ALPACAS AS HERD GUARDS
Selecting your herd guards
The first thing that prospective herd guard owners should understand is that not all alpacas are suited to
being herd guards.
As a general rule herd guards should be over 18 months of age, although younger animals, paired with
older animals, have proven to be very successful. There is always an exception to every rule, but
animals under 12 months are not mature or confident enough to be herd guards.
Age is not the only factor to consider when selecting herd guards, often animals that have been raised
as pets or have spent the majority of their live on small acreage find it difficult to adapt to broad acre
farms. Another consideration is; are the animals used to drinking from dams? Or, have they only used
troughs?, have they been heavily supplementary fed?, they may not be used to foraging for food.
Although over time most animals will adapt to the changed conditions, most farmers don’t have the
time required before lambing or kidding for the alpacas to adjust to dramatic environmental changes.
A herd guard should be a castrated male, some farmers have used infertile females, but I wouldn’t
recommend using breeding females as the females are hormonally pre-programmed to protect their
own young first. Entire males should not be used as guards, as they have been known to rape and injure
pregnant ewes.
Alpacas are generally castrated later than most livestock due to the fact that early castration can lead to
problems in growth and development. Consequently most young alpacas sold as pets have not been
castrated. If you decide to buy a young alpaca as a pet check to see if the seller will include the
subsequent castration in the sales price, if not, be aware that you will have to get a Vet to castrate the
male before it is 18 months of age.
Potential herd guard purchasers should always check that the animal has in fact been castrated, many
alpacas are sold as wether quality animals, which have not been castrated, the seller, is just indicating
that the animal is not good enough for breeding.
Bonding with Livestock
It takes most herd guards 2 weeks to a month to bond with the livestock they are to protect. Alpacas are
territorial animals and when they establish their territory they will generally chase any animals that
enters’ their territory from outside. A well bonded alpaca will not only chase out predators but they
have been known to act as baby sitters for lambs as well as ensuring that ewes bond and feed their
lambs, this is particularly valuable with maiden ewes or when there are twins and triplets being born.
Each time you introduce your alpacas to a new mob they will need time to bond.
Some farmers have reported that they find it is beneficial to have alpacas in with weaners, particularly
those that have been with the lambs at birth, it appears to reduce the amount of stress on the weaners
and therefore improves productivity.
Numbers required per mob
We recommend that if you have large open paddocks with minimal fox habitat single herd guards in
each mob will suffice, however in areas with significant fox habitat or where you have young animals
that you have two in each mob. The paddock and mob size are largely irrelevant, it is the extent of the
fox problem and habitat that determines the number of guards per mob. Never have more than 2
alpacas per mob and try to avoid having alpacas in adjoining paddocks, having too many alpacas will
encourage them to form their own groups rather than protect the other livestock.
Using Herd Guards with Sheep Dogs
This is the issue that seems to worry most farmers, and it is true that an alpaca will take to a dog
particularly if it sees that dog as a threat. We encourage our clients to have their guards near to the
main house where they can be introduced to the dogs. Alpacas and most working dogs are intelligent
animals and will quickly learn how far to push things, however, alpacas will generally perceive an
aggressive or excitable dog as a threat, if you know that your dog gets overly excited or aggressive
when working it is best that the alpacas are removed before you use the dog.
Alpacas drove well and will often lead the sheep with the dog coming up the rear to move the
stragglers.
Feeding and caring for your herd guards
Alpacas are fleece producers and like sheep need to be shorn annually, failure to shear annually can
lead to lice infestations, heat stress, not to mention to contamination of fleece rendering it worthless.
In addition to shearing they require at least annual drenching and vaccinations, as well toe nails
trimmed.
Alpacas do not require a high protein diet, and most herd guards will get more than enough feed in a
paddock of lambing ewes. Fibre is the most important component of an alpaca’s diet so pasture hay or
even straw can be an excellent supplementary feed source for alpacas. Keep high protein feed, such as
lucerne as a treat to entice them into yards and stock crates.
The ideal weight for an alpaca is between 70 – 80 kg, over that weight they become obese.
Alpacas have great eyesight and can see an open gate from a few hundred meters away, so if you want
to ensure that you don’t spend a large part of your day chasing wayward alpacas, ensure that you close
all gates.