I was told he was never aggressive with them. There had been one incident that he may have knocked the husband down while he was working with him-maybe trying to trim, not sure, but this wasn’t considered aggression. We all know how some of them will fight having their feet messed with.
The day he arrived he seemed fine…….not particularly friendly but not aggressive. It wasn’t until the second week when I was feeding. I fed the other two and was putting his dish on the ground and called him- the next thing I knew I was on the ground. He hit me with his chest and forelegs. I was taken by surprise and NEVER anticipated it.
After that we were very watchful of him. My husband went in to feed the next evening and he ran up to him and did the same thing……chest and forelegs. My husband is bigger and stood his ground- yelled at him of course and he backed off.
The last incident was when we went into the pasture to get the younger males. There had been a lot of fighting and screaming with this male relentlessly fighting one of the younger males. We had a halter and leadline on the younger male and this male came charging up to my husband, again. Then he started fighting with the young male and despite trying to make him back off, he wouldn’t. The younger male was trying to get away from him and my husband had the lead line and ended up letting go…….the younger male took off with the older one in pursuit. This all happened very fast and was very scary. They circled the pasture, then the younger one came running back in our direction, we were able to grab the leadline and get him out of the pasture, but the aggressive male was really pissed. He went for my husband again and my husband had a lightweight panel and used it as a shield to keep him off of him. He was trying to knock him down and that is when he bit him in the chest. By then, we had had enough…….our kids were there to help with moving the younger boys and saw the whole thing. We moved the younger boys to another barn – had a vet coming the next morning for two others to be gelded and decided to have her give the new boys their rabies shots since these boys had never had rabies vaccinations and I was a little concerned about a reaction.
We tried to approach him later in the afternoon but only got as far as the gate. He would come running over, ears back and definitely looking for a fight. It was then we decided to contact the breeder, again. This time, it was to let them know that if they wanted him, they would have to come get him. We were going to have him euthanized, otherwise.
They never responded to that e-mail but I know they got it due to the AN forum posting. IF they had said they wanted him we would have waited for them to come get him and not euthanized him. We DID NOT enjoy putting him down. We could have managed to feed and water him without going into the pasture and they could have come whenever it was feasible for them………however, they never responded to my request until three weeks later. I was surprised they didn’t come get him because they thought he was a wonderful male and had so much affection for him. At the same time, she was saying he wasn’t the same animal if he was behaving that way. I do know they took good care of their animals and they cared deeply for them, so it was bewildering to us that they were unresponsive to our problem. Her health issues prevented her from some of the physical demands but her husband took care of them and did the showing, so I was surprised no effort was made to work out something with us.
I have been criticized for not allowing him more time to adjust- he was getting worse, instead of better and it had been five weeks by then. The other two boys were fine and frankly, I didn’t want them to learn any of his behavior. I don’t know if these guys can learn bad habits from others, but didn’t want to take any chances. Plus, keep in mind that we couldn’t handle him at all. There was no such thing as walking up to him and haltering him. We were able to catch the other two by using the catch pen, but not him.
I’ve also been criticized for not showing him I was “alpha”. Well, I have two horses that never have to be told I am “alpha” I have four goats (with horns) that never have to be told I am “alpha”……….the same goes for the three Border Collies, one Jack Russel, one ScottyX and two Great Pyrenees. Never have I had to go out of my way to make sure they know I am “alpha”, including the five alpacas we already had…….three females and two males. I never carried a squirt gun because it all happened too fast and he never spit at us. I have worked with other alpacas……..helped shear at a farm with 29 alpacas. Never had an aggressive alpaca…….just angry/fearful because they were having medicals, trimming, shearing, etc. I guess I feel a little defensive about that criticism, but realize that unless you know me you really don’t.
My hope is that the two younger boys will behave like normal male alpacas. We are insisting they respect our space when we are with them. If we ask them to come to us and feed them by hand, that is fine……..I just don’t want them on top of us and ignoring us when we tell them to back off. So far they are learning their limits. It doesn’t bother me that they are super pushy at feeding time- we just separate the boys and monitor who is eating what and we don’t let them bully their way into the other boy’s food. Our llama is also teaching them to back off of his food.
I really do appreciate everyone’s opinions and realize that unless you have experienced this first hand, it is difficult to imagine. Also, having our children help with the animals makes a difference on how much we are willing to risk when it comes to aggression. I also know that if we ever have a buyer having a similar problem, we will go out of our way to make it right for them. I wouldn’t wish this on an experienced buyer, much less an inexperienced one. This was a decision made based on multiple points of view but ultimately keeping the safety and well being of our family and friends on the forefront.
Laura Roberts
R Half Pint Farm
Spotsylvania, VA
From: AlpacaTalk@yahoogroups.com [mailto:AlpacaTalk@yahoogroups.com] On Behalf Of Wyatt Black
Sent: Sunday, September 20, 2009 11:11 AM
To: alpacatalk@yahoogroups.com
Subject: [AlpacaTalk] Re: breeder/references
Hi... um, sorry don't know your name! :))
I wouldn't dismiss the original owner as 'barn blind' in this situation. A move to a new farm is an *incredibly* stressful event, especially if the alpaca was born and raised there, and if it is a male.
He knew exactly where he fit in his old herd, and was happy and content- then BAM, a whole new ball game.
Biting is done out of aggression, and frustration. I am NOT condoning the behavior, but without more details I wouldn't just put an animal, who is in the circumstance described above, down just because he bit someone, or even if he was charging. This kind of swing in behavior seems really based in fear and insecurity.
There is always more going on than is apparent to us. I feel sorry for everyone involved, what a tragic story.
Honesty, Integrity, Quality
