Category: Caring For Alpacas

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Human vs. Alpaca Round 1


This past Sunday evening we decided to give the alpacas their monthly Ivermec shot and to trim toenails. Monthly shots are hardly exciting anymore and usually none of the alpacas put up much of a fight. Clipping toenails turned out to be a totally different story.

It turns out alpacas are fully aware of the 80/20 rule. 80% of your problems will come from 20% of your alpacas. I seriously think alpacas can count and do math. 1 out of 5 girls is 20% after all.

We saved the hard ones for last with the false hope that maybe they’ll watch the others and get the idea that no one was being killed. The others did such a good job and stood quietly as I picked up each foot and clipped the long nails off, I was really feeling hopeful. That was until we went to catch the last one.

Giving the shot wasn’t a problem at all and went smoothly. I slowly worked my hand down from the neck to her legs and the first explosion went off. Did you know that alpacas when standing on their hind legs are WAY taller than my 6’2” frame? Thankfully M was with me and the 2 of us got her under control, or so we thought. First it always starts with the spitting but in our case it was more like dodging grape shot. M had been keeping her occupied by feeding her hay stretcher and each time she spat the chunks of stretcher would fly out of her mouth like bird shot. Potentially hazardous, but thankfully no match for Carharts.

M finally got her in a good hold and I managed to clip the first foot and she then went into full wrestling mode with M. After a short tiff, the position I found both alpaca and husband was quite peculiar. M was straddling her, heck stuck out between his legs like a large knight mounted on a really small and fuzzy horse. M seemed as confused as the alpaca on how they ended up that way but she seemed to be comfortable and was still standing. So, I took quick advantage of the situation and managed to trim the other 3 legs.

Mission accomplished M dismounted his trusty steed. His mount seemed to have forgotten the whole event and immediately went back to sniffing out our hands and pockets for treats.
I’m not quite sure how to award this round so I’m going to consider it a tie.

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How to Build Alpaca Creep Feeder

With cria comes the need to find away to let them get away from the adults and have their own private little space to rest or get some extra grain or hay.  Hence the invention of the creep feeder.

A creep feeder is a simple concept of a space wide enough for a cria to “creep” through but too small for an adult to cram through.

I chose to make a little fenced in area just outside the door to the stall the alpacas use for shelter.  I cut cattle panels into 3 pieces; (2) 5 foot sections and (1) 10 foot section. I used fencing staples to secure the 5 foot sections to the walls of the stall and baling twine to hold one end of the of the 10 foot piece to the 5 foot and 2 carabineers for the other 2 so I can easily get in and out of the pen. 

The creep part is made by the stall door itself.  I open the door just wide enough for a cria to slip through but so the adults can’t and hold it in that position with a stopper.  I used an old exercise step but a cinder block will work just fine.

Here’s my creep feeder in action.  Unfortunately, Beanie wasn’t going to show us how she can sneak through.

[flashvideo file=wp-content/uploads/Video/CreepFeeder.flv /]

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Dealing With Mud

They call it the January Thaw.  To me it’s a pain in the $(@*#.  The snow pack by January has usually built up higher than the step up into the run-in sheds which means when a thaw comes all that snow melt runs right into the barn! It doesn’t help that our farm is also built on a slope and ALL the rain/snow melt from the pastures also makes its way right into the barn.

I’m sure the original farmer who built this barn put it in this location because of its close proximity to the artesian well.  Great for hauling water, not so great for getting out of the way of run-off.

Future plans have us rebuilding the barn in a new location but until then it is a constant battle with Mother Nature.  With the heavy rain we got this weekend on a frozen ground I knew I’d be in trouble.  My only defense against the onslot of water, a spade.  I spend about 15 minutes of my AM/PM chores digging trenches to control the flow of water away from the barn. Labor intensive but it works!

Hmm, the Mega Millions is at 121M. Maybe I should buy a ticket and dream of a new barn and landscaping.


