Re: [AlpacaTalk] RE: Aggressive male
Hi Laura,
I wanted to thank those of you that responded to my e-mail. As I said, I was looking for information regarding aggressive males and how commo (or uncommon) it is.
On Thursday the vet came out. I had initially made an appt for gelding two others and this male, however he was horrible the day before and I had pretty much decided to euthanize.
As the vet and I approached the pasture fenceline, this male came charging from about 15 yards away…….he slid to stop at the fence………nostrils flared and doing this grinding with his teeth. He had been doing that the last three days. The vet stood her ground at the fenceline while I moved over to the gate and he came running over. This was not the same as the others greeting me at the gate……..ears were back and neck outstretch and still grinding his teeth.
Since he was so agitated, she ended up using a blow gun to dart him. After he settled on the ground, we were able to do what we had to do and put him down. He had fighting teeth about ½ inch long.
Lest anyone think I made this decision lightly, we didn't. We agonized over doing what was best for our family first and him second. Was it his fault? NO. Was it my fault? NO. Was it the breeder's fault? NO. We don't know for sure what triggered the behavior and will never know for sure. Moving him from small pastures with older males to our large pastures with his two younger buddies? Insecurity? Hormones? Over-handling and attention as a baby? I can't say why he didn't respect us…….but I can say he treated us the way he treated the other two in with him……..sometimes he ignored us and other times he was hell bent on hurting us. Jumping on us and biting.
Some think he wasn't given enough attention. We feed and water our alpacas twice a day- mornings and evenings. On particularly hot days, we would go out in mid afternoon to empty and refill water buckets with fresh cold water. They had shade. They had trees. We talk to them when we go out and give them friendly pats, although I do not hug them or try to kiss them. (ok, maybe the babies)
After the first incident with him two weeks after we brought him home, the behavior escalated ……..worse every time there was an incident. He was with us five and a half weeks………maybe some think that isn't enough time to adjust, yet all the others are fine. They were quarantined away from ours for three weeks and the girls are all together now and doing great. The other boys are sharing a barn and pasture divided by a fence, and they are sniffing each other and laying beside each other (with the fence in between…..cute!
) I believe keeping him any longer would have meant someone be hurt seriously and I couldn't take that chance. As it is, he jumped on my husband's chest twice. I try to give him away, offering all the information about his behavior and of course, no one wanted him.
Also, I am not a novice animal handler. I AM a novice alpaca handler, but we have two horses, four goats, dogs, poultry and lots of barn cats. I have had working dogs and herding dogs for ten years. None of our animals has ever challenged us this way. I really had to let go of my ego and admit this wasn't something I could fix and then after speaking with well know professionals with twenty plus years of camelid experience, I was convinced that even with lots of experience there was little likelihood of this being fixed. Sure, we could drug him, keep him in a pasture by himself, but what kind of life would that be for him. Also, what if he became sick or injured- who would be able to handle him?
So many questions and not enough answers. In the meantime, I feel relief in the fact that I don't have to look over my shoulder or panic when my daughter says she is going out to see the alpacas. Little ones can still pet the furry ones and I am not frantic over them being hurt by an unpredictable male.
Laura Roberts
R Half Pint Farm
Spotsylvania ,VA
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posted by Chaddo at 12:29 PM
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