Alpacas

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Sophie10

Sophie10

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So I'm working on the Missouri supplemental and they have the following categories for animal and veterinary experience:

Companion animal (cats and dogs)
Food animal
Horse and mule
Laboratory animal
Other Animal Experience (Zoo animals, birds, pocket pets, reptiles, wild animals)

I have recently had some experience with a large animal vet who works with alpacas. Alpacas aren't food animals or horses. So are they other? I guess so, but it just seems weird to me to put them in the "exotic" category.

Thoughts? Anyone else have alpaca problems?
 
Sophie10 said:
So I'm working on the Missouri supplemental and they have the following categories for animal and veterinary experience:

Companion animal (cats and dogs)
Food animal
Horse and mule
Laboratory animal
Other Animal Experience (Zoo animals, birds, pocket pets, reptiles, wild animals)

I have recently had some experience with a large animal vet who works with alpacas. Alpacas aren't food animals or horses. So are they other? I guess so, but it just seems weird to me to put them in the "exotic" category.
Thoughts? Anyone else have alpaca problems?
Click to expand...

I filled up the other category with anything that didn't fit. I would think alpacas should be in there too. I don't consider hamsters and gerbils to be "exotic" but they are definitely "other".
 
Thanks!

I just saw the place where you can write what the "other" animal is.

Also, I was putting goats as food animals. Do you think it matters? The goats I saw didn't really serve any non-pet purposes.. more like alpacas? I think I am going to put them as other because I don't think I can answer any goat-as-food-animal questions.
 
Sophie10 said:
Thanks!

I just saw the place where you can write what the "other" animal is.

Also, I was putting goats as food animals. Do you think it matters? The goats I saw didn't really serve any non-pet purposes.. more like alpacas? I think I am going to put them as other because I don't think I can answer any goat-as-food-animal questions.
Click to expand...

I've been going back and forth between the two. I mean, you can eat both of them, but I've never treated any animals in that aspect of it all. I might end up going back to food, just because I'm running out space under Other!
 
Sheep and goats are definitely food animals. Food animal doesn't just mean animals you eat (although lamb is definitely meat), but also milk and cheese production.
 
ORvetgirl said:
Sheep and goats are definitely food animals. Food animal doesn't just mean animals you eat (although lamb is definitely meat), but also milk and cheese production.
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I dont like to think about eating my babies! I'm a huge goat fan. They're so funny!
I kind of interpreted the "food animal" to be animals that are destined for slaughter and treating/medicating them as such, because the things you can do/not do are so different. I've got my cattle, buffalo, swine, chickens/turkeys, etc under there. "Food based medicine" is so different from the extent some people will go to for their pets. (Last goat I treated, the bill came to 4 grand in a week!)
Like I said though, I'll probably have to put sheep/goats in there, becaues I'm basically out of room in the "other" category.
 
twelvetigers said:
Personally, I would categorize it all under food animal. People milk goats and alpacas...
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Yep, I usually hear camelids fall under the heading Food & Fibre Animals. (Never heard of anyone milking an alpaca though 🙂) Of course, they would really be better placed in the Expensive Lawn Ornament category, but vet med hasn't become that granular yet...
 
laurafinn said:
Yep, I usually hear camelids fall under the heading Food & Fibre Animals. (Never heard of anyone milking an alpaca though 🙂) Of course, they would really be better placed in the Expensive Lawn Ornament category, but vet med hasn't become that granular yet...
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Hey, I know vets who specialize in Expensive Lawn Ornaments!
Ever heard of equine vets?? HAH.

I prefer "little fuzzies" (cats, dogs, pocket pets), big fuzzballs (sheep/goats/alpacas), and scaly ugly things as my breakdown, in addition to Lawn Ornaments.
 
When I applied, I put camelids in the food animal category, and sheep/goats definitely belong in that category. Anything that is intended as a food producing animal belongs in there. And if you've never tried goat, I highly recommend it! tasty, and personally I prefer kid meat to lamb.
 
