Most breeders we have spoken to have had the same story - they regret many of their early purchases. Some paid too much, some changed direction not long after purchase, some bought unhealthy animals that didn't last long, and others were just led down the wrong path for them. It is almost like a rite of passage for alpaca breeders, but believe it or not, it is not a compulsory part of a breeder's story.
The first thing to think about is what you want to breed. Choose a focus. Do you like huacayas? Do you like suris? Some people love the idea of breeding colours while others want to focus on the commercially superior white. Some are gluttons for punishment and choose black and grey. Whatever your fancy, it is important to have a plan in place.
Initial questions to contemplate:
1) How many animals can we comfortably keep? 2) What kind of animals do we want to breed? Pets? Show animals? 3) What breed do you like? What breed is best suited to your local environment? 4) Are we hoping to make money as a business? 5) What can you afford?
Many first time buyers simply fall in love with the first animals they see at the first farm they visit. We have spoken to breeders who came home with a white and a colour, a huacaya and a suri. Then they looked at the paddock and thought, "What were we thinking?" In fact, we are not above reproach here. The first Shahrizai purchase was a huacaya stud male. The second purchase was a pregnant suri female. The evolving business plan would take many more turns, and several regrets would soon appear. Most successful breeders have a focus - those who do many things will have a specialty. Those without focus generally flounder. When you are making your first purchase of breeding animals, if the breeder is trying to sell you two huacayas and two suris that are all different colours, you may need to look elsewhere.
The next good idea is to visit a lot of farms. Don't buy at your first stop. See farms, the setups, the stud males, the cria, and ask the breeders as many questions as you can. Even if you feel very comfortable at a farm, you should still see others. You can always go back to your first stop and buy there in the end. Your local breeder should want you to see other farms. If they discourage it, you should worry. And likewise, if they beign to pressure you with the urgency of deciding, more worry is necessary.
When you are ready to buy, make sure you are buying healthy stock. Ask for health declarations from the breeder. If you are spending more than $1500, it is not out of the question to request a health certificate from a vet. Many times, you may have to incur this expense, but it is good to be certain you are taking home an animal that is in good health. Too many times new breeders are saddled with unhealthy animals and they end up learning terribly painful lessons. Make sure your animal has proper conformation. Check to make sure its teeth line up with the dental pad. Look at its legs to see they are straight. Feel its backline and check its bodyscore. Is it too skinny? Is it too fat? Ask for the breeder's health record for that animal - have there ever been any problems that you need to know about? Don't be afraid to ask these questions!
If you are buying females for breeding, find out their birthing histories. Have they had previous bubs, and if so, how were the births? Do they fall pregnant easily? Have they fed their cria well? Don't be afraid of buying a maiden, just be aware that they may require a closer eye at birthing time. But there is no sense in buying a girl who doesn't birth easily or can't feed their bubs well. It will potentially end in disappointment. If you are buying pregnant girls, check that they are pregnant to a male who fits into your breeding plan. Make sure you are comfortable with the mating, and that the male and female aren't too closely related. Aim for a wide genetic base, and if you have a chance to choose the matings for the girls, find out as much as you can about the male or males on offer. And don't forget to get a live-cria guarantee!
If you are deciding on a purchase based on show results, don't be so easily fooled by ribbons. New breeders many times don't know that a second place ribbon may have been awarded when it was the only animal in the ring. There may even be animals at colourbration shows that are dubbed "supreme (insert colour here)" when the ribbon would more accurately read "only (insert colour here)." Look for animals awarded consistently and in competitive classes.
Your first purchase does not have to fall into the "live and learn" category. Do your homework, visit many farms, and have a plan.
Keeping Your Animals Healthy
Australia, and Queensland in particular may seem like a strange destination for an animal that comes from a high-altitude, dry climate like those in South America, the native home to alpaca. And sure enough, Queenslanders face a number of issues that make raising alpacas feel very difficult at times. However, they are remarkably strong and hearty, and they will be very healthy if cared for properly.
The biggest obstacles that Queensland breeders face are worms, most notably Barber's Pole Worm, and paralysis tick. A great percentage of our vet bills and heartache come from one of these two parasites. We believe that the best way to fight these parasites is through careful planning and discipline in your prevention regimes.
