Why Is the Alpaca Called "Grass Mud Horse"? A Full Guide to Raising Them

The alpaca can be called the ultimate internet-famous animal, and its price is extremely high. It is also affectionately known as the “grass mud horse”. So do you know why the alpaca is called the grass mud horse? And what tips do you need to master to raise alpacas? Let's take a look below~

1. Why the alpaca is called the grass mud horse

I have read quite a few answers online that are all nonsense. In fact, "grass mud horse" is a playful translation based on its English name: grass (grass), mud (mud), horse (horse), so "grass mud horse" is the result of a Chinese-style English translation of alpaca. Although the name sounds very much like a curse word, this is a cute and gentle animal with no other special meaning!

2. Tips for raising alpacas

1. Raising tips

When raising alpacas, we should choose a site for the farm in a place with good ventilation, a quiet environment and plenty of sunlight. At the initial stage of raising them, they should be managed with numbered tags, and regular deworming measures should be taken. When female alpacas are pregnant, try to avoid making them feel pressure from the outside world. During feeding, attention should also be paid to doing a good job of immunization for the alpacas, because there are not many types of diseases that alpacas are prone to, and reasonable and effective measures can reduce the incidence of disease, thereby increasing the economic returns of the breeders.

2. Choice of site

As just mentioned, the alpaca shed should be built in a place with good ventilation, sufficient light and a hygienic environment. For example, in South America, even though alpacas have relatively high cold resistance, in order to guard against the arrival of extremely low-temperature weather, alpaca sheds are still designed in a style that can protect against strong wind and cold. When summer comes, alpacas have extremely poor resistance to high temperatures. So ventilation and cooling are needed.

3. Numbering the alpacas

When raising cattle, sheep, alpacas and other animals, because each one looks much the same, we need to number them. If you are only raising a few, then just give them names. When numbering, avoid the blood vessels on the ears, then use iodine tincture to disinfect the part of the ear that is about to be pierced, and finally hang the tag on the alpaca's ear.

4. Deworming

A large number of parasites will take in a great deal of the nutrition from the alpaca wool, thereby affecting the quality of the wool. In order to reduce the possibility of damage to alpaca wool, the alpaca wool should be disinfected regularly, and the disinfection method can be a medicated bath. By soaking with medicine, all kinds of parasites attached to the alpaca wool are killed. Disinfection can also be carried out by injecting deworming shots into the alpaca's body and other methods.

5. Shearing

Alpaca wool is the economic product of the alpaca. So before shearing we need to do some preparatory measures, for example, we need to ensure that the alpaca wool is clean and free of contamination. Before preparing to shear, it needs to be placed in a clean and uncontaminated pen, with water and feed withheld for about four hours. If white alpaca wool is accidentally soiled, it cannot be made into textiles that can be dyed, so extra attention should also be paid in daily life to avoid contaminating the wool.

The above are the alpaca-raising tips brought to you by the Tuliu.com editor. To raise alpacas well, there is certainly more to learn than just these things. After understanding these key points, everyone should also look up more related materials and ask relevant technical personnel, so as to prevent losses caused by insufficient preparation. I hope this installment is helpful to everyone, and see you next time.