Llamas and Alpacas E-Book

Gina Bromage

• Herausgeber: Crowood
• Kategorie: Fachliteratur
• Sprache: Englisch

Veröffentlichungsjahr: 2013

Beschreibung

As well as being adorable animals with a thick, warm fleece, llamas and alpacas are also intelligent, discerning, curious and sociable. In addition they are docile, gentle and easily trained. Natural grazers and browsers, they keep down hedges and pastures, they rarely challenge even the most pathetic fencing unless they are frightened, or in love. They require very little supplementary feed, live outside all year round, are generally hardy, healthy and happy. Llamas and Alpacas - A Guide to Management contains all the basic information required in order to keep these animals successfully and provides an invaluable insight into what keeping llamas and alapacas involves in terms of resources, housing, equipment and skills. It assumes no prior knowledge of llamas and alpacas, nor the husbandry of other domesticated species, and is ideal for the uninitiated as well as being a comprehensive reference source for the established camelid keeper. The book contains chapters that deal with land and housing, nutrition, husbandry and welfare, fleece evaluation, fleece marketing, animal assessment and showing, breeding, birth, the care of the newborn and common health problems.Designed to be a husbandry handbook, it aims to cover the basic knowledge required to keep llamas and alpacas successfully. It assumes no prior knowledge of llamas and alpacas, nor the husbandry of other domesticated species, and is ideal for the completely uninitiated, as well as being a useful source of first reference for the established camelid keeper. Superbly illustrated with 183 colour photographs and 23 diagrams and drawings. Gina Bromage is an experienced veterinary surgeon who keeps alpacas.

Leseprobe

Llamas and Alpacas

A Guide to Management

Gina Bromage

Copyright

First published in 2006 by The Crowood Press Ltd Ramsbury, Marlborough Wiltshire SN8 2HR

www.crowood.com

This impression 2009

This e-book first published in 2013

© Gina Bromage 2006

All rights reserved. No part of this publication may be reproduced or transmitted in any form or by any means, electronic or mechanical, including photocopy, recording, or any information storage and retrieval system, without permission in writing from the publishers.

British Library Cataloguing-in-Publication Data A catalogue record for this book is available from the British Library.

ISBN 978 1 84797 582 9

All photographs by the author except where stated otherwise. Line-drawings by Keith Field.

Edited and designed by OutHouse! Shalbourne, Marlborough Wiltshire SN8 3QJ

Contents

Title Page

Copyright

Acknowledgements

Preface

1Introducing Llamas and Alpacas

2Why Llamas or Alpacas?

3Land and Housing

4Feeding and Nutrition

5Husbandry

6Behaviour, Handling and Training

7Fleece Evaluation

8Fleece Marketing by John Gaye

9Assessment and Showing

10Breeding

11Birth

12Care of the Newborn

13Common Health Problems

Glossary

Further Reading and References

Useful Addresses

Index

Acknowledgements

There are many people without whom this book could not have been written, and I am deeply indebted to those who have provided photographs, as well as other kinds of support. My mother, Val Ridgway, who is responsible for my interest in camelids, and who has funded a great deal of my learning, deserves much gratitude in particular. Chris Eke and Jo Harwood of UK Llamas have been a great source of encouragement and a great deal of practical help; they have my particular thanks, as does John Gaye who has written the chapter on the marketing of fleece. Thanks are also due to Yocom-McColl Testing Laboratories, Inc. for granting permission to publish one of their Testing Laboratories histogram reports. Other members of the BVCS and the South West Alpaca Group, too numerous to mention individually, have variously and generously contributed with experiences, information and images. My own knowledge has been built on foundations laid by, amongst others and in no particular order, Murray Fowler, Eric Hoffman, John Mallon, Chris Cebra, David Anderson, David Pugh, Marty McGee, Clare Hoffman, Gail Birutta, Walter Bravo, Ahmed Tibary, Jane Vaughan, and Amanda Van den Bosch.

