Misfitmorgan's Journal - That Summer Dust

[Bruce]

You might want to see if you can find someone to cut the llamas toenails. It doesn't look particularly difficult (from the videos) when they are kept up but if they are that long, they are probably curling way out and you are right, I believe that can cause serious foot issues. I don't know if you can go straight to "the right length" or if, like dog's nails, the quick will be a certain distance from the end of the nail and you have to cut back to ALMOST that point, then let the quick recede before you do it again.

I think it is very common for people that shear to also do nails and teeth. Teeth are important too! They can't be sheared now, they won't have enough hair for the winter. I suppose they could be "long sheared" (I just made up that term so don't go Google it ) to cut out some of the burrs. You can learn by watching them

Good luck!

 

[misfitmorgan]

The Llamas and both Rams arrived last night. Serious feet trimming and possible teeth trimming needed.

Hoping you can tame down the llamas and get them in better shape. Maybe they will make good guardians for your other sheep and goats.

Reading about your dog, he should NEVER have access to your livestock, unless you have him on a leash. His "playing" with the livestock is a huge NONO and should not be allowed. Don't mean to sound harsh, but you have to get some control over the situation. He is a beautiful dog, BTW and I love Dobies. Keep him in the yard, if you have one and only allow him to go with you when he is on a leash. When you get a LGD, he should not be allowed in the LGD's working area. I let my Great Pyrenees out to play with our yard/house dogs, but they have to respect his working area and they are not allowed in.

They are good guardians and watched their old flock.

As far as my dog Issac goes he is never on a leash. He has a shock collar that we use the beep and vibration options on only and he listens well with it. His livestock play has toned down, now when he goes in the barn with us he mostly watches. I also could not always have him on a leash when he is around the livestock because he is learning to herd them. He is a unique dog, he used to harass the livestock and chase them around but he has stopped mostly now, except when Mr pig is out in the yard in the barn and the pastures he doesnt do it anymore. He has also never chased the kids/lambs he is very gentle with them, even in the barn/pasture he never chased them. Last winter we had two tiny mini mancha kids and a lamb living in the house for 2-3 months and never had a problem, he used to lay on the floor and they would curl up to him and snuggle in. His biggest problem is just a lot of energy and no playmate...so this weekend he is going to meet a doberdoodle who hopefully will become his playmate.

 

[misfitmorgan]

You might want to see if you can find someone to cut the llamas toenails. It doesn't look particularly difficult (from the videos) when they are kept up but if they are that long, they are probably curling way out and you are right, I believe that can cause serious foot issues. I don't know if you can go straight to "the right length" or if, like dog's nails, the quick will be a certain distance from the end of the nail and you have to cut back to ALMOST that point, then let the quick recede before you do it again.

I think it is very common for people that shear to also do nails and teeth. Teeth are important too! They can't be sheared now, they won't have enough hair for the winter. I suppose they could be "long sheared" (I just made up that term so don't go Google it ) to cut out some of the burrs. You can learn by watching them

Good luck!

We are pretty experienced with cutting down way overgrown hooves on goats and sheep like to the point of no longer being able to walk and just going around on their knees for a couple years. WE corected those and instructed the owner in PT and the goats are all on their feet again. We also did/do corrective trimming so the goats/sheep can stand properly. So im hoping those skills will help put the Llamas feet back together from what ive seen they are more like human nails then dog nails...but im sure i will find out lol. I do believe their teeth need to be trimmed as their lips dont seem to close all the way....that will be a new and interesting task. For shearing we do our own shearing and shear for other people. The made up "long shearing" that is a real thing least for us. We long shear sheep for people a lot and when we get new sheep who have not been sheared in a few years and we are concerned about their health but its to close to winter to fully shear them. We have also done where we shave off just the barrel and hind end and then blanket them. We were thinking about doing a sort of longer version of a lion cut and cleaning up their butts...then buy Llama coats if we have too. Also after getting our hands on the female Llama i think she is carrying a cria and in the later stages of it too or she is fat in a very odd way...just in the belly area.

 

[frustratedearthmother]

Hope you can get it all taken care of. Before and after pics would be awesome!

 

[Bruce]

You are all set then! I think goat and llama hoofs are pretty similar. Since you have experience correcting bad goat feet before, likely the only challenge will be getting the llamas to trust you. I don't know about goats but as I read it camelids aren't at all fond of having their heads or ears touched. Oh and their size, a llama is a BIT bigger than a goat

Teeth trimming is a whole 'nother thing since I don't seem to find much in the way of goats needing their teeth trimmed but it is common in alpacas and llamas. You can spend a lot of money on a Tooth-A-Matic, works fast, at least on the videos. You can also use a dremel tool though I don't know how easy it is to get them nice and flat one at a time like that.

