Alpacas: Herd Management

Is anyone acting unusual? Is one animal moving slower than normal? Do you see someone lying down in an awkward position? Is a cria looking droopy? Behavior is the number one factor in detecting a possible health problem. Visit your herd every day, even if briefly, to take a comprehensive look and get a reading on each alpaca. Get to know your alpacas!

Monthly Herd Management: We schedule it on the beginning of each month. Each animal is evaluated by the following:

	weight:	major loss or gain
	body score:	too thin or too fat
	eyes:	weepy or clear
	nose:	discharge or dry
	teeth:	length, retained
	gums:	inflammation, color
	jaw:	alignment, bite
	toenails:	length, shape
	foot pads:	healthy
	fighting teeth:	males trimmed

Medications:

	Vaccinations:	We follow Dr. Evans protocol for CDT vaccine. Crias 2cc at 4 weeks, 8 weeks, 6 months, 1 year. Adults 2cc yearly. Dams are vaccinated after each birthing, males every spring.
	Worming:	We worm every spring and every fall. Worms are not a major problem in Utah where it's very dry.
	Vitamins:	We receive a lot of sun, so we supplement with Vitamin ADEB12 during the winter months of Oct, Dec, and Feb.

Fecals: We rotate monthly fecal samples to monitor parasitic growth and treat when necessary.

Pregnant Females: We basically do not bother these girls the first three and last three months of their pregnancy. We do a pregtone test at 6 weeks to ensure the pregnancy is still viable, and we continue the pregtone testing every month through 6 months of fetal age. After the cria is born, we wait one week to do herd management on the dam and get all her vaccinations & meds up to date. We call it "PPP" or Post Partum Procedures.

Newborn Crias: At birth we towel dry, spray navel with iodine, take temperature, assess overall health. We orally administer 3cc of Bar-guard 99 for the e-coli parasite.

If the cria is not very active, we give it Pedialyte to hydrate its system and to help it want to nurse. If its temperature is low (below 99 degrees), we may use a hair dryer, place the cria in sunshine, or move it with the mom to the warm shed.

If the birth was difficult, we administer Banamine (for pain) to the mom. If it's a first time mom, we administer Oxytocin to help with milk let down as well as to help drop the placenta.

If the mom allows, we will physically help the cria to nurse. Generally, the cria will nurse on its own. The placenta should drop within the first hour of birth. After the cria is several hours old, we give it an enema to make sure the meconium stool is passed.

The first day, we spray the naval several more times. The first week, we weigh the cria daily and then weekly afterwards. It is typical for the cria to lose a little weight the first day after birth, but it should be gaining steadily afterwards.

Make sure you take a neonatal class to help you become secure in assisting with birthing procedures and difficult births.

Record Keeping: We use AlpacaEase software program to keep detailed records on every alpaca. We also keep a hard copy of all health administrations, which usually entails recording the procedure on the calendar.