The Alpacas’ First Week – What I Didn’t Expect

Sunbathing – alpaca fashion

Well, the first week has flown by and I have learned a lot about my new girls! Mostly things I didn’t expect. We have established a routine, which I always think is very important for any animal to feel secure, and I am starting to understand their different personalities and behaviour.

Things I Didn’t Expect:

• Alpacas sunbathe. It put the fear of God into me on Wednesday when I saw Nicola and Emilia stretched out, seemingly lifeless on the grass. ‘That didn’t last long then,” commented my sister wryly. After the initial panic,  we calmed down and noticed that a) sun was shining, b) they seemed to be breathing and c)  most telling of all – they leapt up when I moved closer. That’s a relief. Not dead just sunbathing!
• The amount of manure! Yes, as stated in the literature, they do go in the same couple of places, which is much easier for clearing up. One of these places turns out to be the shelter, which is a bit of a pain. And there are two wheelbarrowloads of “coffee beans” a day. I started by trying to compost it, but quickly realised it will fill up in the blink of an eye, so am now digging it in to the garden. Alpaca manure can be used without composting which is handy.
• They invent games. We have some  tall pine trees with low hanging branches which swoop down onto the grass. I saw one of these branches moving violently and wondered what could be causing it. Then I saw Nicola (naughty black one) jumping over the branch and letting it kind of ping up underneath her and then running round the tree and doing it again!
• They use their shelter. I read all sorts of opinions along the lines of don’t bother with a shelter they’ll never use it and they’re used to the rain and cold. But the alpacas hadn’t done their reading, it appears. So they took themselves off to bed the first night and spent the whole of a very rainy Sunday under cover, making tentative forays only when the rain had subsided to a fine drizzle. They now go to bed on their own every night, settling down on the straw for a good snooze. So – yes, for happy alpacas, you need a shelter.
• The dogs really aren’t that bothered. Nightmares plagued me, prior to the alpacas’ arrival, about how the dogs would react. I was convinced Gassie in particular would break into the enclosure, or spend hours racing up and down the fence terrorising the poor beasties. In fact, after some initial barking, they have virtually ignored them. Gassie does like to play BOO at them when he thinks I’m not looking, but other than that they have been fine.
• They are great de-stressers. On sunny Saturday morning I sat for well over an hour just watching them graze and kush (lie down with their legs tucked up under them), sunbathe and wander about. Time flew by. My thoughts were, Eckhardt Tolle-style, focussed on the present moment. It was great.
• They are popular with the local constabulary. Already Elena our postlady loves them, Enrico and Sergio, the guys who did the fence think they are pretty cool and a couple of district nurses are fairly smitten, even if one was smitten in a “they would be great to eat, you mark my words,” kind of way. But yesterday when the local Carabinieri car pulled up in our drive my first thoughts were, basically, oh crap. I walked over, smiling, “Buongiorno!” (Interpretation: Please, please, please don’t tell me off!) “I have permission from ASL,” I added as they stared at the animals. “No, no,” replied one. “We just wanted to look at the llamas.” “Em, alpacas,” I said. “Bellissimi, bellissimi,” they murmured, as if hypnotised. And then they thanked me and drove off. So the police love them too!