Bobble Head?

Poor Lightning

This is him before:


This is him after being shorn:


I know, he looks bad :( but we felt shearing him was the best option. For one, he had so much fleece I worried how hot he was getting. We still have a lot more summer left and it's only going to grow more. This is the main reason (we don't want heat stroke). Also, this way the spot that he had shaved for the transfusion won't be noticeable. It's not a big deal and is not supose to be an issue when showing him, but will look better when it grows in now that it's evened out. We did not have the tail or head sheared as that is how the mom recognizes their child (scent). Also, the face wool never grows back quite as nice so we wanted to leave that intact. While he looks like a bobble head now, it will even out as it grows back in. He'll be cute again ;)

moving poop

J didnt' do all the work over vacation week (I spent most of my time taking care of a 5 year old boy who had his tonsils out, but I did do some work on the farm too).

We were told we had to move the poop pile. It would never be my choice to do so, as it's a hard and not fun job. It's ideal to put the poop in a place where it can decompose and you can use as fertilizer (which is what I thought we were doing but turns out not to be the case). I bribed Emma to help me. Usually farm chores are optional to the kids. If they want to help we definately appreciate it. And the more they do, the more involved in the fun things they will be (like being able to halter and walk the alpaca, participate in shows etc). But since this was such a very unfun job I told Emma I'd pay her to help. She jumped at the opportunity and was a great helper.

Thankfully the poop doesn't smell and was dry so scooping and moving it wasn't as bad as we feared. But still, being covered in poop dirt isn't fun.

Here is the pile of poop:


This is Emma standing at the end of the pile (note all the grass growing out of the older poop):


After some trial and error we found that scooping the poop into buckets and then dumping those into the truck was the best way to move it. We placed it on the truck over a tarp, then when we dropped it off we lifted up the tarp. However, to make sure the tarp wasn't too heavy we could only move a small amount at a time. This picture shows Emma scooping the poop into a bucket:


Here is Emma in the truck at our drop off place:


Here is the spot we put the poop, note the green tarp, that is where we put the hay that wasn't used at the barn. We plan to mulch the poop and hay into a mixture with grass to grow a nice pasture.

New Pasture

We decided to start working on a pasture and shelter back by our house (the current set up is near the main road, up by my in-laws house). We like the set up we have but there is not enough pasture land for them all to feed on, and we will be adding two babies to our herd this month. We figure it makes sense to move them soon rather than waiting until next spring. But we wouldn't move the mom's before the babies are born, it's too close to their due dates to cause them that kind of upheaval. Though realistically we won't have it done before the next two cria are born anyway. Hopefully it will be ready to move them shortly after the 2 cria are born. Then we will move the 3 moms and 3 cria back by our house. It will be fun to watch the cria :)

We picked a spot behind our house that is already somewhat grassy. J had started cutting down trees a few months ago to help clear the area. Over vacation week he started on moving the fence. We had our back yard fenced in with wood fencing but decided that we want a smaller area for our backyard and a bigger area for the alpacas. As it turns out, the kids' swingset/play structure will end up in the alpaca pasture. That's ok, the kids won't have any problem going in there to play.

This is the spot we picked to start fencing in:


This is where J removed the wooden fence (it use to extend through that area, enclosing the swingset):


This is where the wooden fence got moved to:


This is the new home for the fence and shows where we will have our opening to get our truck/trailer back there (we will put in a 10 foot gate):

Trailer Gates

another vacation week project that J did was put gates in our trailer. We needed one in the middle to separate transportation of males and females. We also saw a trailer that had one in the back end so that when you stopped to take a travel break you could open the trailer door and have just the gate to keep the alpacas inside, yet let air in the trailer. So he added one to the back end.

Here the gates are in their "open" position, meaning they are latched to the side wall and not used as gates. Both swing so that they can provide a wall across the trailer.

Nala - a baby in the barn

no, not an alpaca baby (though we do have 2 due this month). This is a baby kitten that we picked up this past weekend. Zack had been wanting another cat and we happened to see a sign for free kittens. Zack picked the name Nala, she is about five weeks old (my neice is holding Nala in this picture):


She is a sort of calico color, a mix of black, grey, peach and redish/brown. I love the pattern that is created by the colors on her face.

So far she and Fluffy are getting along great. I knew it would work out when we put Nala in the barn and Fluffy ran over and started licking her. Zack yelled "Fluffy is giving her a bath!" The biggest issue we have had is Dottie trying to get to the barn. She loves going there and loves Nala. She seems to think Nala is her baby as she will carry her in her mouth! Crazy dog!

Quinn - a baby in the house

Our newest baby is Quinn, a 15 week old miniature American Eskimo. Isn't he so cute!


Emma found her new best friend.


We picked him up tonight and the kids loved running around the back yard with him. So far he's been awesome, running around with the kids. We walked up to the barn and let him walk with us. He'd walk with the kids up front, but kept looking behind to make sure the rest of us were coming. We'll see how the nighttime goes ;) hope he doesn't cry or have potty issues. Puppies are so cute, but, you know, they can be a lot of work too. Emma is trying to get him to sleep in her bed with her.

