Our herd at Kindred Spirits Ranch presently lives in four large paddocks, divided by a long center isle. Alpaca safety dictates that these paddocks be protected by high quality fencing and gates. The question is, how do we allow our Great Pyrenees guardian dogs access to all of the paddock areas while keeping the alpacas contained?

The answer has turned out to be dog doors in the fences. The doors I constructed are made of soft steel and welded together. Strong wood would do, but in any case, the door frame must be driven into the ground quite securely. I have five or six heavy chains hanging from the top of the door. This discourages alpacas from using the doors but does not even slow down a 140 lb Pyr. They must be strong, as the Pyrs hit them at a full run. The doors are only 20 inches high and 18 to 20 inches in width.

My older, experienced, male Pyr took about 10 minutes to become completely comfortable with their use. Our Pyr puppy immediately discovered that the doors were a shortcut to getting into more trouble and never hesitated to use them. We did have one cria, separated from her mother for weaning follow a dog through the door and we did need to block the door for a short time. Male alpacas living only a fence line away never did use the doors for a “date.” Alpacas will stick their heads through the doors to eat grass on the other side, but have not passed through the door to dine. See the photos for details.

Ed Downs
Kindred Spirits Ranch

Preparing for the Aged Llama

Karen I. Timm D.V.M., Ph.D.
Bradford B. Smith D.V.M., Ph.D.
College of Veterinary Medicine, Oregon State University

Just as preparation for birthing begins before a female is bred, preparation for aging begins with proper selection of a llama and continues throughout the animal’s life. The goals of caring for an aging llama are to maintain health, comfort and reproduction for as many years as possible. Beginning with an animal that is healthy, with no obvious problems, is an excellent start.

By selecting a llama with good conformation, you’ll have a greater chance that the animal will remain sound as it ages as compared to an animal with obvious conformational defects such as crooked legs. See the article, “The whys and what-for of leg conformation,” in the Winter-Spring 1998 Alpaca Registry Journal. Crooked legs do not provide the optimal biomechanical column of support for the animal. The unusual forces acting on the joint tissues of a crooked leg tend to cause constant pulling and stretching of the tendons, ligaments and joint capsules supporting the joint. In time, the body responds with increased tissue production in the ligaments, joint capsules and bone; these are the enlarged joints of old age. The result is arthritis, pain, and lameness. Some have questioned why importation screening criteria focused so heavily on leg conformation. Firstly, there was concern that poor leg structure might be heritable and passed on to future generations. Secondly, and of equal concern, was the likelihood that animals imported with crooked legs would be more likely to have joint problems as they aged.

Fitness and optimal body condition is as important in the llama as it is in the human. Exercise is good for any species; it maintains good bone, tendon, muscle and ligament strength as well as helping with weight management. With a consistent exercise program, bones, tendons and ligaments strengthen along with muscles. Does this conjure up images of llamas on treadmills? That’s not really what we’re encouraging, but consider the llama’s natural environment. In their natural environment, llamas move to pasture daily, move around to graze and then move back from pasture to shelter at night. Moreover, some of them go for miles to get to their pastures. And this is only the animals that are not working. Those animals that are working are packing loads, at times for many miles. If your pastures are designed so that your animals can move around, especially up and down some hills, they will at least get some exercise. This is certainly preferable to the llama that just hangs out waiting for the next serving from the pizza bar. The fat animal of any age is more likely to break down, especially at the fetlocks, than the fit animal. Besides the added stress of obesity on the joints, obesity causes the heart to work harder and can result in poor reproduction and poor milk production.

Body-scoring and keeping track of your animal’s weight is very important. Every time you are working with an animal you should perform a body-score assessment and make a note in its record. Minimally, animals should be body-scored every three months and as they age they should be body-scored more frequently. Abrupt changes in weight are always of concern. Separating the fat animals and putting them on a weight reduction plan is paramount. Methods of weight reduction for an obese animal (body score of 5/5) should be developed in consultation with your veterinarian. Rapid weight reduction can precipitate metabolic problems such as hepatic lipidosis (Alpaca Registry Journal, Vol. III, No. 1, 1998, pp. 22-28), and can be very dangerous for the animal. As the weight loss experts tell us, slow and steady weight reduction in an organized program is the way to go.

Actually, more common in the geriatric population, is the tendency towards weight loss. Of 36 llamas in a geriatric study (defined as over 12 years old), 55 percent were thin, with 10 percent being emaciated (body-score of 1). Thirty-two percent were optimal weight, 6.5 percent were fat (body-score of 4), and 6.5 percent were obese (body-score of 5). Factors that may contribute to weight loss in an older animal are bad teeth, decreasing ability to absorb nutrients, shifts in social status, and excessive milk production. It is especially important to watch for changes in the social status of aging animals. The female that was always first to the feed may get pushed out as she ages. Additionally, she may have some arthritis that causes her to be slower in grazing and moving to the feed.

Assessment of the teeth should be done more frequently as the animal ages. Dental health directly influences the overall health of the llama. Good teeth throughout life will maximize the animal’s ability to chew its food properly and will help with proper absorption of nutrients. Some of the geriatric llamas in the previously mentioned study had level molar arcades. This is optimal. Admittedly, the teeth were worn flat so they were not grinding as efficiently as they did when they were younger, but the animal could still chew freely. A llama that has large hooks and a severe wave pattern of the cheek teeth is not going to be able to chew freely. This condition causes the animal to chew slowly and hold balls of feed in the cheeks. Some cases of wave-mouth in older animals are so bad that no amount of corrective dentistry can come close to restoration of normal chewing.

