A Couple of Alpaca Tips

Posted 24 July, 2008 in Alpaca General |

A couple of Alpaca Tips:

I want to be like Apollo shown in this picture. If it isn’t raining dampening my mood and energy it is so hot that all I want to do is lay around. Funny, but when it is winter time I only wish that I could have the heat of the summer. When it is summer I only wish I could have the coolness of winter. Oh well.

I posted this picture of Apollo for another reason too. Many new breeders will be scared silly when they go outside and see their alpaca laying on their side motionless in the sun. Even the most skittish alpaca will lay still allowing you to approach and even touch them. Not to worry they aren’t dying. They are only sunbathing.  Notice that their bellies are facing the sun. The only time I will worry is if their belly is facing another direction than the sun and that will be a sign that something is not right.

Want to know when an alpaca should not be bred? Just take a look at the attached picture. Kaitlyn is spitting off Electra. Electra who is just a little over 18 mths should basically be physically ready to breed. However, she is not mentally. The reason Kaitlyn is spitting her off is because Electra keeps trying to nurse off of her. Here is the funny thing. Electra isn’t even related to Kaitlyn. Electra will not even try to nurse off of her own mom, but continues to try on a daily basis to suckle Kaitlyn who has no interest in allowing Electra to nurse at all. Tom says it is easier to wean Dominique, Kaitlyn’s cria, than it is to wean Electra. Another sign that Electra isn’t ready to breed is that she is still pronking and hanging out.

Before breeding a female you want to make sure that she is both physically as well as mentally ready. We will wait until the fall to see how she matures. If we still don’t think she is ready we will try again in the winter. We are in no rush and would rather wait than have to raise her cria due to her immaturity.

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