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What care do alpacas need?

Updated: Feb 18

When going into alpaca ownership, it is important to be aware of the commitment you are making and the effort it will require to carry our non negotiable daily, weekly, monthly and seasonal tasks and checks... 



Register with a vets

You will need to register with a large animal veterinary practice. A vet with camelid knowledge and experience is preferable, as alpacas are very different to other stock and animals. If your local vet isn't alpaca savvy, you can check out www.camelidvets.org/categories/findavet to find a vet who is. For more specialist advice, Claire Whitehead is a well known and highly experience camelid specialist vet who runs Camelid Veterinary Services in Reading, but serves clients UK wide and can consult with your local vet.



Day to Day Care

As absolute minimum standard, your alpacas will need physically checking first thing in the morning and again before dark. They should be checked for general wellness and supplied with ad-lib hay, fresh water and feeding as needed. However, during birthing season (if you intend to keep breeding females) or times of ill health, more frequent two hourly checks will be required. Fencing and boundaries should be checked daily for weaknesses and the grazing area should be checked for any hazards or issues to keep your alpacas safe. Poo needs to be removed twice daily from their shelter and poo picking of the paddock needs to occur every 1-3 days to help manage internal parasites. And of course, there will be additional routine husbandry tasks you need to carry out throughout the year. 


Will you have the time and ability to carry out these checks and tasks? 



Body Scoring

Body Condition Score (BCS) every month and record the figures to track health and wellbeing. A scale of 1 - 5 (with 1 being emaciated and 5 being obese) is usually used, but you can use a scale of 1-10 if you prefer. Score the spine, ribs, under tail area & chest as according to how much, or how little, fat and muscle coverage there is - Claire Whitehead has a helpful video on how to do this here. Cria & pregnant dams will be carrying more weight, so may score slightly higher than their herd mates.


If possible, weigh your alpacas too. Veterinary weigh scales are ideal for this task, but if you have just a few alpacas and access to a trailer, you can weigh the empty trailer on a weigh bridge and then weigh your alpacas and divide the figure between them to get a guide weight. IMPORTANT: Do not BCS your alpacas based on weights, as two alpacas can weigh the same but have very different frames and therefore one may be underweight and the other could be overweight. 



Hay, Feeding & Vitamin Supplements



Pasture Management



Foot Trimming

Toenail trimming should be carried out 3 - 4 times per year (and at shearing time). Grey and white alpacas often need their toenails trimming more regularly as they grow faster and some may never need their nails trimmed. Standard sheep foot shears work well.


Take a little off at a time - you can always take more and it helps reduce the chance of cutting too much and causing bleeding. It can be helpful to keep on hand wound spray or wound powder to stem any bleeding that does occur and help prevent infection. It is best done on a concrete/flat, non slip surface so you can see how much needs to be trimmed and when you need to stop. Practice picking up their feet and putting them down whenever you catch your alpacas for health checking, treatment etc so they are used to having their feet held.




Shearing



Top Knots

To feel calm and content in the paddock, alpacas need a to have clear visibility of the world around them. If the fleece on the top of their heads, called their ‘top knot’, becomes too overgrown it can partially or fully cover their eyes, making it harder or perhaps impossible to see. Keeping check of top knots and trimming them from time to time may be required in addition to annual shearing. This can be done by following safe catching and restraining techniques to allow you to gently but firmly hold your alpaca so you can carefully trimming excess fleece from around the eyes with curved, blunt-ended dog grooming scissors or Jakoti hand shears. 



Teeth

Alpacas have 30-32 teeth, comprising of 6 incisors on the lower jaw which should neatly bite onto a hard, gummy palate in the upper jaw, 6 hooked, sharp fighting teeth and 18-20 cheek teeth at the back. It is normal for milk teeth to fall out between 2-5 years of age & regrow adult teeth. Alpacas chew the cud. 


Fighting teeth become prominent in males at 3-4 years of age - at this stage they need trimming to remove the sharp tips. One trim of the fighting teeth should suffice in their lifetime,  but it is always worth checking them at shearing time. An alpaca’s incisor teeth shouldn't need trimming unless they have an ill-aligned bite, causing overgrowth - see ideal bite in the photo to the right >>>


As well as bite alignment, check for evidence of tooth root abscesses in the molars, which is not uncommon in alpacas.



Clostridial Disease Vaccination



Treating for Mites



Worming



How to Administer Medications




Disclaimer: Fostings Alpacas are not a veterinarian body. Always consult your vet when creating a health plan for your herd and before administering medication.




Learn how to look after alpacas


This 110 page E-Guide is packed full of information for new and prospective alpaca keepers, covering Alpaca 101, Essential Requirements, Diet & Pasture Management, Costs to Purchase & Keep Alpacas, Routine Husbandry and Common Disease & Parasites in Alpacas. The E-Guide is downloadable upon purchase so you can dive straight in! For the full contents list and to get your copy, just click the image below!



 
 
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