Читать книгу Medicine and Surgery of Camelids - Группа авторов - Страница 56

Pen size can be manipulated, and it is natural to use the number of animals as a gauge for pen size. However, this rule of thumb does not take into consideration all necessary factors to determine how many males can safely be housed in a pen. Distance from coveted resources is key. The camel literature would suggest that there is a distance that young bachelor males must maintain from females. According to Schulte and Klingel, “The bull was able to chase bachelors of age up to 5 years which were kept in the vicinity. Whenever they came too close to the herd, they were attacked and chased up to 50 meters or further away. In no case was there any resistance.”[7] There does seem to be a minimum size pen that will work for boys regardless of the numbers. Three intact males may need as much room as 10 females if they are going to get along. Subordinate animals must be able to get far enough away to communicate that they are giving up any claim to the coveted resource – in most cases females. Males will chase other males very vigorously to protect territory. In a pen that is too small, no matter what they do, subordinates cannot provide adequate distance and are always in trouble.

In addition to pen size, pen shape, the contour of the land, presence or absence of buildings, and the location of females in relation to the shape of the pen are influencing factors. If you have males that are not getting along you might think of offering more space or tinkering with feeding locations in relation to the females. For example, move temporary shelters or add temporary fencing to create a baffle that creates an impediment to chasing. Ideally, the females are completely out of sight. If the females can be seen but only from a specific part of the male pasture it can lead to fights, as this spot will be the prime piece of real estate on the premises. If you are in the process of setting up your farm, choose a pasture for your males that has hills or areas that provide visual cover for junior males and one that is either completely hidden or completely in view of the females.

Temperament is probably both genetic and environmental. The author's own experience would indicate that the genetic component is more important. Hyper‐aggressive males that cannot live in a group without risk to all members of the group are a given and are likely born that way. Ironically, these males are not often particularly good breeders, they are easily distracted during copulation and are often more interested in what other males are doing than in breeding. Camelids that rely on aggression for every situation are almost always the same ones that have difficulty interacting with people. These males are not confusing humans with herd mates, they simply meet every encounter with aggression regardless of who is on the receiving end.

It is extremely important to re‐shape the behavior as early as possible. The single biggest problem when dealing with males is the human practice of cornering, grabbing and holding camelids to catch them. The practice (fortunately or unfortunately) works most of the time in that most animals will eventually submit and allow themselves to be caught, haltered, and managed to some degree or another. BUT the ones that will not submit to the corner‐grab‐hold approach, are exceedingly difficult to deal with and the more they are handled physically the more adept and comfortable they become interacting physically with humans. These males are management problems, and since they may be passing their temperament along to future generations, they should be used for breeding with caution. Castration helps with this problem, but the tendency to resist physically instead of submitting persists, and these animals are not suitable for new owners.

Observing and understanding behavior is necessary for proper management. However, returning like behavior (spitting back, wrestling, kicking or other dominance approaches) to misbehaving animals is easily misinterpreted by the recipient and may be dangerous to the human particularly when it comes to breeding animals. Communication between animals is incredibly nuanced and relies at least in part on having the proper anatomy.

To manage males successfully, you must manage their environment and work in a way that does not frighten them into behaving aggressively. Good animal management – laneways, catch pens, good fences and handling skills are the same things that also make managing males easy. With intact males, these things are essential. Cornering an adult male camelid and trying to wrestle him to a standstill will scare him so he may respond in kind and it will have nothing to do with dominance and everything to do with self‐defense.