The lady I'm getting the alpacas from told be about Bright Livestock in Jay, NY. They sell both the Tooth-A-Matic and a Dremel like tool called the Smooth-O-Matic. You can buy the dust guard separately and it fits (according to the Smooth-O-Matic description) on a Dremel.
http://www.lightlivestockequipment.com/product-category/tooth-trimming/

 

[NH homesteader]

How often do alpaca and Llama teeth need to be dealt with? I'm interested in someday getting a couple of alpacas but between shearing, feet and teeth they seem a bit labor intensive just to have as pets . I might have to continue to be an alpaca admirer from afar!

 

[Bruce]

Depends on the animal I guess The general answer is "when their incisors no longer meet the pallet smoothly". I've not had them before so I can't tell you how often they need their teeth done. Check back in a year or two Presumably if they line up well with the pallet, they get worn down naturally and don't often need filing.

Shearing is once a year, feet depends on what they walk on. If they have enough hardscape they will wear down their nails, if they have only soft ground, the nails will grow faster and need trimming more often. Same with sheep, goats, etc.

 

[misfitmorgan]

Hope you can get it all taken care of. Before and after pics would be awesome!

Yes yes they would be lol....so far my track record on getting things on film is....well sad

You are all set then! I think goat and llama hoofs are pretty similar. Since you have experience correcting bad goat feet before, likely the only challenge will be getting the llamas to trust you. I don't know about goats but as I read it camelids aren't at all fond of having their heads or ears touched. Oh and their size, a llama is a BIT bigger than a goat

Teeth trimming is a whole 'nother thing since I don't seem to find much in the way of goats needing their teeth trimmed but it is common in alpacas and llamas. You can spend a lot of money on a Tooth-A-Matic, works fast, at least on the videos. You can also use a dremel tool though I don't know how easy it is to get them nice and flat one at a time like that.

The lady I'm getting the alpacas from told be about Bright Livestock in Jay, NY. They sell both the Tooth-A-Matic and a Dremel like tool called the Smooth-O-Matic. You can buy the dust guard separately and it fits (according to the Smooth-O-Matic description) on a Dremel.
http://www.lightlivestockequipment.com/product-category/tooth-trimming/

Their feet are actually completely different i was not thrilled to learn that lol and man do they kick hard. No feet trimmed yet the kicking was just while being caught and loaded..DH limped for two days. Anyhow sheep and goat hooves are the same for all intents and purposes when trimming is concerned i.e. hard outer hoof wall 360 degrees around and softer inner sole/frog area...llama and i assume alpaca feet are a thick leathery pad and just on the front half is a "hoof wall" which is aka nails....yes camelids have toenails not hooves so that should be interesting.

I have seen the fancy machine but for two llama im not going to bother i would rather dremel them. To dremel them you use a flat wheel bit and cut from the front of the teeth to the back and just line up each cut with the next. The nice thing about cutting their teeth is as long as they are smooth they do not need to be perfectly straight or lined up because they should be worn that way.

How often do alpaca and Llama teeth need to be dealt with? I'm interested in someday getting a couple of alpacas but between shearing, feet and teeth they seem a bit labor intensive just to have as pets . I might have to continue to be an alpaca admirer from afar!

Alpaca teeth are for their whole life though it is a bit like goat horns..they grow fast when they are young and as they age they slow in growth. I dont own alpacas so i dunno how often it is on older ones but younger ones ive heard once a year or so depending.

Llama teeth do not grow continuously and usually dont need cut to often like once or twice in their life maybe. Mostly as Bruce said if you keep them lined up under their pallet they will wear them down themselves.

With both a lot has to do with breeding.

Generally i would assume you can trim teeth, shear and cut nails all on the same day so labor intensive one day a year lol. i know some Llama only need sheared once every other year..alpaca no such luck though lol. For nail trimming its as needed and varies by diet to im sure as well as ground like Bruce said i'm guessing every 3-6months??

All my info is from research lol no real life experience with these critters yet.

 

[misfitmorgan]

Also i forgot to mention Saturday morning we found......baby piglets in our barn. Apprently our boar had gotten atleast one of the girls but even so only made 6 piglets and 2 were DOA we believe. So poor litter size and not to sad we killed the boar, the 6 pig litter took him 3months before she was knocked up. But anyhow baby piglets!!!! 3 boys and 1 girl and i already claimed her as a breeder pending how she grows. Momma has an awesome attitude, you can go in there and play with her piggies and she is calm as can be even if they squeal but doing an excellent job keeping them fed and warm and no crushing so far.

 

[Baymule]

I hope the llamas can settle in and become your beloved pets. As caring as you are, they should warm up to you in no time.