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Coyote Alarm Call

Finally the weekend! I was so excited about being able to sleep in to 7am on Saturday morning. The week was busy with long days and short nights and all I wanted was to catch up on some sleep.

All that hope turned to panic with M. jabbing me in the side at 5:15am Saturday morning. “Do you hear that?” he said. The sound was unmistakable, coyotes. Usually we hear them far off in the distance but they sounded like they were right out our window.

I couldn’t get the lights, clothes, shoes on fast enough. My blood was boiling. If they sounded that close I just came to the immediate concussion that they had gotten into the alpaca paddock.

Armed with nothing but flashlights we bolted out the front door which thankfully was enough to scare off the coyotes. To my relief all alpacas and horses were accounted for and unharmed. Needless to say with that much adrenaline running through my system there was no going back to bed. *sigh*

Instead I decided that putting a full effort into researching livestock guard dogs(LGD) was a better use of my time. Looks like I have a lot of reading and talking to breeders to do before I settle on which one would be right for our farm. I’ll keep you updated in future posts of our LGD research, purchase and integration.

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Preparing Shots for Alpacas

alpacashots

Today is the day of the month I feel like a junkie.  Since I live in a region that has the meningeal worm my alpaca chores the first weekend of each month involves giving our alpacas a shot of Ivormec.   My little cria Albina also got a booster of CD&T and some Vitamin A&D Paste today also.

I utilize my morning feeding routine to lock the alpacas in their run-ins.  Surprisingly they know something is up even though it’s the same routine.  Smart animals!  While they are in munching away I head back inside to prepare all the syringes. 

Ivormec is given at 1cc per 70lbs of body weight.  It’s a good idea to know your alpaca’s weight so having a livestock scale is recommended.  I don’t weigh and give shots on the same day.  It seems to stress them out so usually I weigh them 1 or 2 weeks before hand to spread out the scary moments.  I’ll often psych them out and sometimes lock them in just to give them treats and let them back out to keep them guessing but they always seem to know when I have other intentions.

I use a 20 gage, 3cc, 1 inch long needles for ivormec  – I find the 22 gage is too small and it’s hard to draw.

NOTE: Mark the bottom of the plunger with the initials of the animal it’s going to

Preparing the Syringe:

·         First wipe the top of the bottle off with alcohol to sterilize it.

·         Draw back on the plunger

·         Uncap the needle

·         Insert the needle into the bottle and Depress the plunger adding air to the bottle

o   Adding air makes it easier to draw

·         Tip the bottle upside down and slowly draw back on the plunger

o   If you draw back too fast you’ll get a lot of bubbles

·         When you have the desired amount remove the needle and recap it

Giving your alpaca shot via SQ (Subcutaneous):

·         SQ means you will be injecting into the area between the skin and the muscle

·         Use either a helper to hold your alpacas or confine a bunch of them in a small area so you can barely can move between them. 

·         When ready to give your shot check for air bubbles. 

o   Tip the syringe so the needle is pointing up and tap the side

o   Uncap the needle

o   Slowly depress the plunger until all air is out and you have a small bead of solution bead up or drip

·         I find it easiest to lean over the top of my target alpaca with me standing on their left side and reaching over the top to their right

·         Use your left hand to grab their chest fiber behind their right elbow making a tent in their skin

·         With your right hand insert the needle into the tent of skin.  Ideally you’ll want to draw back to see if you hit a vein but the chances are slim and their fiber makes it difficult to see.

·         Depress the plunger

·         Rub the area – if your hand is wet you probably injected their fiber and totally missed the alpaca all together.  The thicker their fiber gets the harder it is to give them shots!

Disposing of your needles:

·         Get a puncture proof can or jar.  I like coffee cans myself

·         Label the jar “Bio Hazard – SHARPS”

·         Untwist the needs to remove them from the syringe and put them in your jar

·         When your jar is full.  Duct tape it up, make sure all labels are still visible and throw it away.