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Please Read ALL instructions
BEFORE attempting to load
the alpaca
The PacaTrapper is shipped with 3 blue long straps, 2 black slightly longer straps (for belly strap) , 1 short post strap, 4 quick release snaps, 1 neoprene cushioned belly strap, 3) 3" bolts with washers, 10 threaded/nut 4" eye bolts, 3 eye wood bolts, 2) 4" x 1/2" bolts used for positioning pins, 1 receiver, 2 tubular arms with attached 5 eyebolts.
Find a post in your barn that looks most convenient for your dental work and ultrasounds.
Measure from floor 66" and mark it on the post. This will be the height of the bottom of the reciever. Place your reciever on the post and mark your holes (2 holes on top side). I recommend you do the bottom hole first. You can drill the post a little if you want, but you can also just rachet in the bolts with no pre-drilling. Mount the reciever very tightly on the post. (If you have more than one barn that you work out of, consider ordering extra recievers for your other buildings)
Screw in one wood eye bolt 1" off the floor.
Screw in another eye bolt 29" off the floor.
Screw in another wood eye bolt a few inches above the reciever, this will provide you with a place to store your straps when not in use. Also this extra eye bolt can be used for additional location for the 29" location(recommend 25" for smaller alpacas).
Once the reciever has been bolted in very tight, place the arms in the reciever. Rotate the arms into position for the bolt pins to push in place. The arms will jiggle a little after inserting pins, don't worry about this movement.
Attach your quick release snaps to the 4 eye bolts on the arm tubes.
Always connect the short segment of strap to the arms or post. This orients the Strap for the most advantageous pulling leverage.
The short post strap gets connected to the 29" eye bolt. The quick release snaps are provided to connect to the 4 arm eye bolts (for the belly strap connections and the other two connections on the arm to the halter).
All other connections use a snap hook .
Attach the cushion belly strap to the 2) longest (black) provided straps
Safety warning:
I have rated this device to handle up to 275lb. Camelids
Only halter trained alpacas should be placed in the PacaTrapper.
Always Position the belly strap carefully on alpaca. Several eye bolt positions are available on the PacaTrapper arms to optimize the safest position. When tightening the belly strap, DO NOT over tighten. The belly strap should be pulled snug, and the alpaca should be comfortable. When snugging up the belly strap, adjust tension of the strap to the point of it supporting no more than 10% of their body weight while standing. The belly strap's function is to prevent them from cushing and prevent their back end from walking away, NOT to pull their feet off the ground.
The best case scenario is to have the alpaca continue standing on all four legs supporting themselves equally on all four legs.
However, If you get an alpaca that insists on allowing the belly strap to support their entire weight, Limit their time in the belly strap to 2 minutes, to prevent any possibilitys of internal injuries.
Alpacas are animals that are capable of doing stupid things, so don't allow them to hurt themselves.
Avoid placing the strap in the mammary glands area on females and the penis area on males. Best positioning is near middle of abdomen (rib cage) and slightly forward. Alpaca internal injuries could occur if belly strap is not placed properly.
Never leave an alpaca in the PacaTrapper unattended!.
We have not seen any alpaca get into a compromised position while in the PacaTrapper, but they are animals that can do unpredictable things.
Loading the alpaca into the PacaTrapper
Careful attention should be given to sequencing of loading. Its important to have a clear vision of the sequence BEFORE your first loading.
It took us 2-3 animal hook ups before we felt we had the sequencing down.
- First, make sure your four quick release snaps are hooked to the 4 eye bolts on arms. I recommend that you always leave them attached to the arms. use the eyebolts closest to the barn post for the halter straps and
for normal size alpacas, use the eyebolt located at the bend for the belly straps . This location will vary depending on size of your alpaca.
-Have your two post straps(1 short, 1 Floor) connected to post and your two arm/halter straps connected to the quick release snaps. (I like to NOT have them dangling down when I load, so I hook the halter end to an empty eyebolt)
-Halter your alpaca with proper fitting halter.
-The faster you can get your alpaca secured in the PacaTrapper the safer it becomes. You will get faster each time you go through this sequence.
-Walk your alpaca to post and IMMEDIATELY attach the short post strap that is hanging on the 29" eye bolt strap to bottom halter ring. The nose of the alpaca should be approximately 12" away from post (adjust strap as needed). There could arise a situation where this 29" high eye bolt is too high for a small alpaca. You may need to add another eyebolt lower at maybe 22-25".
-QUICKLY Attach each side of the arm/halter strap to each side of the halter ring(find the ultimate position within the ring located at 10 o?clock on alpacas right side halter ring) and pull strap snug, making sure that the nose of the alpaca stays parallel to the floor. You may need to snug up the 29" strap at this time. Getting the alpaca nose level to the floor is accomplished by adjusting tension to these three straps.
(If the nose is pointed up, loosen the arm/halter straps and tighten the short post strap to bring down the nose) Once you load a few alpacas up in the PacaTrapper, you will get the hang of it.
-Attach the floor post strap to bottom halter ring.
-Now, All of these straps should be VERY tight, this does not hurt the alpaca, it is simply pulling on the halter not the alpaca head.
The head cannot move, but the alpaca can still rotate its back end around until the belly strap gets attached.
If your alpaca decides to cush at this point, you will need to give the halter straps some slack to allow them to get back on their feet again. Then tighten straps again.
-attach one side of belly strap to the quick release snap on arm sliding the other snap under the alpaca and attaching to the other side. Use your judgment when pulling straps to tighten belly strap . We want very little tension on the belly when tightened.
( we have found that belly strap is not often needed when doing dentistry work.)
There are several hole locations predrilled on the arms. The first eyebolt position closest to the barn post is used for the halter strapping. The other provided eyebolts can be used for positioning belly strap ideally on each alpaca.
The unused eyebolts are handy to snap your straps to while loading alpacas in the PacaTrapper. Otherwise dangling straps can be annoying to you and alpaca.
You also have the option of using two belly straps if so desired. You will simply need to purchase another belly strap.
We can supply them to you just give us a call.
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