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Fighting teeth??
Can people tell me about this? when do they come in? And when do I have them pulled?
Replies to This Discussion
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Permalink Reply by Sue Ives on -
Hi Liz
Fighting teeth generally come in when the alpaca matures. Probably between two and three years old. You do not pull fighting teeth though! The roots are very long and if the teeth are pulled the roots can break down deep and cause a lot of pain not to mention infection and a whole world of problems. It is customary to take the "hook" portion of the tooth off and keep the remainder blunted. Personally I let the vet do the fighting teeth. It doesn't take much effort using OB wire to get it off. Then some kind of file is used to blunt the edge. For other teeth trimming one can use a dremel tool, OB wire or those tooth-o-matic gadgets. You do need to know how to use them so that you create the correct angle on the cut. Hope this helps!
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Permalink Reply by Liz Werner on -
Yes, thanks a lot. I had just heard of removal of fighting teeth and that's all I knew. Thought it warranted a place on this site, too.
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Permalink Reply by Maryann Marsh on -
Also, if you get on a schedule, it usually takes a year for them to grow sooo its right around the time we sheer. We have our sheerer do it when they are down.
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Permalink Reply by Janet Tapply on -
I have my vet out once a year to check the boys over the age of two and have their teeth trimmed. He often times used a pair of clippers (they look like pliers) and cuts the sharp point off. It takes a very few minutes per boy to have them done. Certainly worth the time to have it done as the boys like to wrestle and cause some nasty gashes if they are not taken care of.
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Permalink Reply by Nancy Schell ~ Walnut Hill Farm on -
Just want to add something to this discussion....
During shearing also look at your girls teeth too! While shearing this year we found that one of our girls has fighting teeth too! Hers are not sharp (and she is pregnant too), so we left them and now we know to check them every year... Even the shearer was supprised!
Nancy
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Permalink Reply by Sheila Temple on -
We have a young male that has proven himself before both fighting teeth fully erupted so keep in mind that it is only a guideline. Fighting teeth are an indicator of maturity but the proof is in the positive ultrasound of his first date. You should definitely keep an eye on how long the fighting teeth become since they are VERY sharp and can really inflict a nasty wound on another alpaca.
We check the teeth on our girls as a part of routine post-partum checkup. Since removing the teeth may be stressful to some girls, our vet advises that we avoid trimming teeth on the pregnant girls. We just moved that to part of the routine check after they deliver their cria.
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