Hot weather and heat stress

All of our girls are fortunate enough to have access to our cool barn in the summer. The alpaca boys however have shelters that don't stay as cool as our old barn. We are able to remove side panels on one of the shelters for a cross breeze to keep it cooler inside. Another shelter for a younger group of boys has an overhang for shade that we enclose with tarps in the winter. Last Saturday, the panels and tarps were removed for the season, and just in time.

It's been hot and humid for the last several days with temps in the upper 80's and into the 90's. On Tuesday afternoon, Leroy was looking like he needed a break from the heat so I brought him and Lucas inside the barn to cool off. To be on the safe side, I wetted some towels and used them to cool his belly. I did the same for Lucas, too, although he didn't seem like he needed it.

Several years ago, our large male llama Java Joe suffered from heat stress. We saw him out in the pasture, wobbly on his legs, with his mouth open and panting. This was the first time we had seen this happen and one call to the vet gave us his diagnosis. We immediately hosed his belly with cold water and brought him inside the barn. We continued to cool him down in the barn with cold water and got him to drink water. Eventually, he improved and we kept a very close watch on him for the next few hours. Since that time, we have seen him on another occasion get early signs of heat stress by breathing with his mouth open and we take him into the barn as soon as we notice. We had heard that he is more susceptible to heat stress since he had it the first time.

It's a good idea to have electrolytes on hand to mix in the water on hot days for your alpacas. We've actually mixed powdered Gatorade into water buckets for our alpacas and llamas when the weather gets really hot and humid. They love it!

Also, hosing down their legs and bellies with water will help keep them cool. Our alpacas have been afraid of the sprinkler and the water hose so I try to atleast wet the pasture so they can lay on the wet grass or sand after I remove the sprinkler/hose.

Make sure you have clean, fresh water for your animals when it's hot and humid like this. If the alpacas are dipping their stinky feet in their water buckets, raise the buckets up so their water stays fresh.

Take care and stay cool!