Friday, October 9, 2009

Sat. Bakers Acres and Open House Sunday at ATF



We will be having an open house on Sunday...we chose Sunday because we (the alpacas, some of our products and us!) will be at the Baker's Acres Apple Harvet Festival this weekend on Saturday...it should be awesome. Come by and check out all the activities...it is supposed to be an incredible fall day! Click on their logo to see what the schedule is for the day!ooh yes...and Monday will be a day of rest in honor of Christopher Columbus! :-)

Touched by "recovery gift" at The Great Cortland Pumkin Fest


Two beautiful days were spent in Cortland this weekend. It was truly a celebration of pumpkins...and fall. They were incredible fall days and hundreds of people filed through our stall...but two made our days completely worth the time and effort.


Two special ladies bought hats for themselves. One was going to be losing her hair soon due to radiation and the other was buying herself a "recovery gift". I recognized the woman as a woman who had purchased our stylish alpaca hats last year...asking her if she had bought hats last year she immediately said "yes"...two...and this year I am buying one as a gift to myself. I wore the hats all winter because they were so soft, warm and didn't itch my head. She then told us that she was told she had breast cancer only a month after buying the hats...not knowing how important they would be to her bald head! But on this day she was buying herself a new one as a recovery gift. It gave me chills...and my mother...the Creator of the unique hats was touched that something she made had made a difference in the life of someone with cancer. It seems as though no one is spared from being touched by cancer...and on this day my mom felt how she made a difference!

Monday, September 21, 2009

Prepping for National Alpaca Farm Days!


As usual we have been working hard on the farm and are beginning to prep for winter and fall events. You know... the list one last barn door to replace, spit offs to be sure all are bred and the daily work of animal upkeep. (Above pictures are from the Lansing Harbor Fest)

We will be open the the weekend for National Alpaca Farm Days (Sept. 26th and 27th). The farm store will be open, animals in pens with new babies to be seen. It has been another good year on the farm and we look forward to sharing it with you this weekend. We are distributing our fall events schedule and will be around at local festivals, farmers markets and will be having open houses at our farm...and in between we will be knitting ;-)
For more information on our events go to our website at www.angeltreefarm.com !

Wednesday, September 2, 2009

Puttin' up hay!






Hay you alpaca farmers...I got lucky! You know when you get that call from "the hay guy"? Well if you are not familiar with it, it is kinda like that call that that proclaims"the baby is coming"...you drop everything and run...only in this situation it is to the barn! Depending on the weather and when the farmer will show up with the hay wagons...you just take it when you get the call. Well, I was preparing for a graduation party at our house/farm...when I got "the call". Not quite knowing what to say I said "okay"! When you are getting second cutting hay you take it when it is ready because you don't want it sitting on the wagon and drying out or let it get caught in the rain...so I took it! Well about midway through the party..."Ray the Hay guy" shows up with about 175 of the bales (we had already put up two wagons ourselves!)...my husbands farmin' family (and friends!) pictched in and we had the hay put up in about 20-25 minutes! It was fun and is always a bit of a thrill in a weird... exhausting... sweaty way...but on this day it was really special whenpeople took their positions and we did the tedious job of putting up hay...together. (Did I mention I was the photographer on this day?)



We bought a used hay elevator from a local farmer and were thankful for it this season...it was worth every penny!

Belated Blogging!

Hey bloggers...I want to say that here at Angel Tree you are sure to get the scoop on the latest...but it might be a day late! I am struggling with getting all the hapenings onto the blog quick enough. Also finding that between web, tweeting, blogging and facebook I am not able to "get it all done". And to top it off I am doing the countdown for going back to school. When not farming and doing the family thing I am teaching kindergarten...and we all remember kindergarten. So I am prepping for the first day and trying to do "it all" as my husband says...and have only shed a few tears. But...would I do it again? Absolutely...so enjoy the ride and forgive my belatedness! :-) Thanks, Carol

Cornell Labs held at Angel Tree!