Preface

From a chance encounter with alpacas in early 1999, my close involvement with camelids became inevitable after I showed them to my mother at the Royal Bath and West Show of the same year. She immediately resolved to buy some alpacas when she retired to the West Country a few months later and, as her default veterinarian, my fate was sealed. In those days very few of my colleagues had any camelid expertise, so my joining of the British Veterinary Camelid Society and a very steep learning curve soon followed. Although some principles of husbandry, medicine and surgery are universal, knowledge of the idiosyncrasies of any species is crucial to the successful management of it. Most camelid lore resides in South America, and is in Spanish. Only in the relatively recent past have such eminent authors and academics such as Murray Fowler, Eric Hoffman and Walter Bravo written definitive veterinary texts on camelids in English, and these are largely based on the North American experience, as are the husbandry texts that exist.

The veterinary profession is still learning about camelids (as, indeed, it is still learning about all of the species under its care), but it became obvious to me that a basic handbook on husbandry was needed. Many of the problems commonly encountered in the keeping of llamas and alpacas could be avoided with better information, and rocket-science levels of technical sophistication are not required to circumvent most difficulties. These principles hold true for the keeping of any domestic species, but llamas and alpacas are quite frequently kept by those who have not farmed or even kept grazing animals before. The errors of experienced stock-keepers tend to be different from those committed by novices, but they nevertheless occur because of the very natural tendency to extrapolate the care of one species from that of another. Certain differences in the specialization and biology of llamas and alpacas make some such extrapolations unwise at best, and disastrous at worst. The purpose of this text is to help the uninitiated to avoid some of the more common pitfalls. There are many who will find much of the information in this book basic in the extreme, but, since my objective is to be of most help to those who need assistance most, I make no apology for the elementary level of some of it.

CHAPTER 1

Introducing Llamas and Alpacas

This chapter will briefly describe the origins of the domesticated South American camelids (i.e. llamas and alpacas) and the purposes of their domestication, and indicate some important differences between them and other domesticated animals in the UK.

Llamas and alpacas belong to a group of animals known as the South American camelids, which are descended from an ancient camel-like ancestor that migrated to the Americas millions of years ago. (The term camelid derives from their scientific family name, Camilidae.) Other camelids include the dromedary and bactrian camels. The American camelids subsequently died out in the northern part of the continent, but in the south they were domesticated by the Incas, and they formed the basis of the Inca economy. They were used for meat, fleece, hides, leather, tools and fuel, and as pack animals. The harsh environment of the Andes makes each of these resources truly a matter of life and death, and an animal that could thrive there was essential to human survival. When the Spaniards conquered the Inca, they seemed to make a particular campaign of attempting to exterminate llamas and alpacas. This has given rise to the idea that the Spanish may have seen such a strategy as a way of fatally weakening the much more numerous Inca.

A llama, the largest of the four South American camelids. (Photo: Chris Eke, UK Llamas)

An alpaca, the luxury fibre factory of the South American camelids. (Photo: John Gaye, Alpacas of Wessex)

A guanaco, the wild progenitor of the llama, is still found extensively in South America. (Photo: Chris Eke, UK Llamas)

A vicuna, the shy, rare, endangered progenitor of alpacas. It is found on limited ranges, mainly in the altiplano. (Photo: John Gaye, Alpacas of Wessex)

A tampuli llama. Notice the fibre on the neck and upper legs – much thicker and longer than in other llamas. (Photo: Chris Eke, UK Llamas)

A ccara llama. Notice the light fibre cover on the head, neck and legs. (Photo: Chris Eke, UK Llamas)

Tampuli llama. Notice the fringing on the head and ears. (Photo: Chris Eke, UK Llamas)

A selection of products that can be made from llama fibre.

It is generally accepted that llamas (Lama glama) were domesticated from the larger of the two wild camelids, the guanaco (Lama guanicoe), and that alpacas (Vicugna pacos) derived from the smaller, shyer, rarer vicuna (Vicugna vicugna). However, genetic studies have indicated that there has been crossbreeding in the past (possibly as a result of the disruption caused by the Spanish conquest) and all four species are capable of interbreeding and producing fertile crosses. There are no wild llamas or alpacas: they exist only as domesticated animals. There is in South America a large number of llama/alpaca-cross individuals, which are called huarizos or mistis. There are also wild populations of guanaco and vicuna. The guanaco is found extensively in South America, but the vicuna is endangered and protected. It lives in limited ranges in harsh conditions at high altitude.

