dung for campfires.

The last time Gil uttered the words, "wouldn't that be neat" was this past October, while we were driving to Ridgecrest California with the Wild West Turkey Stampede to perform at the Desert Empire Fair.

Winding our way through gorgeous, endless desert, Gil gazed out the window for a long time before turning to me and saying once again, "we could do this... we could really do this"
And as I looked out the window across the quiet desert, I have to say for the first time, I also thought; wouldn't that be neat. We could do this, we have the camels now and it would be an amazing adventure.

Time to start planning....

Oasis Camel Dairy working on our web store

2009-06-24T09:33:00.001-07:00

Still in love with our new website but not thrilled with some of the features.

The web store is problematic.

It is fancy and flashy but the shipping rates just don't fit our needs.

The store wants to add a shipping price per item; the first item being the bulk of the charge and then a small price for each additional item.

The problem is, each soap is a different item! So if you want one each of all seven varieties, you pay the initial fee SEVEN TIMES!

So here is our temporary fix:

We don't allow the store computer to calculate ANY shipping. Instead, simply go through the store, select your soaps and other items and then YOU can select the appropriate shipping fee after that.

Stop by http://www.cameldairy.com and check it out. Let me know what you think!

Thanks

Nancy

OASIS CAMEL DAIRY

2009-06-22T22:30:00.000-07:00

OASIS CAMEL DAIRY has a new home on the web at www.cameldairy.com. The website is beautiful and easy to edit so we should be able to update content easily.
The new site is a web based flash site. I love it. The only problem is, google doesn't find it!
What to do, what to do???? Google is very blogspot friendly so hopefully by adding this info to our blog, this will come up easily on google and people can continue to find us easily.
Let's call this a bit of an experiment and see how it all comes out in the search!
If you are looking for our blog... this is the place! We have wonderful stories about our unique dairy and its resident so grab a nice cup of your favorite beverage and stick around for a while!

GOING TO THE SHOW: part II

2009-06-12T22:04:00.000-07:00

TODAY WAS THE FIRST DAY OF SHOWS.
What a crazy ride! Zipping back and fourth between the camel dairy show and the turkey races was hilarious and exhausting! Gil would be rope-spinnin' Cowboy Gil over at the Turkey Races, steering Big Red screaming around hairpin turns with twelve revved up turkeys in hot pursuit with me shrieking out "Yeeee ha" and other appropriate Turkey Stampede phraseology.... then, quickly gulp down a cold grapefruit juice, change into our Oasis Camel Dairy shirts and head over to the camel exhibit, transforming into camel milk aficionados while milking, brush and cavorting with our benevolent camels.

Clyde, our very lovable, charismatic, twenty-year old gelding... (if you know the Camel Dairy, you know Clyde) was very excited during the first show. He talked and foamed a lot! More than once Gil and I found ourselves dodging globs of foamy drool and several times we did not succeed. The audience loved it! I wish I had worn a hat! Goldie gave lots of milk during the shows and Clyde demonstrated unique camel behavior and adaptation. Everyone loves the new soap fragrances and labels!

We can see the camel exhibit from where we stand to perform the Turkey Stampede. When you come to see the show... don't forget to look over your shoulder back to the camels. At only about 2oo yards away, Goldie and Clyde stand transfixed... watching and waiting for us to come back and be with them. Clyde calls to Gil with a sweet, long, low moan that sounds like a giant, gentle lion. ... he is the coolest guy!

Clyde shot a cool little "bump" segment with Sam the Cooking Guy from channel... (gosh ... I don't know!) The segment was GREAT! Clyde interacted like a co-host. If you get to see it... let me know!

So back and fourth we run for three shows of each... each day. Today was just day one. It should have been exhausting and daunting but it was just the funnest (yes, I said funnest) day. Getting to share both the goofy, rowdy romp that is the Turkey Stampede and the simple, gracefulness that is the Camel Dairy Show is a wonderful treat for us.

Of course... this is just day one.... Let's see how it is by day twenty-two!

The fair runs through July 5th.

Time to sleep.......

GOING TO "THE SHOW" part I

2009-06-11T18:10:00.000-07:00

MOVING IN TO THE DEL MAR FAIR GROUNDS....
With our tired but still tried and true F350 loaded to the ceiling with camel milk soap, camel signs, camel blankets, halters, and many other things camel; I looked across the front seat as my copilot, Conrad the Macaw, still recovering from his $5,000 foot surgery (don't ask) sporting a giant awkward plastic cone around his neck looked coaxingly for a french fry. Towing neatly behind, over one ton of camels consisting of Clyde, our 18 year old gelding, Goldie, one of the best milking camels ever and her gorgeous son, Raja (aka: Flathead) settle into to deeply bedded hay for the one hour drive to the coast and the world famous San Diego County Fair. Joining our caravan is Gil and Scarlet, maybe the worlds only camel-midwife dog, towing the Wild West Turkey Stampede show complete with twelve fledgling turkeys, our 0l' number 6 team and Turkules, the sixty pound turkey.

As we wind our way to the coast, our exhaustion over preparing for this 22 day event is overridden by our excitement about what lies in store.

Gil and I lead the most unusual life. What may seem to be an eclectic tangled mess to the outside world; what with the turkey racing show, the performing exotic bird show, the camel dairy, Gil's crystal lapidary business and our array of pets; is harmonious, symbiotic bliss to us. This is the first time people will get such a glimpse into our lives in such large numbers. It's all here... the turkey races and the camel dairy: each performing three times daily. Between Gil and I doing both... that's six shows a day. I can't believe I am thinking that I can "hardly wait"

Last Friday night's Fair Media Party gave us a great indication that we are going to have an incredible time. While talking on the phone with our Fair Contact, Katie Phillips about tents and electrical and other fair checklist items, I suggested that we bring a camel to the media party. She enthusiastically welcomed us as a last minute addition. We chose Clyde, our big old sweet gelding to be our ambassador. What an excellent ambassador he was. You would have thought he was running for mayor by the way he kept kissing everyone! The talk of the party, Clyde's huge face was plastered all over facebook, youtube and everyone was all a twitter on twitter as our big, friendly guy schmoozed the crowd.

I am always so pleased and amazed at how gentle and curious our camels are about new people.

