31 Oct Sun 2010
And Then, There Were Seven .......
Our little guy Henry and new friend Cowboy have not been very eager to take that ‘leap of faith’ and hop into Val’s van. So today, only North and Earth came home to our little farm. They were both hesitant to get out of the van, but with just a gentle pull to the leash, a quick hop out they did. They both walked on their leashes very proudly down our little farm road to the barn.
Yesterday Dan had put up some hog panels from the corner of the barn out to the fence line, creating a small pen enclosure in case our 5 boys here were a little too rambunctious towards the newcomers. Val and her daughter Annie walked North and Earth to just inside the gate. It’s best to introduce new alpacas to the herd over a fence. Julio, Guinness, Bo, Coty, and Arlo were all cushed in the far pasture. Arlo noticed the new arrivals first and suddenly all 5 came running like bats out of hell! Julio was the first to arrive of course, and instantly all 7 boys were sniffing each other excitedly over our little temporary fencing in the paddock area. There was no fighting or snorting of any kind. After a couple minutes Val decided all appeared well, Dan unhooked the gates, and we brought the new boys in. They were quite nervous at that point so Val just unhooked the leads and took off the halters. We all watched and waited.
Instantly, all the boys began to run! In one big group they ran right to the back of the pasture. Julio went through the gate and decided to watch things from the other side of the fence. North and Earth sniffed and sniffed the trees, the grass, the fencing, just as my original 5 had when they arrived last year. Bo, Coty, and Arlo sniffed and sniffed North and Earth! Everyone sniffed Julio through the fence. Guinness stayed back a bit, then lay on top of the dirt pile and watched from afar.
Coty has always been the most curious and today was no exception. North is just about his (huge) size, so Coty’s been following North. An instant bonding happened. They chased each other and neck wrestled, occasionally bumping into the others to join in on the chase. I think Bo looked relieved that Coty is no longer chasing him! North even nipped at Julio’s heels! Julio looked so surprised and ran and ran, with the whole gang following. Then sometimes Julio would stop and stand in the pasture and just stare at me as if to ask “What did you do?” Within minutes he was cushed again; he could care less! Then Guinness joined him. The new boys are also loving pasture to graze on, even if it’s not the longer, greener grasses of summer. Earth is a few months younger than Arlo, and Arlo looks pleased to have both a new playmate, and someone just a bit smaller than him. Dan and I are relieved that all the boys are getting along. And Val is so happy to see them all running and playing, as if they’d been the same herd forever.
Ahhhh............alpacas running together ................. a simple joy.
That's a great little story on introducing new boys to each other. I'm in the process of relocating my alpacas to a new location due to a change in the lease. At my old property, the boys were right next to open girls and there was lots of trouble with fighting and neck wrestling. Do you have girls on your property and are they housed in a separate area where the boys can't see or smell them? Thanks!
Thanks Bonnie! No, we don't have any open girls here; they board at Val's as she has a huge herd of females. We have 2 more young males still there and we're hoping when they come home the 'meet and greet' will be as easy as this was! Bo and Coty neck wrestle and fight occasionally (there's another story on my blog about that) probably because they're both maturing. It's not that bad compared to the stories I've heard when there are open girls around! I know that the farther away you can keep the girls (sight and smell), the less fighting. We just love having an 'all boy' farm. They're lots of fun and easy to take care of. Best of luck with your move !