what a weird forum....I was visiting a ranch and she was showing off her herd when I asked what happened to the alpaca with the deformed mouth? The Ranch owner said they had a bungee just hanging on the fence not being used, not stretched. Accidentally the alpaca (a youngster, it was a yearling when I seen her) had put it into her mouth and maybe spooked and tore her mouth.
Today my Pennies from Heaven died when she strangled her self with a bungee that was attached to her feeder to hold down the PVC grid to keep the hay in. I don't know how she got tangled in the bungee because I couldn't have put it on her that way if I tried. (and no I'd never). I loved that girl she really was my best animal an many different levels. I gave her mouth to nose and tried to pump her side but she did not make it. I bought the feeder with the bungee permanently attached....I have cut it off.
I'm so sorry to hear about your loss. These little treasures can get into so many things that you would not think about. Keeping them safe from predators is not our only worry, it's keeping them safe from themselves that's not an easy task.
Oh Cindy! I am so sorry this happened. We use bungees for holding some of our gates open. I've heard of them killing or injuring alpacas before. They are such curious animals. I'm going to have to re-think our uses of them.
I'll be thinking of you today and will try sending you "happy thoughts!"
OMG Cindy! How awful...I am SO SORRY you have had to experience this loss!!
I have removed my hay nets because of the cria being too curious ( caught him doing something I just knew would end up not nice), & have trimmed up my Cypress after reading how one got caught up & died...
My motto used to be "bungees are my new best friend" I will be rethinking the use of & replacing my bungees...
I am so very sorry for you. You
r willingness to share this is much appreciated as a warning for the rest of us.
My thoughts are with you. So many things you do not even give a second thought to, this is probably a much needed wake up reminder.
thank you all for your condolences. I couldn't sleep that night thinking about that feeder so I took it back. It was well made and beautiful but didn't work for me. I believe it will be reinvented/rethought out. It looks like I will receive 'a gift of a female alpaca' she is a Godfather daughter and breed to an animal that I had hoped to breed to some day. I am pretty excited to see this girl, will see her this week end. Their are some good people out there! The owners of this girl are some of them.
Life is difficult at the best of times but right now their are so many people hurting. I like this saying I read somewhere...'We are not all in the same boat, we are all in the same storm!'
Hi Cindy,
That`s so good to here.Thank God since so many people aren`t willing to step up to the plate.Alpaca people are really the greatest.Everything is really tough right now but we all just have to keep bunching together and supporting one another.I really think we all are going to weather this storm and all our dreams are going to become a reality.Keep on keeping on girl!