My eldest son appears to have coped pretty well farm sitting while we were away.
Still no idea which girl has taken to eating the expanded neoprene foam we used on the gate to protect peoples fingers. But I have had to remove it on the basis that someone is eating it in large quantities....

Had an e-mail from a fellow alpaca breeder asking about Flax which we now put into our alpaca feed and if it was possible to add a handful of alpaca seeds and expect the same result.

For what its worth here is my reply, just in case anyone else is having the same thought:

Glad you enjoy the Blog and thanks for your question.

I don't believe you can just add flax seeds in with the normal feed as alpacas are not designed to digest grains and seeds. In fact whole corns and seeds can cause problems so I would avoid them. Therefore, I am almost certain the flax will need to be milled.

Best to check with your own vet about the form and the quantities you should use.

I do know that many horse breeders and owners add milled, cooked or soaked flax seeds, or flax supplements or treats, to equine diets, especially if the horses are not fed on pasture for much of the year. But then the equine digestive system is different to the alpaca system.

Kindest regards

Adrian

Its election time once again in the local AOBA afiliate that I am currently president of called SoJAA. Despite having said that I didn't want any more than the two years of office I now find myself running for a second term....this will definately be my last two years. I don't want to be like Tony Blair and try to make it 10 years!!

Adrian Stewart