Heat Stress

The Andes Mountains of South America is the native habitat for alpacas. The high plains area of the Altiplano is rather dry with moderate temperatures between 30 and 70 F. These conditions are generally rather consistent throughout the year.

However, the climate in the United States experiences extreme environmental variations during the four seasons.

Alpacas can adapt to our winters much easier than to our summers. These hot and humid summers can cause heat stress to alpacas especially since they wear fur coats! And alpacas can die from this stress.

So, what can we do to help our alpacas survive the sizzling summers?

Prevention is the key!

Getting that fur coat off would be the first step. Ideally, shearing should be performed in the spring after cold temperatures are gone and before hot temperatures arrive. Timing shearing can be difficult because everyone wants the shearers to come during the same weeks!

Especially make sure to trim up the tails so that there is plenty of ventilation to the private areas. Males can develop infertility if their family jewels become too hot.

When you plan your farm layout, make sure to plan lots of shady areas for all of your alpacas. Shade trees provide natural shading. Livestock shelters positioned in large pastures can cool alpacas when they are grazing. Even tents and tarps can do the job. Barns with overhangs are also essential.

Ventilation is the movement of air in the shady areas. Designing shelters, tents, tarps, and barns with high ceilings allows more air flow and allows hot air to rise. Adding fans near floor level facilitates air flow across the alpacas. I would not suggest aiming fans from the ceiling since you will be blowing the high hot air toward the cooler lower levels.

You may want to experiment with fans aimed cross-directionally and with fans aimed linearly. When fans are placed in the same direction, a tunnel effect can occur which creates a really pleasant breeze. However, when fans are placed at various angles, you can really exchange the air in the barn well. You just need to try and see what works best for your barn configuration.

Since alpacas will sweat in the heat, they will lose both water and electrolytes.

Thus, plenty of clean cool drinking water should be available at all times. And the alpacas need to have good access to the water without competition. Since alpacas like to step in their water, the drinking water should not be placed near the floor, but should be elevated a bit to avoid parasites.

Electrolytes should also be available. Some alpaca owners prefer to add electrolytes to the drinking water where others prefer to have dry electrolytes freely available.

Excellent nutrition is also vital. A well-nourished alpaca with proper body condition can better handle stress of all types. Obese and emaciated alpacas have higher risk of heat stress.

The type of flooring can also make a difference with thermoregulation. Concrete and cement flooring can be cooling. Sand and dirt can absorb heat. However, straw decreases ventilation close to the body resulting in heat retention. So, save the straw for winter warmth!

Some alpaca owners have wading water readily available. This water may be in a kiddie pool, puddle, stream or pond. However, standing water is also a breeding ground for parasites. In addition, the fleece may fall out when exposed to water too much which is not good for show animals nor for fiber animals either.

However, alpacas can be hosed down to cool them off. But only hose their legs, belly, and perineum. Hosing the top their blanket actually creates high humidity near the skin which will make heat stress significantly worse. If you do need to rapidly cool a heat stressed alpaca, make sure that running water saturates the blanket and reaches the torso skin.

A cool water enema is another idea in an emergency. This intervention directly reduces core temperature from the inside.

Your alpacas would appreciate being handled in the cooler mornings and cooler evenings rather than in the middle of the sticky steamy sultry afternoon. And I am sure that you do not want to be doing herd health in the middle of a hot humid day either!

Also, your dams would be eternally grateful if you allowed them to avoid late pregnancies and deliveries during the hotter July and August months. Crias born during the sweltering months run an increased risk of weakness and dehydration. In addition, the dams and crias will be blessed if weaning were postponed to a cooler season.

So, now you know how to prevent heat stress. But what do you do if prevention is not enough?

Signs of heat stress should be readily apparent. Different behavior is an early clue. You may also notice nasal flaring, open mouth breathing, fast breathing, and labored breathing. Your alpaca may seem weak and lethargic. They may not want to eat or even drink. Males may develop significant scrotal swelling which can lead to infertility.

Dangerous vital signs include rectal temperatures more than 104 F, heart rate more than 90 beats per minute, and respiratory rate more than 40 breaths per minute.

If you suspect heat stress, call your veterinarian since your alpaca may need intravenous fluids. While you wait for the vet to arrive, follow the above recommendations. You may even want to consider loading your alpaca into an air-conditioned van and taking your alpaca to your vet.

I hope that your alpacas never experience heat stress!

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