The 'motherly' type, senile or a dirty old man?
November 25th 2009 22:30
We have a small problem. Actually, I'm not sure that it is a problem, just something I haven't come across before and I guess the alpacas will sort it out themselves.
Ol' Bob is a wether. That's a male who has been castrated. Also known as a gelding in the horse world, or a capona to some alpaca people. Ol' Bob's approximately 20 years old. We don't know exactly how old he is. We got him nearly 13 years ago and the guy we bought him from said he was "about 8".
Anyway, Ol' Bob's always been a bit of an "auntie" around the crias and young alpacas, fussing about them like an old woman. These days, he usually hangs around in the boys paddock so doesn't have a whole lot to do with the babies.
We weaned this year's male crias off their mums a few months back and put the two of them in with Ol' Bob and the other boys. Since then, the little guys have been hanging around with Bob. He appeared not to mind having two extra shadows everywhere he went and as he's quite a laid back, placid kind of guy, we were hoping these traits would rub off onto the youngsters.
One day I noticed that one of the boys was trying to nurse from Ol' Bob and he was under there for quite a while. Normally, an older alpaca would kick the youngster away if they did that, but while Ol' Bob looked a bit surprised and uncomfortable about it, he didn't kick the boy away or spit at him, he just stood there, just as a mother would when nursing her cria.
I didn't think much of it at the time as I figured he'd sort it out, but then I started noticing both the young boys nursing from Ol' Bob and Ol' Bob looking quite pleased about it.
Now I'm not sure whether I should take the youngsters away from Ol' Bob or simply let them get on with it. Apart from this weird activity, all three alpacas seem healthy and well adjusted. I don't want to go anthropomorphizing, but it just doesn't seem right for an aged, castrated male to be letting two very young boys do that.
For now I think I'll give Ol' Bob the benefit of the doubt and assume he's just being the doting auntie and taking good care of his charges. If it keeps up for too long, I'll put the boys back in with their mums, they'll sort them out quick smart, with a massive spit to the back of the head.
Ol' Bob nursing two weanlings
Ol' Bob is a wether. That's a male who has been castrated. Also known as a gelding in the horse world, or a capona to some alpaca people. Ol' Bob's approximately 20 years old. We don't know exactly how old he is. We got him nearly 13 years ago and the guy we bought him from said he was "about 8".
Anyway, Ol' Bob's always been a bit of an "auntie" around the crias and young alpacas, fussing about them like an old woman. These days, he usually hangs around in the boys paddock so doesn't have a whole lot to do with the babies.
We weaned this year's male crias off their mums a few months back and put the two of them in with Ol' Bob and the other boys. Since then, the little guys have been hanging around with Bob. He appeared not to mind having two extra shadows everywhere he went and as he's quite a laid back, placid kind of guy, we were hoping these traits would rub off onto the youngsters.
One day I noticed that one of the boys was trying to nurse from Ol' Bob and he was under there for quite a while. Normally, an older alpaca would kick the youngster away if they did that, but while Ol' Bob looked a bit surprised and uncomfortable about it, he didn't kick the boy away or spit at him, he just stood there, just as a mother would when nursing her cria.
I didn't think much of it at the time as I figured he'd sort it out, but then I started noticing both the young boys nursing from Ol' Bob and Ol' Bob looking quite pleased about it.
Now I'm not sure whether I should take the youngsters away from Ol' Bob or simply let them get on with it. Apart from this weird activity, all three alpacas seem healthy and well adjusted. I don't want to go anthropomorphizing, but it just doesn't seem right for an aged, castrated male to be letting two very young boys do that.
For now I think I'll give Ol' Bob the benefit of the doubt and assume he's just being the doting auntie and taking good care of his charges. If it keeps up for too long, I'll put the boys back in with their mums, they'll sort them out quick smart, with a massive spit to the back of the head.
Ol' Auntie Bob
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