Well, it was that time of year again

and Cornell asked once again to have Angel Tree host the vet students for one of their first labs on various farms. The students started arriving and getting into their blue "jumpers" as I call them (you'd have to ask the students about their nick names for them! :-).They quickly rallied around and started to learn about "the alpaca". We here at Angel Tree use llamas as guard animals for the alpacas...and we have a young female llama that has decided that she wants to be the star of the show. "Liberty" quickly won the hearts of everyone and allowed us to demonstrate, poke and prod for the sake of learning about the llama and alpaca. There were 4 goups totally 90 students in all that came through the farm on two days. They filed in and filled the lawn with cars and seemed anxious to learn about some of their potential future "clients"...the llama and the alpaca. We vaccinated, trimmed toenails, drew blood, completed blood cards...and even sedated a few of the adult llamas for their pedicures! Yes...can you imagine having to be sedated for YOUR pedi??? The animals tolerated the barage of students fairly well...but everyone was ready to be put out to pasture when all was said and done. A lot got done and it was beneficial to everyone...the students, professors and us! (PS: I did the "chipping" or microchipping that night...without an audience!) It was a few days packed with learning! Thanks students (and Dr. Smith!) for all your hard work...sometimes it's not easy wrestling an alpaca :-) but they are incredible creatures and we hope you enjoyed them as much as we do!

Monday, August 24, 2009

Lansing Harbor Fest Rocks!




It was yet another fabulous year of the Lansing Harbor Fest...it was a gorgeous day with lots of sunshine...a little humid but everyone was having so much fun it didn't dampen the mood! Each year there are more and more exciting exhibits...this year it was the Verve booth that got us going! We had energy drinks and raised money for the Lansing swim team. It is a great product and worth considering if you need a little healthy jumpstart!
The alpacas fared well for the day but left a little early due to the heat. Liberty and Yu lo were very courteous and enjoyed all the festival goers. People got a chance to see some of the handmade alpaca products that can be found at the Angel Tree Farm Alpacas Farm store and see what incredible things can be done with alpaca fiber!

Back to Back Babies!





It was quite an end to the breeding season on Angel Tree this year. We were surprised again and again this year...and again on Sunday (Aug. 16th)...to find a beautiful black male cria...and again on Saturday... we found a long awaited little white female cria. It has truly been a year of surprises. It has made it so much easier on the stress level of WAITING...which alpaca people know can drag on for days with dozens of trips to the barn a day...watching and waiting for a pending birth. We have been blessed that the births have been uneventful and independent. Yeah!

That is the beauty of alpacas...natural birthers and natural mom's! When we started in the alpaca business we would aniticipate the pending births with angst and now it has become a momentary thrill and then we calmly go about the rituals of prepping the cria for life on the farm. Now we have two more added to the herd...and to watch grow. No names yet :-)

Sunday, August 16, 2009

The Three B's

It was an exciting and exhausting day on the farm today...we had the three B's. It started off with a Birth, then a Burial and ended with Breedings! The birth was an unexpected twelve days early and delivered a healthy male cria (yet to be named!). The death was of one of our beloved old girls...Feliz. It was not a complete surprise as she has been showing signs of age for some time now. She delivered an adorable male cria (Rudy) earlier in the season who is adjusting to not having mom around. Abby the guard llama has taken him under her wing and he is doing fine. It will be strange to go to the barn and not see Feliz there with a mouth full of hay. It was a sad day. You think your aged alpacas will live forever on the farm as a "pet" but one day they die...that day came earlier than we had thought but she is resting now.
The day ended up with a few alpacas going for a drive in the trailer to breedings...then back home to the farm !
It was a day that showed...literally...the circle of life on the farm.

Sunday, August 2, 2009

And then there was...JUSTICE!



We returned from our vacation in Indiana just in the nick of time...or so my farm-sitting-nephew Kyle and mother/father think!



We were down at the barn when we noticed front feet and a head...coming from Abby our female guard llama. Abby continued to walk around the pasture for about 20 minutes or so before getting the sensation to push. (The intermittent rain and downpour didn't phase her). The baby came out nicely on it's own... and so considerate and perfectly timed that we could all watch. My parents, Mal and Ellie even had time to finish their breakfast and still got there in time to see the eventual birth! We watched Abby, who is a natural mom, wander around the pasture and stall as she passed the after birth and allowed us to do our usual birthing procedures...drying, weighing (a whopping 27.5 lbs!), temp...(a perfect 100.3), dipping the umbilical cord and putting on the cria coat. Then we wait as the two rested, attempted walking and the eventual nursing. Abby is a gentle giant and loves her babies...and only gave us the occasional warning spit...of only air! She knows we love her and we were helping.



