Alpacas can be herded quite easily by walking behind them. If you want them to move to the right then stand slightly to their left etc. Alpacas don't seem to see gates that are in the middle of a fence line, so we recommend that the gates into your paddocks be in corners. If you can, it's also a good idea to create laneways between your paddocks to make moving the alpacas between paddocks a simpler task.

We recommend that in a corner of your paddock (preferably at the top of the hill if there is a slope) that you have a catch pen. This is usually an area about 3m x 3m and I use four x 3m gates hinged at the corners so I can open any side of the pen.

Once you have herded the alpacas into the catch pen, then you need to catch them. They are very quick at escaping from your reach!

I find that if you stay calm, breath normally and move slowly (but not in slow motion), then you won't cause stress to them, and will catch them more easily. If they start to run away, don't chase them as this gets them running faster. You want the alpaca to stop and think so you can convince them that you're OK.

If they are running from you, step away and turn you back for a minute, and this generally calms them down.

Move slowly (not slow motion or that will freak them out too) towards a corner where you can reach across and grab them by the head. Most of mine will let me loosely touch their neck and will stand still for me. But if yours are not so friendly, then you may need to use a stronger grip.

Standing facing their shoulder, put one arm around the front of their neck, and with that hand pull their head towards your chest. The other hand should put gentle pressure on their shoulder to help keep them still. If they struggle, you can grip their ear and put a bit more pressure on the shoulder. If they jump forwards to escape, place your knee in front of their chest (foot on the ground) ready to brace against their forward movement.

Be gentle, breath normally and don't get angry with them as this only makes it worse.

I find that after being spat in the face, I can get a bit gruff with them and that just makes them more likely to struggle and spit at me a second time!! :-)

It is even better if you can use techniques where you don't have to hold them at all. It is possible to perform many tasks with them standing still on their own and trusting you... but this takes practice, and some of the older animals that have learnt bad behaviour may never stand still for you.

I recommend everybody become familiar with the TTEAM method. Marty McGee Bennett has produced a lot of articles, books and videos on this method of handling alpacas - she calls it Camelidynamics. It is very informative and helps you understand how to best handle your alpacas!

Alpacas are definitely low maintenance animals. If you live it the sub-tropics then there are a couple of extra things that need to be done to keep the alpacas healthy... but generally, they require very little maintenance.

Toenails may need to be trimmed. The shearer can do this during the annual shearing, but some may need their toenails trimmed more often. The pink toenails seem to grow faster/longer than the black toenails. I find that I need to trim the pink toenails but rarely need to attend to the black toenails. That's a good reason to breed for black don't you think? :-)

How do I trim their toenails? Toenail trimming is a simple task. If your alpacas are well handled you might be able to tackle the toenails on your own, but most alpacas are sensitive to their feet being touched, so you may need somebody to hold the alpaca still while you trim their toenails.

The alpaca toenail is similar to human nails. The alpaca has soft toe pads with a nail growing over the top. If left untrimmed the nail can cause pain and discomfort. The nails tend to twist to one side when they get overgrown, and this can make it difficult to trim them. To trim the toenail, you lift the alpaca's foot (rather like you would a horse's hoof) and using straight blade secateurs, cut the nail back so that it is in line with the toe pad.

I cannot take the credit for this photo or diagram, and as it was sent to me by another breeder I cannot give the credit where it is due, but I thank the owner of these pictures and hope they are OK with me publishing them here! They are the best illustrations I can find!

Most alpacas need no work done on their teeth, but some may require some trimming of the front teeth, or should their molars grown unevenly they may require some filing. The shearer can usually deal with the overgrown front teeth, but a vet may be required for anything more serious.

There is not much that the average breeder can do with teeth, but the shearer or vet, or alpaca dentist can take care of your alpacas difficult teeth. A really good reference can be found here: http://www.alpacadentist.com.au/

Entire males will also grown some very nasty sharp teeth called “fighting teeth” at around 3 years of age... it is recommended that these be removed, cut or filed back, so that the alpaca cannot injure others in their paddock during a fight. You can find photos of these at the alpaca dentist website. All male alpacas over the age of 3 should have their fighting teeth removed. They can be clipped off or cut with wire - ask your shearer or vet to do this for you.

If the male is castrated at 12 months, they usually don't grow fighting teeth.

All alpacas must be shorn every year. Our summers are too hot to keep long fleeces on them. Most breeders in SEQ will shear in September/October. There are several shearers available to visit your property to shear your alpacas, but they will charge for travel along with the shearing costs. On average you should pay between $25 to $50 per head for shearing, depending on location and numbers of animals. If you have an alpaca you want to show (therefore not shear one year), then ensure that they care kept cool during the heat of the day.

You can shear them yourself, but I recommend that you watch a couple of shearers to learn the technique. Alpacas are restrained during shearing, stretched out with their legs tied to posts or pegs, so that they can't injure themself by struggling. I have heard of people able to shear them with the alpaca standing, but imagine this is rare.

Alpacas can be infected with the same worms as sheep. There are a several very nasty worms to be aware of: Barbers Pole worm, Liver fluke, Black Scour worm and although not a worm you also need to be aware of coccidia. Untreated, each of these can kill an alpaca.

Several of the intestinal worms will actually cause your alpacas to become anaemic. In particular the Black Scour worms and Barbers Pole worms. Anaemic animals will appear lethargic and spend more time sitting down, might lose their appetite (but not always) and will become thin. If you check their gums and inside their eyelids they'll be pale or white instead of healthy pink (see the FAMACHA guide available on the internet). It is very important you treat anaemia quickly as many alpacas have died from anaemia as a result of worms. So kill the worms with a suitable drench, and treat the anaemia with iron supplements. Talk to your vet!