The last two days have been set up, set up, set up! With two shows to build, Gil and I have been pretty much going non-stop. But both show areas are almost done and the new camel dairy exhibit looks lovely. I can't wait to meet the crowds there. I am going to try to write short pieces over the next weeks, just to give some sort of an idea as to what our day to day happenings are like. For now, it is back to the Camel Dairy exhibit for final touch up and grooming.

Oh! And our twelve new turkeys are waiting to be "colored" for their races. (they are all white so to identify the three different teams, we mist them with a combo of edible frosting coloring mixed with water... four red and four blue. We don't do their heads... just their tales, bodies and wings. They are very sweet about it.. I guess it beats basting!) They are racing crazy cute!

Ok... back to work.

Happy April Fools Day!

2009-04-01T19:11:00.000-07:00

Ok! The jig is up!

This prank is the brain child of Channel 8 San Diego's Larry Himmel, who also gained international celebrity when his report on youtube shot to their number one video. The video was of Larry reporting while his own house burned to the ground during the Witch Creek Fire of October, 2007.

Larry contacted us via email and proposed the hoax. He even had a really funny script for us!

The day of the taping, He and Bruce (KFMB photographer/producer) Drove in w/ all the trimmins' complete w/ a fantastically cheesy buffalo mascot type costume.

We had so much fun with Larry and Bruce. When it came time to shoot the footage of the creature out in the pasture, we weren't exactly sure how the camels would handle it.

The donkeys and Holy cow headed for the hills but the camels couldn't wait to say hello to their new friend. So who is that handsome Sasquatch? Larry Himmel himself of course!

I don't know what was more fun, filming the gag or listening to to Gil do a "table read" of our parts off of Larry's email two weeks ago.

No camels or bigfoots were injured in the making of this practical joke.

However, Boo-boo was a bit beguiled by Larry's seemingly sexy Sasquatch. Remember, Boo-boo hasn't been a gelding all that long...

Thanks Larry for letting us in on the joke.

You are the greatest!

Note: not a San Diegan? Click on the post title and it will take you to the video clip!

Come visit the Camel Dairy! Next tour is Sunday at 1:00. Go to www.cameldairy.com and click on TOUR page

What IS That???!!!

2009-03-31T10:37:00.000-07:00

This is freaking me out....

Ok, let me explain this picture. Look behind the big camel facing left in the middle of the picture. Can you see that black thing (or is it brown?)

I blew it up and tried to lighten it (see insert to pic) but that makes it worse.

I have been out of town with my bird show performing at the Pinal County Fair in Arizona.

I talk to Gil every day. He tells me what's going on at home and how my kitties are and of course how all the camels are doing.

I didn't think anything about it at the time but he mentioned that the milking camels seemed a little "light" like they weren't giving as much milk in the morning.

I mean, that can happen right? The weather in Arizona was a bit dry and windy so maybe it was windy here at the Camel Dairy in Ramona too and that might have bothored the girls and effected their milk production. Can that happen?

Ok, so we go out this morning to milk together and Gil is right. In fact, even a couple of the camels were so light, it was as if the babies had gotten their first and had an early breakfast.

But that isn't as weird as what came next! Shadow (our coyote fearin' dog) was barking at the pasture... I mean REALLY barking! So we go over there and see this BIG animal! I don't know what it was. It was right by the camels. I ran to get the camera and got a shot... not a great one.

What is that? Have you ever seen a bear or big.... what ... I don't know, in Ramona?

Gil got some video too and as soon as I figure out how to load it, I'll post it.

Now we are freaked out and thinking back on the past couple of weeks. The dogs have been barking a lot in the early, early morning. Even the racing turkeys have been gobbling non-stop (which we assumed was just because of breeding season) And come to think of it our donkeys (which are soooo smart and sooo good at alerting about predators) have been braying more too. The thing is, everyone is fine, I can't see where anything has tried to get into a pen or break through a fence.

I'll keep you posted!

Nancy

ps... to our neighbors: have you seen a big brown bear or big brown????

HOW DO YOU MOVE A 2000 LB. CAMEL PART 3: YOU'RE COMIN' HOME!

2009-03-07T07:21:00.000-08:00

SPOILER ALERT!
Be sure to read parts 1 and 2 before this post. We wouldn't want to spoil the ending before you read the beginning!

So there we were, a team of hopeful, yet somewhat worn out animal handlers facing one, big, bull camel carefully harnessed in truckers tie-downs ready for our next amusing attempt to try to load him into the trailer. The make shift harness was securely tied to the 3000 lb test rope, strung through the trailer and out the front, across the driveway and tied to the Toyota waiting on the lawn.

NOTE: the photo above, right was taken after the camel was loaded into the trailer. You can see the harness between the front legs. Also... check out that hump! It almost touches the top of that EIGHT FOOT trailer!

We all stood for a few minutes, coordinating our plan, troubleshooting possible scenarios and going over procedure details.

Camel's owner would drive the truck, slowly backwards as Gil and I would help Camel into the trailer and shut the door. the owners grounds keeper would communicate between Gil and the truck driver to make sure the camel was not pulled in too fast or too slow and most importantly, to stop him and reverse him if something went wrong.

Gil initiated the countdown... three, two, one. Camel could see the change in our posture, he seemed to note we were getting ready for something as he stopped chewing his cud and looked curiously around. His face seemed to communicate, "what are you goofballs trying now? You should know you are no match for me." He did not look to concerned.

But as the truck inched backwards and the slack in the rope disappeared, the giant camel's shoulders and front limbs moved forward. His eyes showed his disbelief becoming two HUGE blinking orbits as his massive frame slid easily through the sand towards the trailer entrance.

With only one stop at the door so Gil and I could help him position his feet, the truck continuously edged backwards, easing him in. When he braced himself at the trailer door, he allowed his knees to fold landing easily in the thick bermuda hay bedding. Just like getting your pantyhose past critical territory, it was smooth sliding from there on out!

In he went, in a cushed position with rear legs awkwardly out behind. Gil called a halt, quickly secured the door and motioned the truck to move towards the trailer creating a nice, slack rope.
Camel stood up, looked around, and ate grain. He appeared to not want to make much of a big deal about our victory.

Once inside the trailer he simply looked around and relaxed. Gil slipped in through the small side door, talked to him softly while removing the harness. We all shook hands, heck.. we hugged like disaster survivors, and headed home.

On the way home, we called our veterinarian. We scheduled his castration surgery for the very next day! At first, the decision to castrate him was a difficult one to make. He is truly one of the most gorgeous camels I have ever seen. On a scale of one to ten.. he is a 20! But, he is a hand raised bull. There in lies his problem. Hand raised bull camels are one of the most dangerous animals you can work with. They are at the same time cuddly and territorial, affectionate and sexually aroused. They are easily confused between what is a suitable mating partner and choose partners like hay bales, lawn tractors, cars and people! Camel owners have been seriously injured and even killed by full grown "hand raised baby" bull camels.

The vet arrived the next morning, Camel, (now named Goliath... which of course never "took" because Gil started cooing to him, calling him Boo-boo) waited in the trailer and after relaxing into sedation, took the second step to his new life.

After the procedure, Boo-boo recovered from anesthesia in the trailer. A big spacious eight feet high by eight feet wide by twenty four feet long, it was the safest post surgery environment on a cool, spring morning.

Once up and around, Gil backed the trailer up to the gate of our quarantine paddock. (a 40 x40 enclosure away from the other camels where a new camel can be observed and treated before introduction to the herd) Boo-boo walked easily out of the trailer, briefly explored his enclosure before curling his neck back and blowing out his dula, head held high, eyes closed. That is bull camel for "I've arrived!"

Boo-boo was home, he was safe, and once the testosterone in his system dissipated he would be ready to meet his new family.

And that my friends, is another story!

Come meet Boo-boo in person at the Oasis Camel Dairy. Visit our website: http://www.cameldairy.com/ for tour dates and information. Maybe even take a ride on Boo-boo on one of our brand new SAFARI CAMEL ADVENTURES!

Mike Rowe and the crew of Dirty Jobs TV Show come for a visit

2009-02-28T00:25:00.001-08:00

MIKE ROWE SAYS "LETS GET DIRTY"!

What a day! I have been bursting to tell everyone about our amazing adventure filming Discovery Channel's HUGE HIT, Dirty Jobs at the Camel Dairy!

Show producer, and one of the coolest guys on the planet, Dave Barsky warned me not to spill before the shoot. The fan base for this show is so ginormous, we could have been inundated with Mike Rowe's enthusiastic fans. So Gil and I kept it quiet until shoot day.

The weather leading up to shoot day was horrific. Lots of rain and freezing cold. With me performing the bird show at the Riverside County Fair & National Date Festival for the previous ten days and our dear friend and employee, Teri out sick from surgery (she is going great by the way) Gil was pretty much left alone to get everything ready for the shoot day. Rich are we in good friends; many pitched in to help Gil get ready. Still, Gil had to feed and clean all the animals, prep the camels for the shoot and cut for his crystal clients. (You didn't know Gil did that? Go to http://www.crystalcutting.com/. He is AMAZING.)

Weeks earlier, after several telephone conferences with Michel and Ira from Pilgrim Films, we pretty much got the "order of the day" set. Michel and Ira really helped us hone what the day would look like. They kept reminding me that this wasn't an interview, Mike Rowe would be doing the actual work and animal handling. During the weeks leading up to the day of shooting, Gil and I kept that in mind, making sure we had lots of interesting work for him to do.

Shoot day, February 26, couldn't have been more beautiful. Spring-like weather with light, bright, puffy clouds billowing high over lush, green pastures made for a perfect backdrop to showcase our wonderful ranch life.

Before you even have a chance to ask, the answer is yes, Mike Rowe is really as funny, charming, friendly and handsome in person as he is on the show. In fact, the entire crew was friendly and engaging.

Our first two shots where of Mike opening the show with just the camels and then meeting Gil and I... asking us a few questions, things like that. Truthfully, I was nervous... with four camera's pointed at us, a big TV star and Lealla, our sweet cuddly camel poised for petting, the opening felt a little stiff for me. I just didn't feel in my element. Inside, I was actually worried about how the day would unfold.

But then we got to work. Worries over! Everything just flowed. Gil and Mike and I moved camels, milked camels, groomed, blew, fed and rode camels. With a natural ease, Mike transformed from star to ranch hand and we set about teaching him everything we could. With every passing shot the crew moved more easily and everyone joked and laughed and enjoyed some very intimate moments with the camels.

Fifteen of our camels all eat together. It can be quite chaotic when you have to nudge your way through the herd to separate the flakes of bermuda hay. Mike pushed his way in like a real camel jockey and at one point, I just had to stand back and marvel at our wonderful herd. As Mike, Gil and I crouched underneath Sheba, medicating a small sore on her pedestal pad, four camera operators, a sound technician, a still photographer and director mixed and mingled in the tightly gathered herd just as naturally as if that is what we did every day.

With Romeo (our beautiful bull camel) very much in rutt, we embarked on a breeding. After a safety overview for host and crew, Mike led Goldie into Romeo's paddock with Gil and I in tow. Once engaged, Gil motioned to the crew that they could enter the corral. Romeo was perfect. Regal and all business, he took the strangers in stride as we explained the importance of our breeding program. Once again, I marveled at the calm and confidence of our beautiful camels; allowing such a close up look at their fascinating world. I could almost not stay focused on the segment... I kept wanting to break the moment saying "this is really amazing that you are all in here! This is incredible!" But I didn't. I was just so proud of our animals.

I don't want to dish on everything that happened but needless to say, not everything went by the book and luckily, the camels threw in one or two wake up calls that caught crew members by surprise. Every exciting moment was capped off with producer Dave shouting "did you get that?!" At least one camera operator would be looking at his screen, grinning ear to ear nodding, "got it!"

The tape is off to editing now and as soon as I hear of an air date, I'll be sure to post it here.

In many ways, the day of shooting Dirty Jobs was a lot like having the tours at the dairy: Lots of laughter and a few surprises; New friends making contact with our beautiful camels while soaking in their gentle, comical nature; all on a beautiful day miles and miles away from the ordinary world. Just a magical, wonderful day.

Oh and as a side note... I got to touch Mike Rowe's butt. I don't mean graze either. I mean full on, cup a cheek and steady him on the camel as Clyde got up from a cushed position. I probably didn't have to do it... but Clyde was not wearing a saddle and I was afraid Mike would slip off. But mostly, I thought of my girl friend Carrie and how totally psyched she would be! Carrie... that was for you!

Oh and before you can even ask... yes, he works out.

Thanks a million times a million to Mike and the intrepid crew of Discovery Channel's Dirty Jobs!

Don't miss it!

