Benefits & Uses Id suggest locating a third alpaca if possible. It also assumes that aggression is the result of natural alpaca behavior when, in fact, it I know many owners who were attacked by a male llama or alpaca, who was previously a sweet pet, even after gelding, when the animal had not learned to respect humans and thought of them as equals. Just like the average teenage boy, they argue and then they quickly move on. Males are known as 'machos'. Three alpacas are the minimum of what should be kept on a farm. Often referred to as Berserk Male Syndrome, and more recently referred to as Aberrant Behavior Syndrome (ABS), this is aggressive, un-mannerly behavior, and possibly will lead to extremely dangerous behavior in llamas and alpacas. As the alpaca farmer, it is your job to listen, learn about each sound, and understand what this sound means for a given alpaca. The bred females tend to stand back and just watch as if this is the entertainment for the day. Faith would simply exist and maintained her distance. Ill admit I never thought wed come this far in these last few months. They spit when in distress. Llama Characteristics. CLINICAL FINDINGS The clinical signs of aggression progressed to include biting at other animals as well as disorientation. Ready to learn about alpacas and how safe they generally are? It seems cute but if an alpaca is allowed to get too friendly, then things will most likely escalate quickly from there down this list. He can quickly get into trouble, although he does listen to us humans. I made Faith my special project for months and would slowly work on approaching her. She keeps a keen eye on me as I do on her. While alpacas arent as large as other livestock, theres still a commonly-asked question about how safe they are to add to a backyard homestead. The consent submitted will only be used for data processing originating from this website. This means that when they mate, ovulation is triggered. We bought five from the Nelsens at Crystal Lake Alpaca Farm in Frankfort, Michigan. Since the Alapaha is a large animal, its weight is at 70 to 90 pounds for males and females weigh at 55 to 77 pounds. Males also hum to females they are courting. R]=`?K8Nl8LC4 link to What Alpacas Are Good for: Alpaca Uses and Benefits, link to Leaving Alpacas Out In The Rain: What You Need to Know. What Alpacas Are Good for: Alpaca Uses and Benefits. A gelded male will still mount females and they can still do excessive harm if housed together. A female alpaca spits when she is not interested in a male alpaca, typically when she thinks that she is already impregnated. The first is a warning and is simply a small amount of saliva and air. 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. In my experience, this is a far lesser reason than the desire to breed. The animal perceives humans as another alpaca and as they mature, can show extreme aggression toward people. Avalon also talks, but for her, she clucks as humans approach. Some of the information weve been given has had slight variations, while other information has completely contradicted the best practices of another farm. And baby Adel? For every 125 pounds of alpaca, you'll need to feed 2 pounds of grass or hay daily. They Hum, Haw, and 'Orgle'. Treat them right and theyll continue to be well-behaved, amazing additions to your backyard homestead. document.getElementById( "ak_js_1" ).setAttribute( "value", ( new Date() ).getTime() ); Receive product coupons, farm announcements, new articles. Berserk llama syndrome (usually shortened to BLS ), aberrant behavior syndrome, or berserk male syndrome (as it is more pronounced in males) is a psychological condition experienced by human-raised camelids, particularly llamas and alpacas, that can cause them to exhibit dangerously aggressive behavior toward humans. If you look at our alpaca photos, youll clearly see we spend a lot of time with our alpacas. The most important thing to know about alpaca body language is that an alpaca invading your personal space and nibbling at your clothes is not cute and should be pointedly discouraged. Adel is the only alpaca on our farm that will allow this interaction and this is because my son showered her with attention since she was six months old. In our high school group of established male breeders we had aggression when the group first came together. Read on for ways to prevent this from happening. The males are more aggressive than the females and they establish . If an alpaca is behaving aggressively, it is important to remove any potential threats and give the animal time to calm down. Looking at the five girls, their personalities, and how theyve changed over the last few months is a great example of nature vs. nurture. But I do pay close attention to a persons character and demeanor. Hello! Just in the past week Tommy has begun showing signs of aggression toward me. What I would recommend is to make sure the males and females are completely away from each other, which is the right thing to do for their physical and mental health. The more I personally interact with alpacas, the more I become highly annoyed with everything I read about understanding and managing alpaca behavior. Problems arise when an alpaca approaches with its neck stretched out and head held high as if trying to look as big as possible. In the last year, Ive been spit on three times. Alpacas will scream when they are being attacked by a predator, or an aggressive alpaca. Save my name, email, and website in this browser for the next time I comment. At around 7 months old, the mother weans the cria. And while the mating is happening, there is always a spectator area in play. And with all those characteristics, I loved them all dearly. Dominant stances are used by alpacas towards other animals and can be a great teaching tool for unruly cria (babies). I need baby step guidance. You can avoid this by making sure they are not housed with the females. Be present and around as much as possible, sit down on the ground so they can see you as a non-threat, and give them the grace of time. One additional point to note is that adult males and females cannot be part of the same herd living in the same quarters or pastures. While alpacas might at times demonstrate aggressive behavior, well trained alpacas raised in the correct environment dont pose much risk to humans. Aggressive alpacas are atypical