Caring for Alpacas
ROUTINE:
The alpaca is a hearty animal and normally needs little routine care. A shelter is necessary in most climates. Here in Pennsylvania, we have several small barns stalls that have three sides. Several of the stalls can be closed, if desired. Our animals prefer to be outside, only going into the shelter when it is raining or snowing rather hard, windy, bitterly cold or extremely hot and humid because each stall is equipped with fans.
Good food, nice pasture, plenty of good quality hay, clean, fresh water, and some minerals are essentials to the well being of the alpaca. Additionally, since the alpaca is a herd animal, companionship is also essential.
We tend our animals twice daily. Early in the morning, we visit the field and barn. I always have a pocket full of grain and Jewel or Maggie usually meets me at the gate! I feed them several handfuls of grain and Miracle usually joins in the festivities. Katrina and Glorya watch these proceedings from a moderate distance. Maggie approaches for her early morning nose-touching. Eryx runs about making sure that he is not overlooked. I then give them their morning allotment of feed and replenish the hay supply. We have a half dozen hay feeders (go into YAHOO and search for "hay feeder". Almost every size variety and cost is available.)
We recently invested in Frank Waterers. These are manufactured by Frank Industries. The waterers are automatically filled and are heated in the winter. The waterers are reasonably priced and are relatively easy to install. In prior years, we used heated water buckets. The wintertime watering chore is much easier with the Frank waterers.
A daily occurring chore is waste management. Alpacas will establish a community “dung pile” and, in almost all cases, all the alpacas of the herd group will use that pile. Rarely do the alpacas use the interior of our barn—only when a new individual shows up and then only once or twice before the alpaca understands that the community pile is the way to go. Alpacas that do not get this message quickly are sold.
Essentially, that’s all that there is to the daily routine.
More notes on Waste Management:
Ideally, waste management is an activity that occurs daily, particularly in the spring, summer and fall. Effective and frequent waste collection and disposal is necessary to manage the fly population and other insects during these times. Although alpaca waste is not nearly as offensive as that of cattle or horses, the pile needs to be cleaned up frequently to avoid unpleasant odors and maintain herd health.
We collect the materials in a wheelbarrow and put them directly onto our vegetable garden. During the growing season, we mow our pastures and yard frequently. Our grass catcher is used to collect the clippings and these clippings are placed between the rows of vegetables. Then the alpaca manure is placed on top of the grass, thus avoiding the need for mulch piles or aging the waste materials. Grass is alternated with the manure in layers to prevent plant roots from “burning” from direct contact with non-aged manure. This process continues throughout the spring, summer and fall months.
Winter time is a more difficult time of year in which to deal with this necessary chore for herd health. The piles can freeze fast to the ground and the proper shovel is crucial for the manure removal. As our garden is quite large, we continue to place the materials collected in it, as by the time spring arrives, the manure is not considered “fresh” any longer and will not cause problems with the planted garden. Additionally, we have thought about planning to sell this material as organic fertilizer, as it is becoming known for its ability to produce strong, healthy plants.
Monthly, we weigh our animals. This involves getting them haltered and leading them across the scale. We shopped around for a scale, eventually buying a scale from Technidyne.
Vet Tech 300 Platform Scale 
As a natural follow on to the monthly weighing is the "body scoring" of the alpaca. Body scoring is a process evaluating whether the animal is fat, skinny or just right. Body scoring is on a scale of one to ten, one being skinny to the point of boniness and ten being fat to the point of obese. The measurement is made at the spine. The body scoring process is detailed in the Alpaca Field Manual by C. Norman Evans, D.V.M.
We also give the animals injections or oral medication for parasites, worms. In our locality, monthly vaccinations are necessary for the meningeal worm, a parasite that attacks the central nervous system of the alpaca. We have been trained by our vet and have a written statement from him certifying our successful training and documenting the worming protocol we use. We rely heavily on our vet for guidance in this area.
Additionally, the toes of each animal are checked to determine whether the toenails need to be trimmed. Various books describe how to trim the nails, but the best way to learn is to visit a farm and be taught how to trim the nails. Finally, we carefully go over each alpaca, body scoring each, looking at overall demeanor, checking eyes, nostrils and general appearance of the animal.
PRE AND POST NATAL
A pre-natal examination of a pregnant animal is given about one month prior to the due date. The vet examines the animal, gives a pre-birthing physical and any necessary injections.
Once the baby is born, the vet comes to check out the mom and the cria, usually the day following the birth. The vet gives the mom a thorough physical as well as the baby. He does an inspection of the placenta to assure that none of the placenta has been retained inside the mother.
ANNUALLY
Annually, the vet will be called to give annual physical exams and various inoculations including CD&T, West Nile Virus and Rabies injections.
OTHER THOUGHTS REGARDING CARE
We continue to learn regarding care for the animals. This winter we will be giving a C, D and B vitamin paste to the babies. . We routinely review the postings on the Yahoo! Alpacasite group. Numerous suggestions regarding alpaca health issues and alpaca care are posted there, almost daily. We read, discuss, adopt some suggestions, ignore others, and discuss some with our vet.
The final thought on the care of the alpaca is the necessity of having a vet that you are comfortable with. Several of our alpaca-owner acquaintances recommended a vet to us. Our vet specializes in equines and alpacas. He has been caring for alpacas for a relatively short period of time. He owns and operates a large animal practice and knows the ins and outs of the care of large animals. We have given him a copy of Dr. Evans field manual and a subscription to Alpacas Magazine. .
During the birthing of Mr. Ben and Maggie, our vet was a valuable resource. Numerous phone calls were made to him and his advice was clear and easily followed. We also called local fellow breeders for advice. Mr. Ben's birth was rather routine and easy. He was up and about within two minutes after being born and was nursing within twenty minutes. Maggie, on the other hand, was quite lethargic after being born five weeks late! Our vet told us that she was "overcooked" meaning, she had passed her peak of development in utero. After lots of rubbing, drying, hair drying and encouragement, Maggie got up about 30 minutes after birth.
Our recent births have been virtually unassisted. We have gained the knowledge that the best thing for us to do is to grab a chair, sit down with a cup of coffee and relax. The mom knows what needs to be done!