Friday, March 30, 2012
Thursday, March 29, 2012
Whites!
It is true, white alpacas are my least favorite. In fact, when we started in this business my goal was to produce color, any color other than white. I love all the colors!
But a few things have happened. For one, I have enough beautiful color alpaca fiber blankets to spin into yarn. We are at the point where some will be sent to the mill anyway. So I can send those white ones out. The other thing is that there is a benefit to whites. Often white alpacas have incredible fiber traits. Back in South America the white alpacas were the most sough after and their fiber improved upon the most to meet the needs of the European textiles. So, if we need and want a fiber boost, a good way to do that is to turn to white alpacas.
So this past weekend we welcomed a yearling white male, WP Verticase's Vamil (pronouced va-mil) and a 2 year old white female, Mysteria (WP Mysteria Lane). Both came to us from PA.
Since they are both new to our farm, they aren't too sure of me. Neither wanted to cooperate much with pictures. This was the best I could do:
Vamil
Mysteria
I wasn't about to catch them to get fiber pictures just yet, though J and I have taken a good look at thier fiber. We are quite excited to have them as part of our farm!
But a few things have happened. For one, I have enough beautiful color alpaca fiber blankets to spin into yarn. We are at the point where some will be sent to the mill anyway. So I can send those white ones out. The other thing is that there is a benefit to whites. Often white alpacas have incredible fiber traits. Back in South America the white alpacas were the most sough after and their fiber improved upon the most to meet the needs of the European textiles. So, if we need and want a fiber boost, a good way to do that is to turn to white alpacas.
So this past weekend we welcomed a yearling white male, WP Verticase's Vamil (pronouced va-mil) and a 2 year old white female, Mysteria (WP Mysteria Lane). Both came to us from PA.
Since they are both new to our farm, they aren't too sure of me. Neither wanted to cooperate much with pictures. This was the best I could do:
Vamil
Mysteria
I wasn't about to catch them to get fiber pictures just yet, though J and I have taken a good look at thier fiber. We are quite excited to have them as part of our farm!
Wednesday, March 28, 2012
Fences
This past weekend J put up some new fences.
One was at my request. Whenever we have to herd the alpacas into the paddock to do anything with them (herd health or halter them for training or taking them somewhere) we have a difficult time herding them due to the layout of our current pasture area. I asked that he block off one side so that we can herd them in a funnel fashion towards the paddock. He put in a gate that we will leave open during the usual day so they still have access to all the area, except we can close that gate when we need to herd them into the paddock.
Then he started splitting up the current pasture area so that we can make it into two areas. Right now we have all our girls in one area. This means maidens (juvis and yearlings) are in with the pregnant gals. As we are approaching cria season, with 8 cria on their way, we can see how this might be a bit of a big herd area. We want to separate out the pregnant girls from the maidens. Here is the start of that area:
Some of the new area will be from the back of the pasture area, but we will add in new area too. This way both areas will have plenty of room. While we don't have grass pasture and we don't need the area for grazing (we feed hay year around), we also don't want the alpacas in too close of quarters. Our main concern is that parasites would be more of a problem in a small area. But we also know what many of the alpacas like to walk and run around, especially the younger ones, and they need a space to do that.
One was at my request. Whenever we have to herd the alpacas into the paddock to do anything with them (herd health or halter them for training or taking them somewhere) we have a difficult time herding them due to the layout of our current pasture area. I asked that he block off one side so that we can herd them in a funnel fashion towards the paddock. He put in a gate that we will leave open during the usual day so they still have access to all the area, except we can close that gate when we need to herd them into the paddock.
Then he started splitting up the current pasture area so that we can make it into two areas. Right now we have all our girls in one area. This means maidens (juvis and yearlings) are in with the pregnant gals. As we are approaching cria season, with 8 cria on their way, we can see how this might be a bit of a big herd area. We want to separate out the pregnant girls from the maidens. Here is the start of that area:
Some of the new area will be from the back of the pasture area, but we will add in new area too. This way both areas will have plenty of room. While we don't have grass pasture and we don't need the area for grazing (we feed hay year around), we also don't want the alpacas in too close of quarters. Our main concern is that parasites would be more of a problem in a small area. But we also know what many of the alpacas like to walk and run around, especially the younger ones, and they need a space to do that.
Tuesday, March 27, 2012
Monday, March 26, 2012
Lost in the hay
I finished another hat!!
The most difficult thing to me is getting a good picture of it. Clearly the hay background doesn't work.
I was going to make a really stripey hat, but ended up with one big stripe. As I make these hats, I'm finding I like the bigger stripes a bit better.
This picture isn't right either, though Spot looks cute:
Thursday, March 22, 2012
Summer weather?
Why are the girls all excited and gathering about:
We have had very unseasonably warm weather. For the last few days we have been breaking record high temps (and the nights have stayed quite warm for us too). While I love the warmth and sunshine, alpacas don't do as well in the heat. They actually manage the cold better than the heat. Add on that it's very warm (hitting the 80's) and they haven't been shorn yet, and you have some miserable animals. (In a typical year we shear before this type of weather hits). In fact this past weekend we thought one of our pregnant girls was going to go into premature labor.
We cool them down with fans running in the barn, and spraying cold water on their chest/belly area. Zack loves to take on this job:
After hosing them off he tried to go fill their water buckets. They followed:
And they pestered him to spray them more:
Zack loves doing this job and yesterday I discovered why. Not only does he get to get wet himself, but when the alpacas get real close to him so that he can spray them with the very cold water, he sneaks in and gives them a hug! Such a sweet boy :)
We have had very unseasonably warm weather. For the last few days we have been breaking record high temps (and the nights have stayed quite warm for us too). While I love the warmth and sunshine, alpacas don't do as well in the heat. They actually manage the cold better than the heat. Add on that it's very warm (hitting the 80's) and they haven't been shorn yet, and you have some miserable animals. (In a typical year we shear before this type of weather hits). In fact this past weekend we thought one of our pregnant girls was going to go into premature labor.