LLAMAS

These are the largest of the four South American camelids, and can weigh from 110–250kg (250–550lb) and stand 102–119cm (40–47in) at the shoulder. They can be many different colours, and also a mixture of colours. There are several physical types, but their characteristics can overlap, so in a sense they are not true ‘breeds’. In South America they are distinguished by whether the neck and head is woolly or fairly bare, and on the length and cover of the rest of their fibre. The woolly necked types are collectively known as tampuli, and can be further subdivided into lanuda and tapada. The lanuda is woolly on the ears and head, and further down the legs. The barer-necked ones are the short-coated ccara (or ‘classic’, although these are actually numerically rarer in South America) and curaca, with a medium coat. The barer-necked llamas tend to moult to a close-cropped level of fleece. The reason for these different forms is that there is a number of different jobs for the animal to do. Pack animals will cope better with exertion if their coats are not too heavy and thick, but because the Incas made everything from ropes and bags to upholstery and clothing from fibre, some heavily fibred animals with a range of fibre types were also needed. In addition, there is considerable variation of climate, and different fleece types allow the animals to cope best with their local weather conditions.

ALPACAS

These are much smaller than llamas, weighing in at between 55 and 90kg (121 and 200lb) and reaching only 76–96cm (30–38in) at the shoulder. Twenty-two different shades of solid colour are recognized, allowing a wide range of fabric colours to be produced from the undyed fleece. There are two basic breeds, classified by fleece character: the huacaya, which has a sheep-like woolliness, and the suri, whose fleece hangs in long spiral locks. This is a true-breeding genetic difference, with the suri gene being dominant: a first cross should look like a suri, but, if crossed again with a huacaya, the result will be a 50:50 mixture of suri-looking offspring and huacaya offspring

Alpacas are the major fibre-producer. Note that it’s ‘not done’ to call it wool. This is not merely snobbery, since the microscopic structure of the fibre is indeed different, with the individual scales from which it is composed meeting in smooth joints, like paving slabs; with wool, these scales overlap, like roof tiles. This difference translates into a different feel to the fibre and fabrics made from it, as well as different processing characteristics. Alpacas really have no function as a pack animal. They are usually shorn every year, and as the coat gets longer they find that exertion makes them overheat. They have been selected for a long, even, dense coat, which covers the neck and legs. Typically the fibre is fine, but it often coarsens with age, so a range of fibre diameters of 16–40 microns is found. Suri fibre is similarly fine but typically more lustrous and silky than that of the huacaya.

A suri alpaca exhibiting the classical cord-like locks. (Photo: John Gaye,, Alpacas of Wessex)

A huacaya alpaca showing typical woolly looking fleece. (Photo: John Gaye, Alpacas of Wessex)

This guanaco is running for sheer pleasure. Moments later he cleared the fence behind him, illustrating one of the difficulties inherent in keeping guanacos. (Photo: Chris Eke, UK Llamas)

GUANACOS

Guanacos weigh 100–120kg (220–265lb) and grow to 76–96cm (30–38in) in height. They are all a similar colour, having a greyish head, a sandy brown topside, and a pale cream underside. Guanacos exist as wild animals in many parts of South America, but captive-born animals can be domesticated reasonably successfully. They have been used as pack animals and for their fibre, but they tend to be more wilful and will jump out of enclosures much more readily. Guanaco fibre can be very fine, at 18–24 microns, but older animals also have coarse guard hair, especially on the neck, legs and belly.

