Don't Look So Worried .....

..... My Name is Nala!

Thanks to one of my good friends, Nina, who comes to visit me regularly and feeds me treats.

It's a very regal sounding name and actually has a Tanzanian origin, meaning queen.
I can see already, it's going to be tough to live up to the high standards set by my namesake.

Nala is the name of the fictional lioness character in Disney's popular 1994 animated feature film The Lion King.

I know I can do it though because I'm growing into a beautiful young alpaca with crimp and density to spare. 

I get my beautiful fiber from my Sire, Charmer and my color from my Dam, Black Pearle. 

Although I've only been here since October - the 11th to be exact - it's easy to see who is the belle of the barn (at least in my opinion).

I'm also super friendly and love to have visitors come visit me.  I very much enjoy the treats, now I'm old enough to eat them, but will also eat hay off the others backs if I get hungry.

Of course, I have my creep feeder at my disposal should I need snacks inbetween visitors - but I much prefer the alfalfa.

Piggy in the Pen

Visitors to our farm, lately, have noticed a rather dominant personality in the nursery pen.  When treats are being handed out, Loretta is making her presence known in a rather forceful manner - leaving no one in any doubt as to who is the Queen of the Pen.

In her defense, Loretta is still nursing Cinna, is constantly hungry  and, the larger Cinna grows, the more she eats.  We are especially enjoying visitors to the farm at the moment because it means everyone gets to enjoy some treats.

To make sure our babies are getting enough nutrients, we now have a creep feeder in the nursery pen.  That is a special mini-pen with an entrance large enough for the little ones but too small for the adult and weanling alpacas to squeeze through.

It took our babies a few days to work out how to get to their food but they soon got it all figured out.  Ziggy, the largest of our babies, had the most difficulty getting in and out because he is taller than the width control bar.  He soon got the hang of it though and is now a pro and getting in and out.

With the colder days and nights we are expecting, it is important to make sure everyone is well fed.  The babies still have heated pads to lie on at night (if they want to) and, if it gets really cold, you can expect to see our younger ones with their coats on.

Although our Alpaca Shoppe and Fiber Studio are open until 5pm, we ask visitors to arrive before 4pm if they'd like to feed the babies some treats, so it doesn't interfere with their dinner.

We look forward to seeing you.