Better Hay

J found some "alpaca hay" in the paper that was for sale in a nearby town. He snatched it up quick as we have been looking for some good hay (not only were we running low on hay, but the hay we had was not very good, it was geared for horses, much too brown and full of stalks, not ideal for alpacas). This hay is much better (orchard grass). I could tell when he opened the trailer that it even smelled different. It is more green, and was grown for alpacas (a nearby alpaca farm, Moon Stone, had asked this farmer to grow hay for them, they had some additional hay that they advertised for sale, we just happened to stumble across it).

It's hard to see in the picture, but this hay is much more green than what we had:


Here are the alpacas eager to get a taste of the new hay (you can see some of the brown/yellow older hay on the ground):


The alpacas swarming the new hay (Kateri was the smart one, she went to the other bucket while the others all gathered around the same one):

Boy Barn Improvements

J had this week off of work, which translated into getting a lot of work done on the farm. He had some dolomite delivered. Here's the big pile of it:



He used it to put in an approach in the back of the boys barn:


And for flooring inside the barn:


This is how it use to look (dirt and hay on the ground):


It has worked really well in the main barn that we decided to do that in the smaller barn too.

Faces

I love their sweet faces. As I've gotten to know them, there faces show their personality. Some of these are better shots than others. I wanted to get a face shot of all of them, so for some I had to settle for a less than ideal photo (I don't think Kateri's photo or Victoria's is very good). I put them here from youngest to oldest.

Lightning is our baby. He's curious, and energetic. Wants to play with us but doesn't want us to touch him.


Maddie is the next youngest. She is quiet and low key. She's not one to play around, she also tends to be a loner. She will often be in the pasture by herself. She is the easiest to get close to and is doing the best at halter training of all the young ones.


Maxito is fairly quiet like Maddie. He's the one who has been on our farm the shortest amount of time and I think still isn't use to us. He is the one most likely to spend the night out in the pasture rather than in the barn. He must like the fresh air.


Sommerfield is playful and is the one who is most likely to pronk in the pasture with lightning. She will come over by you if she thinks you have treats, but hates being touched or being haltered. She's going to be difficult to get ready for shows.


Snowstorm is our gelded male. We love his fun smile. While he is one of the bigger alpacas, and can be incredibly stubborn, he is also a big baby. He loves treats and will come nearby just in case you might have one for him. I took this picture while he was sniffing the camera to see if it included any treats.


Kateri is shy and standoffish. She has become even more ornery the further along she gets in her pregnancy. The farm we bought her from said she was very protective of her cria last year (her first cria). We expect she will be like that again. She is the mother hen of the group. She watches out for Lightning sometimes more so than Sancha does.


Victoria is often the first one to greet you at the gate. She is incredibly curious to the point of being nosey. Whenever anything is going on at the barn she has to be standing by to see what's happening. She is also known as a "pig" in that she'll eat all her grain and then try to steal from anyone she can. She is a bit overweight and we have had a heck of a time trimming her down. Snowstorm can be a pig too and since they have the same mother we wonder if it's a genetic quality. I love her new hair do:


Sancha is our eldest alpaca. She seems to be a good mother but is more standoffish about her cria. When she arrived at our farm Sommerfield was weaned but with her and Sancha would often spit Sommerfield off (as she will cling to her mom). She tends to Lightning but gives him a lot of freedom too. Sancha was very ornery with us, but ever since Lightning was born she has warmed up to us. She will now take treats from us. We don't know if she was just ornery because she was pregnant or if she appreciates how we helped with Lightnings delivery (it was a bit rough on her). Sancha appears to be leader in the group. When she walks to the pasture, others follow, and when she walks back to the barn, others follow. It's weird to watch because they do not make any sound. All the sudden Sancha will look up and walk to the barn and others will do the same.

daily routines

Seems the alpacas have set into a daily routine. After the moms get their morning grain they all separate to graze.

Maidens go to one hay basket:


Boys go out into the pasture (I find it especially funny that Lightning seems to know he's a boy and hangs out with them):


moms stay in the barn and munch on hay in there:

Food, Poop, and Pasture

There are different alpaca feed grains on the market for alpacas. We use Kent feeds, as that was the one almost all the farms we visited used, including the one we bought our first 3 alpacas from (it worked well to keep them on the same feed).