If you would like to come visit the dairy, be sure to first visit us at http://www.cameldairy.com/. Upcoming tour dates are listed as well as information about setting up your own private tour or even taking a safari camel ride at our ranch!

Riding Racing Camels!

2009-02-24T19:10:00.000-08:00

Oh I wish I had a picture for you!

Today, after we got the dairy farm cleaned and everything fixed just right, Gil, Bill and I set out to the pasture to train racing camels!

This is all about the BIG SURPRISE we will have to tell you about Saturday!!!

While I was at the Riverside County Fair with my bird show (totally fun by the way) Gil and Bill have been here at the ranch training Jamal and Camelot.

Using a food reward, Gil and Bill take the two geldings for a walk down the pasture.... about 300 yards, turn them around and then let them go running back to the tractor. The tractor bucket has grain in it. The two boys race each other to see who gets the grain first! (although there is grain for both)

Well, today, Gil showed me their progress. After three practice runs, we put saddles on the two geldings and prepared for their first passenger. (which for some reason ended up being me!)

I was pretty nervous up there! I rode Camelot first... he is HUGE but he will be transporting a special guest so we really wanted him to have the most experience. What made me a little nervous is that for their first runs, with no riders, they bucked and played from about 150 yards away all the way to me at the tractor. I watched those humped backs closely as they jumped and twisted and I wasn't sure if I could stay on for that!

Well, they were complete gentlemen! We did two runs with riders... my switching from Camelot to Jamal (hopping back-to-back which was fun!) for the second run. What fun!!!!!

They only trotted .... although on Camelots ride, I tried to coax him into a higher speed.

I just keep thinking... what fun! The way we are going about this training, the riders are really just passengers. We are concentrating on the camels listening mostly to the trainer calling them.

Partly because we are preparing for a Charity Camel Race for the Ramona Inter Mountain Volunteer Fire Department Fundraiser scheduled for July. We want pretty much anyone who can sit a horse to be able to get up there and race with our boys.

What fun... I just keep saying... what fun! What good boys. The best part was that they enjoyed it too. They couldn't wait to challenge each other.

I can't wait until tomorrow to try it again and I really can't wait to share our BIG SURPRISE with everyone!

Remember, if you are in the area, we have a public tour here at the Oasis Camel Dairy Farm on Sunday, March 1st starting at 1:00. We have gorgeous soap available too! For more information about the tour including directions and prices, remember to visit our website at http://www.cameldairy.com/

BIG SURPISE COMING NEXT WEEK!

2009-02-20T16:47:00.000-08:00

I know, I know... I need to finish Boo Boo's Story! I will, I promise.

But for right now, I just want to let all the friends of the camel dairy that we have a really cool surprise coming NEXT WEEK!

We are really proud and really excited and we were asked to promis that we wouldn't tell anyone just yet what the surprise is!

It is going to be something that EVERYONE can enjoy and we are so very excited!!!! Now, if you already know what it is... and some of you do.... NO TELLING! PROMISE!

By the end of next week, I should be able to let the cat out of the bag. (what a bizarre expression) I have so many updates for you! I want to fill you in on Leala and her baby Jasmine (pictured here when Leala was so sick) I want to tell you about our new additions to the dairy and what an amazing year we are having.

Where does the time go!

I will finish Boo-boos story... maybe tonight!

Take care and check in often. You can also fallow this blog or follow me on facebook (although I am just figuring it out... I do enjoy it and it gives me a chance to share other things and get to know people better.)

Oh! We have lots of soap for sale in our store at http://www.cameldairy.com the batches came out BEAUTIFUL! WE also have a brand new, ADA handicap accessible bathroom at the farm for our guests on the tour. Our friend Larry put everything in and we painted it. It is the most beautiful room in our unconventional house!

We are also starting to train our camels for our NEW SAFARI RIDES at the farm starting this summer and two of our most athletic geldings, Jamal and Camelot, are starting training for a special Charity Camel Race to be held this summer for the Intermountain Volunteer Fire Department. A very good cause!

Ok... now I have to go on stage and sing with some birds.... (its a long story!)

HOW DO YOU LOAD A 2,000 LB BULL CAMEL PART 2: INTO THE TRAILER....

2009-02-06T21:33:00.000-08:00

With much prodding and encouragement from the Oasis Camel Dairy "fans", I am back on the keyboard to finish our story.

Before we go there I have to ask.... where does the time go? The telling of this story began in May and here we are on the first of February. Before we blast back to the past let me begin by saying that "Boo boo" is a gorgeous huge gelding who has incorporated beautifully into our herd and is becoming a favorite among guests to the dairy. He is friendly and his giant sized is dwarfed by the magnitude of his gentle nature.

But for those of you who read the first installment of this story, you already know it did not begin this way. Don't worry that it has been a long time since the story actually took place. It is vividly etched in minds of all participants.

As we approached the enclosure, the giant mountain of a bull camel sprang easily to his feet to come over and say hello. Not a mean bone is his massive body, he simply wanted closeness, touch, affection and treats. He was truly one of the most spectacular camels I had ever seen. Glistening straight cinnamon colored hair covered his giant frame. Large, dark searching eyes were shaded below lush, long curling eye lashes. He was in a word, magnificent.

However, Mister Magnificent quickly demonstrated his lack of training and handling. Treats are great, hay is stupendous but wearing a halter and walking into a trailer... no thank you! Over the next forty-five minutes, we tried everything in our "bag of tricks" to get the big boy on board.

Ideally, we could take several days to train him to walk into the trailer... ideally. But, with new camel calves on the ground at home, we were in no position for a mini-vacation in the desert. Plus, judging by the large scrapes and scratches on his broad chest and the spaghetti like bends in his paddock, he was not long for captivity.

We began by coaxing him to the edge of the trailer with treats. We easily slipped a lasso around his neck and secured him within three feet or so of the back door. He hit the breaks as we anticipated he would, and we all stayed with him, supporting him and actually pushing into his hindquarters with our bodies. Although he stayed taught on the lasso, he did not twist or fight. With this tautness, it was easy to slowly, carefully fit him with a camel halter and lead.