VICUNAS

These are the smallest of the four South American camelids, at only 45–55kg (100–120lb), but they are a similar height to alpacas, at 86–96cm (34–38in). They are an endangered species, and live on marginal harsh ground in the high Andes. They are protected, and are very shy, nervous animals. They have not been successfully domesticated, and in the past the only way of harvesting the fabulous fibre (often 10–14 microns in diameter) was to kill the animal. In Inca times it was a capital offence for anyone not of royal blood to wear vicuna. There are now attempts being made in Peru to gather and shear vicuna, so that the very poor people who share their environment can gain some economic advantage from them; this is also intended, presumably, to discourage poaching. The gathering operation, the Chaku, takes place every two years, and requires hundreds of people to spread across the hillside and coax the animals to run into a funnel-shaped yard, where they can be concentrated and caught for shearing. The loss of their fleece in the harsh environment places them at a certain risk, and they only yield about 500gm (1lb) fibre each. However, the value of the garments that can be made from it is so great that it is nevertheless an economically viable proposition. The local people have developed a much more positive attitude to the welfare and survival of ‘their’ vicuna, although there are also signs of their wishing to establish possessive rights over the animals that share their range.

Machu Picchu, the lost city of the Incas, to whom we owe the domestication of the guanaco and vicuna, giving us llamas and alpacas. (Photo: John Gaye, Alpacas of Wessex)

THE COMMON FACTOR

The common factor in the natural history of all of these animals is the dry and harsh nature of their environment. Although cloven footed, camelids do not have hooves; instead the foot is made up of two soft digital pads (see photograph, Chapter 5), which spread as they take the animal’s weight, making the footfall very soft on the ground. This has the great advantage that they do not poach pasture. As digesters of large amounts of poorquality forage, they do chew the cud, but the digestive system is different from the true ruminants more traditionally kept in the UK (i.e. sheep, goats, and cattle).

CHAPTER 2

Why Llamas or Alpacas?

Why have you chosen – or why should you choose – to keep either of these animals?

The odds are that if you are contemplating keeping any of the South American camelids, you have been enchanted. The most level-headed and commercially minded of people can be bewitched by the grace, beauty, gentleness, intelligence and enormous eyes of these animals, and once this has happened they must find an excuse to keep them. This chapter is to help you with that exercise.

Trekking with llamas is a relaxing and enjoyable way of exploring the countryside. (Photo: Chris Eke, UK Llamas)

What do you want to do with your animals? In order to decide between llamas and alpacas you need to answer this question.

Do They Spit?

The behaviour of these animals is dealt with more fully in a later chapter, but this is one of the first questions asked by the uninitiated. The answer is no, and yes. A well-brought-up llama or alpaca would never deliberately spit at a person, any more than a well-brought-up dog or a horse would bite. Spitting is something that camelids properly reserve for squabbles amongst themselves. However, it is possible accidentally to get caught in the crossfire during a dispute amongst them. The other circumstances in which people are on the receiving end is where the animal concerned has not been properly trained to respect humans, and then, just as a rogue dog or horse might bite, a llama or alpaca might spit. (The spit is smelly, but on the whole less damaging than being bitten by one of these other species.)

WALKING AND TREKKING COMPANIONS

If your primary interest is in walking, then pack llamas are your best bet. They are specialized for the job of trekking fairly rough terrain carrying up to 45kg (100lb), all day if necessary. The Incas depended entirely on llamas for transporting freight in the Andes, and also used to make all their equipment from llama fibre and other products. (Alpacas like to be taken for walks, but because of their smaller size and yearly yield of fibre they are not suitable for serious haulage.)

Pack llamas are a delight to have as company on a walk, and they can carry enough for a truly decadent picnic far from the hustle and bustle of picturesque spots with motor car access. If you do visit crowded spots, you are guaranteed film-star levels of attention from any of the public that you might meet. The exercise is good for a healthy llama, and the opportunity to browse vegetation along the way is nutritionally useful, too, but the handlers must make sure that any toxic plants are avoided.

The elderly, infirm – or merely decadent – can picnic in style and comfort, courtesy of their llama porters. (Photo: Chris Eke, UK Llamas)

One of the most practically useful attributes of these animals is their toilet habits. They like to make and use middens. This means that once an area for urination and defecation has been established, they will return to it time and again, building up a low heap of manure. On the trail, this means that they are unlikely to foul paths or car parks. In fact, llama trekkers routinely carry a little pot of manure pellets, which they can place in a convenient spot. This stimulates the animals to go there, and inappropriate fouling is completely avoided. (Without this hint, llamas usually refuse to urinate or defecate.) So not only do your walking companions carry the spare clothes, kit and food, they are house-trained into the bargain.

