Nature

What Does A Guanaco Look Like?

August 9, 2012 By Katy

Photo credit ODD ANDERSEN/AFP/Getty Images

Above: A baby Guanaco is nursed by her mother Hannah in their enclosure at the zoo in Berlin.

Guanacos I’ve encountered in real life haven’t always been this peaceful or cute. But the guanacos I have been seeing on the internet lately have been uber precious so I wanted to share some of these wonderful pictures with you. It is really rare to see a guanaco.

Jim transported a guanaco male once. He said the animal was a big boy, his topline came up to about Jim’s chin (and Jim’s over six feet tall). Jim thinks the guanaco must have weighed at least 500 lbs and it took three men to load him. Guanacos are much larger and wilder than the domesticated alpacas we are used to handling on our farm each day.

According to anthropologist Jane Wheeler, the domesticated llama that we know today and whose primary use is as a beast of burden (think pack animal) descended from the guanaco. Both are members of the camelid family.

Guanaco - Torres del Paine, Chile - photo by Marianne Purdie

Baby guanacos (below) are adorable. Just like all babies in the camelid family, which include baby alpacas, vicunas, and llamas.

Image by Mark Chappell

If you like this post you might also like Alpaca History.

Filed Under: Alpacas, Nature ~ 3 Comments

Plants that are Toxic to Alpacas

March 5, 2012 By Katy

Azaleas

Recently I was asked a question about whether or not alpacas would consume their owners’ bushes. I responded that alpacas will sample almost all the flora and fauna to which they are exposed. However, they are pickier than goats and will only eat lots of what they like. (Provided they have a good hay and/or forage source.)

With this in mind it is important to be aware of what plants you have in the areas where you do want to keep your alpacas. Some plants are toxic to alpacas and you won’t want them around these.

When we first began raising alpacas our neighbor pointed out to us that we had the toxic weed, crotalaria, growing in our field. Newbies at the time, this was a surprise. When we had broken up the soil for planting our pasture grass, we scraped the crotalaria seeds (which HAD BEEN dormant!) and the crotalaria began to grow like crazy.

To rid the fields of the crotalaria we have to pull each plant up individually, by the root, and remove it from the field. Of course it grows in the heat of summer, making for some strenuous weeding work during the hottest part of year.

Crotalaria

Other toxic plants that we have on the farm are azaleas, acorns and pine needles. The azaleas are in the front yard, far removed from the alpacas. But our fields have oak and pine trees in them so we do get their little droppings of acorns and pine needles.

I have read that acorns and pine needles are poisonous. However, in thirteen years of raising alpacas, we have not had a problem with that. I have seen alpacas eat both acorns and pine needles. But since they have access to free choice hay and usually some pasture grass, the alpacas do not eat much of those things. I try to keep the pine needles raked up so that they don’t make a cover over the good forage.

Here is a reference for a comprehensive listing of plants that are toxic to alpacas. Once you read it you may feel like everything is toxic it has so many plants on it. Interestingly, when I read it I was surprised to learn that poinsettias are NOT toxic. I’ve always believed they were.

Always check with your veterinarian and/or your local agricultural agent to find out what plants in your area may be harmful to your animals. Some other resources on the subject:

Can Your Vegetable Garden Be Harmful to Your Alpacas?

The Alpaca Breeder’s Rough Guide to Poisonous Plants

Managing Your Ranch For Poisonous Plants

Have you had any experience with toxic plants? If so, leave a comment and tell us about it.

Filed Under: Alpacas, Husbandry, Nature ~ 2 Comments

Felted Alpaca Treasure Nest

May 25, 2010 By Katy

Birdsnest

There in the field was a little treasure. Adorning the green, green grass of spring, was this beautiful bright blue birds’ nest. It had fallen from its lofty throne, sometime during the winter months when the last of the winds blew the last leaf off the bare branches, leaving only silhouettes of trees. I thought about that little nest as I picked it up. It was so beautiful. It had been carefully and thoughtfully constructed by a master at the art of recycling! The main part of this blue nest was an old tarp that had been covering some wood. This little bird had used the blue tarp as her main weaving material. And then there was a fishing string found from a nearby brook. And then I saw the ribbon; it was the ribbon from a child’s balloon. I imagined that perhaps it was a child who’d had a special day. The balloon had floated away as the child watched, soothed by loved ones with gentle words, and a hug that the balloon would find a happy home.

Little did they know that the ribbon would weave a home, safe from winds and storms and give a family a chance to soar. As I held this tiny little nest in my hands, I then looked into the nest, and there inside the nest was a thickly felted layer of alpaca fleece! Soft, and felted to perfection! I imagined how the nest was at first lined with fluffy fiber which swaddled the tiny eggs, and kept the little bird warm while she warmed her eggs. Then as the eggs hatched and the tiny little bird feet started to pitter and patter when mama brought them their food, they felted the nest! Teeny, tiny baby bird feet felting away!! This little nest had been a wonderful home, protected them from harm and kept them warm and safe till they were ready to fly.

This nest is a lot like our lives; we weave it together. Our relationships, some like the old tarp, some the fishing string, some the ribbons, and our families, they are like the felt. We keep them close to us. Sometimes things change, sometimes our lives take turns, but the stuff we are made of, and what we choose to weave into our lives, gives us all the chance to “soar.”

This post was contributed by Val Newell of Crown Point at The Green Alpaca and Co-Founder of CIABA.org.

Filed Under: Alpacas, Nature ~ 6 Comments