Day 22, alpacas: clean 3 pastures and almost run over in alpaca brawl

Friday there were just two of us working, and there was a school field trip. Ideally there are four people working; two head to the girls' pens and two head to the boys' pens. With just two of us, we had to hurry to get the girls' pens cleaned before the field trip arrived, so PB could give the alpaca talks. This left me alone to start on the boys' pens. I was fine with this, because I feel like I go slower than everyone else and am always trying to keep up. Plus it was a good test to make sure I've got the routine down.

It took about 45 minutes for me to take care of the first group: poop clean up inside barn and in pasture, lime and pellets in barn (kills smell and absorbs moisture), grain in bins, straw in containers, check water buckets.  Hard work, but I was pleased with myself. By the time I finished the second group I was wondering how people had managed to do this on the weekends alone. I guess you get used to it, but I'm still weak and soft. :(

When I got to the third pasture I was pretty tired, and just ready to get it finished. I had done the barn chores and was raking poo in the pasture when I heard this angry angry SCREAMING from inside the barn. Screaming and 'chuffing'(which can only mean spit). Oh dear.

Three alpacas were in the pasture with me, all gazing nervously at the barn. As we all watched, out came a screeching, writhing mass of two angry alpacas, necks intertwined, trying to wrestle each other to the ground. Now, I'd read about this in the 'behavior' section of the alpaca book, and it's perfectly normal for males to fight for dominance (just like people...). But reading it in a book and being in the pasture when two screeching, biting ANGRY alpacas come exploding out of the barn at full throttle is an entirely different thing.

I figured I would just step back and let them do their thing, since I certainly don't have the tools or skills to jump in and break up an alpaca fight. Seriously. Not on the resume. That seemed like a FINE decision. It was what the other alpacas were doing--stepping back and staying out of the way.

But then...(oh, yes, there is a BUT THEN), the younger alpaca (and most certainly the instigator of this argument) broke free and charged out into the pasture. I thought he would run to the back, but at the last minute he veered and headed almost STRAIGHT for me. Holy crap!!!

So there I was, standing in the muddy pasture with a rake and shovel full of poo, with two angry alpacas headed straight my way. THAT certainly got my heart rate up! I think I raised my arms up, like we're supposed to do to herd them, to get them to go around me. It happened so quickly I don't exactly recall. As they were headed my way, though, at the last second, the first one veered away from me. Thank goodness!! Needless to say I hightailed it to the other side of the fence to get the heck out of their way.

Considering it was almost noon, and I had not had any coffee yet, I think I did a good job at coherent decision making. :)

They fought for a little longer and then calmed down. It probably really only lasted a few minutes, but it sure felt longer! The funny thing is, when I told PB about it she just sighed and shook her head.  The 'instigator' is gelded (castrated), so THEORETICALLY, should not be concerned with alpha male issues. It's just his personality to harass others. Perhaps he should not harass the alpha male so much. And he's done it before, so he knows where it's going. He's like Dennis the Menace of the alpacas.

I likened the whole thing to witnessing an alpaca bar fight, the way the younger one goaded the older one on until the older one let him HAVE it, and took it to the 'street' when they exploded out of the barn.  When you look at it that way, it's pretty funny.

That moment of having angry alpacas charging your way was a little scary. I was a little shaken, but I didn't have a locked jaw with green grassy drool coming out. Thank goodness, because I wouldn't have been able to drink my 'morning' coffee.