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It is great to hear you will be coming to a clinic.
There is no substitute for hands on learning!
In the meantime I think a bit of barn re-arranging
will help you with your cria.
I will address the taking the temperature first.
Unless your cria is sick, it would seem to me to be
over doing it to take the temp more than once or
perhaps twice. Always work in a confined area
with the mother right there; attach a cord and a
clothes pin to the thermometer so that you don't
have to worry about it getting broken or slipping
all the way into the rectum. You can let the
baby move around while managing the thermometer.
Don't try to hold the baby still. If you are
having trouble working in a 9 x 9 foot pen, make the
pen smaller by stacking some bales of hay inside.
As far as weighing goes... you didn't say what kind
of scale you have— if you don't own a platform
digital scale you must get one! The only
really appropriate scale for adults is a digital
platform scale and since you need one for the
adults, you will have one for the babies.
Weighing babies in slings or picking them up and
standing on a bathroom scale scares them and creates
behavioral problems just like the one you describe.
I know your question is specifically about weighing
your baby, but I think a discussion of scales and
weighing in general is helpful. So bear with
me as I discuss the whole issue of weighing and
scales.
Scales are an important part of good management;
knowing the weight and more importantly any change
in weight will help you keep track of the health of
your herd. In my travels I have seen
scales that were so inaccessible that the animals
had to be haltered and led to a different building
entirely. For a scale to be really useful it
should be easy to use— that means handy to the
animals.
Regardless of where your scale lives it will be much
more user friendly if it has a lane way leading to
it and a box around it. Scales that sit out in the
open look scary. It doesn’t matter to your
camelid that the scale is only 2 inches off the
ground it is still scary. It is difficult to
herd or lead an animal up on to a scale that is not
in an enclosure. It is even more difficult to
get the animal to remain on the scale and to stand
in balance to get an accurate weight. Even if
your scale is located in a handy place, but without
enclosure around it, you will probably have to
halter and lead the animal up on the scale.
Haltering each animal to get a weight takes time and
training and needlessly complicates your herd
management. Ideally haltering happens ONLY for
things that are fun and interesting for the animal,
perhaps an interesting walk with time for a bit of
grazing. I can’t list the number of times
owners have described breeding males that
practically put their own halters on.
We can’t promise this level of incentive every time
an animal gets haltered. However, haltering
animals, particularly females, ONLY for unpleasant
chores will certainly have a negative effect on
their attitude about humans.
You will also want weights on young animals that
have not been introduced to a halter and have not
been trained to lead. I have seen handlers
unintentionally terrorize a baby simply to get its
weight. After a few very bad experiences, a
confident, friendly baby can become a spooky
nightmare to handle.
Good barn design can make weighing adults and
youngsters as easy as moving them through the barn.
The area enclosing the scale should be the exact
size of the scale and enclosed with panels.
Create a space in which there are no edges from
which to slip off. The best scale is one for
which there is really no choice for the alpaca but
to stand properly. Weighing babies can be a piece of
cake. Bring mom and baby into the scale
enclosure together and make a note of the weight.
Open the front gate and allow the baby to leave,
make a note of the mothers weight. Let the
mother rejoin her baby. Do the math and you
have a weight on the baby without having to separate
him from his mom for more than a second or two and
more importantly you won’t have to pick the baby up.
I think there are very few experiences that are more
frightening to a baby llama or alpaca than being
picked up totally off the ground by a human.
If your scale platform is not large enough to
accommodate both mom and baby, the baby can be
worked through the scale enclosure just after mom
with a minimum of fuss and effort.
There are several companies that sell scales and
advertise in various alpaca publications they aren't
hard to find and they are worth their weight in
gold. I would talk to several breeders that
have one and see what they like or don't like about
their model. I recently heard from an alpaca breeder
that he recommended the llama version even for
alpacas because it was easier to use and comparably
priced.
Good luck!
Marty
For more info about Marty and the Camelidynamics
program visit her web site at:
http://www.camelidynamics.com
Marty McGee Bennett
Training alpacas and llamas with respect and results since 1981 |
