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What care do alpacas need?
- Fostings Alpacas
- Feb 16, 2021
- 4 min read
Updated: Jan 6
Are You 110% Committed?
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 out non-negotiable daily, weekly, monthly and seasonal tasks - no matter what day of the year it is.
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
Physical checks
As absolute minimum standard, your alpacas will need physically checking first thing in the morning and again before dark for general wellness. 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. If you intend to breed, during birthing season, more frequent checks ranging between every two hourly down to every 15 minutes, depending on the female's due date and progression.
Feeding your alpacas
Your alpacas will need to be supplied with ad-lib hay, fresh water and feeding as needed. See our blog on What alpacas eat for more information.
Poo picking
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.
Will you have the time and ability to carry out these checks and tasks EVERY DAY?
Monthly Health Checks
Body Condition 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.
Weighing
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.
Teeth
Check for evidence of tooth root abscesses in the molars, which is not uncommon in alpacas.
Pasture Management
Your pasture will need to be rotated regularly to help reduce worm burdens that can make your alpacas very unwell. See our blog on Pasture Management for more information.
Quarterly Tasks
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.
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.
Annual Tasks
Shearing
Alpacas need to be shorn once every year - find out everything you need to know about alpaca shearing in our shearing blog here
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. Fighting teeth become prominent in males at 3 to 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 least annually. An alpaca’s incisor teeth shouldn't need trimming unless they have an ill-aligned bite, causing overgrowth.
Preventing Clostridial Disease
this can be done either annually or every 6 months, depending on your vet's recommendation. See our blog on Preventing clostridial diseases for more inforamtion.
Other helpful blogs
Disclaimer: Fostings Alpacas are not a veterinarian body. Always consult your vet when creating a health plan for your herd and before administering medication.
