preparing Cria for winter – what a good idea

all too often I hear “why are your cria so much bigger than mine?” Many express incredulity at the size of our Alpaca cria compared to their own but the answer is very simple. We keep the feed regime strict but continuous. that way the cria learn that the “trough” contains something every single night of the year and that the quicker they get to it, the better before Mum steals it. Hence the cria eat hard food at an early age – usually from 2 weeks here – which helps them grow and aides their safe Weaning at a later stage.

see for yourself…

note to the left of the photo it also shows lowered water refillable troughs which means cria can drink water at all times. This is critical in hot months as, although Mothers milk is essential food and fluids, cria also need to hydrate with water and should have it accessible at all times.

The right hand photo shows yearlings and two year olds using the same feed “off the ground” method but still at cria height!