Alpacas are fairly easy to take care of. Caring for alpacas therefore sounds fairly easy, but there are still some aspects you should check on a daily or even annual basis. In this blog, we will help you keep a good eye on your animals so you know what is needed to take good care of your alpaca.

Daily care

There are a few standard points you should adhere to in grooming:

• Provide the required amount of concentrates and unlimited roughage daily
• Provide plenty of fresh and clean drinking water daily
• Remove manure from the pasture and/or stable regularly
• Check the condition/health of the alpacas daily
• Eyes should be lively and clear
• Manure should have a nice consistency and cohesion
• Wool should have a nice texture and be soft

Note: Hard wool can indicate insufficient absorption of nutrients.

Annual check

Annually, it is important to give your alpacas a maintenance check. Taking care of your alpacas with an annual check can be done by a specialist or you can take training courses to be able to do it yourself. During the annual turn, the following things happen:

• Nail trimming
• Wool shaving (this prevents myiasis, or flies laying eggs/larvae/eggs in the wool)
• Check overall condition (weight, mange, ticks)
• Check teeth

Handling alpacas

To ensure that alpacas are easy to handle for life, it is a good idea to start working in hand at an early age, such as:

• Putting on halter
• Walking on the lead
• Entering the stable
• Checking and treating the nails
• Catching the alpaca

Caution! Young males should not become too intrusive or show attention-seeking behaviour such as pushing against you and/or sniffing extensively, as this might lead to dangerous situations later in life.

Information and tips

All this takes time and patience. Thanks to training, you will slowly gain the alpacas’ trust, but make sure you always approach them calmly. Do you have any questions about this or would you like more tips on caring for alpacas? Then get in touch at advies@garvo.nl or call 0313-472321.