and may need to be culled. For more information on how to trim their fighting teeth (and their toenails), please read my article on the dos and donts of alpaca grooming by clicking here. Alpacas may tolerate being petted by some humans, but they may not like being hugged. Males must be kept separately, and this is true even if they are gelded and no longer capable of producing offspring. Heightened aggression - Males left in with females for an extended period can also grow increasingly aggressive. Its really on their terms and timeline and not ours. This is because they no longer have the option of breeding and producing offspring. Alpacas have teeth that constantly grow throughout their lives, like rabbits, and while they should rub against each other in such a way as to maintain the correct shape and length, it is possible for teeth to grow out of whack after some time. We have the two sexes well separated (separate barns and pastures and no shared fence lines) as we are not breeding at this time and have not done so for 10 years. But it "is the most important factor explaining the pressures that young women feel to meet standards . Caryl the females generally mount each other for two reasons: (1) They are simply eager to get bred. As the human it is my job to maintain the appropriate boundaries, so the young alpacas do not confuse me with an alpaca. Micays ability to pass this on to her offspring is even stronger. Everyone always asks about spitting. And it is way better than the ladies standing in their water bowl. . Anything less will prevent a feeling of safety and will eliminate the ability to establish a social hierarchy. Her two offsprings are all Best Bred & Owned, Sunny Accoyo Morning . Polar Bears. Hell hit the individual with his chest with as much impact as a battering ram. In all of my experience with alpacas, Ive never met an overly aggressive one. Boys bring a whole different version of behavior and you have to worry about things you would not with females. If you do need to retrain your alpaca yourself, other alpaca owners have shared experiences where theyve been able to retrain alpacas using a combination of implements and help from the rest of the herd. I was wondering if you have ever experienced the girls mounting each other? Sounds include humming, snorting, grumbling, screaming, screeching, clucking, and snorting. This year Ive found our alpacas to be very trainable, especially since most of my training wasnt done with intent. I often hear or read about new farmers keeping males and females together. Also, thanks for posting all of this, Im surprised Ive been doing things right, you really helped me feel more confident! Llamas can weigh approximately between 280 pounds (127 kilograms) and 450 pounds (204 kilograms). Thanks. Backyard Homestead HQ participates in the Amazon Services LLC Associates Program, an affiliate advertising program designed to provide a means for sites to earn advertising fees by advertising and linking to Amazon.com. And she does so with interest and happiness for the treats. From roughhousing around the paddock to wanting to mate the ladies, the boy alpacas are a handful. 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.. Rebecca, I just want to thank you for offering up such wonderful guidance! The owners of this farm are Bill and Gena Loney. This lack of a herd might be causing stress. It may also be a natural reaction if resources are limited. This is most commonly seen in bottle-fed males who grew up around people more than other alpacas. I learned several things quickly by watching them. This has happened in the two previous years also with two alpacas being added to the herd each year, all alpacas obtained from the same local breeder. Spitting towards humans is generally rare, though gross and maybe slightly caustic. In that case, its a sign that resource access needs to be addressed. It is true that alpacas are quiet and peaceful. Also, one keeps stomping his back leg and is super-scared to eat from my hand. This group made an excellent addition to our alpaca herd, because their behavior offset that of the Crystal alpacas. Im aware of aberrant behavior syndrome (or beserk male syndrome). If an alpaca approaches you in this fashion, all is well. We arent aware of any incident that has caused this or why this rift exists. Privacy Policy | Terms of Service | Contact | About Us | Sitemap. The next point of confusion involves alpaca herds and the need for maintaining this balance. As a rule, alpacas will like their neck lightly touched and a good scratch on the cheek. Backyard Homestead HQ also participates in other affiliate programs with Clickbank, CJ, Harvest Right, Etsy, ShareASale, and other sites. However in recent months one of the youngsters has appeared increasingly dissociated from the rest of the herd: he tends to stand alone in the paddock, is often pushed out of the way at feeding time (either not eating or picking up scraps from the ground), sleeps outside the main stable/shed at night and generally just seems sad if thats possible?! 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 earliest stages of aggression are simply poor behaviors that have been ingrained and need to be retrained. I wonder if I could also ask your opinion about a situation we are seeing with our herd. 1. 2. Our next arrivals came from a small farm in Northern Michigan. Is there anything we can do as humans to improve this relationship within the herd? Im hoping that he is not going down that path. I would say virtually all of our alpacas have changed their personalities once they become pregnant. The four adult alpacas were quick to spit at each other and had little tolerance for anyone in their personal space. This made it really hard for me to learn online and forced me to do trial and error so I could learn firsthand. He wouldnt intend on hurting me, he would just be very excited and instinctual. They eat and lay close together without incident. When my husband Jason gets out the hose the ladies will line up for their turn. Flash forward about nine months and Faith is just one of the herd. Any unbred females will lie down as close to the mating couple as they can. On our farm you can easily touch four of our alpacas on the back, but the rest (over 20) will not tolerate it. Really appreciate the detailed response. 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