QuarterHouse Alpacas
October 08
It’s hard to believe it’s only a month since the last diary entry, now that we’re so clearly into Autumn. The Open Day at Hawkhurst, was a runaway success with more than 500 people coming to see the animals, follow the Alpaca Walk and ask lots of questions from the local breeders and owners manning the stalls and running the event. Also high up on the ‘event’ list was our talk to the Wittersham W.I. who were a very appreciative and interested audience, and very patient when our laptop picture show decided to go wrong just as we were starting. Everyone seemed to enjoy it nonetheless, and we certainly enjoyed getting the chance to talk to a captive audience on our favourite subject.
The cria are all doing well and gaining weight steadily. Our tactic of letting the herd move onto the new field a little at a time (using an electric fence) seems to have worked well, and there have been no more upset tums. As well as all the new grass, they are all eating a bit more hay now, and this will increase through the Winter. Unlike some alpaca farmers, we provide hay throughout the year, and it gets eaten at various times during the day. We believe that the Alpacas need some coarser fibre to mix with the fresh grass to keep the right balance of fermentation going in their 3 stomach compartments. They certainly love new hay whenever we put it out, and even turning the old stuff usually causes a rush to the feeder.
Once all of the cria are old enough, it’s time for the annual vaccinations; always a challenge with the new cria. The other process that starts now is the monthly feeding of a vitamin supplement (A, D, E, B) in the form of a gel which is squirted into the mouth. This is particularly important for the dark-coloured Alpacas for some reason, partly because they don’t get the sort of brilliant sunshine here that they do in the High Andes where they originate. As most of our animals are various shades of brown or black, this is very important for our herd. Having said that, this Autumn has been unusually sunny, and particularly colourful as well this year, which is producing a spectacular show of Autumn colour in our large Liquidambar (Sweet Gum). The leaves all change colour at different rates, so they range from fresh bright green through every conceivable shade of purple, red, orange and yellow all at the same time. No doubt there are lots of other favourite Autumn trees but this one takes a lot of beating. The Alpacas of course are happy to eat whatever leaves they can reach, regardless of colour, and they were also enjoying a few windfall apples each day until we spotted a bit more scouring. Now that that’s cleared up perhaps we’ll try again as they certainly love them. Only having front teeth on their lower jaw they have some trouble with whole apples, so we cut them up first; nothing’s too much trouble for our herd.