Those Gosh-darn Males!
Male alpaca behavior can be very aggravating for their owners. Adult males usually don’t live together happily in the presence of females. Like other herd animals, one male considers the herd of females to belong to him - and will fight off any other adult male that looks to be a rival. In the wild the other males would challenge the reigning herdsire to take over the herd. The loser would simply leave and live elsewhere. The problem is that on a farm rivals can’t leave - they live in the pasture next door! So…let the games begin!
We have three adult males who are constantly vying for top stud status. One of them is actually a gelding, but he doesn’t know it. So, we have to rotate room assignments frequently to keep the boys from being too cantankerous with each other. Our best herdsire, Shaka, is also the most calm and least aggressive of the three. I have never seen him pick a fight - and it takes several escalating threats from one of the other males to provoke him to spit back at them. His is the temperament that I want to pass on to my growing herd. So this weekend he was moved to his own private suite - which will also become a breeding pasture. Luckily we are able to position this prime real estate away from the view of Shaka’s rivals. Breeding season begins next weekend (November 29), so Shaka will have his first breeding dates with some of our females. We hope to have some beautiful true black genes passed on in some calm and easily handled cria.
