The first hint of winter - our pines are frosted in a ghostly white
One of the reasons we fell in love with our property was the fact that it was located in the midst of a pine forest – ponderosa, to be more specific. But I didn’t take the impact to the alpacas lightly. Ponderosa pine needles are widely known to cause abortions in livestock when ingested in sufficient quantities. This is due to the isocupressic acid content that disrupt progesterone concentrations.
So why would I even risk exposing my animals to a single pine needle? Over time, I’ve learned from experience about the actual danger ponderosa pine needles pose, and that’s why I’ve concluded that ponderosa pines are only kind of toxic. Huh?
One of the first things we did was trim up all the low hanging branches, both dead and alive. Besides removing the majority of green pine needles out of reach of the grazing alpacas, it’s basic fire mitigation for when you live in a forest. Every spring and fall, we get a large drop of dead brown pine needles that coat the paddocks and pastures with a brown layer. The animals munch on these leisurely but don’t particularly seem to prefer them. I almost view them as recreational gummies. As far as I have seen, the brown needles do not harm the alpacas in any way. In fact, it seems that it takes a sizeable amount of even the green needles to affect the animal – I’ve been quoted 50% of diet. That’s a lot – in all cases, my alpacas prefer hay or grass over needles. Also key is that I don’t allow my animals unlimited time on the pastures. In other words, I control their potential for ingestion.
What about pine cones? If you’ve ever picked up a freshly dropped cone, it’s very prickly. Most of the animals sniff them a bit but leave them alone. The squirrels tend to pick out the pine nuts and drop the remnants around the trees.
Over the years, my main concern over the pine trees have shifted from their potential impact on the animals to their impact on the pasture grass. The pine needles accumulate year after year and acidify the soil. After years of arduous raking and hauling, we now have a Cyclone lawn vacuum to suck up fallen needles and pine cones.
So what do I think know about owning alpacas on a lot forested with pines? It’s more than manageable to remove any risk to your alpacas. Sure it takes work, but in return we get shade, privacy, protection from the gusty Colorado winds, and overall higher property values – a good trade off in my book.
