All In
April 25th 2011 06:28
We had our stud sire, Cappy, castrated (or wethered, gelded, snipped - whatever term you like to use for it) a while back.
When you castrate an alpaca, it generally takes at least 2-3 months for the testosterone to settle and for the alpaca to be infertile. During this time, it's best to keep the boy separate from the girls. If allowed to run with the girls, he will continue to harass them - and you may well end up with some unexpected babies.
With some males it can take quite a lot longer for them to settle down - and I've heard of some who never do.
Our boy Cappy, was quite an assertive male while he was working and liked to beat up any other males he could get to - including wethers (it obviously never registered that they were no threat to his harem). Because of this he had his own paddock. We continued to keep him in his own space since castrating him, to allow him time to settle down a bit.
So couple of days ago, we decided that it was time to integrate him into the larger herd and I went down and opened the gate. Jamma (one of our old wethers), came running up to the fence and an almighty spitting match ensured for a few minutes and I thought we might have to wait a while longer before putting Cappy in but I noticed he was moving away from the fence a bit more often than he would normally. This is a good sign (that he was a bit more hesitant to get physical with the other alpaca about it).
So I left the gate open and called Cappy through.
The other alpacas in the paddock (girls and wethers), just watched him as he wandered away on his own into a far corner of the paddock where he commenced to eat the grass.
Several hours later I noticed that there was still the main herd on one side of the paddock, and Cappy, all by himself on the other.
Yesterday, I came home from doing the groceries and noticed Jamma sitting all by himself in one corner of the paddock, the girls and other wethers in another part, and Cappy still off on his own (it's quite a a big paddock).
Mike told me that Cappy and Jamma had had a massive brawl and they were both coated green and stinking to high heaven (alpaca spit smells bad - no doubt about that). I had kinda figured that when I saw Jamma off on his own as he normally hangs out quite happily in the middle of the herd.
Male alpaca can sometimes cause each other big injuries when they fight over the females. Jamma has been a wether for years, so has no interest in mating - or fighting. They seem to have sorted it out though, as it's been very peaceful down there today.
Fingers crossed that Cappy will learn to get along with the others peacefully, as we need to find him a new home and would rather he live with other alpacas than on on his lonesome.... up to him though.
Cappy Alpaca
When you castrate an alpaca, it generally takes at least 2-3 months for the testosterone to settle and for the alpaca to be infertile. During this time, it's best to keep the boy separate from the girls. If allowed to run with the girls, he will continue to harass them - and you may well end up with some unexpected babies.
With some males it can take quite a lot longer for them to settle down - and I've heard of some who never do.
Our boy Cappy, was quite an assertive male while he was working and liked to beat up any other males he could get to - including wethers (it obviously never registered that they were no threat to his harem). Because of this he had his own paddock. We continued to keep him in his own space since castrating him, to allow him time to settle down a bit.
So couple of days ago, we decided that it was time to integrate him into the larger herd and I went down and opened the gate. Jamma (one of our old wethers), came running up to the fence and an almighty spitting match ensured for a few minutes and I thought we might have to wait a while longer before putting Cappy in but I noticed he was moving away from the fence a bit more often than he would normally. This is a good sign (that he was a bit more hesitant to get physical with the other alpaca about it).
So I left the gate open and called Cappy through.
The other alpacas in the paddock (girls and wethers), just watched him as he wandered away on his own into a far corner of the paddock where he commenced to eat the grass.
Several hours later I noticed that there was still the main herd on one side of the paddock, and Cappy, all by himself on the other.
Yesterday, I came home from doing the groceries and noticed Jamma sitting all by himself in one corner of the paddock, the girls and other wethers in another part, and Cappy still off on his own (it's quite a a big paddock).
Mike told me that Cappy and Jamma had had a massive brawl and they were both coated green and stinking to high heaven (alpaca spit smells bad - no doubt about that). I had kinda figured that when I saw Jamma off on his own as he normally hangs out quite happily in the middle of the herd.
Male alpaca can sometimes cause each other big injuries when they fight over the females. Jamma has been a wether for years, so has no interest in mating - or fighting. They seem to have sorted it out though, as it's been very peaceful down there today.
Fingers crossed that Cappy will learn to get along with the others peacefully, as we need to find him a new home and would rather he live with other alpacas than on on his lonesome.... up to him though.
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