Agistees
January 28th 2008 01:46
We have some more visiting alpacas staying with us while their carer takes a break. Fifteen very lovely white and fawn alpacas, mostly girls and a couple of little boys.
We’re lucky here, we don’t overstock so usually we have too much pasture, rather than too little, as some owners are experiencing.
Our water situation is good too. We have a creek which runs for most of the year. It has just stopped running now and the little ponds along its course still have water but are getting lower.
We also have a large dam which is spring fed, so it has stayed full. We pump water from it up to a tank for watering the pacas and the vegie garden. (The rest of the garden just has to cope on its own. I refuse to use up precious water on ornamentals).
Anyway, our visitors are only here for a month so I’ve given them their own paddock. Long term agistees generally live with our alpacas but for such a short time, I think it’s better to keep the herds separate.
There are a couple of reasons for this. Alpacas have a pecking order and when you introduce new alpacas into a herd, they need to sort out who is at the top and where the other alpacas fit in below that. I feel it’s probably better not to make them go through all that, when the visitors aren’t staying for very long.
Also, at home, the visitors have been hand fed grains and hay because they have less pasture. It’s important not to change an alpaca’s diet too quickly. So to keep their digestive systems working properly, they’re getting a reducing amount of the grains and hay that they’re used to. This way they’ll still want to eat the grass, but when they go home it shouldn’t be a shock to their systems if they’re back onto mostly grains and hay.
The visitors have been spending most of their time down near the dam where the grass is still lush and green. (I hope they don’t get fat while they’re here – they’re not thin, but my alpacas look like they need Jenny Craig in comparison).
They’re all very lovely alpacas. I think a couple of the younger ones are particularly nice. There are always alpacas which you pick out as favourites in a herd. I will be drawn to a particular alpaca while someone else will like another one better, a third person will pick out a different alpaca again as their favourite.
Funny how this can happen in a herd of very similar looking animals. Shows they are all individuals just like us.
We’re lucky here, we don’t overstock so usually we have too much pasture, rather than too little, as some owners are experiencing.
Our water situation is good too. We have a creek which runs for most of the year. It has just stopped running now and the little ponds along its course still have water but are getting lower.
We also have a large dam which is spring fed, so it has stayed full. We pump water from it up to a tank for watering the pacas and the vegie garden. (The rest of the garden just has to cope on its own. I refuse to use up precious water on ornamentals).
Anyway, our visitors are only here for a month so I’ve given them their own paddock. Long term agistees generally live with our alpacas but for such a short time, I think it’s better to keep the herds separate.
Agisted alpacas down by the dam
There are a couple of reasons for this. Alpacas have a pecking order and when you introduce new alpacas into a herd, they need to sort out who is at the top and where the other alpacas fit in below that. I feel it’s probably better not to make them go through all that, when the visitors aren’t staying for very long.
Also, at home, the visitors have been hand fed grains and hay because they have less pasture. It’s important not to change an alpaca’s diet too quickly. So to keep their digestive systems working properly, they’re getting a reducing amount of the grains and hay that they’re used to. This way they’ll still want to eat the grass, but when they go home it shouldn’t be a shock to their systems if they’re back onto mostly grains and hay.
The visitors have been spending most of their time down near the dam where the grass is still lush and green. (I hope they don’t get fat while they’re here – they’re not thin, but my alpacas look like they need Jenny Craig in comparison).
They’re all very lovely alpacas. I think a couple of the younger ones are particularly nice. There are always alpacas which you pick out as favourites in a herd. I will be drawn to a particular alpaca while someone else will like another one better, a third person will pick out a different alpaca again as their favourite.
Funny how this can happen in a herd of very similar looking animals. Shows they are all individuals just like us.
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Comment by katyzzz
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Well done, as always, Rosemary.
Comment by AmyHuang
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Comment by Rosemary
Alpaca Notes - Tasmania
It is a nice spot down near the dam, very tranquil and quiet - except when people have the pump going that is
Comment by Rosemary
Alpaca Notes - Tasmania
Adult male alpacas get very upset if another male comes onto his patch. He has no problems with new girls, except the fact that he can't get to them.
The girls are pretty good, they're curious and like to come up to the fence and check out all the new comers.
Comment by Henni
It must be heaven, watching the antics of so many alpacas, Rosemary....
Comment by Rosemary
Alpaca Notes - Tasmania
Most of our place is drying out now too. Very depressing. The dam is under the trees so the area stays fairly cool and the springs underneath keep it nice and green there.
Just means I have to walk further to see the girls, though they usually come running back up when they see me (someone's trained them well!)
Cappy and Ol Bob are up the top, so they have water buckets. Bob likes to dip his toes in on warm days. Not sure what Cappy thinks of that.