It is recommended that you take regular samples from their dung pile and get a faecal egg count done (your vet or some specialist worm egg testing companies can do this). This will identify if your alpacas have worms and which worms they have. NO drenches are registered for use with alpacas, so your vet will need to give you a drench with an “off label” use permit.

Paddock rotation, cleaning up the dung piles regularly (worms hatch at about 4 day cycles in summer), and using horses or cattle to graze the paddocks can all assist in controlling your worm burdens.

When a cria is weaned, it should be monitored for worms, as this time of stress can increase their susceptibility to worms. It could also be worth considering worming them for tapeworm as this can stunt their growth. Tapeworm is not a significant problem in adult alpacas.

How do I drench for worms? Once you purchase the drench, you will also need a way of getting it into the alpacas. You can purchase drenching guns to suit your needs, or if you only have a couple of alpacas, then you can get large syringes with a long tip.

Either way, you need something long enough to get the drench to the back of their mouth so that they are more likely to swallow it. You will need to hold the alpaca firmly, pry its mouth open and get the end of the drench gun towards the back of the mouth, and then hold their mouth closed until you feel them swallow! Don't pinch their noses as this will cause them to panic.

Your vet can recommend the right drench regime depending on what worms you are trying to kill. You can obtain very useful information on worms at the Wormboss website: www.wormboss.com.au

The paralysis tick (Ixodes holocyclus) is found in the wetter parts of Queensland (and NSW). This tick will kill alpacas. The dog anti-tick serum works, but only if you get the alpaca to the vet quickly at first sign of symptoms.

It is very difficult to keep the paralysis tick out of your paddocks, but several things will assist.

Keep the pasture fairly short, and have no low shrubs. Chain wire fences will help to keep the bandicoot out of the paddock (bandicoots are the main carrier of ticks). Guinea fowl are said to eat the ticks, so perhaps running some guinea fowl with your alpacas will help.

Dog tick collars can help, the Seresto tick collar lasts for 4-6 months. Cydectin injectable for cattle is a known insecticide for ticks, and many alpaca breeders will inject their alpacas with this product every month during the tick season. Because Cydectin works by killing the tick after it bites, the smaller body mass of the cria is unlikely to be fully protected, so I recommend tick collars for all cria.

Alpacas have been known to be infected with many of the same diseases as sheep and cattle, so some vaccination and biosecurity measures should be considered:

Johnne's Disease (JD) Alpacas can be infected with Bovine Johnne's Disease (pronounced Yo-nees). Queensland is classified as a Protected Zone for BJD. This means that there is limited cases of BJD in Queensland. Alpacas and Cattle in Queensland are mostly free of the disease.

However, if you are in another state, you will need to check the status of your property, and of any animals on your property. Clearly if you are in a BJD area, you should not run cattle with your alpacas, and should keep alpacas off any land that has had cattle in the previous year. There is a market assurance program called Q-Alpaca where your alpacas and property can be tested to be BJD free. More information can be obtained via your DPI or through the AAA.

If you wish to bring alpacas into Queensland from other states, you will need to be sure they are free of BJD. It is good idea to buy them from a Q-Alpaca property, or from a property with Map status (MN1, MN2 or MN3). You will need an alpaca waybill completed by the seller, where they declare that their stock are free of the disease.

Mycoplasma Haemolamae (MH)

Mycoplasma is a blood infection spread by biting insects or shared needles. It causes anaemia in alpacas, which in turn causes them to become weak and emaciated. They can die from MH!

MH is very difficult to diagnose, it can be seen on a blood smear under a microscope in the right conditions, but is usually diagnosed via symptoms.

If your alpaca is anaemic, has been drenched for barber's pole worm, and is up to date with Vitamin D, then there is a good chance the anaemia is from MH.

The treatment is oxytetracycline injections every couple of days for 10 days. Your vet can prescribe this antibiotic.

Note, alpacas can carry MH and show no symptoms, then under stress the condition can suddenly explode into life threatening anaemia. If one alpaca in your herd has MH, there is a fair chance that mosquitoes have spread it to other alpacas.

Alpacas should be protected from the same soil borne diseases as sheep. Most breeders use the sheep 5-in-1 vaccine at least once per year... many will do it twice per year to ensure constant coverage. Crias should be given a half dose at 2 or 3 months of age, and a follow up half dose a month later.

How do I give them injections?

There are 2 types of injections. Subcutaneous (or under the skin) and Intramuscular (into the muscle). Most injections can be done as subcutaneous and this is the easiest to do. Vets will recommend that antibiotics and some other medications be injected intramuscular, but you can do these subcutaneous too, just talk to your vet. Subcutaneous injections. If you have somebody to help hold the alpaca, the easiest place to inject is along the flank, between the ribs and hips. You can pull the fleece and the skin will create a little pocket or tent, then you can put the needle into that pocket and push the plunger.

If you are on your own, you can do subcutaneous injections behind the armpit using the same technique, where you have one arm around the alpaca’s neck and that hand can create the pocket to inject with the other hand.

I recommend you purchase the very short needles for subcutaneous injections. 21G x 3/8"

Intramuscular injections. These are usually done into the thigh muscle. Imagine a point that is a couple of inches below the hip and halfway across the width of the thigh and inject on a 45deg angle into that muscle. You should draw back slightly to ensure you are not in a blood vessel, and then inject slowly and if you can, draw the needle out slightly as you push the plunger. You may need longer and stronger needles for intramuscular injections eg 18G x 1 " but I tend to use the same 21Gx3/8" for all injections.