Tough skin, thick fibre, strong personalities. These are the older girls. Comercial value is not great, but for a small breeder like us, their job is fundamental.
Our nannies are specially good at keeping predators and other nuisances away. They are particularly protective and territorial.
In winter it is a group of only three. They stay separated from the breeding females. This helps me control the feeding needs of each group, and allows better distribution of the shelter space.
In spring they mix again with the breeding females. The nannies are there when the new crías arrive and the relationships get stabilised in a safe environment, with the mothers’ supervision.
We protect the future crías by ensuring the females keep a good body score, supplementing if needed. This is because they might be feeding their babies and pregnant at the same time.
At weaning, normally after the peak of winter, the nannies will give the crías company, when they all separate from the mothers.
Some farms take the crías away from their mothers as soon as four months old. We keep them together for longer. They get to spend the harsh times of winter with the care of their mums. So they take milk, grass and hay until they are eight months old.
After eight weeks of weaning, animals are selected, regrouped or segregated, and relocated to new pastures.
It takes planning, observation, decision making… It is a job. I don’t think this system is universal, though, and there are probably as many models as farms. This particular formula works in our farm, and has the wellbeing of our alpacas at heart.
Kestle Alpacas 