Marco’s new herd mates
May 21st 2008 04:16
I’ve weaned Marco from his mum now. I put him in with Jamma and Rainy, Jamma’s an old wether (12 years I think from memory) and Rainy’s just coming up to 2 years old.
Jamma and Rainy are both pretty easy going boys and when I put Marco in the paddock they ran up to check out the newcomer.
As they came up, Marco immediately adopted the submissive pose – tail up, head and shoulders way down, making himself as small as possible. This is typical behaviour of a young alpaca. It’s showing the bigger, older boys that he’s only a small, lowly alpaca, no threat to them.
The boys sniffed about and checked him out. Rainy went for a bit of a run around, I think hoping to get Marco to join in, but Marco just ran away, then crept around still with his head down. Jamma and Rainy lost interest pretty soon and went back to doing what pacas do – eating grass.
When weaning alpacas, it’s best if you can put the mum and cria where they can’t see each other. Trying to wean across a single fence can be problematic because the cria will try to get back to his mum through the fence which is not a good idea. There have been cases of crias nursing from their mum through a fence.
Marco did crash through one fence. It’s only a plain five strand wire fence, so easy enough for the small (or just determined) ones to go through. His mum wasn’t in that paddock though, because I moved her and the other girls away where he wouldn’t be able to see her.
When he went through the fence, I put him back with the boys, but he went through it again, so I decided just to leave the gate open for the time being. I didn’t want him going through the fence in case he got stuck in it. I also don’t want to give him the idea that he can go through fences whenever he pleases either.
Marco wandered about on his own, looking for his mum for a few days, going down (through the gate) to where Jamma and Rainy were and coming back on his own. Eventually, he got over the urge to nurse and accepted that his mum wasn’t anywhere near by. He went and joined the boys and stayed there, so I closed the gate. He hasn’t been through the fence since.
It feels sad to separate the mums and crias, but in an uncontrolled herd the young boys get pushed out of the herd anyway, either by their mums or by a dominant male (most likely the boys' dad).
His mum didn’t seem to care one bit that Marco was gone, It’s as though she just forgot all about him. If a cria is taken away too young (either deliberately or if the cria dies), the mum will look for her cria, so, because Marco’s mum didn’t bother to look for him, that’s a good indicator to me that he was ready to be weaned.
Marco’s sticking with the boys now and is looking quite content in his new surroundings. I've put Marco up for sale so he'll be moving house again when someone buys him. At least he's off his mum now, so it won't be traumatic for him.
Alpacas - Jamma, Rainy & Marco
Jamma and Rainy are both pretty easy going boys and when I put Marco in the paddock they ran up to check out the newcomer.
As they came up, Marco immediately adopted the submissive pose – tail up, head and shoulders way down, making himself as small as possible. This is typical behaviour of a young alpaca. It’s showing the bigger, older boys that he’s only a small, lowly alpaca, no threat to them.
The boys sniffed about and checked him out. Rainy went for a bit of a run around, I think hoping to get Marco to join in, but Marco just ran away, then crept around still with his head down. Jamma and Rainy lost interest pretty soon and went back to doing what pacas do – eating grass.
When weaning alpacas, it’s best if you can put the mum and cria where they can’t see each other. Trying to wean across a single fence can be problematic because the cria will try to get back to his mum through the fence which is not a good idea. There have been cases of crias nursing from their mum through a fence.
Marco did crash through one fence. It’s only a plain five strand wire fence, so easy enough for the small (or just determined) ones to go through. His mum wasn’t in that paddock though, because I moved her and the other girls away where he wouldn’t be able to see her.
When he went through the fence, I put him back with the boys, but he went through it again, so I decided just to leave the gate open for the time being. I didn’t want him going through the fence in case he got stuck in it. I also don’t want to give him the idea that he can go through fences whenever he pleases either.
Marco wandered about on his own, looking for his mum for a few days, going down (through the gate) to where Jamma and Rainy were and coming back on his own. Eventually, he got over the urge to nurse and accepted that his mum wasn’t anywhere near by. He went and joined the boys and stayed there, so I closed the gate. He hasn’t been through the fence since.
It feels sad to separate the mums and crias, but in an uncontrolled herd the young boys get pushed out of the herd anyway, either by their mums or by a dominant male (most likely the boys' dad).
His mum didn’t seem to care one bit that Marco was gone, It’s as though she just forgot all about him. If a cria is taken away too young (either deliberately or if the cria dies), the mum will look for her cria, so, because Marco’s mum didn’t bother to look for him, that’s a good indicator to me that he was ready to be weaned.
Marco’s sticking with the boys now and is looking quite content in his new surroundings. I've put Marco up for sale so he'll be moving house again when someone buys him. At least he's off his mum now, so it won't be traumatic for him.
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Comment by katyzzz
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MS Paint Art
Comment by Ann D
I enjoy your posts -- they are just the right length and always informational. We have agisted alpacas for 3 years and just recently moved to our farm,. Now most of our herd is here, too.
Tending them full-time is all brand new to us, and reading your notes is quite helpful. I subscribed to your blog several weeks ago. Weaning will come up for us in a few months.
I discovered you by following a link from Silver Sun Alpacas, whose logo is in your sidebar. They are friends of ours and helped me to come up with a list of needed supplies and suppliers. We have traded breedings, so our alpacas have family ties, but we now live in different states.
We are truly benefiting from the supportive aspects of the alpaca community, even folks like you half a world away with common experiences and passion for these creatures. Thanks for sharing with us all!
Comment by Rosemary
Alpaca Notes - Tasmania
It's hard to get good photos this time of year, specially with darker animals. It's getting colder now so I can't wait too long for them to move into position.
Just a coincidence that all 3 boys are a similar colour. They'll have little Donald joining them soon, so he'll break up the brown a bit.
Comment by Rosemary
Alpaca Notes - Tasmania
Welcome to the wonderful world of alpacas.
I'm pleased you're enjoying my blog. I've found caring for alpacas has been a fascinating journey.
It's been mostly fun, but sometimes sad and occasionally very annoying too.
Your alpacas will certainly teach you a lot about yourself, and also how to see the world from another point of view.
Have fun!