This recent and sudden downfall of snow caught me off my guard and there are some useful lessons to be learnt.

So my new rule of thumb;

The New Year is here but if there is an "R" in the month. (January thru April) the following rules apply.

Always put the tractor undercover at night.
Always make sure the heated troughs are turned on.
Always have a reserve of alpaca drinking water in case you loose power to the well or your pipes freeze.
Always think about where snow might build up when designing gates and door openings. My gates are very close to the ground to deter predators but this also makes them almost impossible to open in snowy conditions.
Never allow your alpacas to stand under a snow laden tree.

Snow covered pastures also give you an opportunity to discover two things. Firstly walk around fence lines and look for animal tracks. This will not only tell you what is out and about other than the alpacas but also where any gaps or holes may exist in fences. Secondly you can also see where the alpacas spend most of their time walking. Which is kind of interesting. Now we can't assume that's the way they would behave if there were no snow but its an interesting insight into how your pastures might be organised.




Adrian Stewart