As we stood watching this incredible act of birth...we talked about "Liberty" Abby's cria from last year and decided this one should be appropriately know as "Justice" for Liberty (female) and "Justice" (Male). Liberty is a gorgeous female grey and white llama that has stolen the show...from the alpacas on the farm. She is the first to approach the fence line and offer"kisses' to a passerby. Justice will hopefully follow in his sister's footsteps. He is a beautiful grey, white and light brown llama. It is exciting to watch as they turn from not-so ugly ducklings into princes and princesses! Join us on the adventure, drive by or follow on the blog as we watch them grow!

Sunday, July 5, 2009

And baby makes 5!






I was casually working across the road when my parents happened by and asked if ..."we had a baby?" I was shocked only to cross the street and see as they saw...a young cria under a new mom! It was Joy standing in the pasture with a cria suckling under her. It was her cria...a little over a week early and the spitting image of her! It was a male that was criated out of our very own Marcus. It was thier first pairing and her first male cria after two females. This new young male will make a beautiful herdisre for the farm someday (we don't have any brown herdsires!). Although each cria born to the farm makes you think about another alpaca for the farm. But as my husband says...everything is for sale...and we are geting up there in numbers...and continue to sell a few here and there! We now stand at 30 alpacas on the farm. Three left to go this season...2 alpacas and 1 llama. One alpaca is due this week. We have been fortunate that most of the cria this season have arrived unannounced and healthy. This is far less stressfull than past birthing seasons where we spent the summer on "cria watch"...there is no way to desribe the agony of it! For today we are thankful and with each birth we fall in love with alpacas again!

Got Water???


Yes, it is that time of year. Any alpaca farmer knows that it is a big day om the farm when the pools come out! Well Joy could not wait...she literally followed me down the pasture when my son Tyler and I began putting out pools. She could not wait and quickly jockeyed into position in the pool...then proceeded to defend her spot in the pool. She is a "pool lover" there are also alpacas who have absolutley no interest in the "alpaca pool"...but prefer to be sprayed! The pools are wonderful but need maintenance...dumping, cleaning and monitoring when there are cria about! We don't tend to put them in a pasture when there are cria in it...but move the mom and cria to a different pasture and back once the cria is able to be near a pool and the herd. Even though it only contains a few inches...one never takes chances with new cria. ;-) PS: the next day she had a beautiful male cria!

Sunday, June 7, 2009

Saturday Surprise!



Well, we were going about your average Saturday...when I saw my husband Jay in a fast canter up from the girls barn...with that look that says "we've got a baby!" There is nothing like the excitement of a cria birth on the farm!


We have been looking at each other for the past few weeks and saying NO Way is Lacey going to make it TWO months! But I had double checked my records and checked the gestation tables and yes....that was the calculated date...but I knew Sat. when I saw him running up (in a controlled way) from the barn that we had a baby...and when I met him half way I called out...Lacey had her baby didn't she? The answer was yes! Any alpaca breeder will tell you that we alpaca breeders know our due dates! We plan, we calculate... select or herdsires, we check... we chart and we re-check. In looking back over my records the only thing we can figure is that last season she went down, bred and we calculated based on the last breeding...when in actuality an earlier breeding took? This makes you wonder...was she just in the mood? Enough of that, we could be here all night discussing the breeding habits of male and female alpacas, their breeding habits etc...!


Well I am sure you are curious at this point...the cria and mom were fine, healthy, up and enjoying HER Saturday! Yes she is a beautiful white female weighing in at 16.5 lbs. Not bad and the best part...no waiting, no butt watching and pre-delivery stress. Alpaca breeders will actually drive themselves crazy watching the expectant mother...for days, hours, minutes, and even seconds. Literally staring at the alpaca's butt, it is as if if we watch hard enough... a tiny head will peek out from under the tail and say "Hi, I'm here". Of course everyone wants to be around for the birth of the cria's on the farm in the event they really DO need our help:-) ON this day we were blessed.


All kidding aside it is the first unobserved birth where I have found the mother with slightly bloodied teats. I think she may have actually nipped at her own teats to "unplug" her teats as we alpaca farmers deem necessary :-) A quick clean up with a sterile wash and all is normal. The two are fine...and did it all by themselves. Imagine that. This Saturday had a happy ending. It was after all "D Day" and in honor of D Day and our surprise we have named her ATFA's Normandy "Mandy" for short.


(We will let you know if someone on the farm just can't live with "Mandy")

Sunday, May 24, 2009

Recovery time...a week!

Okay, you know you are getting old when it takes you a week to recover from shearing day! Seriously though...doing 36 animals in two days doesn't sound to bad but we did it a little different this year and due to the excitement of the day I will have to do separate blogs!