Commercial llama trekking enterprises are gradually springing up in the more picturesque parts of the UK. With these, clients hire the use of the llamas and a human guide for walks ranging from a couple of hours to a full day. In some cases it may be suitable or desirable to combine this attraction with camping or bed and breakfast businesses. Llamas are easier to care for and fence than horses, do less damage to pasture and trails, and there is no requirement for the client to be able to ride.

Excursions through quiet villages amuse llamas and locals alike. The discreet toilet habits of llamas and alpacas mean that your animals will not disgrace you before their public. (Photo: Chris Eke, UK Llamas)

FLOCK GUARDIANS

Gelded male llamas and some alpacas can prove effective guardians of flocks of sheep, protecting them from foxes. The animals need to be selected for aptitude and attitude, and not all individuals are suitable, but those that are can be very impressive. It should be remembered that one or more determined dogs will usually get the better of the bravest llama or alpaca, and kill it, so they are not suitable for protecting against dog attacks. However, a lone dog will usually be deterred by the fearless charge of an angry llama, and all foxes are repelled.

Llamas or alpacas are a beautiful and fascinating alternative to other grazers. They keep the grass down and, unlike sheep and cattle, they are not slaughtered once mature. Note the guanaco in the background. (Photo: Chris Eke, UK Llamas)

LAWN MOWERS

Many people choose to keep either llamas or alpacas, or both, simply to keep the grass down on a smallish plot of land. (Refer to Chapter 3 for the land requirements for South American camelids.) The animals are pleasant to look at, fairly long-lived (somewhere between ten and twenty years) much more intelligent than sheep, and don’t require to be slaughtered on a regular basis (unlike sheep and cattle, which naturally ‘go off fat’, i.e. fatten as they mature, as they have been selected to do). Again, the feet of llamas and alpacas are easy on the land, and will leave a field unpoached and level compared to the wreckage that hoofed animals can leave behind them in wet weather.

Either llamas or alpacas will serve this function. Llamas need higher fencing and are slightly more difficult to handle: they know that they are big and strong, and if not properly trained and handled can present difficulties. Alpacas are no less trainable, but much more diffident and obliging, understanding that most people are stronger than they are. Frequently, uninitiated people find alpacas more appealing and less intimidating. Bear in mind that although keeping camelids will reduce the time you spend using a mower, and potentially make your grass greener, pasture management will still be required.

A Note About Guanacos and Vicunas

Guanacos are the wild, ‘unimproved’ ancestor of llamas. They have a very fine under-fleece and a wispy overcoat of guard hair. The under-fleece can command huge prices in the luxury fibre market if the contacts for its sale are in place and, as a result, guanacos have been farmed successfully. However, although when properly handled these animals are no more hazardous than cattle or horses, they are more wilful than most domestic livestock. One of their major drawbacks is that they are excellent and eager jumpers, and although generally shorter than llamas (76–96cm/43–45in as opposed to 102–119cm/30–38in) they will easily clear fences that llamas would not attempt.

Vicuna, the smaller alpaca ancestor are very shy, nervous animals, unsuitable for sustained contact with humans. They are listed as an endangered species by CITES (Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species), and therefore not kept domestically in the UK.

A moment of triumph when the owner’s ability to judge a good animal is vindicated in the show ring. (Photo: John Gaye, Alpacas of Wessex)

PETS

The attractiveness of llamas and alpacas often creates the desire in people to ‘have one as a pet’. While this is entirely understandable, it is, sadly, impossible in the way that most people imagine. These animals are very highly social, and will almost literally ‘die of a broken heart’ if kept without the company of their kind. In fact, the ailments that kill them are usually digestive, since the stress of living alone is more likely to be expressed physically as ulceration of the stomach. Even when kept in suitable numbers, they do not make good pets in the conventional sense. Despite their appealing looks, they do not like to be touched. They can be trained to tolerate it, but still do not look for physical contact. They have no tendency to indulge in the mutual grooming often seen in horses and cattle, so being rubbed, stroked or tickled is no treat for them. Children often want to be able to cuddle them, especially alpacas in fleece, who are so adorably woolly to look at. As animals who take their prey status very seriously, being grabbed (which is what an unwanted cuddle is for the victim) is alarming at best, and terrifying at worst.

