Alpacas can be dodos

The other day I went down to the Alpaca pasture to give them fresh water. I stood at the fence confused as to where the water bucket went... Then I saw the bucket. It was hanging around the neck of the little black alpaca like a cow bell. He was not happy. He is usually very lovey, but he was so upset about the bucket that I had to catch him in a big bear hug to pull the bucket up and over his head.
Then yesterday I was feeding the alpacas their grain in the morning. Ole blue eyes was inhaling the feed so quickly that he suddenly began to choke. The kids immediately knew that something was wrong. Joseph was especially upset and clung to my legs crying (which made it hard to react to the alpaca). At first the alpaca wasn't breathing and his eyes started rolling around. He was drooling and foaming like nothing Ive ever seen. He actually came up towards me, perhaps looking for assistance. I was seconds from action (thank goodness not quite there) when he suddenly heaved a horrible sound and explosively vomited everywhere. Now that really upset the kids. And that really smelled terrible. At that point he was making noise and coughing so I assumed since he was able to breathe that I should see if he could work it out. He continued hacking and drooling for about 10 minutes or so. He stayed by me and I kept talking to him to encourage him to work it out. I don't think he would have appreciated my approach too much. He was making this awful screaming sound like he was panicked. It was a horrible sight and I don't think Ill soon forget that. I was pretty sure at first that Ole Blue Eyes was going to die.
So today my husband built a covered hay holder. I think he did a fabulous job. It looks better than the ones I found on the internet. He made his out of wood and it holds nearly an entire 2 string bale of hay safe from the rain. I want to modify it to include a second trough for pellet seed in the morning. I heard you can put 3 inch smooth stone in it to help ensure that they dont choke on the pellet like Ole Blue Eyes did. The hay holder was really easy to build and I think its done really well. Ill take some pictures and post it.