Unsung Hero   by Linda Berry Walker   Reprinted with permission of Linda Berry Walker of WoodsEdge Wools Farm, LLC You can visit their library of articles at http://www.alpacasllamaswoodsedge.com/articles.php

What criteria qualifies an alpaca for the distinction of hero amongst his fellow four-footed pals? One who gives his lifeblood to save another. One who becomes a comforting companion to a sick or injured buddy during recuperation. One with the patience of a saint, who accomodates the whims of a weanling, teaching the quidelines of alpaca behavior. One who goes everywhere and does almost everything requested by his master ... hoofing it over hot pavement, standing patiently as hundreds of over-eager fingers poke and prod him, always remaining cool, calm and totally charismatic. All these services a hero provides, plus voluminous amounts of fine fiber which more than likely pay for his annual upkeep. Go back to the fields and look over your herd again. Do you see any heroes? Look for a gelding. Quiet and unassuming, he is most likely the unsung hero of your herd. Geldings can be worth their weight in gold! They have a multitude of uses with such merit that more males should be gelded to join the ranks of heroes! As a community, we have barely scratched the surface of potential uses for alpaca geldings. Hopefully, the ideas presented here will help you establish your own herd hero. Take note: Heroes are in great demand, so you are well-advised to maintain a group of geldings! It's always nice to have a hero to share with newcomers, and once you have one you'll never want to be without a herd hero! Premier Promoter Geldings are an excellent choice to travel to a variety of off-farm public events. Considering the investment we have all made in females, plus their nearly continuous pregnancy status, most people elect to leave their females at home in the fields. As your herdsires reach breeding age and are given more breeding activity, it is wise to rethink their public appearance schedules, especially in warm weather. Current knowledge of heat-induced infertility indicates that just 48 hours of scrotal edema can compromise the fertility of a breeding male for nearly 60 days (1). Thus, geldings are an excellent choice to withstand the rigors of summer appearances with minimal side effects. Everywhere you look, appearance opportunities abound! From parades to corporate picnics, public appearances are only limited by your imagination and available time. Community events, nursery schools and summer camps for kids are all excellent exposure for your paca pals and demonstrate the alpacas' easy-to-handle size and disposition. Businesses from large to small are always looking for a new twist to attract customers, and are usually delighted to showcase your animals in a promotional event. Indeed, a fulltime job can be developed for trained, versatile geldings who appear around town from birthday party-pacas to fund raisers. Busy breeding farms are in need of a regular four-footed publicist right on the farm. These geldings patiently greet visitors who poke and prod at their soft, woolly coat. A reliable gelding whom you know will not kick the 2-year-old child pulling at his tail, nor spit at the 6-year-old who is teasing him with half a cookie at eye-to-eye level is certainly a hero in my book. Mom and Dad will be more inclined to initiate a family project with a friendly four-footed pal than one with an animal which may frighten children. These on-farm heroes can also patiently show new alpaca owners how teeth and feet are trimmed, demonstrate truck and trailer loading as well as other maneuvers. Angels of Mercy When our public relations specialist is not showing his teeth or feet to visitors, he's kept busy training our veterinarian! Everyone's confidence with a new procedure will increase when all goes well right from the start, and a calm animal greatly aids such situations. These heroes "earn their wings" with vet students and interns, but allow future veterinarians to gain valuable alpaca specific experience. You'll wish you had an angel of mercy at your farm when one of your "little angels" (as Dr. David Pugh refers to newborns) needs help. It is not uncommon to have an older cria drain a new mom of colostrum, depriving the neonate of this vital food. Your farm hero can come to the rescue of the neonate-in-need by providing plasma antibodies. A calm gelding who is less stressed in the process of blood-letting will usually yield more plasma than the same amount of blood collected from a stressed animal. Splenic contractions associated with stress increase the red blood cell content of blood, thus lowering the quantity of plasma per collection. You can purchase llama plasma which has been used successfully in alpacas, but many prefer alpaca plasma. It can be just as cost effective to harvest your own plasma, which has the added benefit of containing the specific immunities derived from and required for your farm. Mr. Mom What better companion for a newly weaned cria than Mr. Mom? For small breeders who may have only one cria to wean at a time, a gelding can be a wonderful new friend for the weanling. Even a group of weanlings will benefit from the presence of an older alpaca to establish social order in the weanling pasture. Mr. Mom makes an ideal companion as you introduce the weanling(s) to leading, grooming and show ring etiquette. The weanling will follow Mr. Mom through the required paces more readily than going solo! When it comes time to teach loading and off-loading, the youngster will follow the trained and willing "hero" into and out of vehicles developing his own confidence with such skills. Don't forget to take Mr. Mom when you deliver weanlings at time of sale, as the youngsters will benefit from the calm, experienced rider. Mr. Mom is an ideal companion animal for sick or injured animals. Whether on-farm, in-transport or at a hospital, a sick alpaca will benefit from the presence of another alpaca. Since alpacas are herd animals, it is unnatural for them to be singled out and taken away from the herd. Although we may not yet be able to comprehensively define stress parameters medically, observation and emulation of alpacas' natural behavior is appropriate. In a field situation, many small breeders may find it necessary at times to separate their herdsire from the female herd. A lonely alpaca pacing the fence line, particularly in hot weather, can be a potentially deadly situation. Thus, your hero can again be called on for his calming influence and moved into the hersire's pasture to keep him company. Fiber Financier Alpacas perform a multitude of services at no charge while providing their owners with a cash crop! Adult geldings have more potential for higher yields of fiber than their herdmates as they have no other demands on feed energy and protein than growing fleece. Our production records show even our 6-year-old hero producing 10 pounds of fleece annually. This hero's fleece is always among the first to be sold -- undoubtedly due to his frequent appearances for farm visitors. Spinners ask for him and his fleece by name! In conclusion, it's easy to see a trained gelding is worth his weight in gold. Chances are you'll have a better chance of successfully negotiating to buy one of my herdsires than one of my multi-talented geldings. After all, how can you put a price tag on Mr. Mom? References Neely, D. P.: Reproductive Aspects of the Male Lama. Proceedings Fourth Annual Hudson-Walker Theriogenology Conference (March 1993). Auburn University, Alabama. 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