Little Bear Creek Alpacas

Well, after putting Blue, our deaf blue-eyed white in with the big boys again, there was nothing but constant screeming and fighting. That was it. Two days ago the vet came and gelded him. I hope this does the trick. He is a beautiful fiber boy but not for breeding. Several months have passed and Blue is in with the mature males. After a short while of Bandit showing him who is boss, they are finally all getting along.

Another Day in the Life of an Alpaca Farm: Just got done giving Chopper his last dose of medicine for Meningeal worm( a five day routine). He had Meningeal worm last spring and we took him to Ohio State University Large Animal Veterinary Clinic in Columbus, Ohio. He was presenting with posturing over the poop pile pretty much all day. At first we thought he had a kidney stone and could not pee but after the 5 hour ride in the back of my Prius, he peed all over the pavement ...as soon as we got him out of the vehicle. After he was examined by the team on call, we were told that they have been seeing alpacas present with meningeal worm this way lately, so we treated him for Meningeal worm. In addition, we treated him for kidney stones just in case. By the third day of treatment he was no longer hanging over the poop pile. My take on this is that the nerves being affected had to do with passing his stool and that’s why he kept hanging over the pile. This time when he started to posture over the poop pile, we started him immediately on the medication treatment for Meningeal worm. Again, by day three of the treatment he stopped hanging over the pile. Today, he and his buddies, Guinness and PeeWee were returned to the pasture. Just in time for the big storm which came and flipped over their shelter! Never a dull moment.

Another Alpaca Adventure Bandit who is our beautiful multicolored male decided that the four young males in the pasture next to him were in need of a lesson on who is boss. For days he ran up and down the fence line with the four younger alpacas on the other side running with him. Then one day he went through the electric fence to be with the young boys. He picked a fight with Blue, our deaf blue eyed white male who at age two is as big as the 4-5 yeas olds. Now Bandit is in his own area with no climb fencing all around him and Blue got moved in with the big boys because he was beating up on one of the smaller of his pasture mates. There was a little roustabout going on for a few days but now they are all good.

Alpaca Farmer Journal: Have been spraying for Canadian Thistle. It’s quite prolific and has really spread in the pastures. Moved several shelters and animals to better pasture. Had to isolate Bandit as he breached the electric fence to attack younger males. Had to move our deaf BEW in with the older boys as he is huge for a two year old and more mature than the other two year olds which is why he was being too rough with the other two year olds.... All animals look great with body score. Bred 8 females in the past two weeks. See more