Cuteness Wins

OK, I get it.  Pictures of the cute babies are more appealing than Jamie, our Shearer.  I noticed the difference in the number of "clicks" when the leading picture did not include a baby.  Well, for those of you who clicked through, you got to see some "cute" pictures too, so I hope you enjoyed them.

Well, just for you, I've written this post to display the two new babies and some of their antics.  Their personalities are already showing and they are wonderful to watch. 

Britney's Boy enjoys playing peek-a-boo in the long grass and is very skittish.  He jumps at any sound and takes off at top speed.  Unfortunately, his legs can't quite keep up with his body so he face plants at regular intervals.  He also enjoys rolling in the dirt when he's not charging around the pasture.

Opal's Girl is showing a very strong mothering instinct and sticks close to Britney's Boy.  I'm not sure if it's to try and keep him out of trouble or because she's glad to have the company after being the only baby for a few days.  She is much stronger than Britney's Boy so has no trouble keeping up with him and she gets very concerned when he hits the dirt mid run.  Often she will nuzzle him when he's down as if to say "Come on, let's run some more".

Opal herself is pretty laid back these days and lets her girl explore without her.  If there are visitors though, Opal hurriedly catches up to her offspring to make sure she's ok.  Britney on the other hand, never lets her boy out of her sight.  She sticks close by him at all times and follows him with her eyes when he's charging around.

Hope you enjoy the pictures.  Come out to the farm to see us, you'll enjoy their antics.  We still have another one due any day so, who knows, you may be lucky and see our new baby arrive.

Shearing Day and Open Barn

Flying Fiber!

While I have the chance, in between babies arriving, I want to take a few moments to show some of the wonderful photos and even a video that was taken during our Shearing Festival and Open Barn.   Click here to view the Video

The weather was perfect and we welcomed old friends and new to our barn.  The boys, for the most part, took the indignity of being shorn in their stride.  The girls, however, made their displeasure loudly known by all.  Of course, once released and back on their feet, even the girls liked their new “hairdo” and enjoyed the lightness of having lost their heavy winter coats.  Even our new Cria at 5 days old, got shorn.  (For those who wonder why, it’s because the amniotic fluid from birth adheres to newborn fleece and the only way to get rid of it is to have it shorn.  This means that our first baby of 2012 will have a full coat of superfine fleece come next year’s shearing festival.)

Halfway Through!

Our Shearing Team was phenomenal and worked solidly through the weekend hours, hardly taking a break.  With so many people in such a small space, all focused on one animal, it is remarkable how they worked together without bumping into each other.   It’s definitely a sight to be seen if you missed it this year.

For visitors who wanted a little more, we had crochet classes, weaving demos and, of course, our Alpaca Shoppe and Fiber Studio.  Making coasters was not as easy as our instructor, Brittany, made it look.  However, everyone who tried completed their project and, although some of them didn’t look quite the same as Brittany’s, a good time was had by all. 

It's going to be OK

So, thank you to everyone who came to see us, worked with us, and celebrated with us.   We look forward to next year’s Shearing Day and welcome any suggestions for additional activities or experiences.  Alpaca photos were taken by Beamie Young and the video was taken by Nella Farley.

That Feels Better

IT'S A BOY

A new face met me this morning when I arrived for work today.  I had received notification of his birth so was excited to see our new cria in person.  Luckily the weather was warm and dry when he entered the world, so he had an enjoyable start to his life.  He's very shy and hides behind his mom most of the time so getting a photo to share was not so easy.

Born Sunday at 4.00 pm, our newest cria weighed in at 17.9 lbs.  Britney, his mom, is very protective and nurturing and seldom takes her eyes off her new baby.  Although too soon to tell, at least by this novice, his rich, dark brown fleece appears thick and soft with nice luster and crimp formation.  He is very pretty and has his mother's big brown eyes. 

They only had a short time in the pasture today due to the heavy rain, but Britney's Boy had fun exploring the long grass and charging around the field.  He's not very good at control yet and had a couple of mishaps during his outing - luckily the grass is thick and soft.  Let's hope he turns out like his dad, Charmer, and maybe he will have plenty of fleece to go around.

Our First Baby of 2012

Goodness, what a difference a week makes.  Born just 7 days ago, our newest addition to the alpaca barn has already been shorn and is enjoying each day.  Definitely a sunbather, we have to be careful she doesn't stay out in the middle of the day.  We don't want her getting sunburned.

Her entry into the world was not the kindest.  It was cold and rainy and she only had novice caretakers to make sure she was ok.  She seemed to have an initial fondness for the back of the hay bin - probably because it looked warm and dark, so we bundled her up in towels to try and warm her up.  At this point, we weren't too sure who mommy was - but hoped they'd figure it out.  A hair dryer was brought into service to provide some drying, warm air and, after all this, poor baby finally stopped shivering.

The next problem was - who is mommy?  None of the pregnant mommies looked at all interested in this new baby and as no-one had seen her being born, it was pure guess work.  None of the mommy alpacas was willing to let me look under her tail so we put the baby in a stall and hoped mom would come to find her - no-one came.  Next, we carried the little one toward the adults and the baby appeared agitated when she saw one particular female, so we put them in a stall together and hoped they'd work it out.  They did!

Then we found the afterbirth.  Lovely!!!

Luckily, Nancy had explained what to do with it the week before and explained it as "just like scooping up dog poop".  I.e., pick it up inside a plastic bag and turn inside out.  Well, I can tell you for sure, having picked up way too much dog poop in my time - it is NOTHING like scooping up dog poop.

I found a trash bag (first hint it's a lot different) and tried to use both hands to "scoop".  Unluckily for me, as I scooped two sides together, it flopped out on the other two sides.  Don't forget, it is still raining and this was all mixed in with the mud and poop on the barn floor.  After a few miserable attempts, I managed to manhandle the afterbirth into the trash bag and thankfully put it to one side.  Maybe all I'm missing is practice :-)

Well, looking at her today, no-one would guess how miserable her first few hours were.  She is almost pure white and looks like she will be a wonderful addition to the barn.  Her fleece looks very promising, or did until we she was shorn this past weekend. She is growing stronger every day and we are waiting anxiously for her to be named.  Many wonderful suggestions were offered over the weekend during our Shearing Day and Open Barn and so I'm sure it will be coming soon.

Four more babies are due and I'm anxiously waiting - trash bag at the ready - for the next birthing.  Hopefully I'll get to see it this time.  If I do, I will be sure to post pictures.