1/3 Angelique Wouters from Oosterhout received almost five hundred old Christmas trees from garden centers (photo: Imke van de Laar).
The alpacas of Angelique Wouters from Oosterhout have a large food supply for the coming winter months. Area garden centers brought leftover Christmas trees to her farm. This is not only sustainable, but also very healthy for the animals. “We don’t want to think about it, but they love it.”
In the meadow of the Alpaca Country in Oosterhout, the alpacas are grazing fanatically between the green conifers.
“We received around four to five hundred old Christmas trees from garden centers that could no longer sell them,” says Angelique.
“The trees are not thrown away.”
“This way the trees are not thrown away. Nice and circular.” Yet she does not accept trees that have been in people’s living rooms because of the pine scent or fake snow that people sometimes spray on them. Angelique does not want to take that risk because of the added toxic substances
Her animals now enjoy the ‘clean’ Christmas trees. “It’s a kind of late Christmas dinner and that will continue for a while. I start with the trees without a trunk and leave the trees in pots for a while. This way I can still make progress in the coming months.”
This suits the farm owner well, because the conifers are very healthy for alpacas.
“The trees contain a substance that is a kind of natural deworming agent for the alpacas. So it is nice that they ingest it this way,” says Angelique.
“Something other than chunks for once.”
“In addition, it is something different from hay, grass or chunks. Alpacas are not allowed to eat fruit because the juices are too acidic for their stomachs. So this is a nice alternative.”
The fluffy creatures not only eat the coniferous trees, but they also give them a lot of fun. “They enjoy walking through the trees. The pine needles tickle their fur nicely. We don’t want to think about it, but they love it,” Angelique laughs.
WE WROTE THIS PREVIOUSLY ABOUT REUSING CHRISTMAS TREES:
Hoogeloonse sells sustainable Christmas trees: one for you, five for others
The Christmas tree can go out, but… what do we do with it?