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Tips 'n Info

During our more severe winter temperatures, some alpacas and llamas have difficulty keeping warm. Assisting them by adding a coat or blanket can make the significant difference. In addition to purchasing an alpaca or llama coat and/or blanket from a vendor, there are a number of inexpensive and creative ways to come up with fashionable winter outerwear:

Visit your local Goodwill, Salvation Army or Value Village. You can often find inexpensive blankets, quilted sleeping bags, children's zippered vests, sweatshirts, jackets and sweaters. For young alpacas and llamas, the front legs go through the sleeves of the vest, sweatshirt or jacket and it is then zipped up on their backside along the top line.

Some have cut the arms from the sweatshirt, jacket or sweater and used one of the arm pieces as a neck warmer. Just slip the sleeve - cut to the appropriate length -- over the youngster's head, fit it along the neck and tuck the lower end into the neck opening of the sweatshirt, jacket or sweater where the two pieces meet at the withers.

If you do not entirely cut off the sleeves, be sure they are short enough to allow free movement. It is possible to become entangled in winter wear that is not properly fit. Once entangled, all manner of possibilities arise including injury and the inability to stand to nurse, pee and poop.

Putting the jacket or sweatshirt on backwards so that the zipper runs along the top line makes it much easier to put on and take off.

Many look specifically for a jacket, which is Polartek on the inside, and waterproof Cordura on the outside. Children's polar fleece vests are also a popular choice.

Blankets and quilted sleeping bags can be fashioned as warm outerwear for adults. There are a number of creative ways these can be altered. Some have simply cut the blanket or sleeping bag to the appropriate length, bound the cut end(s) and added a length of Velcro on each side at the mid-section to secure the blanket/sleeping bag in place by connecting the Velcro ends together under the belly. Others have gone a bit further by cutting a hole near one end large enough for the neck to go through. This allows for a bit of the blanket to also hang down over the chest area.

It is recommended to have several "coats" and/or blankets available. As one becomes dirty and/or wet, it can be replaced with a dry clean one. The "used" one can be thrown in the wash.

A very creative friend shared that she buys all manner of sweaters at her local thrift store. She takes them home, unravels each one and then uses the yarn to knit a whole new sweater or blanket.

REMEMBER to remove any "outerwear" when the weather warms!

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