I don't have anything in the "other" category.. do you think it would look like I'm stretching if I put alpacas in there? I mean.. I am stretching so..

Also, I LOVE GOATS!! They are so cute!
 
i work with alpacas weekly, i put it under food animal
 
Consensus seems to be food animal! Thanks guys! 😀
 
cowgirla said:
Hey, I know vets who specialize in Expensive Lawn Ornaments!
Ever heard of equine vets?? HAH.

I prefer "little fuzzies" (cats, dogs, pocket pets), big fuzzballs (sheep/goats/alpacas), and scaly ugly things as my breakdown, in addition to Lawn Ornaments.
Click to expand...
Perfect! Question, though, would birds be considered part of the scaly things because of their evolutionary ties to the reptilians, or do they merit their own category as "feathery squawking things"?

Also, where do cattle and pigs fit in - is there a category for "Cute But Big Things That I Like To Eat"?
 
I personally wouldn't call an alpaca a food animal. Especially if they weren't for food purposes. On the other hand, swine and cows are definitely food animals. As far as they are considered here. *shrug*
 
Firstly - goat is delicious 😀

And with the price of wool plummeting, more and more sheep farmers are turning to meat.

To the OP, do you guys use your alpacas mainly as fibre/dairy? Because over here, we also use them to guard our sheep flocks against foxes and wild dogs! I know its off topic, but alpacas go crazy if you threaten their sheep, lol!!! Do you guys use them for that in the US?
 
eventualeventer said:
Perfect! Question, though, would birds be considered part of the scaly things because of their evolutionary ties to the reptilians, or do they merit their own category as "feathery squawking things"?

Also, where do cattle and pigs fit in - is there a category for "Cute But Big Things That I Like To Eat"?
Click to expand...

They fall directly under "Hamburger" and "Bacon"!
As for birds, how about "Target Practice?" I'm not a bird fan!
 
sunshinevet said:
To the OP, do you guys use your alpacas mainly as fibre/dairy? Because over here, we also use them to guard our sheep flocks against foxes and wild dogs! I know its off topic, but alpacas go crazy if you threaten their sheep, lol!!! Do you guys use them for that in the US?
Click to expand...

The alpacas I have seen have been pretty much for fiber purposes only. At the farms I have seen they seem to be primarily a self-sustaining market of breeding and showing. Definitely expensive lawn ornaments.. who spit.
 
sunshinevet said:
Firstly - goat is delicious 😀

And with the price of wool plummeting, more and more sheep farmers are turning to meat.

To the OP, do you guys use your alpacas mainly as fibre/dairy? Because over here, we also use them to guard our sheep flocks against foxes and wild dogs! I know its off topic, but alpacas go crazy if you threaten their sheep, lol!!! Do you guys use them for that in the US?
Click to expand...


in my area we use llamas primarily for protection - i have mainly seen them used as protection FOR alpacas and miniature horses lol. 😀
 
I have a question sort of along the same lines so I thought I'd tack it on.

I have experience with all these animal types but in a pathological setting. Does it count as experience with the animal if it is dead?
 
Pomegranate said:
I have a question sort of along the same lines so I thought I'd tack it on.

I have experience with all these animal types but in a pathological setting. Does it count as experience with the animal if it is dead?
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I didn't even think about that. I have no idea.
I've done some pretty neat necropsies though--Emus and ostriches and llamas, oh my!
 
I've always wanted to do an ostrich or an emu. I have done two full size elephants so I can't really complain 🙂
 
Both alpacas and llamas are typically considered part of food animal medicine as the broader definition of the same is 'food and fiber medicine' - which most definitely includes the camelids. Not to mention they are a food source in South America.
 
One more thing, after re-reading the other posts, you should consider sheep and goats as food (and fiber) animals for all practical purposes. That would be the case, even if the animals you worked with were not geared in that way. Just consider that these are the regularly accepted "categories" which help define your experiences.
 
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