Free Alpacas Newsletter- How to Profit from Alpaca Farming

Monday, July 13, 2009

Re: [AlpacaTalk] Aggressive male



Wow. First of all, this is a very poor policy by the breeder who sold you this male. She is liable for non-disclosure, and she could be in real trouble if you had been injured by this male. You do deserve a refund, I think. I don't think you should have to foot the bill for gelding. If he's herdsire quality, it would be a shame to geld just because he wasn't properly socialized and trained.


However, if a return with full refund isn't possible, it might be possible to re-train your aggressive boy. We have one here like that. He is a sweetheart to some people, but had behaved inappropriately towards me for a long time, rushing, bumping, etc. 

We use a spray bottle out in the stalls, which works pretty well most of the time. It breaks up fights, stops food stealing, and can stop a boy from bad behavior toward humans. I rarely have it handy when I'm out with the boys, though. :) So, when I have to go to the pasture/stall with the boy who used to rush me and bump me, I was just always very alert. If I saw him coming toward me, quickly, I'd raise my hand to his eye/head level, like a traffic cop. If he got too close, he'd run into my hand. I was also ready to raise my knee to his chest if necessary. It is often advised to have a frizbee with you when dealing with alpacas with behavior problems. Give them a bop on the nose when they get too close or start to rear up, or start to bite. Not a hard one, just enough so they know..

I'm not sure how much our boy weighs, I'd say he's definitely 185+, possibly 200+, and I weigh around 120.

And I can tell you it is possible to alter your boy's behavior, probably. I know I was afraid of our boy for a long time, but I was just always ready for him, and stopped his bad habits before he got the upper hand. Now, he's still a pest and always in the way, and has little respect when I'm coming through with the hay cart, but he no longer tries any rough stuff with me. You know how most alpacas make way when they see humans coming... no, this boy doesn't do that and I have to shove him out of the way to get through sometimes, but I'm not worried about being out there with him there.

Best of luck. Oh, also, see if you can have a Camelidynamics practitioner come out to help. They are miracle workers. And the techniques really work. camelidynamics.com or something like that.

Heather

Heather Zeleny
White Lotus Alpacas
Oregon

Holistic Farm and Elite Fleece

On Jul 13, 2009, at 9:12 PM, laura0554 wrote:



Hi,
I am new to this list and fairly new to alpacas. We purchased our first five last Fall and just brought home an additional five in June.
We have five girls and five boys.
The new males are aged 1+, 2+ and 4+. The oldest is our problem.
The second week we had him, he ran up to me and knocked me down. It happened very quickly and was totally unprovoked. I had actually just dished out some grain and put his bowl on the ground. The next thing I knew, I was flat on my back. I actually hit my head on the ground. 
After that, I was afraid of him, so my dh took care of the boys and I took care of the girls. He ran up to the husband and jumped on him once, three weeks ago. 
Well, today, we went in to halter the boys to move them to another pasture and barn and he went after my husband, again. Jumped on him...then my husband got on one side of a fence panel and the alpaca BIT him! He also attacked one of the younger males that we had haltered. 
We have an appt with the vet on Wednesday and the plan was to geld him, along with a two other males we have, but now the whole family is saying euthanize him. I spoke to the breeder right after the first sign of aggression and she swore he never did anything like that and couldn't imagine why he would do it. I have spoken with several very experienced alpaca owners/breeders and all have urged us to return him to the breeder. The breeder said she wouldn't take him back.....then said she would but no refund. It is a 500+ miles trip and I do not want to spend any more money transporting this animal. I would give him away if someone wanted him but who in their right mind would want him when there are so many nice animals out there. He is conformationally correct and has nice fleece, but that means nothing to me if he is a danger to anyone, which I consider him to be. 
Has anyone encountered this? I am not seeking approval for euthanizing him- we have to do what we feel is the best thing for our family, but I would love to hear from anyone that has had to deal with an aggressive male. He is a big boy, too. Weighs about 185 pounds and when he makes contact, he is HEAVY. 
Thanks for any feedback.
Laura
R Half Pint Farm
Spotsylvania, VA

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posted by Chaddo at 9:33 PM

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