I was inspired by Alpaca Farm Girl’s Amigurumi Fiber Arts Friday and had to try it out for myself. I have a short attention span so I ended up making small things for my cats and dogs to play with.
Cat toys are stuffed with a bell, catnip and some alpaca as filler.
Dog toys are stuffed with alpaca of course and a squeaker.
I’ve seen folks who just toss out the flakes of hay and let the animals have at it, others who make fancy wooden boxes with cattle panels weighing it down, overhead feeders, and hay nets.
My first year I just threw it on the ground and had a lot of waste so this year I had to think of something else to help save $ on hay. I really didn’t feel like sawing, nailing, screwing, cutting yadda yadda yadda to make a hay bin, nor did I feel like spending that kind of $$$ to make one either. My solution had to come from items I had already in the house or barn with minimal out of pocket expense.
The solution? Rubbermaid pink tote hay bins! Who doesn’t have a ton of Rubbermaid bins hanging around the house? It turns out 2-3 flakes of hay fit beautifully into these tubs and you can still put the lid on.
COOL!
Trials:
1. Put hay in bins without lids. – Resulted in just as much hay waste, the alpacas thought it was a game to dig all the hay out of the bin. The bin also became a toy and was kicked around.
2. Secure bins to stall wall with screws and washers. – This solved the kicking around the bins but didn’t slow the hay waste down.
3.Cut a hole in bin cover and line the opening with duck tape (hole size ~10”x~12”. Voila! – The alpacas can easily get their head in the bin and the lid provided a lip so they couldn’t rake all the hay out of the bin with one mouthful.
Total out of pocket cost? $0! I had everything laying around that I needed. However I’m sure I’m now going to want 2 more bins for something else but at $5 ea. I think I can manage that cost.
I know what you’re thinking, but their heads will get stuck! Actually, it hasn’t been a problem. Because the bin is screwed into the wall it’s not moving anywhere and the lids snap on pretty tight. I guess the worst case scenario would be an alpaca manages to pop the top off while they pull their head out of the bin. In that case, they will be wearing an interesting necklace until you catch them and take it off. I’ve been monitoring mine via AlpacaCam and so far no one has even struggled getting their head in or out of the box. 2 alpacas seem pretty comfortable eating out of one box too.
Some other cool things about these hay bins. Easy to load, pop the top off add 2 flakes of hay and snap the top back on. Should they get really dirty on the inside, 2 screws/washers hold them to the wall. Unscrew, hose out, dry, and screw back onto the wall.
When I first got into alpacas I moved them around in my 2 horse bumper pull trailer. After all I was a horse person first and it’s what I had. However it became apparent that a different mode of transporting alpacas was needed with the crazy gas prices now days. Hitching up a 2,000 pound trailer (which is not the most aerodynamic) to haul around a 120lb animal to be bred or to the vet is not economically friendly.
I did a lot of research and asked a lot of questions and answers ranged from mini vans to the Honda Element as possible alpaca haulers. My thoughts went straight to, OMG I have to buy yet another vehicle? I don’t think so. Not to mention all of those options have the animal riding in the same space as you and I really don’t feel like smelling alpaca poop, pee, spit for a 4 hour trip to a drive-by-breeding. Not to mention clean up afterwards. It’s not like you can take a hose to the back of your commuter vehicle should someone decide to spit on your upholstery.
The answer to our alpaca transport needs? A truck cap! Folks seemed to shy away from truck caps because A) they had a small s10 pickup B) a full size truck but a short bed C) a low profile truck cap with no headroom. All which were not issues in our decision. We have a Chevy Silverado, 8 foot bed and the cap we decided to get was a high profile cap that the alpacas can actually stand up comfortably in.
We found our cap on craisgslist for $250 which was a great bargain. Add another $100 for new locks, sealers, wiring and another $65 for play mats and indoor/outdoor carpeting and voila! We have alpaca transport deluxe without the need to purchase a new vehicle or constantly hitch up our trailer.
The white cap reflects the sun and keeps it cool inside. The play mats make a nice squishy place for them to cush and the indoor/outdoor carpet pulls out very easy for bean cleanup and everything including the bed of the truck can be hosed off for easy clean up.
I can comfortable fit 2 alpacas plus gear or 3 alpacas no gear in the back. There are 2 large screened windows which give ample air flow while traveling and we’re thinking of installing a 12 volt fan to keep them cool should we get stuck in traffic.
Loading the alpacas turned out to be simpler than anticipated. By backing the truck up to a hill it puts the tailgate to a height which is easy to step in. The first few times we had to “assist” the alpacas by picking up their front end and putting their feet on the tailgate and encourage them the rest of the way in with a lead rope. Usually the 1st one needs some assistance and the others just jump in behind them. I’m sure given time and training they will load/unload just as easily as they do with the trailer. No hill to back up to? No problem, 2 people can easily pick up an alpaca and put them into the back of the truck. To be honest, we haven’t yet had a problem finding a burm of some sort to back up to.
How do the alpacas like it? They seem to really love it! Big windows and fresh air. Most of the time the face backwards and watch the world go by out the big back window. Other times they sit right in front of the screen and let their hair blow in the breeze.
It was apparent that with pregnant females due soon and me having a full time job I would need camera’s in the barn so I could keep an eye on them while I was in the office. That way if I see someone in labor I could quick pack up and drive home to assist if need be.
The biggest problem with cameras is they are expensive! A system can run you easily $1-4,000! Yeah, ok this is a working farm and every dollar spent is a dollar of profit lost. Keep in mind that the IRS frowns upon hobby farms.
So, when I went shopping for a camera system I wanted to find something that fit my budget and still gave me the functions and features I wanted. What I ended up finding was the IP Video 9100A (Plus). It’s a very small video server that lets you plug in up to 4 RCA composite video cameras. This made me very excited. Why? Because composite video cameras are considered to be old hat and are very inexpensive now days thanks to everyone switching to wireless cameras. Even better I happened to have a lorex sg6183W camera that my father-in-law gave us a few months back that would work. Free is good!
It turns out that with this product you have to be computer savvy. Actually, not too savvy just competent. Directions are nonexistent and as long as you’re the type of person who can think outside of the box and have enough networking background it really sets up quickly. For us it was actually as easy as plugging it in, making sure it had the updated firmware, setting up a port forward and viola, we had video.
I can’t wait to get a few more cameras so I can watch the girls no matter where they are not just in the run-in.
Here’s a photo from the camera to see what our view looks like. My only complaint is that the infrared is pathetic. I think I might pick up an IR flashlight that will help light up the area at night better.
While I’m watching my fiber grow you should check out what other folks are doing with it on Fiber Arts Friday!
