After the rough winter and rainy spring, we are very ready to welcome summer, and it has come full force to our farm.  Lots of hot humid days and it is only early June.  We have our alpaca sprinklers up and going, and the herd now knows to come running when they turn on!

New cria are always the highlight of the spring and summer for us.  Make sure you have your cria kit stocked and ready for the big event.  It's a good time to clean it all out, make sure nothing is expired, and that nothing froze over the winter and needs to be replaced before the crias come. 

An idea for keeping your animals cool
We have tried quite a few things to keep our alpacas cool in the summer, from swimming pools, to hosing them down, and all with varying levels of success.  We had animals that liked pools so much, they stood and laid in them all the time, which then caused their leg fiber to fall off.  They were nice and cool, but come show time, they were "barefoot."  Hosing them down worked well, but that took a lot of time, as I had to personally hose down each animal as they waited in line (they really do!).

This year we are using a sprinkler system, and it seems to be working well.  I have two hoses that go to 2 heavy duty sprinkler heads.  The heads are on top of rubber non skid mats, (available at hardware stores), while the hose is underneath.  The ends of the hoses are pushed through the mats to attach to the sprinkler heads.  I put 4 mats down, and 2 sprinkler heads, which is plenty of space for 3 or 4 animals at a time.  Now when I turn on the water, the herd comes running to get their underbellies sprayed, and I can do my barn chores while they play.  I turn it off just before I feed them, so they will stop and eat.  On hot days I let them play twice.  Because they are not standing in water (the mats are about an inch thick) their leg fiber does not rot off.  The extra water runs off under the mats, and the animals who aren't as water-loving, go stand in the runoff, which cools down the pads of their feet.  It's working great for us!

Feel free to call us if you would like any additional information on the sprinkling system.  Jeff or Beth Kressin   330-598-1051