The alpacas boys really like their pool. It's not so pristine these days, but they don't seem to mind a bit. Alpacas (and llamas) are habitual rollers in the dirt. So, you can imagine what happens when that dusty alpaca fleece hits the water. Mud baths all around. All four alpaca boys will stand to be sprayed with the hose now, but three of them just love getting in the pool and lying down. So far, I've not been able to get Finn to stand for being sprayed, but am planning to put a halter and lead rope on him and see if I can't get him to appreciate how nice it feels to have a cool shower on these hot days. Finn was weaned from Strawberry a few weeks ago and I've been pleasantly surprised how well he has done. I think it helped a lot that he remained in the field with the alpaca boys (where he was used to being) and I moved Strawberry out of sight and back in with Pippi. For her part, Strawberry doesn't seem to miss him at all! That's our Strawberry, though. She's all about getting on with the business at hand. We are hoping she is bred and, if so, will be due in early spring. Most likely this will be her last cria, so it would be especially nice to have another girl like Pippi.
Update: For the last two days in a row, I've been able to just put my arm around Finn's neck and gently hold him while I sprayed him down. I think he likes it! Smart boy! Also, you can be grateful that I was able to remove my latest heat related rant from this post. Today is all that summer should be. It's sunny and in the mid-80's and feels fabulous.......finally a day that is not in the mid to upper 90's. According to the weatherman this morning, we have had 28 days, so far, this summer with temperatures in the 90's
The alpacas boys really like their pool. It's not so pristine these days, but they don't seem to mind a bit. Alpacas (and llamas) are habitual rollers in the dirt. So, you can imagine what happens when that dusty alpaca fleece hits the water. Mud baths all around. All four alpaca boys will stand to be sprayed with the hose now, but three of them just love getting in the pool and lying down. So far, I've not been able to get Finn to stand for being sprayed, but am planning to put a halter and lead rope on him and see if I can't get him to appreciate how nice it feels to have a cool shower on these hot days. Finn was weaned from Strawberry a few weeks ago and I've been pleasantly surprised how well he has done. I think it helped a lot that he remained in the field with the alpaca boys (where he was used to being) and I moved Strawberry out of sight and back in with Pippi. For her part, Strawberry doesn't seem to miss him at all! That's our Strawberry, though. She's all about getting on with the business at hand. We are hoping she is bred and, if so, will be due in early spring. Most likely this will be her last cria, so it would be especially nice to have another girl like Pippi.
Too funny. We had a big downpour the other afternoon and I made everyone stand out in it. Sheep...not so much on the whole water thing ;-).
ReplyDeleteThey are so cute! I think alpacas are my favorite animal (ssshh, don't tell my cats).
ReplyDeleteWe like your idea about the pool. We talked about getting one for our boys (14 alpacas) but haven't gotten around to it. However, our eldest and boss alpaca, Rascal, constantly immerses himself in the big livestock water troughs making them too filthy to drink out of in short order. Grrrr. Luckily he's the only one that does this. Every evening I "spray bellies" and anytime you grab the hose they'll show up. We've had something like 16 days or so over 100 with heat indexes routinely running 103-113. All the alpacas seem to be handling it well. They hunker down in the shade during the hottest part of the day and come out in the evening. Anyway wanted to let you know we enjoy your blog.
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