We cool them down with fans running in the barn, and spraying cold water on their chest/belly area. Zack loves to take on this job:
After hosing them off he tried to go fill their water buckets. They followed:
And they pestered him to spray them more:
Zack loves doing this job and yesterday I discovered why. Not only does he get to get wet himself, but when the alpacas get real close to him so that he can spray them with the very cold water, he sneaks in and gives them a hug! Such a sweet boy :)
Tuesday, March 20, 2012
A Princess
We seem to stay at a good equilibrium at our farm. While we have some alpacas leave, new ones come. This weekend we welcomed a new little girl to our farm: Rainbow Mountain's Duchess
She is just about 6 months old, a juvi.
We realized that having a juvi named Dutch (JLFA Leonardo's Dutch Harbor we call "Dutch") and Duchess was a bit too confusing. J suggested we raise Duchess rank to Princess. So our farm nick name for her will be Princess.
Here is Princess next to another (little bit older) juvi, Lady Bing:
I love Princess' deep rich brown color!
She is just about 6 months old, a juvi.
We realized that having a juvi named Dutch (JLFA Leonardo's Dutch Harbor we call "Dutch") and Duchess was a bit too confusing. J suggested we raise Duchess rank to Princess. So our farm nick name for her will be Princess.
Here is Princess next to another (little bit older) juvi, Lady Bing:
I love Princess' deep rich brown color!
Sunday, March 18, 2012
Goodbye Sig
This weekend was full of goodbyes. On Saturday Kateri and Snickers left our farm for their new home in PA. Today JLFA Pot of Gold's Northwestern, AKA "Sig" left our farm.
He only came to live with us this past September (story of his arrival is here).
We decided that he is not herdsire quality, and not even just that we wouldn't use him as a breeding male, but that we don't think anyone should us him that way. This makes him a fiber boy (AKA pet/4H animal/companion animal). While I love to spin fiber into yarn, I have plenty of fiber from our breeding animals, I'm not interested in keeping fiber only animals. So we were looking for a nice home for Sig.
At the same time, a family just a couple hours drive from us was looking for a companion for their horse. Their horse was struggling with separation anxiety and needed a companion. They contacted us to see if Sig would work as a companion. While typically alpacas are in herds and that is generally the preferred home for them, many alpacas also lead happy healthy lives as a guardian for sheep, or as a companion for other animals. The key being they have to be with other animals. An alpaca on their own would be very stressed, unhappy, and ultimately not healthy.
We brought him to his new home today. The entire family came out to greet him and learn about him. They were very excited for him to arrive and I can just tell they are going to love and spoil him just like he deserves.
We gave them a run down on all the alpaca health information. Then we helped get him in the pen with their horse. Both animals were curious, but also friendly to each other. Sig and the horse both took some sniffs at each other, but then Sig went to investigate and took a walk through their pasture. By the time we were leaving the horse was following Sig wherever he went. Maybe Sig will be the leader of that herd :)
He only came to live with us this past September (story of his arrival is here).
We decided that he is not herdsire quality, and not even just that we wouldn't use him as a breeding male, but that we don't think anyone should us him that way. This makes him a fiber boy (AKA pet/4H animal/companion animal). While I love to spin fiber into yarn, I have plenty of fiber from our breeding animals, I'm not interested in keeping fiber only animals. So we were looking for a nice home for Sig.
At the same time, a family just a couple hours drive from us was looking for a companion for their horse. Their horse was struggling with separation anxiety and needed a companion. They contacted us to see if Sig would work as a companion. While typically alpacas are in herds and that is generally the preferred home for them, many alpacas also lead happy healthy lives as a guardian for sheep, or as a companion for other animals. The key being they have to be with other animals. An alpaca on their own would be very stressed, unhappy, and ultimately not healthy.
We brought him to his new home today. The entire family came out to greet him and learn about him. They were very excited for him to arrive and I can just tell they are going to love and spoil him just like he deserves.
We gave them a run down on all the alpaca health information. Then we helped get him in the pen with their horse. Both animals were curious, but also friendly to each other. Sig and the horse both took some sniffs at each other, but then Sig went to investigate and took a walk through their pasture. By the time we were leaving the horse was following Sig wherever he went. Maybe Sig will be the leader of that herd :)
Saturday, March 17, 2012
Herd Shake Up
Along with Kateri leaving today, Snickers is also leaving our farm.
Alpaca herds have a very social and integrate herd dynamics. There is a herd leader, a herd watchman, a herd mother hen, and a hierarchy in between it all.
Victoria has always been our herd matriarch. She's the leader. While sometimes a new alpaca to our farm has challenged her, she's always won and come out on top. In the very very beginning, Victoria and Kateri fought it out for herd leader.
Kateri has been our herd mother hen. If one of the females is in labor, Kateri will be hovering around. If one of them is not feeling great, Kateri is nearby. I've even witnessed Kateri tasting another alpaca's pee - I know, gross!! But that is a way for her to know what is going on with them (I don't know if it changes prior to birthing but I think Kateri would say it does).
