Housing at county fairs

[curious alpaca4]

Hey, I am new to alpacas and want to train one for 4-H. Currently no one in my area has ever brought a lama to the county fair, leaving me with no choice but to house the alpacas in one of the other barns. They can not be tied (for the safety factor of them freaking out, the halter slipping off the nose bone, and killing them) so that leaves the sheep barn, goat barn, and horse barn. The person I am leasing the alpaca from says they can get diseases from sheep and goats. I don't want to endanger their alpacas. Which barn would you reccommend and why? Any help would be appreciated. Thank you.

 

[Latestarter]

Wow, that's a tough one... I'd contact your local 4H or FFA representative and see if they can direct you. You could also contact the fair/show administrator to see what arrangements they can make. You could also ask the owners what THEY would suggest... Another possible option would be to contact the camelid dept at your nearest zoo... Based on what you shared, I'd say the horse barn looks like the only viable option. But I have no idea, just trying to offer ideas.

 

[curious alpaca4]

I emailed my 4-H event coordinator and she is going to meet with the fair board sometime this month. She is going to email me back after the meeting. I am just seeing where all the experianced people would house the alpacas and/or where the lamas are housed at other county fairs.

 

[Goat Whisperer]

@purplequeenvt has taken llamas to events I believe. Maybe she will have some info she could share.

 

[purplequeenvt]

I don't know what your person is talking about when she (he?) says that sheep and goats "give lamas diseases". I'm sure there are some diseases/parasites that can be contagious between the species, but nothing common that I've ever heard of.

Maybe talk to your person and find out if there is something else going on. Perhaps they don't really want you taking the alpaca off the farm?

If you do end up bringing one (consider bringing a 2nd for company), I'd highly recommend NOT putting them in the horse barn. Horses seem to have a fear of lamas that could be dangerous in this kind of setting.

Either the sheep or goat barn would work. My preference would be with the sheep, but that's just me. Sheep aren't as sensitive as goats so they'd be less likely to freak out over an strange looking intruder.

 

[norseofcourse]

There was an alpaca at our county fair once, they had it in the sheep barn. It was at an end, and there was an empty pen or two between it and the next sheep.

I agree with purplequeenvt about the horses likely reaction...

 

[curious alpaca4]

Thanks, I'll keep this in mind. I know that the people I am leasing from show their alpacas at alpaca shows, so I don't think taking the alpacas off the land is a problem. They seem really excited about me learning about alpacas. I know alpacas can't go places without a buddy. I would bring a 2nd alpaca for company. I saw on another thread that meningial worm can be spread, but I don't think that would be a problem because it is required that the alpacas get dewormed within 10 days of the fair.

 

[purplequeenvt]

They will only get M worm if they ingest the larvae while grazing. It's not something that an animal is going to just randomly pick up at a show. It's an internal parasite not a disease.

 

[curious alpaca4]

Yeah, that's what I was trying to say. M worm wouldn't be a problem even if they did manage to ingest it. Plus, I'm pretty sure that the other animals whichever ones they would be would have to be dewormed before the fair like the alpacas.

 

[JakeM]

At my county fair, lamas come in halfway through the week after most of the 4-H horses clear and a day before drafts arrive. Everyone seems to do fine and we've never really had any incidents (animal-wise, human-wise is another story). They way our sheep and goats are housed would not be good as the pens are too small for lamas and way too short. The horse stalls are roomy and tall. As for the M worm, white-tail deer are carriers of it and it's spread by snail after that.

As for sheep/goats spreading diseases to the alpacas, llamas are used to guard sheep/goats all over the country, never heard of a case where the llama has gotten sick from them.

I understand being cautious, but you also have to be practical.