We store the grain in a big tin garbage can:


It looks similar to dog food or bird food:



They also eat grass (preference is for orchard grass which is what we planted along with blue grass and Timothy). Unfortunately our pastures are small for the number of alpacas we have. We started out with 3 alpacas and intended to alternate pastures. Now with 8 alpacas, they were eating on both. We decided to close one off and water it a ton. Can you tell which one we are watering and letting grow:


For poop, we use a wheelbarrow and put in out in the woods. From the drive you can't see it at all (it's behind the pine tree completely hiden):


Then up close (it's not very tall, more long and low, the grass is growing out of the older poop):


Alpaca poop is a great fertilizer. It also has almost no odor. Their urine does have a scent but that soaks up into the ground fairly quickly. We are going to use to poop to reseed our pasture. J has created a poop mulcher which he plans to debue this week. I'll try to get pictures of that when it happens.

bellies

We have two alpacas due with cria in July. Their bellies are starting to hang and we can see movement. Emma and I have a guessing game of what color the cria will be, and who will have the bigger baby. I vote for Kateri, but Emma says Victoria will have the bigger one. I think Kateri looks more pregnant, but then Victoria is a bit overweight so might hide a bigger baby easier.


Kateri:


Victoria:

Pregnant

We hope Sancha is now pregnant. Lord Stanley went home last weekend. We tried one more breeding and Sancha spit and kicked and clearly did not want to participate. Alpacas will spit off the males when they are pregnant (often people "spit test" a female as a pregnancy test). We will wait a couple weeks then see if the vet can test her (ultra sound or blood test).

Alpacas are tricky about pregnancy though. Neither a blood test nor the ultra sound is completely reliable. And a certain percent of pregnancies are absorbed by the mother (so they were pregnant but then are no longer pregnant). This can happen even later on in the pregancy and since you can't really see they are pregnant until near the end (about 10 months in) it is very easy for a female to not be pregnant when you thought they were.

On that note, Victoria and Kateri are looking very pregnant! They are both due mid-July. We can't wait!

Now he's full of it

They said Lightning would perk up after he got the plasma. We didn't really believe it because he seemed plenty perky. But he is pronking much more now, and trying to play with the other alpacas. Maddie wants nothing to do with playing with him, though Sommerfield will sometimes run in the field with him.

One evening the kids and I got him running in the pasture. The kids started running and he started following them. Then we sat in the middle of the pasture and he would run straight at us and then turn at the last minute, playing with us.

Here he is mid run:



And here he is walking up to us (they are curious creatures and will come up to you to see what you are doing, though they stay just out of arm's reach):

Alpaca IgG

I'm not even going to pretend to know much about this. What I do know if that after an alpaca is born it is recommended that they have a blood test call an IgG. This tests their immunity. We had Lightning tested and his IgG was low. This is not a complete surprise given he did not nurse in the time frame that is supose to happen (he was slow to stand, and slow to nurse).

Because his IgG was low it was recommended that he have a plasma transfusion. This will give him immunity. Otherwise he could get sick very easily and we don't want to risk his life.

To give him plasma they put it directly in his abdominal cavity. We had to take him to vet for this. We drove him in the car as he is small enough, and it was less gas use than the truck and trailer. J held Lightning on his lap while I drove. It was quite comical. I waited for people to give us odd looks but I don't think anyone noticed. At the vet we ran into a trailer with three alapas in the back who we said hi too. Lightning noticed a horse in a pasture that he loved! I mean he really liked that horse. Funny boy.

At the vet they shaved a section to put in the plasma. We were not allowed in the room when this took place, so we waited. Afterward he ran around the waiting room.

I took these pictures a week after it was done, so it's harder to see (the fiber is starting to puff over it). You can sort of see the section that was shaved just above his rear leg:

Barn dog?

Our dog, Dottie, would love to be a barn dog. If she thinks I'm going to the barn she jumps around in a circle and tries to come with me. I rarely let her because the alpacas don't like her, nor does Fluffy. But sometimes I can't resists because Dottie wants to come so much. She loves Fluffy and can't believe Fluffy doesn't like her.

Dottie is a ten year old English Setter, but at times she acts like a puppy. One of those times is when I'm going to take her jogging with me, the other time is when she comes to the barn. She jumps and runs around like a puppy she gets so excited. Her tail even wags when she sees Fluffy. Fluffy, though, hisses and tries to scratch Dottie.

Here is Fluffy trying to stay away from Dottie:

Flies or gnats?

word in the alpaca community is that these things that I thought might be barn flies are actually gnats. I thought they were kind of big to be gnats, but I guess they grow bigger in prime conditions. Alpaca owners all over the country are complaining about how bad they are this year (phew! At least this isn't the norm). We are keeping up with all we have been doing with the bates, tape and DE. It seems to help but still, I wear a hat everytime I go to the barn as I hate them flying around my head. They don't seem as bad in the barn in front of the fans so at least the alpacas can get a break.

hanging out

On a hot day all the girls (plus Lightning) are hanging out in the girl's barn. From left to right: Maddie, Sancha, Lightning, Kateri, Victoria and Sommerfield laying down behind the hay bucket:


Boys in the boy barn (Snowstorm and our visiting Lord Stanley):

For some reason Maxito is almost always by the gate between the boy and girl pastures. I don't know if the bigger boys won't let him in the boy barn or if he chooses to watch the girls instead: