Alpaca's Routine

The alpacas have a routine to their days that seldom varies. Every morning during the cold weather, they begin with a bucket of warm water, followed by their allotment of grain which is carefully measured out in yogurt cups. A breeding female receives a little more than one cupful in the morning as a way of supplementing the nutrients that are not available in the hay. We separate our girls so that we can monitor the amount of grain each animal eats.

Shortly thereafter, John arrives at the barn to deliver the hay. The animals leave the barn at this time while he helps with the daily cleaning. But, they are quick to return when he starts to give them chaff. They have learned to watch him and jostle to be in the right spot as he nears the gate.

After a lunch and errand run, we return to the barn for the afternoon portion of the day. When the "girls" hear the tractor's engine, they know that it won't be long before they are allowed to cross the gate into Kaboom's area to go roll in the b's (a fine stone dust) in his shed. John helps form a human gate to prevent the females and their crias from encroaching upon Kaboom, who is eating from his hay basket. There have been days when the little ones: Kimi and Sooleana, get frisky and try to stay and play instead of following their mothers out of the upper gate. This often energizes the entire group and they run around jumping and kicking in glee.

We can count on the females to use the poop pile around 2:45. This is helpful for fecal collections. They line up and take turns: mothers and crias ahead of our lone maiden female, Princess Nomian. John holds the bags to label and store for delivery to our vet. A good deworming program is important for healthy animals.

This time of year, our second grain feeding comes before dark. We often serve another pail of warm water too. As we head to the house, it's not surprising to see the alpacas "pronking" in preparation for the cold night. Pronking is a sort of pogo-stick- like jump that they do in order to warm their bodies.

Often in the light of the full moon, we can see the mothers and their crias lying outside...each facing a different direction while they chew their cuds: a peaceful ending to a very satisfying, routine day.