Every feeding time Kateri walks right by me and watches me put down every grain bowl. She is such a doting mother hen. She used to take the last bowl of grain, until Tehya started eating grain. Ever since that time Kateri takes the 2nd to last grain bowl set down and Tehya takes the last one. I believe that means in alpaca hierarchy that Tehya is behind Kateri in the hierarchy, but I know for a fact Kateri is ranked much higher than 2nd to last, just somehow with food that's what she does. I've taken it as her making sure everyone is fed before she digs in, again, the doting mother hen.
I also notice when I am cleaning the pastures and doing other farm chores, while the other ladies dive into the new hay I put out, Kateri keeps a close eye on everything I'm doing. Maybe she's nosey, but I've always taken it as her being a doting mother hen. She wants to make sure I'm not going to do anything bad out there, she making sure her herd is safe.
It will be interesting to see who takes after her role now that she's left our farm.
While Snickers is also leaving our farm, I have to say I have never grown that attached to her. She's been on our farm just under 2 years, so while that's some time, I never had that much to bond with her over. There was a time Snickers was the herd alarm sounder, but once Miss Kitty arrived her she took over that job. I haven't figure out what exactly is Snicker's role.
I do know though that anytime there is a moving of animals, there is a shake up in the hierarchy. I've even seen it where a lower level female suddenly tries to overtake the leader, just because there are alpacas that came or left the farm. Only time will tell what effect this will have on our herd dynamics. What I have learned is that the herd has a way of working it all out, but there might be some vicious spit fights in the mean time.
Alpaca herds have a very social and integrate herd dynamics. There is a herd leader, a herd watchman, a herd mother hen, and a hierarchy in between it all.
Victoria has always been our herd matriarch. She's the leader. While sometimes a new alpaca to our farm has challenged her, she's always won and come out on top. In the very very beginning, Victoria and Kateri fought it out for herd leader.
Kateri has been our herd mother hen. If one of the females is in labor, Kateri will be hovering around. If one of them is not feeling great, Kateri is nearby. I've even witnessed Kateri tasting another alpaca's pee - I know, gross!! But that is a way for her to know what is going on with them (I don't know if it changes prior to birthing but I think Kateri would say it does).
Every feeding time Kateri walks right by me and watches me put down every grain bowl. She is such a doting mother hen. She used to take the last bowl of grain, until Tehya started eating grain. Ever since that time Kateri takes the 2nd to last grain bowl set down and Tehya takes the last one. I believe that means in alpaca hierarchy that Tehya is behind Kateri in the hierarchy, but I know for a fact Kateri is ranked much higher than 2nd to last, just somehow with food that's what she does. I've taken it as her making sure everyone is fed before she digs in, again, the doting mother hen.
I also notice when I am cleaning the pastures and doing other farm chores, while the other ladies dive into the new hay I put out, Kateri keeps a close eye on everything I'm doing. Maybe she's nosey, but I've always taken it as her being a doting mother hen. She wants to make sure I'm not going to do anything bad out there, she making sure her herd is safe.
It will be interesting to see who takes after her role now that she's left our farm.
While Snickers is also leaving our farm, I have to say I have never grown that attached to her. She's been on our farm just under 2 years, so while that's some time, I never had that much to bond with her over. There was a time Snickers was the herd alarm sounder, but once Miss Kitty arrived her she took over that job. I haven't figure out what exactly is Snicker's role.
I do know though that anytime there is a moving of animals, there is a shake up in the hierarchy. I've even seen it where a lower level female suddenly tries to overtake the leader, just because there are alpacas that came or left the farm. Only time will tell what effect this will have on our herd dynamics. What I have learned is that the herd has a way of working it all out, but there might be some vicious spit fights in the mean time.
Friday, March 16, 2012
Sentimental Goodbyes
Ultimately this farm is a business and sometimes we have to make business decisions that contradict our personal thoughts and feelings. This decision falls in that category.
Our first two alpacas were Hana's Victoria and Kateri (along with a gelding, Snowstorm). We purchased these two females in 2007, both bred to NWA, LTD Accoyo's GOLDSMITH.
This past year we made the decision that we were willing and ready to let go of Kateri. Even though emotionally she's a pair with Victoria as our first ever alpacas. We can't help but have an emotional attachment to these two. They are who got us started in this business. In addition, these two have been together their entire lives. They were born on the same farm in the same year, they grew up as cria together, living on that farm until we purchased them. They both came to our farm as adults. While emotionally I feel tied to Kateri and feel she has to stay with Victoria, I know that's an emotional response, not a logical one. It's time to build off of Kateri's daughter, Tehya. Too many alpacas from the same gene pool can make mixing and matching breedings difficult, so spicing up genetics is essential. While I am sure we could have traded Tehya extremely easily, we felt Tehya is the next generation that we want to build off of. Kateri has given us some incredible offspring, she is a solid quality producer. We expect the same of Tehya.
Kateri's info:
Here is a link to my exciting post when she first came to our farm in November of 2007.
Soon after her arrival, during a herd health day, Kateri was giving us an especially hard time. J turned to her and said, "if you keep that up, I'm keeping your baby and selling you." At the time I was horrified he said this, it seemed so mean. But since then we've joked about this many times over the years. How funny now that it's coming to fruition. Kateri is leaving our farm this Saturday and her baby (who was in utero when J said that), Tehya, is staying.
Kateri had already had one cria prior to coming to our farm, that is SHVN Princess.
