Thursday January 16, 2020 Our herd is a pretty healthy herd and I’ll tell you the #1 reason why. We have a zero tolerance policy about stress. Viruses and parasites are not very interested in healthy animals, they do much better attacking ones who are already compromised. Stress opens the door for most other illnesses so we have a very tight policy against it. No forced weaning, no unnecessary fencing, no unnecessary exposure to weather, no shows, no traveling to weddings, etc. Alpacas will not show how stressed they are until it’s REALLY bad. So we don’t even come close. The main stressor would be to be apart from other alpacas, or anything that makes them feel unsafe. (other alpacas make them feel safe) Other stressors would be feeling trapped, not having enough food or water, predators nearby, feeling threatened in any way, and extremes in weather. We’ve tried to eliminate any stressor we possibly can. What happens “in the wild?” you might ask. Well alpacas have been domesticated for centuries, so they’ve not been wild, altho our South American shepherds do not have the resources to care for them them like we do. They wander searching for grass by day and are rounded up to rest at night. And many of them die. Where do you think all those pelts come from for those cute little alpaca teddy bears? We do have a vet and I’m very grateful that we do, but she is often called out for the dogs and rarely for the alpacas. Except of course for complicated births like Rocky last year! Some stress simply cannot be avoided. But we’ll do our best to avoid all that we can.
It’s not too different with people. Eliminate stress, eat right and I bet you’ll be healthier than your stressed out friends.
Photo of the day: Remy is very glad we have a no stress policy here.
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