The other problem with trying to pet camelids is manners: if you succeed in teaching an individual to accept human touch, frequently its respect for humans is lost in the process. This leads to great difficulties in handling, as the animal now feels its status to be the equal of yours and therefore has no need to cooperate with you.

None of the foregoing is to say that alpacas and llamas are not affectionate, intelligent and capable of attachment to individual people. They just do not express these things with touch. Equally, many people choose to keep alpacas or llamas simply for the pleasure of having them around. They develop great devotion to them and get much delight from them, but actual petting is not normally involved.

Alpaca crias are completely irresistable, like fluffy fawns. (Photo: Peter Watson, South West Alpacas)

THERAPY

Both llamas and alpacas have been used to assist in therapy for a variety of mental and emotional disorders in both children and adults. Autistic children in particular have been observed to dramatically improve their ability and inclination to communicate when working with trained camelids.

FIBRE PRODUCTION

Both llamas and alpacas produce fibre, but it is alpacas that have been selected over thousands of years to produce a dense, even fleece, which should be shorn annually. Llamas have one of four types of coat (seeChapter 1), and the heavier-fleeced animals should be shorn for comfort when required. It is possible to make a variety of ropes, bags, hats, panniers and items of clothing from llama fibre, but generally it is too coarse and prickly for use close to the skin. The products that can be made from it require craftsmanship, and it can be rewarding to learn these ancient skills to fashion items from the fleece of your own animals.

Luxury Fibre

This is the alpaca’s raison d’être. Cloth made from baby alpaca has almost magical qualities of softness, lightness, warmth, silky drape and lustre, which can be matched only by cashmere. Aficionados would say that it cannot be matched by anything other than vicuna. At the time of writing, the alpaca fibre industry in the UK is still somewhat embryonic. This is because there are only around 10,000 animals in the UK, and to devote an industrial mill to the different requirements of alpaca processing demands greater quantities of fleece than that number of animals can produce.

Despite the fact that a home industry in alpaca fibre is still in very early stages, the monetary value of alpacas depends very heavily on their fleeces. Those animals that possess fine dense, even, bright, stylish fibre can command very high prices indeed. People already in the alpaca industry hope that the continued selection for improved fleeces will aid in the establishment of a fully fledged commercial luxury-fibre industry.

SHOWING

Many potential owners are attracted by the idea of showing their animals. Llamas and alpacas attract a great deal of public interest wherever they appear, and many shows are eager to have camelid classes because of their popularity with the public. Training and showing animals is great fun and very gratifying. It allows those owners who wish to make more of a hobby of their animals to have definite objectives towards which to work. For commercial keepers, shows are an important way to market their animals, as well as allowing them to be measured against others as a way of validating their quality.

Llama show with alpaca onlookers. (Photo: Chris Eke, UK Llamas)

Tourist Attraction

The very appeal that llamas and alpacas have for the public leads to their use as ‘eye candy’, i.e. window dressing, at country-style tourist attractions. They can fulfil this function admirably, but it is important that their welfare is a prime consideration: they do not naturally like to be petted and they do need space and grass.

Breeding and Selling

At present the population of camelid keepers in the UK is still rising and, while this continues, enterprises based on the selling of young stock to new owners can thrive. To those who have already bred livestock, this can be an attractive new venture, but basic technical knowledge about animal breeding in general and llamas and alpacas in particular will be required. If you are a novice, you need a trusted expert on call near by. Luckily there is a well-developed local breed society network, so knowledgeable advice need never be far away.

CHAPTER 3

Land and Housing

This chapter should be read in conjunction with Chapter 6 because the environment in which we keep our animals affects their behaviour, which in turn determines some of their requirements.

LAND AREA

Since camelids evolved in environments that required them to roam over vast areas of land in search of sufficient food, they are adapted for this and therefore need a certain amount of running space. The bare minimum required is 0.2ha (½ acre), and this assumes that the animals are regularly walked out for exercise. Anything less than this is too small to meet their long-term welfare needs. Confined spaces and overstocking appear to be stressful to these animals, and long-term stress has been associated with digestive ulcers (seeChapters 4 and 13).

