Clipping Alpaca Toenails

Video Transcript

"Hi, I'm Jill Bergman, and I'm going to show you how we clip the toenails of the alpacas. It's something that we do every month, and of course they don't always need clipping every month, but it's something we check every month to make sure that the toenails are growing straight, they don't get kind of kinky looking, and just to maintain the health of our alpaca. And so I'm going to take my clippers, they're very sharp, and I'm going to run my hand down her leg and lift her leg up. And as you can see, she's very obedient. I take they're a little bit long, not bad, but I'm going to take the clippers, I'm going to actually clip off the end of these toenails, and then I'm going to clip the sides of them to make sure that they're always growing straight. And as you can see, she is wonderfully obedient, doesn't this doesn't phase her in the least. I think if you have a toenail or toenails that are a little bit cock-eyed; it means that there's probably something wrong with their gait. And so you might have to want to watch them to see if they are having problems with one of their legs or one of their feet, and so we strive to make sure that that their toenails are always looking straight and not at all cock-eyed and their gait then is straight and even, and even gait as well. And balanced. You can see even though she is even though she is now she's balancing herself, getting her weight on all four legs, and you can see she's just by her relaxed state that she's very balanced, and she's doing very well."