I am a fairly new alpaca owner. We have a small herd that was being agisted while we got our farm ready. There was an accident with a bull camel on the agisting farm and several of our alpacas were killed. When our remaining herd came to us, several were injured, but recovering nicely. Unfortunately, a few had internal injuries that were hidden. One just dropped dead all of a sudden. As new alpaca owners, we were totally unprepared for this. We did not know what to do. When Marty told us of Nordica a few weeks ago, it made me want to ask this question of everyone. What do you do with the remains of an alpaca that you have lost? The one we initially lost I had no connection to. We had to make a quick decision about what to do because of Texas heat and predators. Since then we have had to deal with a cria born too early, losing a mother who prolapsed, and losing one more from the bull camel after a year of loving her. I felt very differently about those deaths. However, in the midst of my tears I have tried to be pragmatic with each of the deaths we have faced. The vet did a necropsy on one to make sure of the cause of death and the others we buried. I just wondered if people have a cemetery on their land for their alpacas? Do you cremate them? Is there some other option? We have a memorial garden where we have buried our animals, but I don't know if that is a very practical solution long term. How do other people handle this? Dawn Wales Green Dragon Farms