This year we used a different shearer and we were very happy for the most part. Let me explain. In the past we have used a skilled sheep-shearer turned alpaca-shearer. The difference...care of the alpacas! This shearer used a table and took the time needed to make the animal look fabulous! This meant that the animal was walked to the side of the table and gently tipped on it's side and strapped to the table. There was literally little to no struggling and the animal was gently tipped back off the table. It was great. Once you have used a shearing table you will most likely never go back. It was a little more time consuming compared to the usual wrestling and flipping of the alpaca...and more gentle on the pregnant females. This process also allowed us to sort the fiber as it came off the animal, inspect the animal and take care of shots, teeth trimming (if needed) and nails! It was a great couple of days but tiring doing 36 animals over two days. It is like that family trip when you had children...best to some times get in the car at 4 am in order to have a quick quiet trip rather than dragging it out over two days...but if and when we do it again...it is still worth the loving gentle technique used with the table rather than the wrestling match that sometimes ensues with the ground/mats. Alpacas first!

Monday, May 4, 2009

Birthing Season 2009, Cria #1

We usually keep our births posted...and the dates of our pending summer birth schedule is posted on our website...but the posts are coming in slowly and for that we apologize. We work multiple jobs and the farm is a passion we enjoy before after and sometimes during work!
This cria was 18 lbs and is a real spitfire. He was born in the late evening but we were fortunte enough to catch the birth in person. A visiting friend of a relative told us Yulo meant "night" in Japanese...so he shall be...since we recently found out that the original name we had chosen..."Kulo" meant something not to nice about an individuals rear end...in a few other languages...Thus the change ;-) We'll keep you posted and catch you up to date over the next few days. It is a busy time on the farm as we are preparing for shearing day in the farm this Sat. May 9th.

Rudy it is!





Well I was thrilled to be in the barn today...I came home from my school at lunch time to help "nurse" a mom and cria...only to find that the new cria we had Sat. had in fact just started nursing! It is exactly like when you make the appointment at the pediatrician and then realize your kids are better. I had the vet coming in the afternoon and voila..she's nursing and her borderline high temp was lower! We were thankful. While standing there watching one cria nurse, my husband...who is a man of few words...refers to cria # 2 as Rudy. In that moment I knew he was right. It looked like a Rudy...after the movie...little... but mighty! Rudy has made his debut at Angel Tree Alpacas!

Monday, April 27, 2009

Look, look, look...Feliz, Feliz, Feliz!






Translation: Happy, Happy, Happy!



This is the meaning for our alpaca mom's name...and this is how we felt yesterday. Happy...when our cria finally arrived at 5:20pm yesterday afternoon. We have been waiting for this birth from our favorite elderly alpaca (for 350+9 days!). This past year we couldn't resist but give her one last try for a rose grey girl...she came through on half of the gamble. We had a rose grey...boy...so it is hard to complain. (This alpaca pairing has produced a rose grey boy, medium brown girl and now another rose grey boy).He was 9.4 oz and a little small but is doing well. When you have a healthy, nursing alpaca you are a happy alpaca farmer. Within seconds of the birth my family was prodding me to "look"..."look"..."look"! Not only have we been lucky enough to be present for the first two births of the season, we have had healthy crias and they are nursing and on their way! Alpaca owners know about that moment when you are standing over a brand new cria on the farm...time stands still and you hesitate, taking a deep breath...before lifting the leg to look in order to determine if you will call it "he" or "she". Then it is over. The long wait, the anticipation. Then you quickly remind yourself how lucky you are to be a part of this incredible animal, to witness the birth of a magnificent creature that will surely win your heart within moments...whether it is a boy or a girl!



No name yet...forward suggestions and help name the cria!

Saturday, April 18, 2009

Dirtiest Jobs? Alpacas? Come and see!



Find out for yourself at our Shearing Day open house May 9, 1-3:00pm!

Angel Tree Farm will have the farm open on May 9th from 1-3:oopm so that our alpaca followers can come and see what "Shearing Day" is all about. Many "alpaca people" have been discussing the edition of America's Dirtiest Jobs show...you know the one...where they feature alpacas/shearing as one of America's Dirtiest jobs! For years now of our visitors have been asking what alpaca shearing is like? We decided to give the alpaca enthusiast an opportunity to see for themselves what shearing day is all about. East Hill Alpaca Farm will come for the day and our two farms will shear our animals. The day will offer an opportunity to see the shearing, bagging of fiber and readying it for the mill as well as the end products. The farm store will be open with handmade alpaca items, such as, felted hats, mittens, scarves, fiber art products, yarn, roving, batting, with many products made from our animals as well as natural items from Peruvian alpaca pelts such as, teddy bears,, slippers and rugs.