Just before haltering him, I made probably one of the biggest mistakes I have ever made handling an animal. Instead of walking around the back of the camel and trailer to go retrieve the halter, I decided, with time being of the essence, that I should quickly duck under the taught lasso and go through the trailer.... a much more direct route.In an instant, I was on the ground! Struggling to recover my breath, I had been struck with what felt like a piece of 1 inch square stock steel or a piece of re-bar swung by a large man. Of course, the large man was the camel and the re-bar was his left canine. (camels, especially bulls have very large canine teeth. Usually called fighting teeth, they can easily put an African lion's to shame) When I ducked in front of him, he came down on me with a side sweep, hitting with the tooth as opposed to biting with it. I am not ashamed to say for a forty six year old gal, I can scramble pretty fast!

Cool side note: I don't want to brag but I did get the coolest bruise on my back! It was huge! I felt like a real cowboy I mean girl.

That was pretty much the only time he moved forward. All his other intentions where back, back, back. With the halter now on quite comfortably, we could take a moment to develop and try a new plan. We weren't going to be able to just coax or pull this 2000 bull into the trailer. Gil came up with an idea. Something to try anyway. He would go to the cab of the truck and pull the truck forward. This of course would pull the camel forward and then.. just when all his momentum was forward, Gil would "back up really fast while we used the halter and our bodies against the camels rear legs to maintain the gained ground." We rehearsed our plan with NASA worthy precision and coordination.The execution was perfect except for one detail that we now can share with you: Camels can back up really, really fast. By this time, our big bull was seeming to enjoy his ability to physically dominate the entire situation. He calmly held his ground while we moved this way and that way, trying to leverage even an inch of his giant body into the doorway of the trailer. With hands petting, massaging, pushing and nudging, we slowly made our way, inch by inch to the wide aluminum threshold. With a handler on each leg, we moved him closer and closer, coaxing and petting, nudging and pushing, inch by inch. We could see success within our grasp. We could almost get a foot up onto the trailer edge. Although weary and reluctant, he worked with us making minuscule baby steps to the opening.

But just when we thought we had him going with the program, he unleashed his secret weapon. With one grand sweeping gesture he leaned back, whirled his massive neck, kicked his feet out from under himself and landed on his side on the ground. He scolded and squalled. I felt horrible. I think we all did. I felt we had broken the spirit of this magnificent beast. And then... he tipped his hand.

As Gil went to readjust ropes to make sure the camel was safe and comfortable, he moved the grain bucket out of his way. In the blink of an eye, that camel went from victim to brilliant scam artist! Keeping his body prostrate on the ground, he lifted his head and blinked his beautiful big brown eyes. Ears forward and voice soft, he searched the bucket. What we had just witnessed was a hand raised baby camel tantrum ... super sized! He wasn't a raging bull, he was an overgrown baby boy who had no friends, no mates and no clue.

As he laid there on the sand, Gil and I sat facing him on the lip of the trailer entrance. Still magnificent although, somewhat silly looking, Gil observed him for a long while until finally submitting; "I don't think this is going to happen. I don't think we can take him" I was so disappointed. We both just knew that if we could get him home and start working with him, he had a chance at a great life. But how can we tell him that? We needed something bigger and stronger to help us get him into the trailer. Fortunately, his owner, who is just one of the nicest guys we have ever met, could see his chance and his property fences slipping away. Quickly he sprang to his feet announcing that he had a 100 feet of 3000 lb test rope and a Toyota Tacoma. Game on!

We waited until Camel got tired of laying on the ground in the aftermath of his tantrum. After he got up, we gave him some grain and just petted him for a while. While petting him, we began to rub him with trucker's tie downs: large, two inch yellow webbing.. thick, strong and smooth. We worked the webbing over his shoulders and carefully joined it between his front legs. We also attached a piece at each shoulder back around the hump. Still petting and talking to him, we tied one end of the 100 foot rope to the web ends pulled forward between his front legs. Gil then fed the rope through the trailer, out through the front side panel across the driveway to the Toyota.

The camel, back to his more confident self, stood chewing his cud, watched us with great amusement. With everyone at the ready, we counted down to initiate operation "you're comin' home."

And with that I will say goodnight... but I promise to finish our story very, very soon.

As always for more information about the Oasis Camel Dairy, our camel milk soap or to visit our dairy farm, please visit our website: http://www.cameldairy.com/ See you very soon... I promise!

HOW DO YOU MOVE A 2000 LB BULL CAMEL?

2008-05-31T20:20:00.000-07:00

VERY CAREFULLY!

The telling of this story is long over-due. I believe I will have to tell it in installments as we are so very busy right now but check back... I love this story!

It is the story of Goliath, aka Boo-boo who joined the Oasis Camel Dairy February 5, 2008. The story reminds me to never assume anything and always expect the unexpected. It is also a tale of motivation: Ordinary people doing extraordinary things when the situation calls for it.

Late in January, my husband Gil got a phone call from a gentleman in Palm Desert California (near Palm Springs) who was looking to sell a young bull camel.

To those of you considering camels for fun and profit: Bull camels do not hold much value. If they are untrained and un-castrated, they are way more animal than even seasoned animal handlers want to deal with.

The Oasis Camel Dairy has a bull "on staff" who is quite reliable and very good at his job! This year, he produced five females and two male calves. We were definitely not in the market for another bull. But the man's story intrigued Gil. The young bull had an interesting history and something about the camel, his story and the man telling it prompted Gil to offer a deal.

Purchased by a Palm Desert neighbor four or five years ago as a petting zoo baby, this camel grew and grew to be a friendly yet unruly teenager. As he grew he successfully broke through corals and eventually property fences. His current owner acquired him just this way: the powerful camel had broken through to his property. Rather than try to round him up and bring him home, the original owner decided to transfer ownership and wave goodbye to his problem. His new owner corralled him for a few years; using lots and lots and LOTS of food as a means to keep the growing boy happily contained.

Still a bull camel, and in the process of remodeling his current enclsosure, the owner decided it was time to find this boy a new home. That's were we came in. Although we did not need a new bull or for that matter, a new gelding, we promised to come and get the untrained young bull camel, have our veterinarian castrate him, evaluate and train him. This was his best chance for a bright future.

On February 5th, just a few hours after Jasmine was born, Gil and I loaded up the big camel trailer and headed out to Palm Desert. Our spirits where bright. We were ready for an entertaining excursion to meet a silly young camel. I remember asking Gil as we pulled out of the driveway, "how big is he?"

Gil didn't know. But he speculated, "well, he is four or five so he can't be any bigger than Ali-baba." (one of our five year old geldings) Ali baba is a slight youngster. Gelded at one year old he is taller than a five year old little bull should be. Since camels don't really get girth until after their sixth birthday, we anticipated using a bucket of grain and a little good old fashion muscle to coheres, push and manipulate the little bull into the trailer for the easy ride home.

Two hours later, as we pulled up to the main gate of the property, our synchronized gasps of disbelief must have been audible clear back at the dairy! Cushed (laying down) in a chain-link-fenced paddock four hundred yards ahead of us, a giant mountain of a camel relaxed chewing his cud, massive jaw muscles rippling over the crown of his monster sized head with each calm, rhythmic motion.

This camel was a very, VERY BIG seven or eight year old bull. Untrained, unschooled and unafraid of anything and anyone. We were about to get the education of a lifetime as we met Camel, (that's what they called him) and tried to figure out how to get him into a trailer; a trailer he was quick to show us, he wanted nothing to do with!

NEXT INSERT:
INTO THE TRAILER

To find out more about the Oasis Camel Dairy visit us at our official website: http://www.cameldairy.com/

IT'S A BOY

2008-03-14T03:05:00.000-07:00

1:15 A.M. Jamelia gives birth to her baby boy bringing the Oasis Camel Dairy herd to twenty...

It's 3:07 a.m. ... just a quick note while yesterday morning's coffee re-heats in the microwave.
Our first little male of the birthing season poked his head out around 1:00 in the morning, March 14th. Jamelia is lactationally challenged... last year, as a first time mom she had no milk. It is rare but does occur. This year, by supplementing her with herbs and using a rather expensive milk enhancing drug used in race horses and even elephants, Jamelia has a small udder. We will start off with feeding the baby cow colostrum from a bottle... just to get him on his way and then give Jamelia every opportunity to raise this calf.
The camel veterinary specialist prescribed lactation drug is extremely pricey. But, if you met Jamelia, you would agree it is worth every penny! She is curled around her son, grunting softly. She is in love at first sight. If the lactation clicks in, she will have the chance to be a great mom.
The microwave just dinged... time to go feed the baby...

EVERYBODY LOVES LEGOS

2008-03-12T12:36:00.000-07:00

Clyde and Valentine help open new Land of Adventure at Legoland California.

Monday, March 10th, everybody at the Oasis Camel Dairy woke up to their cell phone alarms at 5:00 a.m. We had a big day ahead of us! Our 18 year old camel, Clyde and baby Valentine where vip guests at the grand opening of Legoland California's newest attraction: Land of Adventure.

Legoland is truly a jewel here in San Diego. Whether you are a kid or an adult, the park entertains and fascinates with its imaginative, interactive rides and incredible Lego models.

Back in the summer of 07' artists from Legoland California ventured out to our ranch to meet our camels and photograph Clyde. The model builders at Legoland used Clyde as their camel model. Having seen their amazing, life-size animal models in person (our parrots performed there during summer season 06' as part of Legoland's newly opened pirate themed area)

We couldn't wait to see how the model makers captured the camels!

The camels were met by Legoland VIPs, guests and a paparazzi of cameras from both TV and print news. We spent the morning posing for pictures, working with news crews and just basically having a terrific time.

Valentine seemed to especially enjoy snuggling Gil. Between live shots, she took every opportunity to be close and cuddly.

How well did the model builders do? Well, they got Valentine's seal of approval! during a quiet time between live news shots, Valentine introduced herself to the Lego Camel and Handler. After nosing both all over, she moved over next to the camel... and laid down right beside it as if she were at home in the pasture with our camels! The resounding "Ohhhh" from all on-lookers made the moment one none of us will ever forget! Great job Legoland Model Builders!

Remember to visit our official website: http://www.cameldairy.com

Find out about visiting all of our beatiful camels, taking a camel safari and purchasing our camel milk soap.

PICTURE OF HEALTH!

2008-03-04T11:42:00.000-08:00

They say a picture is worth a thousand words. This particular picture however is priceless.

When I look at this picture, my heart swells with joy. The mother camel in the foreground is Leala. She is Jasmine's mother. She is the camel we almost lost to postpartum acute kidney failure. This picture tells us two very important things about her current health status:

Firstly, her nose is buried in the green grass as she clips and chews bite after bite. Her terrific appetite tells us she is well on her way to recovery. Secondly, look at the size of the hump on baby Jasmine! (Jasmine is the calf pictured closest to Leala) That tall, pronounced hump indicates this baby is getting plenty of milk from mom! With a great appetite, good milk production and a healthy, bright alert baby, all of us here at the Oasis Camel Dairy are breathing huge, happy sighs of relief!

The second baby in the photo (the one on the far left) is Princess Knuckles. The last of our babies born in February. If you remember (see post FOUR BABY CAMELS: Feb 24) Knuckles was born very large with contracted tendons. She could barely stand and walk. We had to feed her with a bottle and hope that her humongous legs would straighten. Well, just look at those beautiful legs! And while you are looking; notice how much Knuckles and Jasmine look alike. They are like twins! The amazing thing is that Knuckles is two weeks younger than Jasmine! A normal birth weight weight for a camel is about 75 lbs. Knuckles tipped the scales at 120 lbs at birth.

Lastly, you can see a very large camel in the background. That is Sheba, Knuckles mother. This is the most exciting picture of our dairy: Three generations! We bought Sheba seven years ago. She gave birth to Leala who is now five years old. And there is little baby Jasmine, our very first, second generation birth right here at our farm.

What a sight!

You can meet our wonderful camels in person. Go to our official website: http://www.cameldairy.com/ and click on TOURS.

You can even schedule a 30 minute, Camel Safari Adventure ride.

Camel Dairy Snow Day... in SAN DIEGO!

2008-02-26T08:56:00.000-08:00

Camels and Snow... an unusual combination!

I can't believe I'm old enough to say what I am about to say..... but there hasn't been a storm like the Valentines Day 08 Storm for twenty-five years! (and while I'm in that mode: hey you kids ... get off my lawn!) Just playing... I'm only 46.

There are snow stories all across America this year. What makes this one astonishing is that it happened in San Diego. The Oasis Camel Dairy is located in San Diego County, eight miles North East of Ramona, twelve miles South West of Julian. We frequently see snow dusting the hills several hundred feet above our ranch and one time... we had flurries that didn't "stick", but never anything like this.

Valentine's morning was cold and cloudy. A freezing rain began to fall before 9:00. The rain would go from sleet and hale to rain and flurries. We thought it did look a lot like snow.

Gil and I spent the next few hours battening down the hatches. This storm was particularly problematic. Our winter storms blow from the West. All of our animal shelters are built to protect the animals from the winter rains. This storm was blowing hard from the East.

As the minutes ticked by and our oh-so-Southern-California-winter-clothing got colder and wetter, the rain gave way to hard driving sleet and hale mixed with a few flakes.

We stayed outside through the afternoon securing shelter for everyone. All the camels where packed into the shelters. Thankfully, the big geldings where standing on the East side, big, fuzzy rear ends to the onslaught of snow and ice. The mothers and pregnant females where laying in the dry bedding on the South side, shielded by their male herd mates.

The snow continued throughout the afternoon and evening. Traffic stood still on our rural highway. The novelty of a light dusting of snow was long gone and had been covered by a thick, soft, good three inches of powdery snow.

Once the sleeting blizzard had passed and we were left with beautiful, delicate falling snow, the animals all relaxed and explored. As it turns out, camels don't mind falling snow. It is dry.

The next morning, after barely two hours of sleep (Valentine was born in the snow that night... see Februarly 24 post..) we awoke to the most amazing, white backdrop to our unusual farm. Camels, donkeys, dogs and horses played and explored in the snow. The sun came out and by the afternoon, most of the snow was gone. But what a glorious morning!

Remember to visit our website:

http://www.cameldairy.com/

Learn more about our amazing farm and even come for a visit!

Watch for my next story:

How do You Transport a One-Ton, Untrained Bull Camel from Indio, to Ramona?.... Very Carefully!

Four Baby Girl Camel Calves born in February

2008-02-24T15:29:00.001-08:00

Our calving season has been nothing short of a war on catastrophe.

The good news is... we are WINNING the war!

The bad news is... we are exhausted.

Gil was out of town when our first baby was born. The mother had a bad track record as far as mothering goes. As we expected, I needed to step in. At 11:30 p.m., I went out and helped deliver the baby. I spent the night outside w/ her and the mother. The mother wanted nothing to do with us but I wanted to give her a chance to take her baby. Still, I couldn't leave the baby alone with her. I wasn't so much worried about the mother hurting the calf but I was worried about coyotes that I could hear in the meadows around us. It was freezing cold... as I learned when the sun came up and I could see the pastures covered with frost. Since I delivered her, I got to name her. This was my one big chance for something "girly"! Her name is Sparkle Princess Rainbow. I named her with the help of my inner four year old! We are bottle raising her.

We were prepared for the mother to reject this calf. Even though it seemed dramatic at the time, compared to everything else that has followed, it was uneventful.

CALF NUMBER TWO....
The second birth was a frightening episode. The mother strained and flailed all day. We called the vet. The on-call veterinarian examined the birth canal, baby and all pronouncing, "the baby is too big... you will need to have a c-section." He managed to pull the head and legs out but that was it. A C-section would mean loading the desperate mother into a trailer w/ the baby stuck in the birth canal (partially sticking out) and taking her to a large animal surgery facility. The cost would be a minimum of $7,000.00. Now, we have spent large sums of money on or animals' health. I have spent over $5,000 on our beloved Scarlet dog alone. But in the case of this camel, the risks where more daunting than the cost. The baby would most likely not survive the process and the prognosis for the mother was not much better.

We made a brave, bold, farmer's decision: we needed to deliver that calf vaginally. It took the vet, Gil, and two others.... four people... to pull that calf out! I stood with the mother at her head and watched her bare down while the team pulled.

Once the shoulders passed through, the baby was laid on the ground where it wriggled helplessly, gasping for air like a fish out of water. It was painful to watch her struggle. We all jumped in, mom included and began touching her and rubbing her and supporting her. Mom grunted low and soft and immediately fell in love with her daughter. The little girl, after so much time in the birth canal was very traumatized. The white of her right eye was deep, blood red; indicative of a very strained birth.

The truly amazing thing was that no one gave up. Not the mother, not the baby and not any of us. Slowly, minute by minute, her breathing got under control. In about an hour she was sitting fairly normally, breathing at a relaxed, smooth rate with mom standing gently over her. We bottle fed her for a day and then mom took over.

The saga should end there but it was just beginning. After a couple of days, Gil noticed the mother wasn't really eating and was never seen chewing her cud. We called the vet who took blood and determined that the mother was in acute kidney failure. She was dying.
We made the decision to start IV fluid therapy, a procedure normally done at large animal surgery facilities for very sick horses. Again, taking the camel away to a hospital was not a good option for a new, first-time mother camel. Her baby would need to be supplemented. It has to be fed by someone with a lot of camel experience as it has to be bottle fed right at the mother's teats so as not to risk breaking the bond or stressing mother or baby. The camels can seem very dangerous with their “roaring” sounds and gaping, threatening jaws. This is not a job for a team with no camel experience.

Our vet came to the ranch, we sedated the mother and the vet inserted an IV catheter into the mother’s neck. The catheter has a small, rubber end that sits outside the skin and is protected with bandages. Each time you want to administer fluids, you insert a large needle that is attached to a long tube leading up to the IV bags. The catheter insertion procedure was a success. We discovered later that this is almost unheard of. A very experienced camel vet from Colorado explained post procedure that she has never been able to successfully insert a catheter into a camel vein w/out stripping back layers of skin, muscle and tissue to visually expose the vein. We were tremendously fortunate.

Over the next few days, we administered IV fluids to the mother while bottle feeding her baby girl. Each IV session took over two hours. Blood tests revealed that she was getting worse. We kept giving fluids... we just kept giving fluids.

Slowly, the mother started to show little signs of improvement. A little cud chewing, a lot of urinating, eating small camel droppings from other camels... it helps balance beneficial stomach bacteria. Still supplementing the calf with bottles of formula, we continued to administer IV fluids for days. We discontinued fluids once the catheter became unserviceable... eight days from the start.

Again, we were fortunate, for ours was typically a three day catheter. We took another blood test to determine our next coarse of action. If she was still failing then maybe it was time to let her go. Although really wasn't making milk for her baby at all any more but we did not have the heart to take her away from her. If she was going to die, at least she would have her baby that she treasured until the end. To keep the baby healthy, we stood by the mother's udders each time the calf asked for milk and snuck in a bottle.

The blood test came back with some improvement. She was also eating, drinking and chewing cud. We opted to give the mother a break from another catheter procedure. We visually monitored her every two to four hours observing drinking, cud chewing and eating. The best sign of improvement came when her daughter, now named Princess Jasmine, snubbed her nose at our offering of a bottle. Mom wasn't giving much milk but she was giving some and giving it as often as she could. Baby Jasmine was giving us our walking papers!

Mom has been off the IV now for four days and is doing better and better each day. Tonight, I stood quietly and watched the mother nurse Jasmine. Her udder was larger, fuller. The baby drank for a good, long time before settling down to sleep. That is a very good sign that she got plenty of milk. We will be doing more blood work and are hopeful mom will have a healthy recovery.

VALENTINE'S NIGHT...

As intense as this drama was, it was interrupted by a critical, dangerous birth. February 14th, the night of the big snow (remember, this is San Diego County) Gil woke up around Midnight with a sense of urgency. He dressed fast and went down to check the maternity pen. He didn't come back right away. Then I heard a lot of water running downstairs so I too went to see what was going on. Before I could get to the mud room, I could hear Gil's voice over the sound of the filling bathtub. All he said was "Belina had her baby". His voice was faint and sad.

When I walked around the corner to the bathroom, there was Gil, crouched in front of the tub cradling a little, stiff, dark grey calf. He had found her in the snow (the San Diego snow) stiff, motionless and silent. He carried her into the house, neck and limbs frozen in the positions they had been in when she was found in the snow. He placed her in the tub and began filling it with warm water.

We don't know why her mom left her. We think the freak storm might have thrown her off. The mother had been eating and acting normal the entire previous day! And I know this because we were with her and all the camels battening down the hatches during the blizzard (the San Di-fricken-ego blizzard.) Although the mother left her own baby, she was very interested in Jasmine; following her grunting softly. We are guessing that when mom went to bond with her newborn, Jasmine was in the way and she bonded to her instead.

Gil and I worked together, leaning over the tub for forty-five minutes warming and rubbing the tiny calf. She slowly began to move and breathe, gurgly at first, but breathe non-the less. We moved her to the garage and worked with her for two and a half hours rubbing her with dry towels and warming her with blow dryers. Movement came slowly but she improved minute by minute. Still, even as much as two hours into it, you could slip your finger into her mouth and feel her ICE COLD gums. As her gums began to thaw, her lips and mouth started moving. Finally, three hours later, she sipped a full, warm pint of colostrum (first milk) from a small bottle. She was ready to sleep. WE were ready to sleep! She was so tiny, fragile and precious that we just couldn't leave her. We inflated a single airbed, placed it on the floor next to her and slept right there... Gil's arm around me and my arm around her. We slept for two hours until we were awakened by her sweet, insistent cry. She was hungry! Her name is Valentine and she is a little miracle. Gil loves her. He saved her. She is his baby girl.

Our "nursery" is a 16-foot horse trailer we keep bedded w/ burmuda grass hay. Kabir (a bull calf we acquired from another ranch before Christmas) Sparkle and Valentine sleep in there each night. When Gil goes in the trailer, he sits on the floor and she literally climbs into his lap to go to sleep.

HERE WE GO AGAIN...

Baby girl number four was born on Tuesday the 19th of February. Her mother, Sheba is a GREAT MOM who has had several textbook-perfect births.We were so relieved to finally have a birth where we could just watch and relax while mom did all the work. But the baby wasn't coming out quite right. We kept seeing a little nose (correction... BIG nose) pop in and out but no feet. The feet should come out w/ the nose or first.

Gil pulled on a long exam glove so he could check inside the mother. When Sheba was relaxed, he reached in and felt a nose but no feet. Instead he felt the rounded bones of two fetlock joints. The baby was in the birth canal with her fetlocks (kind of like her wrists) bent over. The baby can't be born with folded feet... it makes them too large to pass. So Gil felt around and worked inside until he could get the little feet (correction... BIG feet) forward. With the head and forelegs mostly out, Sheba laid back on the ground and delivered the baby. The calf slid out easily. She was GI-NORMOUS! We were so excited to have our fourth girl and such a big healthy baby born to such a perfect mother.

But with each attempt this very strong, healthy calf made to stand, our hearts slipped from triumphant joy to fearful dismay. Her very long, very large front legs must have been cramped inside the mother. As a result, her tendons where very, VERY tight. She could not extend her front legs properly and when she did manage a wobbly stand, her little fetlocks would double over ... it was like she was standing on her knuckles.

Over the next two hours, she began to regress. She went from a strong, determined baby to an exhausted one. Luckily, Sheba is one of our milking camels so, when her calf gave up, we hand-milked mom and brought the mountain to Mohammad. We let the baby lay on the ground while we gave her a bottle of warm camel colostrum fresh from mom. The calf's tight tendons where just too much for her to battle with while trying to learn to nurse. Plus, Sheba's teats are H-U-G-E. Her little mouth would not open wide enough to suckle them. (Possibly also a tight tendon problem related to being such a large baby)So there we were again, bottling another baby! We milked mom twice a day and fed the calf every two hours. The vet, who had been called as soon as we could see the birth was proceeding less than perfectly, suggested the baby would straighten out and get better with time.... just so long as we could keep feeding her while she couldn't feed herself. She aslo suggested she might be temporarily suffering from a condition known in horse foals as Dummy Foal Syndrome. This can occur when the baby is in the birth canal for a long time under great pressure. After birth, the brain temporarily swells. This causes the foal to act lythargic, unaware and uncoordinated.

Well, it is Sunday, day four of Princess Knuckles’ (I know...it is a horrible name but we are exhausted and a little punchy) life at the dairy and her little legs are straightening and strengthening.

She is trying to nurse from her mother and as of this morning, has nursed twice with the help of Gil supporting and guiding her. We are thrilled and relieved.Which reminds me... it is 12:16 and I need to trudge back out in the rain and help knuckles eat her lunch.

I know this all sounds sort of horrific but it really isn't. Like I said it feels like a war... but a war we are winning. We haven’t lost a mother or calf and out of our first four births, all four are females, which is incredible. The calves are playful and beautiful and smart. The war is not over yet... we have two more mothers due in the next one to four weeks. But we have learned so much and are so incredibly vigilant; I am feeling good about our coarse of action and the births ahead.

And I am looking forward to April!