Ideally, the llama’s incisor teeth occlude with the dental pad throughout its life. The animal should not need to have its incisor teeth trimmed. However, if you do have an animal with incisor teeth protruding beyond the dental pad, it is very important to regularly trim to keep the teeth as close to the normal occlusion as possible. Do not wait until teeth are protruding over an inch or more before trimming. Proper occlusion of the incisor teeth and dental pad allows for ease of food intake and allows molar teeth to meet in a normal manner and wear normally. Unseen, uneven wear of molar teeth will cause chewing problems in the long term. The molar teeth should be checked regularly, starting at about five years of age. Looking at your llama’s molar teeth is not an easy task. Although you can easily check the incisors, fighting teeth and premolars, llamas’ mouths generally do not open far enough to see the molar teeth without the use of sedation, a small flashlight, and veterinary assistance.

Tooth root abscesses are another concern. Anytime you’re working with your llama you should run your hands along the lower jaw to make certain there is no expansion of the jaw bone which might indicate a molar abscess. In addition, a sore open area on the jaw that looks like a wound may actually be a drain for an abscessed tooth. If you have any questions about the possibility of a tooth root abscess, you should check with your veterinarian. If a decision is made to remove the tooth, remember that the opposing tooth from the other jaw will not wear normally and will periodically have to be filed as the other molar teeth wear. That opposing tooth can eventually bump the bare gum where the tooth was removed. The pain could prevent the llama from eating well. Animals with minimal teeth may need an entire dietary supplement of pellets or feeds developed for older animals. These feeds may include a liquid gruel that is used with animals whose teeth are essentially all gone. Again, we stress that preparation for aging begins with selection of the animal and continues with management throughout the animal’s life.

With aging, digestive processes change and efficient absorption of nutrients decreases. If you have an older animal that is losing weight and the teeth are okay, there are no social problems, the animal still moves well, parasitism is not a problem, and she is not nursing a cria, consider that she may not be absorbing nutrients as well as she used to. Boosting the nutrition of an aging animal can best be accomplished initially by increasing the carbohydrates (i.e. grains) in the diet. If the animal does not pick up weight, your veterinarian should evaluate the animal and create a plan for weight gain.

Reproduction in the aging llama can become more problematic. Some females will continue to produce a cria each year without difficulty. For example, one geriatric llama produced 19 crias in her 22 years! She still had good leg conformation and good teeth, but she was no longer maintaining a healthy weight. She was retired from breeding. Some females may conceive but then lose the fetus early on, and some may be such good milkers that nursing a cria drags them too far down in body condition. Some people choose to spread out the birthing interval in older females to allow them to recover body weight before the next cria. There can be issues with lowered fertility during heavy milking, so a very long birthing interval is a possibility. Early weaning of a good strong cria is also something to consider. Remember that if you have an animal with a dystocia at any time in its life, damage to the reproductive tract can end the female’s ability to have crias. Always be aware if you are assisting a delivery that the reproductive tract of the llama is relatively susceptible to damage. Recall the adage, “Do no harm,” and get help if you need it.

Some features of old age cannot be prevented but certainly must be considered when managing older animals. Many older llamas develop cataracts (opacities in the lens of the eye). If the cataracts become dense, the animal can have trouble seeing. Like many elderly people, predictable patterns and familiar surroundings are more important to the older llama. Moving an elderly llama to a new pasture can cause distress that may be exacerbated if the pasture mates are unknown animals. As animals age, fiber regrowth will slow, and therefore frequency of shearing should be decreased, or shearing should be stopped. Some older animals will have such a light coat that they’ll become extremely cold sensitive. Blanketing these animals in the winter will help. The older llama may also be less tolerant of high environmental temperatures and should be watched carefully on those hot summer days. It is also important to continue to manage for parasite control. Older animals’ immune systems don’t function as well as when they were younger. Subsequently, they may have increasing problems with parasites as compared to their middle-aged comrades. Finally, remember to keep the toenails trimmed so the toes are in proper alignment. The toe joints will stay in better shape over time.

As with any aging animal, more careful attention to the condition, attitude and overall health is important. Watch for changes in behavior, eating habits, and mobility. Check body condition, teeth, and parasite load more frequently than you did when they were younger. Above all, begin with sound, well-conformed, healthy young animals and practice good management with them throughout their lives.

Reproduced from http://oregonstate.edu/with permission of Susan Tornquist. Copyright © Oregon State University

Here is one I learned the hard way. Always keep some B-complex on hand, and do NOT keep it in the refrigerator.  B-complex should be kept at room temperature, or it will be ruined.

Last year I had an alpaca go down.  We could find nothing wrong with her.  After a quick call to Steve Hull, he suggested we give her a shot of B-complex.  (The amount does vary depending on the B-complex.)  Amazingly within a short time she was up, and acting much better.  We continued giving her the B-complex shots, as instructed by Steve.  I really believe this saved her life.

 The issue was caused by a fungus that is prevalent certain times of the year.  It inhibits the absorption of B vitamins.  

Mountain Ash Farm

This important tip was given to me by Steve Hull.  Always keep Bovine Ecolizer +C on hand when you have cria due.  When a cria is born it must be given to them in the first 2-3 hours after birth.  This is important to help  prevent ecoli disease.

Mountain Ash Farm