It should be a fun day and an opportuinty for you to decide if Alpaca shearing/alpacas are one of America's dirtiest jobs or America's most loved job??


Okay...alpaca shearing is a "dirty job" for that day...but also one full of love and rewards! The reward of incredible fiber grown throughout the year and a special day for the alpaca breeder to reap the rewards of their labors during the year. That of incredible... luxurius of fiber that is yet become an amazing product whatever it may be turned into! Come and see for yourself!

Thursday, April 16, 2009

And cria season is off... ATF welcomes cria #1!



Well it was a quiet evening on the farm and while hanging around in the pastures we noticed Kenya laying on her side and being a bit of a stinker when another alpaca came near. She had that "stay away from me...I'm about to have a baby look!" That was a 8:30pm and by 10:30 she was the proud mama of a 19.4 pound baby boy! A night birth is a little unusual. (Births in alpacas usually occur between 5 am and 1 pm so that in their natural habitat the baby cria can be up and nursing before night when predators are out) She is a good mom and we were able to just watch and enjoy the natural birth of yet another beautiful cria on the farm. This was her third and the first for one of our personal favorite herdsires...Black Kilo (for you passer-bys, he's in the pature accross the street). We have owned Kilo for just about 5 years now- ever since starting the farm. He is special to us. The cria...as you can see is a dark black/brown tinged. We are guessing he may end up being a bay black like his father. He has a small white spot over one eye and a white chin. He will be named ATF Kilo's Kolu. Kilo after his dad and Kolu for "night' in Japanese. We had a family member's Japanese exchange student here visiting and we thought we would impress her with the birth of a cria...thanks with a little help from Kenya! Do drive by and see this new little one in your travels...he's a beauty!

Saturday, March 21, 2009

Llama Kisses












There is nothing quite like the soft fluttering kiss of a loving llama. Just walk in the barn and wait for the quiet qpproach of a friend. Liberty is that friend. She is a young llama born at Angel Tree last May 25th (2008) from our guard llama Abbey an our guard llama male...Homer. She is a beautiful light blown/grey female with white neck and legs as you can see and that's her friend... Ashley! This, this is what the alpaca (llama :-) farm is about. It's an escape from the busy day...it's a investment...it's a lifestyle... We love the animals and do all the day to day care othselves. Because we love it and that makes our animals loveable and very used to people. Try it...you will fall in love with alpacas.

Friday, March 20, 2009

Angel Tree Farm Alpacas hosts Farm City Day!




This summer he had an event to remember! The co-operative extension contacted us and asked if we would like to host Farm City Day? We of course said yes and were excited to get the field of alpacas out there to the public...well we sure did! With incredible planning and expertise the Co-operative extension enticed approximately 700 visitors to the farm that sunny day. I do recall her saying that we didn't have to do a thing...but that is like inviting 700 guests over and not cleaning your house! We painted, fenced, trimmed and planted (with a little help from "The Plantsmen") in preparation for the day. What do they say? If you build it they will come...well the Co-operative extension really put on a Farm City Day to remember! The sun was shining and the people came to see not only alpacas but spinners, vegetable sculpting, sheep herding, the Dairy princess and her court scooping ice cream and the list goes on. It was a day to remember on the farm!

Saturday, March 7, 2009

Mud, Mud, mud!

Some remember as a child...liking mud. I never remember that nor do I think I ever will! This weekend I moved fences so that the animals are confined by the barn door and hay area by the hay bins. They are just trampling down the pastures and we are concerned that the grass will not grow. They don't seem to mind and will just feed off the hay until grass grows. I have a hard time believing that we have seen the last of the snow for the year:-) So for now, whether we like it or not...we will deal with mud. I wish I was an alpaca...not much phases them!

Saturday, February 28, 2009

Alpaca Red Hats!


