We managed to get things done in the shelter and move the pregnant moms back by us on Saturday. Kateri did not want to leave her baby, and who could blame her? But, it's time to wean and time for more pasture lands. Last year the girls ate up all their grass faster than it could grow. This year with 2 more girls on the land, it had no chance. So the three pregnant moms, Sancha, Kateri and Victoria are now on by the new shelter on new land. We didn't seed the pasture yet, it's too early in the spring to do that, and we did not have it far enough along last fall to seed. There is a lot of woods grass back there that they seem to prefer over the hay. We did make sure to cut down anything that could potentially be poisonous to them.
They are slowly adjusting. I think initially Kateri was most upset to leave her baby. She kept going back to the gate that we first led her in at and humming. But Sancha seems to be the one who is having a harder time adjusting now that they are back there. I wonder if Sancha has always been with a good size herd and can't wrap her mind around there only being three of them. Hold on Sancha, you will have three babies born back there in no time. They do not like the shelter, they won't go near it. But I remember way back when our first 3 alpacas arrived at the other barn, they didn't want to go in there either. It takes them a bit to get adjusted.
The young ones who were left up front seem to be adjusting fine. They have the advantage of staying where they were at. I suspected Maddie would take over as leader. I know at the show the little ones looked to her and she mothered them (when we took one off to show, Maddie to hum for them to come back). Sommerfield may need to be moved back with the moms because she keeps flirting with the boys in the pen next to them. She is very ready to breed. However, we don't want a baby born in early March so we are trying to hold off a few weeks yet.
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