[Lost in France]

We have a small herd of alpacas, 5 females and a gelded male. We love these intelligent, gentle animals who add so much to our lives...every day.

We mated our females last August with 4 different males who called round for an afternoon of "love"! What a fun, action-packed afternoon that was! Unfortunately one maiden female either didn't get pregnant or reabsorbed her foetus early but the others seemed to have progressed well with their pregnancies...until yesterday that is. When I peeped into the hut first thing in the morning, as I passed to let the hens out, I noticed 2 beautiful little foetus's on the floor. Poor Pegassou was standing over her babies wailing and turning circles around them. She was very upset as are we. Twins are as rare as hens teeth and live twin births even more so but it doesn't make it any easier to accept. Apparently alpacas dont have space in the womb for more than one cria so twins are either reabsorbed early or aborted between 5-7 months. Poor Peg had carried these little fellas for just over 7 months. They were just perfect little boys even down to their perfect little feet and toes and tongues...such a waste. One was 3 times as big at 1.4 kilos, chubby and rounded whereas the other was skinny but otherwise perfectly formed. We took photos, weighed etc...I still can't stop looking at the photos as they are just so beautiful.

We'll remate Peg as soon as she lets us know she's ready..she'll chase Uno the gelding as he hasn't told his girls that he can no longer make babies! Alpacas just live to be pregnant and can lose their place in the herd heirarchy if they have no cria or are not pregnant. Peg is the matriarch who she quietly rules the herd but a couple of the younger females constantly vie for her position!

We're keeping a close eye on Peg but she seems fine, eating and grazing with the herd but she still looks "sad". She's also getting carrot, as a treat, with her food.

We now have just 3 cria due mid-July and expect a white, a dark brown and maybe a rose-grey to our lovely grey Annabelle...well she's stroppy at the moment, must be her hormones as this is out of character so we forgive her when she is uncooperative!

I intended to post all about alpacas and how great life is with them around...it still is but we are again reminded that nature can be so cruel no matter how much care we lavish on our animals. I will post some photos soon, including Peg...but whilst she's smiling and not feeling so sad!

[tosca100]

So sorry to hear about the sad news. Having animals brings so much joy, and sadness too. I look forward to hearing more about your alpacas. OH has always wanted some but never had the land.

Hope you and Peg feel better soon.

[joyfull]

That is just so sad, I hope she recovers from this soon xxx

[corndolly]

What a shame ,I hope Peg is feeling better soon.
I look forward to seeing pics and hearing more about the ups and hopefully for you not too many downs .

Would love to keep a few ,how much land do you think they need,we have a very large orchard which could be made into a paddock,was considering 3 or 4 .
I enjoy spinning and would love to spin the fleece, what time of year are they shorn and is this something I could do ?

I have heard they need injections can you tell me what this entails and cost per alpaca.

[rhythmvick]

A really sad story, poor thing, but looking forward to seeing some happier pictures soon...

[Lost in France]

Peg seems to be fine now and is grazing in the sun with the herd. Thank you all for your kind words and from Pegasou as well!

Corndolly..you can keep 4-6 alpacas pe acre, best to divide the land to smaller paddocks so that you can rotate the pasture every 6 weeks or so to allow recovery. We clear the poo, which they do in a communal pile so not hard to collect, twice daily as we worry about parasites. Most owners do clear the poo as in th wild alpacas would graze over very large areas so are not naturally resistant to the parasites they might pick up here. I use this task it a daily "meditation"! Several of our apacas actually come and do it in the bucket whilst I'm holding it...they see me as one of the herd so come to join me at the poo pile and I just hold the bucket under them, it's so funny!!!!

Yes we have learnt to give them injections, which was scarey at first, and I still waste the odd syringefull as it drips off the thick fleece so I always prepare a spare one! Our alpacas are handled almost daily so are very calm and easy to deal with so injecting isn't as traumaic, for us..or for them, as it might be! They also need their toenails trimming regularly but getting up close is such a joy that all the tasks are a pleasure! Best start with young males and geld them at about 18 months to prevent tem fighting.

Shearing is once a year, in June and we managed it ourelves last year but they didn' look very pretty and there were lots of second cuts so this year we'll have the professionals again! Like you, I love spinning and there's nothing quite like spinning your own fleeces and wearing your "named" jumpers! I love to spin outside on a sunny day looking at the alpacas...bliss!

