This tells me they trust us, feel comfortable with their new farm, and theyve settled into the herd hierarchy. Alpacas can watch and react to facial expressions of humans. . The alpaca neonate . The vet seems to think it has something to do with dominance as it seems the more dominant girls mount the less dominant ones. I dont think either alpaca was being overly aggressive, but there is a fine line between play and male dominance. Whatever you want to call it, though, its a problem. I spend several hours a day with them in the barn (doing feeding and other chores) Hi There! I wouldnt do this with a mature breeding male, but I always do it with my females. Alpacas originate from the vicua, which is a South American camelid. 3. Alpacas need a herd. Sergio Amiti / Getty Images. They Leaving Alpacas Out In The Rain: What You Need to Know. I literally taught our adult alpacas no maam without even trying to do it, which makes me think I could have trained them for so much more if I was paying better attention. And, as you consider adding them to your menagerie, make sure you find and work with a reputable breeder. This may include fighting with other alpacas, biting, or kicking. Poor Libido: Failure to Reproduce: Refusal to Nurse: Stereotypic Behaviors. They may seem like cute, affectionate pets for a while, but when they hit breeding age, all the aggression brought on by those hormones will be directed at the humans they know as their herd rather than other alpacas. When an alpaca performs the flehmen behaviour, they are simply collecting data points on the herd. This is normal in play fights or in displays of dominance (usually breeding related) with other alpacas. We found this belief to be overly accurate as we grew our own herd. . Ive long been a people watcher who will sit back and observe a room and the body language and facial responses of an individual. It is only when this happens that you will be able to fully understand alpaca behavior and better see how your actions can influence it in a positive or negative manner. read my article about how alpacas protect lambs and sheep, way to thoroughly retrain your aggressive alpaca, the dos and donts of alpaca grooming by clicking here, This is the Right Way to Approach and Interact with Alpacas, Read my practical guide to how many alpacas you should get. You also need to remember that even though they can tell one human from another, your interaction influences their perception of all humans. Wilton, CA Right now I have three female goats and two intact male llamas. Ariana is still my favorite and we have a strong connection with each other. In fact, if an alpaca displays any threatening behavior towards a human, then thats a huge red flag that theres a problem. Attie now eagerly interacts and makes eye contact with me, while Ginger is warming more day by day. So much so that someone fell in love with her a few months later, took her home, and immediately had her close, eating out of her hand, and eagerly interacting. If you want to read about how fierce of a guard these gentle creatures can be, youll want to read my article about how alpacas protect lambs and sheep or my other article about how safe they are from coyotes. Petting zoos are a common source of too-aggressive alpacas (that have to be culled). This meant I needed to reinforce their sense of security, without disrupting the group dynamic and the natural alpaca behavior that is set in place by the fact that these are livestock animals that have a herd mentality and a social hierarchy in place. Elementary is the little guys aged one and under. Its far safer to get 2-3 or more alpacas, though. Another example is Vin. Female alpacas can only have one cria a year and I swear they know this and the strong desire to breed is just hardwired to ensure the survival of the species. Kalista was always trying to move into her position, but she didnt have the personality passed onto her from Micay so she was no match for Ariana. How Many Alpacas Should You get? Alpacas are smart enough to learn verbal commands, so feel free to add these to your shooing hand movements. Ours seem to do it pretty regularly complete with orgling! As long as nothing disturbs the peace, theyll graze and meander all day. Having trained many animals before I took on the challenge. Males also hum to females they are courting. But I do pay close attention to a persons character and demeanor. There is no golden rule for managing alpaca behavior. Alpacas can get aggressive, yes. 5 They hum softly . Thats normal behavior. Alpacas, when upset, can spit but usually this mainly occurs when a non-receptive female is warning an amorous . These behaviors should all be strongly discouraged. . Rubbing, Leaning, or Sticking a Nose in Your Space. At arrival, I could not get Attie or her daughter Ginger to make eye contact with me or be physically anywhere close to me. We went to visit them on a cold winter day and we promptly said yes to the adoptions. Do you have any experience or advice on what I can do to discourage / stop this behavior. They play fight and goof around like teenage humans, but they also leave out all the drama teenage girls can bring. That is a tough one, especially since separation isnt a real option. Spitting should be a rare occurrence. To make matters worse, if you spend time visiting alpaca farms and ask each breeder the same question, youll most likely receive different answers each and every time. Another unusual thing about alpaca breeding is that they tend to mate in a prone (cush) position. While kicking can be a normal reaction to a minor, too-close annoyance (or a predator) or a play-fighting tool, alpacas shouldnt be trigger-happy kickers. These alphas will warn the others of danger and will become particularly agitated if separated from the herd. Without even realizing it, I taught them the words no maam and my mom look. Female juveniles will be ready to mate at 12 to 15 months. They had 5 males (intact) and 2 females. I hosed them yesterday and they loved it .. is this healthy for them ? Im hoping that he is not going down that path. But I can influence how they interact with us and our herd. We soon found out their alpacas are just as chill. Its totally normal. Thanks! All of this maneuvering produced disagreements and spitting. Im planning on having an alpaca herd some day and want to mainly focus on tourism and healing with the alpacas. The earliest stages of aggression are simply poor behaviors that have been ingrained and need to be retrained. I do not believe gelding the boys will change the situation. Sometimes, even with the most amazing preparation, an alpaca will still learn some aggressive behavior. He commands all the attention of the ladies and everyone wants to breed him. That said, when our breeder males have been around the females, I would not consider doing so, as their behavior is greatly influenced by the breeding process and hormones. Instead, offer your alpaca a treat. Petting takes much longer