As a general guide, a piece of land that can support a cow and calf – the so-called cow-calf unit (about an acre) – will provide enough forage for four to five alpacas or two to three llamas. However, as stated before, it is necessary to bear in mind that the total available space is important, since it affects the behaviour of the animals. They must have sufficient area to accommodate middens and, since they are highly social animals, they must never be kept alone (groups of four or more are preferable). Even though they need to be kept in groups, there must be enough space for the weaker individuals to get away from the more dominant ones, or problems with chronic bullying will develop. In practice, this means that plots of more than 0.2ha (½ acre) can usually accommodate a group of suitable individuals; at the lower end of this limit, it will be necessary to select them individually for compatibility.

Mechanical pasture cleaner. Clearing middens of manure benefits both the pasture (which is not scalded by too much nitrogen), and the animals (which are protected from intestinal parasites if clearing is done on a daily basis).

Ground Conditions

Alpacas and llamas are sure-footed and can cope with fairly rough ground. However, stony ground can cause the toenails to break off if they have been softened by wet weather. Swampy ground is not suitable because it causes the feet to become very softened, and the toenails will rapidly overgrow. Wet ground is also much more likely to support the freshwater snail, which carries liver fluke (a parasite to which llamas and alpacas are very susceptible). Wet areas in an otherwise dry paddock will not be a problem, if due regard is paid to the potential for liver fluke (seeChapter 13).

Pasture debris such as rubbish and pieces of metal should not be allowed to remain on the ground; they will cause injury.

Midden in use. Note posture of elimination.

Middens

Llamas and alpacas create and use specific dung areas in their fields, often called middens. This makes picking up the manure a much easier job than it is with horses and other animals, and can have benefits in reducing parasite burdens on the pasture. The manure makes excellent garden fertilizer. The midden area is very nitrogen-rich, and its centre will usually kill vegetation if left undisturbed. The edges will produce superlush growth which is normally rejected by the animals for feeding unless they are very short of grazing. A rather patchy-looking pasture can result from the presence of middens, but they probably have a certain anti-parasitic function: worm larvae are concentrated in the dung areas and, because these are avoided by grazing llamas and alpacas, the opportunity to become further infested with worms is reduced. If you collect the manure from the middens, and compost it, the larvae should die in a few months, making the resultant compost safe to re-spread on the fields. If you simply harrow the middens to spread them out, you will spread worm larvae with them. If the winter is cold enough to freeze the ground hard, almost all of the worm larvae will be killed, and the pasture can be regarded as ‘clean’, as long as it has been unstocked. Grazing animals will reinfest it if they are carrying overwintering worms inside them.

Midden discipline is not absolute, and some individuals, especially youngsters, will defecate almost anywhere.

Poaching

The soft digital pad of camelids (see page 53) causes far less damage to soft ground and vegetation than occurs with hoofed livestock, which cause poaching (muddy, water-filled holes in wet ground). Poaching results in less available grazing because the grass becomes mashed into the mud. My grandfather used to say that in wet weather cows have five mouths because of the extra pressure on the vegetation caused by poaching.

Predators

It is much easier to keep llamas and alpacas in than it is to keep dogs and badgers out, yet in their respective ways both of these predators can represent lethal threats to your animals. You do not want to be in the position of having contained your animals so effectively that marauding dogs can catch and savage them easily. This is more of a problem in North America where free-ranging dogs are more common, but it is a consideration in certain parts of the UK. In the case of badgers, there is evidence from Ireland that they can infect llamas and alpacas with TB (as they have long been suspected of doing in cattle). Contact with badgers should therefore be prevented. It is no easy matter to achieve this, since badgers are powerful and determined, and will tunnel or barge their way through many types of barrier. The most effective means of excluding them appears to be a triple strand of electric fencing placed at low level, and while this may seem an expensive investment it is cheap in comparison to the cost of having tuberculosis infect your animals. DEFRA (the Department of Environment, Farming and Rural Affairs) should be able to advise on badger proofing. Badgers are currently protected, which means that active destruction of them or their setts is illegal.