Alpacas should ideally be checked at least twice a day.
First thing in the morning and late afternoon are the ideal times. The best way to do this is to walk quietly through your herd looking for any signs of unusual behavior (eg one alpaca sitting or separated from the herd for long periods when the rest of the herd has moved on). The more familiar you become with each of your alpacas, the easier and quicker this will become and the more likely that you will pick up any problems at an early stage. Look out for obvious things like brambles caught in the fleece but also for unusual things like fly strike (very rare - but has been heard of)
As a general rule, whenever handling your alpacas, you should do so quietly, gently and patiently. Talking to them in a reassuring tone also helps. This will help alpacas that are initially nervous and unapproachable (doesn't apply to ours!) to become relaxed in your presence.

Body scoring - Can be used to assess the condition of your alpaca. Commonly
a 0 - 5 scale is used to describe an alpaca on a scale of thin to obese. 2.5
to 3.0 being optimum to breed, 5 being obese.

These help prevent clostridial diseases and are given either sem-annually or annually. We use Bravoxin 10 (given annually). Check the instructions given with your vaccine as it can often be necessary to give a booster jab 4 - 6 weeks after the primary injection.

In recent years it has become necessary to vaccinate against Bluetongue disease - transmitted by a midge borne vector. After the initial dose, a follow up booster is required (3 weeks later) thereafter annually.