to obtain than hand feeding. But well go into that in a bit. She and her husband Jason left the suburban life of metro Detroit, sold everything they owned, and moved north to start an alpaca farm in 2018. And the more you know and understand, the more you can shift this to produce more desirable behavior within the barn and pasture. Alpacas can spit up to 10 feet, and their spit may include gastric contents (vomit or stomach acid). Males can get aggressive and sometimes fight other alpaca males. How should the caregiver respond if it happens again? The alpacas live in the humid and wet ecology of the North and West Altiplano, while the llamas are found in the cold, dry East and South. Llamas can weigh approximately between 280 pounds (127 kilograms) and 450 pounds (204 kilograms). Some alpacas enjoy being pet and others just dont. In that case, its a sign that resource access needs to be addressed. Dont attempt to touch the top of the head. Yes, you can keep a few alpacas as pets, but make no mistake, they are livestock and they have a purpose well beyond cute companions. Below are my ten tips for encouraging positive alpaca behavior, building a strong bond, and making the most of your alpaca relationship: As with anything in life, the alpaca behavior you experience is typically comparable to the level of effort you put into your alpaca herd. In a farm setting, this will alert the humans, guard dogs, and other animals that a problem is approaching and everyone should be on alert. Sure, theyll defend themselves (and their herd adopted or actual) from small predators. He said while they were normally fairly gentle animals, aggression was not unheard of. Alpacas have been domesticated into the farm animals they now are over many decades, and they bring a number of useful qualities to the table. Based on my research, even the best alpaca owners may accidentally get kicked on rare occasions. However, this behavior should not be encouraged by humans (doing so can cause them to learn abnormal, aggressive behaviors).SpittingThis can be the first line of defense for some alpacas. The skittish alpacas will just need time. If she senses danger she will hum. After four months, the wethered male was able to come home, albeit as a wholly reformed and well-mannered alpaca. Screeching - A screeching alpaca is an angry male alpaca who is actively engaged in a fight over dominance or territory. Be proactive in teaching good alpaca manners. The alpaca has a much smaller face and ears than the llama, and sports shaggy, soft wool in a variety of colors like black, brown, white, and tan. This was their primary purpose and why they are referred to as producing the fiber of the gods. In addition to producing high-quality, hypoallergenic fiber, alpacas also produce offspring, hides, poop, and meat for sale. Do you know of any places that have disabled alpacas? The happier your herd is, the easier time youll have breeding them, keeping them physically healthy, producing high-quality fiber, and selling the alpacas or products to others. She was super pleasant and sweet, but the bottom line was she cared about nothing else beyond her next meal. Melissa Id suggest heading to a local alpaca show, the 4-H fair, and then reach out to the local alpaca association for your area. This is a posture expressing that no domination attempts will be made. Its totally normal. Pregnant females will give off a different sent in their urine than an unpregnant female. I am Christina, living in Switzerland. Micay is Arianas mother and Adels great-grandmother. Their alpaca behavior was securely in place and their group dynamic was very firm. We wanted to show what he does. We are concerned about Fleury showing the beginnings of aggressive behaviour. Im a Michigan native. If you would like to change your settings or withdraw consent at any time, the link to do so is in our privacy policy accessible from our home page.. This and other dominance behaviors can be bad manners in general, or in severe cases, can indicate a real problem with males called Berserk Male Syndrome.. Also, you mentioned that gelded males should not be housed with females, will they still try to mount them even if theyre gelded? They were bred to produce high-quality fiber for the rich and wealthy. A tail held erect could mean a variety of things from submission to a challenge for dominance. All three instances were in a few weeks time and all of them were due to me being in the way. This means that when they mate, ovulation is triggered. A few things to remember about interacting with alpacas is they have long-term memories. For alpacas that are already charging and trying to knock you over, you may try pulling your knee up to your chest so that they hit that and feel more discomfort with it than they would just hitting your chest. Continue with Recommended Cookies. This is how alpacas greet each other (or other members of their herd). But go read this next (and before you buy an alpaca). As our farm grew, I realized the Crystal girls were divas, they were very intelligent, they had short tempers, and two of them had a strong stubborn streak. The next point of confusion involves alpaca herds and the need for maintaining this balance. if(typeof ez_ad_units != 'undefined'){ez_ad_units.push([[728,90],'savvyfarmlife_com-medrectangle-3','ezslot_5',121,'0','0'])};__ez_fad_position('div-gpt-ad-savvyfarmlife_com-medrectangle-3-0'); If you let an alpaca bump into you and you tolerate other rude behaviors, it will take that as submission from you and strive to rise above you in the herd hierarchy. Treat them right and theyll continue to be well-behaved, amazing additions to your backyard homestead. What I do know if my alpaca girls are affected by the change in hormones and we can see this by the dramatic shift in some of their behavior. You can tell if the female is receptive or not because if . The llamas are not aggressive at all (except to dogs and predators). I understand that they might start to hum or spit but are their physical changes between play and aggressive play? He has a very docile character compared to the other youngster he was introduced with, who is extremely boisterous and headstrong! Hello! CLINICAL FINDINGS The clinical signs of aggression progressed to include biting at other animals as well as disorientation. You can avoid this by making sure they are not housed with the females. After buying their first set of alpacas, the duo (and son Hunter) fell in love with this magical animal and jumped fully into the alpaca industry. Weve been to six alpaca farms this year and everyone has different views and opinions on managing and raising alpacas. I really enjoyed your article and also the comments and questions. All herds need an alpha and I never interfere with this social hierarchy and interaction. Im not sure if this is because she is an old pro at it or if she is not affected by the hormone change as much as the others. 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