When speaking of hats one cannot go without mentioning the new and stylish Red Hat. Ellie did not want to leave the "Red Hatters" out of this one! For anyone that knows red hatters knows they are special and wear only stylish red hats. Well Ellie figured that a "red hat" for this group would be a special hat indeed. She can create them with purple ribbons and bows or a simple knit in purple band. Our website features these special hats and one special lady got one of the first few to be made...our very own Curly Grandma!
(Pauline Engels)

Hats by Ellie


Okay, if I wrote about socks... I must write and tell you about the incredible hats that are being produced by my mother, Ellie Hunter. She has found that she has a new talent at the age (of 70 something!). She knits, felts and molds that alpaca yarns into these very in-demand hats. They are thick and luxurious and always one of a kind because she hand makes each one. She uses antique pins to decorate each hat and although they are beautiful some people like them plain with the brim. Some are adorned with felted flowers or ribbons. One of the favorite hats is made from a gorgeous dark green iridescent alpaca yarn and embellished with a peacock feather from the peacocks on our farm. They grow them special for us. Once the courting season is over the peacocks conveniently drop their feathers and we gather them up to be sold in the farm store or put on a hat! That is what is so great about our farm...no killing! The alpacas are sheared (once the weather turns nice around here!), the chickens lay the eggs to be sold on the porch and the peacocks drop their feathers for hats and excited kids visiting the farm store. We are not self sustaining yet...but maybe someday!
Check out this blog for other great felting ideas! http://www.alpacafarmgirl.com

Alpaca socks and hats


Although I will probably wear to my grave the incredibly beautiful hat that my own mother knit and felted for me out of one of my favorite alpacas (Snowy) I must admit that as I am aging...I have absolutely fallen in love with alpaca socks! There is nothing quite like putting on these luxuriously thick warm socks on a cold wintry day. It is easy to understand why it was only incan royalty that was afforded alpaca to wear hundreds of years ago. It is this feeling that has truly made me feel old lately! Joy from socks? Ha! The sad part is we have a distributor that has been having difficulty getting us the socks and they meagerly arrive in half dozens every few months. They are so incredible that demand is greater than the supply. Imagine that? So for now as we await our next shipment we and our loyal customers (who have been very patient!) will be satisfied to wear our old alpaca socks and our incredible fiber hats by Ellie. The hats are embellished with antique pins of gold, pearls and jewels. They are one of a kind and just to die for!

Alpaca School Visit

I am excited to report that Jay and I did our first Alpaca School visit. A local school was studying about South America and the teacher wanted them to experience the alpaca, as it is such a vital aspect of the culture and economy in South America.
We really enjoyed this eventhough it fell on an ugly rainy, wintery day in February. The children were interested attentive and very polite. They were amazed just as we are constantly at the facts about this incredible creature...Of course as soon as I mentioned that we had brought her to visit in our "paca van" they laughed...and practically while explaining how clean they are and that they would never relieve themselves in the van or gym where we were presenting...didn't she go and do it..."tinkle" on the floor as one child mentioned in their beautifully written thank you note! It was quite a day. We only wish we did not work (I am a kindergarten teacher but I was excused by my principal during my lunch and planning period to meet Jay for the presentation) Jay recently opened his own accounting firm so that he can have more flexability and more time for the farm. Maybe when we retire we can do more visiting!

Oh, the Pregnant Alpaca!


Yes pregnancy is a beautiful thing! The alpaca pregnancy begins with a spit off. Yes I said spit off...and in some alpacas this can last 350 days...the entire pregnancy! This is one of the methods used to determine pregnancy. The female will spit at the male who attempts to breed with her. (I must admit I snicker to myself each and every time they do this...oh the poor male!) We have one female that spits, spits and keeps on spitting. Let me explain...she is an "older mom" and although her body is accustomed to being pregnant she is just a plain old b-_-_-_-h when pregnant.I pity the poor alpaca I put in her stall. For this reason I only make an alpaca endure her for a day or so. I keep her in during the brutal winter days in upstate NY. My husband asks why? because although she might be a b----... she is smart enough not to go out despite the fact that she has a stylish alpaca winter coat in addition to her own made of elderly fiber :-) I have learned rather quickly about what my vet refers to as "middle aged" alpacas. I fees them extra feed, hay and they get extra TLC...Don't be fooled when an unscrupulous (although there aren't too many!) alpaca breeder tells you they live for 20 years and can breed that whole time. Our one or two are now "pets" and will die in our loving arms on the farm because they are not for sale. I would not sell them for money to someone getting into the alpaca business. Yes, I love the pregnant alpaca...and yes they do spit especially this one with attitude and while pregnant.

Monday, February 23, 2009

Google Analytics