On our farm in 2008 Kateri gave birth to Kateri's Tehya. The birth story can be found here. Both Kateri and Victoria were bred to Goldsmith, and both delivered on the exact same day! We joked that they are twins, Tehya and Shelby, from the same sire and born on the same day. Funny how looking back at that post, it wasn't Tehya's baby picture that shocked me (I knew she'd look like a newborn). It was the picture of my son, Zack, he looks so little there!
newborn Tehya:
Zack so young and cute (well he's still cute!) with newborn Shelby in the background (Shelby is Victoria's cria, Tehya's "twin"):
In 2009, Kateri gave birth to OHVNA Pocahontas. That story can be found here. And pictures can be found here.
newborn Pocahontas:
Pocahontas won us our first ever color banner!!
In 2010, Kateri gave birth to OHVNA Chaska. His birth story is here. This is one of a few births I saw start to finish and got pictures throughout.
Newborn Chaska:
Now it's time to move onto the next phase. Instead of a Kateri cria this year, we are expecting a Tehya baby (a Kateri grandcria).
Our first two alpacas were Hana's Victoria and Kateri (along with a gelding, Snowstorm). We purchased these two females in 2007, both bred to NWA, LTD Accoyo's GOLDSMITH.
This past year we made the decision that we were willing and ready to let go of Kateri. Even though emotionally she's a pair with Victoria as our first ever alpacas. We can't help but have an emotional attachment to these two. They are who got us started in this business. In addition, these two have been together their entire lives. They were born on the same farm in the same year, they grew up as cria together, living on that farm until we purchased them. They both came to our farm as adults. While emotionally I feel tied to Kateri and feel she has to stay with Victoria, I know that's an emotional response, not a logical one. It's time to build off of Kateri's daughter, Tehya. Too many alpacas from the same gene pool can make mixing and matching breedings difficult, so spicing up genetics is essential. While I am sure we could have traded Tehya extremely easily, we felt Tehya is the next generation that we want to build off of. Kateri has given us some incredible offspring, she is a solid quality producer. We expect the same of Tehya.
Kateri's info:
Kateri:
Birthdate: 6/28/2004
Dam: Meadowgate Glinda
Sire: CH Tecumseh
Heritage: 1/4 Chilean, 1/2 Peruvian
Color: Light Brown
Awards Received
First Place Brown(combined) Juvenile females 2005 MOPACA
Second Place Light brown Yearling females 2006 IAOBA
Here is a link to my exciting post when she first came to our farm in November of 2007.
Soon after her arrival, during a herd health day, Kateri was giving us an especially hard time. J turned to her and said, "if you keep that up, I'm keeping your baby and selling you." At the time I was horrified he said this, it seemed so mean. But since then we've joked about this many times over the years. How funny now that it's coming to fruition. Kateri is leaving our farm this Saturday and her baby (who was in utero when J said that), Tehya, is staying.
Kateri had already had one cria prior to coming to our farm, that is SHVN Princess.
On our farm in 2008 Kateri gave birth to Kateri's Tehya. The birth story can be found here. Both Kateri and Victoria were bred to Goldsmith, and both delivered on the exact same day! We joked that they are twins, Tehya and Shelby, from the same sire and born on the same day. Funny how looking back at that post, it wasn't Tehya's baby picture that shocked me (I knew she'd look like a newborn). It was the picture of my son, Zack, he looks so little there!
newborn Tehya:
Zack so young and cute (well he's still cute!) with newborn Shelby in the background (Shelby is Victoria's cria, Tehya's "twin"):
In 2009, Kateri gave birth to OHVNA Pocahontas. That story can be found here. And pictures can be found here.
newborn Pocahontas:
Pocahontas won us our first ever color banner!!
In 2010, Kateri gave birth to OHVNA Chaska. His birth story is here. This is one of a few births I saw start to finish and got pictures throughout.
Newborn Chaska:
Now it's time to move onto the next phase. Instead of a Kateri cria this year, we are expecting a Tehya baby (a Kateri grandcria).
Monday, March 12, 2012
Goal Achieved
I came up with a plan a few weeks back to use our travel time as production time ~ time to knit!
I worked really hard to spin up as much yarn as I could, knowing show season was on it's way. I spun and spun and spun. Keep in mind too, that I spin from raw fiber. It's much more time consuming than spinning from rovings or batts (though the dyed blue yarn in these hats was, that's the only exception).
Here is my production studio:
How do you like our newest signs?
One of the blue and grey hats is already promised to someone, but the other will be for sale (I'm going to let the initial purchaser choose which one they prefer, if you special order, you get special treatment :) ).
Tehya's Ear Flap Hat is exquisite. It is so soft and luxurious. Her color is rich and beautiful:
Tehya's Ear Flap Hat is for sale on our farm's ETSY store, Oak Haven Alpacas LLC. Though I don't think it will attract buyers there until I get better pictures of it. If anyone has suggestions on good pictures for ETSY, I would love to hear them!
I also have this hat, a Tehya and Greyt Striped Ear Flap Hat, that is for sale also. I completed this hat prior to our trip, but hadn't listed it on ETSY yet.
My goal was to knit up two hats on our trip, one on the way there and one on the way back. As it worked out, I came home with 3 completed hats!! When we left I already had the first one almost done, because I couldn't wait to start it. I began knitting it waiting for the kids at school pick up. I not only finished that hat, but knit up two more. I was very productive. I even started a fourth hat:
I know I will be knitting on this at school pick up, so it's sure to be done before our next trip. This means I have lots of yarn spinning I need to do in order to have a stock pile of yarn ready when we head out for our next alpaca show.
It's good to have friends
The thing about being an alpaca farmer and going to alpaca shows is that you meet other alpaca farmers from all over the country. You get to know each other at shows, do some business together, and even become friends. But we are all busy with life and farming and often don't see each other very much, especially if we are some distance away. This means that often you have friends whom you see a few times a year, or even only once a year (at the one show you both attend).
One of the big things we look forward to with alpaca show season is seeing all our fellow alpaca farmer friends. Now, I do also have to say that alpaca shows are not one big friend feast. We don't all sit around bonding and singing kumbaya. There is competition and often fierce competition. And while you have fellow farmer friends there where competition is in friendship, there are others there that are just plain competitive. Though I've heard many alpaca farmers say alpaca show competition is never as mean and fierce as it is at say dog shows (I've never been but from what I've heard, it's really competitive in a mean way), there is competition at alpaca shows too. It is a competition. Someone has to win and of course they want to brag about that.
At the alpaca show this weekend we did not do well. It was a shock (after last years great showing - especially with many of the same animals), it was confusing, it was frustrating and every other emotion in there (there were times I wanted to just go home and cry, and other times I was mad, and times I was so overwhelmed I had no emotion). We've had other bad shows, and just like last time, after overcoming "is this really happening?" We pick ourselves up, dusted ourselves off, and went to seek out why. If we don't know why, we don't know what to change. We assessed things ourselves, and asked many of our fellow alpaca farmer friends what they thought. We networked and got lots of good feedback.
I'm sure there were some farmers there, who seeing us struggle, took some joy in it. That's ok. It is a competition and that's how it goes. But I also believe in Karma. What goes around comes around. Just wait until it bites you. This industry changes so quickly, you can blink and be behind. It can happen so easy. Even with our going to as many shows as we do, and keeping up on reading any information we can get our hands on, it happened to us. I've seen it happen to even big experienced farms. One small thing can turn into a big thing quickly.
But we also had friends there. People who gave us good advice and helpful suggestions. The good news is that there are some things we can do, with our current show string, to help get them in a better position to show well, even at our next show (in 6 weeks). We have a really short time frame to do some big changes - wish us luck, please! Because I have no doubt that everything we have accomplished has been with a little (or a lot) of help from our friends.
One of the big things we look forward to with alpaca show season is seeing all our fellow alpaca farmer friends. Now, I do also have to say that alpaca shows are not one big friend feast. We don't all sit around bonding and singing kumbaya. There is competition and often fierce competition. And while you have fellow farmer friends there where competition is in friendship, there are others there that are just plain competitive. Though I've heard many alpaca farmers say alpaca show competition is never as mean and fierce as it is at say dog shows (I've never been but from what I've heard, it's really competitive in a mean way), there is competition at alpaca shows too. It is a competition. Someone has to win and of course they want to brag about that.
At the alpaca show this weekend we did not do well. It was a shock (after last years great showing - especially with many of the same animals), it was confusing, it was frustrating and every other emotion in there (there were times I wanted to just go home and cry, and other times I was mad, and times I was so overwhelmed I had no emotion). We've had other bad shows, and just like last time, after overcoming "is this really happening?" We pick ourselves up, dusted ourselves off, and went to seek out why. If we don't know why, we don't know what to change. We assessed things ourselves, and asked many of our fellow alpaca farmer friends what they thought. We networked and got lots of good feedback.
I'm sure there were some farmers there, who seeing us struggle, took some joy in it. That's ok. It is a competition and that's how it goes. But I also believe in Karma. What goes around comes around. Just wait until it bites you. This industry changes so quickly, you can blink and be behind. It can happen so easy. Even with our going to as many shows as we do, and keeping up on reading any information we can get our hands on, it happened to us. I've seen it happen to even big experienced farms. One small thing can turn into a big thing quickly.
But we also had friends there. People who gave us good advice and helpful suggestions. The good news is that there are some things we can do, with our current show string, to help get them in a better position to show well, even at our next show (in 6 weeks). We have a really short time frame to do some big changes - wish us luck, please! Because I have no doubt that everything we have accomplished has been with a little (or a lot) of help from our friends.
Friday, March 9, 2012
It's Time!
Right now we are on our way to The Best of the US Alpaca Show!!!
I will try, if I can, to update throughout the weekend on how the show is going.
If you are wondering who all we are taking with us, I posted earlier in the week about our:
2011 Juvis
and
2010 Yearlings
We'll have 9 alpacas to show this weekend, it's sure to be busy :)
I will try, if I can, to update throughout the weekend on how the show is going.
If you are wondering who all we are taking with us, I posted earlier in the week about our:
2011 Juvis
and
2010 Yearlings
We'll have 9 alpacas to show this weekend, it's sure to be busy :)
Thursday, March 8, 2012
Portable Hall of Fame
I put this together for us to take to alpaca shows with us. It shows off our first place ribbons, and the Color Champion or Reserve Color Champion (which means the top of the first place in that color class). The blue are first place ribbons and purple are the color champion awards (sometimes for color champion the show gives banners, sometimes ribbons, I've even seen sashes).
I arranged it in a purposeful way. The bottom row is our first Color Banner, for OHVNA Pocahontas. Right with her banner I put her two 1st place ribbons, and her mom's 1st place ribbon (her mom is Kateri).
The next row up includes many fiber awards. Several of our males earned 1st place fiber, including ARF Our Peruvian Tucker and SA Peruvian Greyt Exxpectations. The purple in there is Greyt's reserve color for walking fleece. In addition, one of the fiber ribbons is for our own Tehya. Kateri's Tehya also earned a 1st place ribbon in halter, which is on that row too (the bigger ribbon).
The next row up is our current show string ribbons. Enlightenment's Rocky Rose has three 1st place ribbons. Smokey's Twilight has three 1st place ribbons. OHVNA The Challenger has one 1st place ribbon. Then at the top is Gabriel Star of RobAsia's 1st place ribbon and Color Championship.
Our Banner
Here is our newest creation, our 1st place ribbon banner:
I was trying to find a place on the blog to put this, but couldn't come up with the right fit. I thought it would be neat flashed across the top of the page, but I couldn't get the sizing quite right. I need to play around with it some more.
I was trying to find a place on the blog to put this, but couldn't come up with the right fit. I thought it would be neat flashed across the top of the page, but I couldn't get the sizing quite right. I need to play around with it some more.
Wednesday, March 7, 2012
2012 Alpaca Show Changes
I've known about this for awhile but have yet to mention it on my blog. There are a few changes to the show rules from previous years.
The one that will affect us the most is the fact that the grey color group is going first. For our farm where we have 4 of our 9 show string alpacas showing in grey, this is huge!! Typically the Greys showed near the end (with only indefinites and multies going after).
I have to say I LOVE this change. This means first thing on Saturday morning, the start of the halter show, we will show our 4 grey alpacas:
Our Peruvian Dark Thunder ~ a juvi dark rose grey male
OHVNA The Challenger ~ a yearling dark rose grey male
Smokey's Twilight ~ a yearling dark silver grey female
Enlightenment's Rocky Rose ~ a yearling light rose grey female
We will get the bulk of our showing done already on Saturday morning (instead of previous years when the grey showed later on Sunday afternoon). I much prefer to show early and be done, than to sit and wait in anxiety.
After grey will be the black color group, where we will show:
Gabriel Star of RobAsia ~ a yearling true black male
We'll have a lull for much of the brown group, with fawn following:
ATA Peruvian Lady Bing ~ a juvi female (showing in either light brown or dark fawn)
JLF Leonardo's Dutch Harbor ~ a juvi female (either medium or dark fawn)
* both of these girls could color check either way, will depend greatly on the lighting in the facility
Then we should have 2 in beige:
OHVNA Chaska ~ a yearling beige male
and ATA Peruvian Shamballa ~ a juvi beige male
None of our current show string is white or indefinite/multi. Which means we can relax and enjoy the end of the show. Last year with grey showing after white, we were more than stressed come that time in the show.
We'll start with a bang and then taper off, but with 9 alpacas to show, it won't ever be dull or boring.
We are so excited for show season to begin!!
Be informed about changes for 2012, including:
•Grey color group now shows first in halter classes!
•New fleece classes, such as Get of Sire and Produce of Dam classes, and Cottage Fleece competition
•If there are at least four mature (over 36 months of age) alpacas in a color group for the two year old and older halter class, a separate mature class must be held in that color group.
•The minimum number of Color Championships in order for a show to award Suri Judge’s Choice in halter for a gender has been decreased from six to five.
The one that will affect us the most is the fact that the grey color group is going first. For our farm where we have 4 of our 9 show string alpacas showing in grey, this is huge!! Typically the Greys showed near the end (with only indefinites and multies going after).
I have to say I LOVE this change. This means first thing on Saturday morning, the start of the halter show, we will show our 4 grey alpacas:
Our Peruvian Dark Thunder ~ a juvi dark rose grey male
OHVNA The Challenger ~ a yearling dark rose grey male
Smokey's Twilight ~ a yearling dark silver grey female
Enlightenment's Rocky Rose ~ a yearling light rose grey female
We will get the bulk of our showing done already on Saturday morning (instead of previous years when the grey showed later on Sunday afternoon). I much prefer to show early and be done, than to sit and wait in anxiety.
After grey will be the black color group, where we will show:
Gabriel Star of RobAsia ~ a yearling true black male
We'll have a lull for much of the brown group, with fawn following:
ATA Peruvian Lady Bing ~ a juvi female (showing in either light brown or dark fawn)
JLF Leonardo's Dutch Harbor ~ a juvi female (either medium or dark fawn)
* both of these girls could color check either way, will depend greatly on the lighting in the facility
Then we should have 2 in beige:
OHVNA Chaska ~ a yearling beige male
and ATA Peruvian Shamballa ~ a juvi beige male
None of our current show string is white or indefinite/multi. Which means we can relax and enjoy the end of the show. Last year with grey showing after white, we were more than stressed come that time in the show.
We'll start with a bang and then taper off, but with 9 alpacas to show, it won't ever be dull or boring.
We are so excited for show season to begin!!
Tuesday, March 6, 2012
Barn Blind or Not
Barn Blind = when you spend so much time in your own barn with your own alpacas and think they are so incredibly wonderful you can't imagine them not doing well in the show ring.
This is a very common phenomenon with new breeders - which makes sense, how can you know when what you have at your farm is often all you do know? It also can happen with more experienced breeders, especially if you don't go to alpaca shows and see what the new generation of alpaca looks like.
I admit at our first show we had a terrible case of being Barn Blind. And I will also admit, it's devastating. Since then I've seen it happen to other new breeders at shows and I have to say my heart goes out to them. It's so hard to see this alpaca that you have cared for and loved and think is so wonderful do poorly at show. How could this happen to your baby?
By our second year in the show ring we flipped to being the opposite of Barn Blind. That year we took Shelby and Tehya as juvis to the shows. For those that remember these girls, their sire is the famous NWA, LTD Accoyo's Goldsmith. The short of the story is that I had myself convinced that these girls weren't good enough to compete, only to have them do fantastic.
Every year I struggle to find a balance between loving these creatures, to being realistic about their good qualities and their not so good qualities.
This year we have 5 yearlings going. All 5 have done well in the show ring, so we have some foundation to base their potential on. Challenger, Twilight, Rose and Gabe have all received at least one 1st place (Rose and Twilight each have 3 1st place ribbons!!). Chaska had held his own in 2nd and 3rd place typically (while not 1st, still a great showing).
I have faith that our juvis, Lady Bing and Shamballa should do fantastic in the show ring. We hand picked these alpacas to buy because we felt strongly that they are what we want for our breeding program. They have the typey look, and when you open their fiber ~ WOW!! Definite brightness you can feel! They are the whole package. The bigger unknown is Thunder and Dutch.
For Thunder my assessment is that his fiber is fantastic. He has brightness, shine, beautiful crimp and bundles. He has an amazing bright color. He fits our definition of brightness you can feel. Plus, he has a good balance of fineness and density. However, he's at a strange growth place, which may or may not affect him in the show (ie: his chest isn't as broad and manly as I'd like). Dutch is a perfect example of a quality alpaca, without a wow factor. She doesn't have the perfect typey look (not the wooly face with a huge top knot) and while her fiber is nice (fine with some density, nice crimp, bundles and a healthy shiny brightness), it's nothing that we open up and ooh at. She's a perfect foundation animal, with everything there, just needs to add some pow to her offspring for that wow factor. How she will place in a show all depends on who else is in her class. If there is one with that wow factor, they will out shine her.
This is a very common phenomenon with new breeders - which makes sense, how can you know when what you have at your farm is often all you do know? It also can happen with more experienced breeders, especially if you don't go to alpaca shows and see what the new generation of alpaca looks like.
I admit at our first show we had a terrible case of being Barn Blind. And I will also admit, it's devastating. Since then I've seen it happen to other new breeders at shows and I have to say my heart goes out to them. It's so hard to see this alpaca that you have cared for and loved and think is so wonderful do poorly at show. How could this happen to your baby?
By our second year in the show ring we flipped to being the opposite of Barn Blind. That year we took Shelby and Tehya as juvis to the shows. For those that remember these girls, their sire is the famous NWA, LTD Accoyo's Goldsmith. The short of the story is that I had myself convinced that these girls weren't good enough to compete, only to have them do fantastic.
Every year I struggle to find a balance between loving these creatures, to being realistic about their good qualities and their not so good qualities.
This year we have 5 yearlings going. All 5 have done well in the show ring, so we have some foundation to base their potential on. Challenger, Twilight, Rose and Gabe have all received at least one 1st place (Rose and Twilight each have 3 1st place ribbons!!). Chaska had held his own in 2nd and 3rd place typically (while not 1st, still a great showing).
I have faith that our juvis, Lady Bing and Shamballa should do fantastic in the show ring. We hand picked these alpacas to buy because we felt strongly that they are what we want for our breeding program. They have the typey look, and when you open their fiber ~ WOW!! Definite brightness you can feel! They are the whole package. The bigger unknown is Thunder and Dutch.
For Thunder my assessment is that his fiber is fantastic. He has brightness, shine, beautiful crimp and bundles. He has an amazing bright color. He fits our definition of brightness you can feel. Plus, he has a good balance of fineness and density. However, he's at a strange growth place, which may or may not affect him in the show (ie: his chest isn't as broad and manly as I'd like). Dutch is a perfect example of a quality alpaca, without a wow factor. She doesn't have the perfect typey look (not the wooly face with a huge top knot) and while her fiber is nice (fine with some density, nice crimp, bundles and a healthy shiny brightness), it's nothing that we open up and ooh at. She's a perfect foundation animal, with everything there, just needs to add some pow to her offspring for that wow factor. How she will place in a show all depends on who else is in her class. If there is one with that wow factor, they will out shine her.
Monday, March 5, 2012
The 2010 Yearling Gang
The rest of our show string ~ The 2010 Yearlings
OHVNA Chaska (a beige male)
OHVNA The Challenger (a dark rose grey male)
Gabriel Star of RobAsia (a true black male)
Enlightenment's Rocky Rose (a light rose grey female)
(Rose always acts goofy when the camera comes out so I can't get a good picture of her. In person, she's the most friendly and will let people pet her neck. She is way in the back right next to her mom. Silly girl.)
Smokey's Twilight (a dark silver grey female)
These experienced 2010 yearlings are all champs in the ring, so other than a few haltering sessions to remind them, we haven't had to spend that much time haltering them.
OHVNA Chaska (a beige male)
OHVNA The Challenger (a dark rose grey male)
Gabriel Star of RobAsia (a true black male)
Enlightenment's Rocky Rose (a light rose grey female)
(Rose always acts goofy when the camera comes out so I can't get a good picture of her. In person, she's the most friendly and will let people pet her neck. She is way in the back right next to her mom. Silly girl.)
Smokey's Twilight (a dark silver grey female)
These experienced 2010 yearlings are all champs in the ring, so other than a few haltering sessions to remind them, we haven't had to spend that much time haltering them.
Sunday, March 4, 2012
Halter Training 2011 Cria Gang
Zack and I have been busy over the last several weeks with halter training. It always amazes me how some animals take to it easily, and some do not.
Of our 2011 cria to train, Shamballa right off the bat was a champ on the halter:
Lady Bing did pretty well too, only needed some fine tuning by us (I love the black around her eyes and nose):
Thunder, he's a pistol. We did it all with him: tied his halter to the fence to get him used to the halter, haltered with a friend, walked on his own, and practiced judging. By the end of February he was fine standing and letting us pick at him (practice judging), but walking was still his struggle. We spent some sessions just walking with him and that helped a ton. Last Sunday Zack and I deamed him fully trained. *phew* We will continue to work with him because we want him to be very comfortable on the halter so when we get to a show, at least the halter will be familiar when so much of his surroundings won't be.