Worms
It is our opinion that preventing worm infestions in your alpacas is far more simple than people make it out to be. There are very elaborate worming plans and many may work for individual breeders. But we have spoken to people who have been breeding for years and are still confused about worm prevention, detection and treatment. To us, it is very simple.
1) Don't overstock your paddocks 2) On smaller paddocks, keep the poo picked up, and 3) Maintain a proper drenching and rotation scheme.
Animals will expel worm larvae in their feces in various places throughout your paddocks. When there are too many animals on a paddock, or when the piles are not collected regularly, they are forced to eat near these poo piles, and as a result, they will take in these larvae. Once inside, these larvae will grow, and it won't be long until they are full-fledged worms - worms that are sucking the life out of your alpaca. Having too many animals on your paddock will do a number of things. They will make the poo harder to collect. They will create an environment where it is impossible not to be eating the grass very near poo piles. And almost certainly, they will ruin your paddock rotation scheme.
A proper rotation and drenching scheme will include a number of components. First, you must have enough paddocks that for each group of animals on your farm, there are two designated paddocks - one that is resting and one that is being used. For example, if your farm requires a paddock for your females and one for your males, you will need four paddocks in total. At all times, there should be two that are clear of alpacas. However, a working alpaca farm, even a small one, will need many more paddocks. Many breeders employ a maternity paddock. This is a paddock close to the house where breeders can easily keep an eye on girls who may be due in the near future. You will need two of those if you so choose. And what happens when you need to wean cria? They can't go in the boys' paddock, and you will find that there has to be a place where they can't see mum. So now you need two weanling paddocks, two maternity paddocks, two boys paddocks, and two paddocks for the main mob of females. That's eight now. And heaven forbid your stud male starts to get too rough on the other boys and you need to get him his own paddock. And let's hope you don't need a designated show paddock. That would be twelve. Clearly, on small acreage, you have now cut up your farm into tiny holding yards!
The reason to leave a paddock empty is so that the larvae will have ample time to die when they don't find a new host. In Queensland, where most of us get very few frosts, these parasites can live in your warm, wet paddocks for months. Advice from our vets and people in the know say that these larvae can live up to four months in the paddock without a host. When you have rested your paddock properly, you can be assured that once you drench and move your herd back into that rested paddock, they are moving into a worm-free environment. The mistake many make is that they drench their animals and then put them into a paddock where they simply re-injest the larvae and in three weeks time, they are again riddled with worms.
The simple process is:
DRENCH AND MOVE
Then, once the animals are moved out of Paddock A, no other alpacas (or goats or sheep or cows) so much as touch that paddock for 3 to 4 months. After 3 or 4 months,
DRENCH AND MOVE
There is some confusion also about what drenching product to use. In the southern states, they can use cydectin injectable against worms. Because Queenslanders have been forced to use Cydectin as protection from paralysis ticks, it isn't the ideal wormer. We have been very happy with Q-Drench and Zolvix. But there are several others. Consult your vet for the best option for you, but be sure the product you choose does Barber's Pole.
The difficulty, as with many health issues in farm animals, is detecting when there may be a problem. Because alpacas do not actually tell you they are sick, and because they try everything to hide that fact, it becomes important that you are "hands-on" with your herd, both literally and figuratively. When you have your animals in for any husbandry work, it is important to feel their backs, or, if you have the capability, weigh them. The biggest sign of a worm burden will be a dramatic weight loss. When animals are in full fleece, especially huacayas, that weight loss is difficult to detect. Running your hand down their back is an easy and very good indicator. There are many good articles online about bodyscoring your alpaca. You can also check the colour of your animal's membranes. The gums and the membranes around the eyes should be a nice pink colour. A pale colour would indicate aenemia, a common sign of worms.
It is also possible to detect health issues by being very in tune with your herd. Watch them and learn their patterns and personalities. When you have done this, you will find that you can easily detect when one of the herd is not him or herself. If Belle is usually first to the afternoon feed, and suddenly she is not so keen, perhaps she is telling you something. Observation and getting "hands-on" can be a very effective diagnosis plan.
When battling worms in alpaca, it is very important that you have an action plan for your farm and that you stay disciplined. Please keep in mind that this is advice based on our experience and the information we have collected from vets and other breeders. We believe that proper numbers and a disciplined rotation scheme are the keys to avoiding sickness and death from internal worms. If you would like to discuss our worm management, feel free to ring or email.