Scales

[Anonymous]

Hello Marty -
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I want to install scales in the barn and weigh the animals on a regular basis but, in Australia, we only have general livestock scales which are quite cumbersome and covered with a separate metal platform which looks slippery!** I note in the American Alpaca Magazine that there are scales available over there especially for alpacas with anti-slip mats, etc.
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I did email one company (featured on the second back page of the Summer 2005 edition) and they claim they are happy to freight a set over to me!** I was just wondering if you have seen these scales, or similar, in action - or do you use scales youself?* Do you recommend their useage?* Are any scales available in your line of merchandise?

[Marty McGee Bennett]

HI, I don't sell scales but the kind that are advertised in alpacas magazine are great. You can always add a cover to any scale though so you may be able to put some sort of rubber mat on the scales that they have down under and then rezero them. Seems like shipping them all the way from the US is more expense than is practical. I would shop down under some more and see if you can't find something that you could alter and make work.
Hope that helps.
Marty

[Alyson Gilman]

The Advanced Clinic participants visited the Tillman Ranch in Oregon. Here's how the Tillman's weigh their hundreds of llamas and alpacas once a week! They have to be efficient to get everyone done.

http://www.camelidynamics.com/forumPix/barn/web-scale-tillman.jpg
The "pocket door" gate slides out to section off the laneway down the middle of the barn. They herd the animals into the staging area and with smart herding and no haltering, each animal is guided onto the scale (which is under the plywood platform) for a weight, then off the scale into the next area of the barn.

Thanks for the tour, Andy.

[Cheryl Ross]

After three years of owning alpacas, we finally bought a scale a few months ago. Wish we'd had it sooner, though, as it may have enabled us to catch weight loss in a sick girl before we saw how thin she looked after she was sheared. (She's on the mend now.) With the advice of our vet, we plan to weigh the heard at least once a month, before dectomax/ivermectin injections to ensure more accurate dosages.

Also, I agree with Marty that it'd probably be far cheaper and more cost effective to just get a rubber mat for the scale that you already have. We lived in Australia for two years, so I'm well aware of how expensive overseas shipping is!

Cheryl Ross
Mount Ampato Alpacas
Trotwood, OH

[alpaca2spin]

Hi Everyone,
The scales that are available in Australia are fine for alpaca, and something as simple as a piece of carpet will provide footing for the animals as they pause to be weighed. I think what needs to be considered when weighing animals is the flow of animals to and from the scales. In our little set up we have a simple crush that we use for minimal restraint of an alpaca where necessary. On most occasions the alpacas exit the yards through this crush, so are quite happy to wander down the short funnel, pause, then wait for the gate to be opened.
We actually dont have scales yet, but plan to place the crush on the scales and then tare it, and since the herd is happy with the exit, they wont even know they are being weighed!
We also grow coloured sheep and when I was learning about them an old sheep farmer here (called cockies!) told me a little trick to make sheep comfortable with yarding. This was to run the sheep through the yards in a similiar fashion each time they were there. Contrary to popular opinion, sheep are not dumb, and once I adopted this little tip found that they were happy to progress through the yards, and out with minimal fuss.
So although grip and foot security on the scales is important so is access to the scales and from the scales so that the whole routine of weighing doesnt become an exercise in frustration. I think a race thats too long can be a problem so if you are adapting a shearing shed for this use, then keeping the race towards the scales about 2 alpaca lengths is easier to move animals forward than a long race with an unfamiliar thingi at the end of it! Alot of older sheep sheds have races that are too long and too narrow for alpaca.
Hope this helps with the discussion.
Cant wait to see u again Marty when u hit these sunny shores again,
cheers
Heather from down under

[Marty McGee Bennett]

Heather I love you ideas and the wisdom borrowed from sheep. I raised sheep years ago and agree that they are far from dumb. Funny how when animals won't do what we want them to somehow they are the dumb ones! I think it is a good idea to set up your handling facility so that the animals move through it all the time. At the most recent advanced trainings Brad and I set up a mock barn made totally out of panel to demonstrate what could be done. We move groups of alpacas and llamas through the facility and it worked like a dream. I have posted some photos with this post and will also be writing an article about it for one publication or another. It has a few bugs but the basics worked and I think with a bit more work it would be fantastic. I used the standard 9 foot lightweight panels available here and some 8 footers that are more heavy duty for areas in which the animals are worked. Keep your eyes on the library for more detailed info on the handling facility. In this mock barn the rubber mat could also be the scale. In one of the photos we are testing the operation of the handling facilty by moving humans through. When you build some thing like this I think testing it with humans is a good idea, followed by dead calm animals and finally with the whole group. Other photos illustrate using the handling facility to trim toes on the ground and with another person balancing. Thanks to Alyson and Gaia for the photos.