Our little Dutch:
I don't even know what to say about her. I've tried all my tricks. While she's made huge improvements, we aren't where I want to be. She will walk, but walks with her head and neck bend forward. It looks awful. I will say that we have practiced standing and having the alpacas reviewed all over so that the actually judging should go ok. For Dutch it is totally about her inability to walk nice on the lead. We'll keep practicing and hope for the best. My bigger fear is that last year we had this situation with Copper and I really thought once we got to the show it would be ok. It wasn't. He got last place and the judge said it was because he couldn't evaluate his confirmation because he walked so poorly on the lead. How embarassing!!
Saturday, March 3, 2012
Couldn't Wait
yeah, I started on that Blue N Tucker hat. I couldn't wait.
I know my whole plan was to spin up a bunch of yarn so that I can knit on the way to and from shows. So I should be spinning away (as our first show is just a week away). However, I had a few thoughts:
+ most likely we will be driving home in the dark much of the way. I can knit in the dark, but not every part of a pattern is good for that, and given the dark part will definitely be at the end of the drive when I would be sewing the hat together.... that won't work. So the time frame of knitting one on the way there and one on the way back may not quite work out
+ I've had a difficult time lately with being very tired. I know I have to take care of myself and given how busy show weekends can be, I might need to actually sit and be still on the ride, not knit. While sometimes knitting is relaxing, if I am stressed about knitting it's not. Since being too tired can set off a flare up for me, I have to make sure I am taking care of myself. This point is actually my biggest concern. I need to know I can sit and relax and not knit and that be ok (if that's what I need to do)
+ most of the time I can knit in the car just fine, but there are times I get a bit car sick when I do it. Given my recent state of exhaustion, the chance of car sickness is higher. I may have to put the knitting down in order to not get sick
+ after thinking about those variables, there are quite a few reasons why my plan might not pan out. I'd hate to save yarn and put off the fun of knitting only for it not to pan out.
+ I am really super eager to get started on this hat :) I designed the pattern and I'm eager to see how it will turn out.
here are my directions:
and my bag o' yarn:
The the plan I came up with is that if I am home and have fiber time, I need to spin yarn. That plan is still on. But there have to be other times when I could sneak in some knitting, right? Then it hit me, when I pick the kids up from school I often have to sit and wait a bit for them to come to the car - the perfect down time for knitting!
I started knitting on Monday's pick-up, and knit one ear flap. Tuesday I had to work late so I didn't pick up the kids. Wednesday I knit the other ear flap. Thursday I cast on the hat, attaching the ear flaps, and I knit four rows. Friday I knit another four rows. At this rate, I'll have this hat almost done before we even leave for the show next weekend. I'll have it done, even sewn together, by the time we hit the Michigan/Ohio border :)
I'll be sure to bring supplies to make two other hats. That way if I finish this one, and another one, I can start on a third one. But at the same time, if I don't make it that far, I should at the very least finish this Blue N Tucker hat.
February Goals ~ Results
1 ~ halter train our alpaca juvis: Thunder, Shamballa, Lady Bing and Dutch: result 3.5/4
Zack and I have deemed Shamballa, Lady Bing and Thunder completely trained. We are still working on Dutch. What a pistol she is! I have pictures of all these cuties ready but they will take a post in themselves. So I will save those pictures for tomorrow's blog entry.
2 ~ spin a skein of yarn a week: result 4/4
#1 ~ a huge skein of yarn made from fiber off of Kateri's Tehya
#2 ~ from fiber off of Enlightenment's Rocky Rose
#3 ~ Blue N Tucker 3 in 1: from fiber off of ARF Our Peruvian Tucker and some purchased wool (the blue dyed fiber)
#4 ~ Yarn made from fiber off of ATA Peruvian Harley:
3 ~ run 60 miles this month: result 49.75/60 miles
I'm actually shocked I didn't meet this goal. When I set these goals I thought this one was a shoe in. I actually thought goal #1 and #2 were the ones that would be the challenge. What I hadn't expected was being out sick for 6 days where I didn't run at all.
At the same time, I'm not worried about not meeting this goal. I know I will keep running and no harm will be done. Come May I will be plenty prepared to run the 10K. After being sick for 6 days I ran a short 3 miles one my first day back, the next day I ran 6 miles (a 10K is just over 6 miles). It will happen, no worries.
Zack and I have deemed Shamballa, Lady Bing and Thunder completely trained. We are still working on Dutch. What a pistol she is! I have pictures of all these cuties ready but they will take a post in themselves. So I will save those pictures for tomorrow's blog entry.
2 ~ spin a skein of yarn a week: result 4/4
#1 ~ a huge skein of yarn made from fiber off of Kateri's Tehya
#2 ~ from fiber off of Enlightenment's Rocky Rose
#3 ~ Blue N Tucker 3 in 1: from fiber off of ARF Our Peruvian Tucker and some purchased wool (the blue dyed fiber)
#4 ~ Yarn made from fiber off of ATA Peruvian Harley:
3 ~ run 60 miles this month: result 49.75/60 miles
I'm actually shocked I didn't meet this goal. When I set these goals I thought this one was a shoe in. I actually thought goal #1 and #2 were the ones that would be the challenge. What I hadn't expected was being out sick for 6 days where I didn't run at all.
At the same time, I'm not worried about not meeting this goal. I know I will keep running and no harm will be done. Come May I will be plenty prepared to run the 10K. After being sick for 6 days I ran a short 3 miles one my first day back, the next day I ran 6 miles (a 10K is just over 6 miles). It will happen, no worries.
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)