The cost of alpacas depends on what you want them for You can pay a small fortune for a show standard animal or just maybe £500, perhaps less, for a young male. Females are dearer than males at around £3000 upwards. You must keep more than one alpaca as they are herd animals.

Oh yes...males are great sheep and chicken guards! They will chase a fox or a dog, although would struggle with a pack of dogs. They spot anything strange long before we do and approach it assertively..at this stage most predatory animals flee!

We had no previous experience with larger animals and have learnt as we go along. The main thing is to work calmly and "appear" confident with them! They also walk on a lead which is a delight!

I think that finding young males in UK is not difficult and I would negotiate on price as there are lots to choose from! There  a webste I can give you which is an alpaca seller/buyer site. I'm not an exert, just love alpacas but am happy to share my experiene as, I think are most of the large breeders. If you are thinkig of buying some, there's lots of info on the Internet especially on the large breeders websites!

Will let everyone know how Peg goes on and promise to post photos soon!

Judi

Judi

[corndolly]

Thank you Judy for all that excellant advise.I am the manager of a care home for adults with learning disabilities and I thought that the alpacas would give us all great pleasure and keep the grass down.

I have read that a shelter is needed ,more to get out of the sun than bad weather , is this essential.

Besides grass what additional foodstuffs do they need ?

Going to try to contact local alpaca owners , I thought that someone may lend us a few for the summer to see how we get on before we buy ?

I would be interested in any addresses of good contacts that you know .

Thanks again for sharing your experiences ,I envy you sitting in the sun spinning.I have just finished spinning the coat of a Newfoundland dog , it was quite dry compared to sheeps wool as there is very little lanolin and it had been washed before it was clipped .There's enough to knit a jumper.

Thanks Isobel

[madcat]

You could try wandering along to the 3 Counties Show in Malvern (mid June) where there are usually a wide selection of breeders/owners showing or just catching up with the news.  They usually have some spinners and knitters there too, who love to talk about working with alpaca.  They usually have some lovely stuff to show off too.

There is a local breeders group website here - I guess N. Worcs would be covered by the Heart of England group.

[Lost in France]

Corndolly,

I think going to look at alpacas at local shows is a good idea as it also gives you the opportunity to speak to breeders and pick one you like to continue a relationship and learn more about alpacas. I doubt that anyone will lend you alpacas that are tame and touchable as they will be close to these animals themselves. You could try to negotiate youngsters that will later be sold and then you could train them! One key thing you'd have to work with your residents on is that they stay calm whilst with the alpacas especially until they get used to each other! Ours are lovely with children but easily startled if they run and shout etc. It's all about mutual trust and respect which, as you'll know from your work, takes time. Learning to care for animals is wonderful therapy and I'm sure that your residents would benefit from the contact as long as they appreciate that alpacas are not like cats and dogs so will not always want to be touched! We say that when our alpacas are in the field, they choose whether or not they approach us and we never force our contact onto them but...when we put them into the catch pen and/or halter them, we are in control of contact...even if they don't always like it! As a result our animals trust us. They were adults when we got them and had not been handled, except when they needed things done eg toenails, shearing, injections etc so we had to work with them to build up trust. Now most tasks they readily accept and, if they have an off day...we reckon everyone is allowed one of those and most things can wait till tomorrow!

We've just been watching 2 of our females paddling in the water buckets and then bathing in their larger container...these 2 just love being in water! The others watch but can't quite understand what they're up to! I could watch them all day and...oooh what a lovely smell as the sun dries them off!! They are always up to something interesting...even if it's just sunbathing...you can just sit quietly amongst them listening to their gently humming sounds.

They eat grass, hay and special pellets for Camelids that provide the additional nutrients not available in our soils. They need fresh water available. Oh, I could go on forever...!

Judi

[corndolly]

Thanks for your sound advice, I will try to go to the Three Counties show ,not far from us and also contact local breeders.

Enjoy reading your posts ,you are obviously enjoying the experience of caring for your alpacas.

I am sure the Residents at the home will respect the alpacas wishes , I can see some wanting to help with changing water etc while others may prefer to watch them from a distance.

look forward to hearing more from you about living with alpacas.