One of the most frequent of tasks you will need to do is to check your alpacas feet to make sure that they do not become over-grown. The foot is made up of two toes which have a toenail and pad. In the animals normal environment the toenails would be worn down and never give any trouble, but on pasture they will constantly grow and curl over or around at the ends. If you let this go too far the animal will be in pain and find it difficult to walk. Look at your animals feet at feeding time to judge the amount of growth. You may have to trim them every four months or so, white alpacas nails seem to grow quicker than most. The soft pad of the foot means that there is much less 'poaching' of the pasture compared with horses or even sheep.
To trim the nails you will need to pen the alpaca up and restrain it. A helper to hold the animal steady is advisable. Alpacas quickly learn to sit down to foil your attempts at lifting their feet so try to dissuade them from doing so. If all else fails it is not impossible to trim an alpacas feet whilst it is sitting, you will need to gently pries a foot out from under his/her body. Remember alpacas do not like their feet being restrained - by doing so you have removed their only real defence, and that is running away. Be patient, if the animal struggles too much put the foot down, let him/her regain balance and try again. You do not have to trim all the feet in one session, you may even have to come back several times.
The type of nail clipper we use is made for trimming sheeps hooves and is readily available from your local farm store/merchant. Pruning shears may also be used.
Lifting the foot to the rear cradle it in your left hand (for right handed people) and try not to squeeze too hard as the animal will not like it. Trim or pare back the nail until it is level with the bottom of the pad (see above photo). Be careful not to trim back too far and cut into the 'quick' of the nail, as this is painful and will bleed profusely. Accidents do happen and if you do cut into the quick apply a liberal spray of animal antibiotic spray and monitor the animal for a few days for any sign of infection. Don't forget to clean out any mud/debris from between the toes. Right, the first toe was easy, now for the remaining seven!
Your alpacas will need shearing once a year for two reasons. One is for the well being of the animals, the second is to give you a cash crop of fibre.
If you only have a few animals it is possible to shear them yourself with the alpaca in the standing position provided they are adequately restrained. If the animal moves suddenly you can inflict serious damage with a shearing hand set. It may also try to sit (or ‘cush’) to foil your attempts. A word of warning about DIY shearing - it is much better to try to keep a fleece whole, so the buyer can see what they are getting in terms of quality. Some areas of the fleece are much more desirable than others. If all you have to offer is a pile of bits then the price paid may reflect this. Of course, if you have no intentions of selling your fleeces this is not a problem.
Some people like to use a shearing table. Basically you walk your alpaca so that it is side on to the table. It is then restrained to it using a series of straps. The table is then tilted to the horizontal position with the alpaca on it. As the alpaca is sheared it has to be moved and turned so that all parts of the animal can be reached. There is less stooping with this method and therefore it is kinder on the back but your animal may not fancy being strapped to a bit of wood and put up a bit of a fight.
A popular method of shearing in the UK is to stretch out the animal out on the ground front and rear between two anchor points. Loops fixed to a spreader bar are passed over the feet and the ropes tightened and locked in position. The animal cannot harm itself in this position. As shearing progresses the animal can be rolled over as required. This method is known as the "Australian Restrained" system and is the one that our shearer uses. When an animal is restrained in this position it is easy to trim their nails as you can see in the photograph.
What ever method of shearing you adopt your alpacas are unlikely to be completely in favour of having their fleece removed. Despite your best efforts to calm them some may spit, some may urinate and some may scream. If you are really unlucky the odd one may do all three, so be warned!
Whilst shearing your alpacas you may come across hard swollen areas which can be up to an inch across. These are abscesses formed as a result of an injury or infection. They may burst as a result of shearing but do need to be lanced. If you are careful they can be squeezed like 'zits' to extract the puss. They should then be cleaned and sprayed with an antiseptic spray and monitored. If they do not heal properly consult your vet. Some animals seem to develop these more than others.
Alpacas only have teeth on the bottom jaw. They have a hard dental pad on the top. Alpaca teeth grow continuously, the rate of growth slowing as the animal gets older. Normally they would be worn down by the action of eating, the sand and grit that comes with a mouth full of grass helps to grind down the teeth. However, on lush pasture the ware on the teeth is much less, necessitating trimming. Once the teeth start to grow towards the end of the pad it is time to trim. Try not to let the teeth grow to such an extent that they grow beyond the pad (known as 'overshot').
Teeth trimming is something that the average owner can do themselves. All you need is one of those small hobby drills (Dremel or similar) which normally come equipped with grinding attachments and a scrap piece of 25mm diameter alkathine pipe (normally blue) available from a building site. Some people use one of those dog rope toys. Place the pipe (or the rope) in the animals mouth to keep it open. Make sure that the tongue is beneath the pipe. Use the drill to slowly grind back the teeth until they smoothly meet the top pad. You will obviously need a helper to restrain the animals head. Here our shearer uses a mini drill to grind down some overgrown teeth. She uses a leather glove to keep the mouth open - some of the teeth can be very sharp, especially the 'fighting teeth'. These can inflict serious damage on other alpacas and you. Some owners have them removed.
The preferred method used by our shearer is to use a specially adapted angle grinder. It is fitted with a guard which slots over the teeth. It only takes a second or two to grind the teeth down.