Sorting Out The Information

Yesterday was, as expected, a day packed with information.  Robyn Kuhl and Carrie Hull of Coarse Broads, Inc.  shared with us their ideas and knowledge, reinforcing some things we already knew and giving us many new ideas and concepts to consider.  The seminar educated us as to how we can get the maximum use from all of the fiber we harvest from our alpacas, and how we can ensure that the quality of the products produced from our alpaca fiber is high and desirable. 

One of the main messages of the seminar was that when it comes to fiber processing the uniformity of the fiber is key.  If we sort our fiber correctly to make collective lots that are uniform in fineness, length and color, and educate ourselves as to which grade of fiber is best used for which end product, the quality of our end products will be high and we will be more able to obtain the best profit from our fleeces.  If we produce high quality products that feel good to the consumer and that perform and hold up well to use then the word will spread as to how wonderful alpaca products are.  If the alpaca industry as a whole does not make efforts to ensure the products made from our fleece are consistently of high quality then the consumer may be unhappy with their purchase and as we all know bad news travels faster than good and that would not be good for the alpaca industry.

Obviously there is way too much information to include here, but the seminar really made me think even more about how we are going to handle the sorting of our fleeces and also gave me new ideas for products that we can have made from our fiber.  The day was a great one and I can heartily recommend that if you are an alpaca breeder or someone who is contemplating being an alpaca breeder that you take this seminar.

 Alpaca is such a wonderful fiber that in addition to being fine and light weight has some unique attributes such as being fire retardant and being able to absorb moisture.  The possibilities for alpaca fiber are endless, the alpaca industry just needs to continue to work on those possibilities and develop the products for retail sale.

Today’s seminar focuses on evaluating alpacas, which will help us not only to evaluate any alpacas we may be looking to purchase but also those within our existing herds.  I am sure there will be some good discussion on the information presented and that it will be another interesting and informative day.

Back at the ranch Ric and some of our friends managed to get another 10 alpacas shorn and all went well with the shearing.   Queen still has not had her cria, but Ric noticed that she was isolating herself more from the herd yesterday which may be a promising sign.  Ric had a long day and when I spoke to him last night he was more than ready to sit back and relax for the evening.

There will be a brief New Mexico Alpaca Breeders meeting this afternoon and then it’s time for the long drive home.  Thank goodness for a comfortable truck and books on tape both of which will make the drive home more pleasant, plus I now have an alpaca “Energy Mat” to sit on for my drive home – more on that later!

Rosemary

Online in Albuquerque

I’ver made it to Albuquerque in one piece and have even managed to figure out how to log on to the wireless Internet connection at the hotel.

The drive here was a good one, the day was warm and still and I was lucky to see a beautiful sunset over the mountains as I approached the Albuquerque area.  I deliberately left Clovis later in the day to avoid the Friday rush hour and also because I love to see the evening lights of Albuquerque as the Interstate descends down into the valley.

The hotel here is packed and it took me a long while to find a parking space.  I asked the reception staff if they are always this busy and they explained that this weekend is the Gathering of Nations Pow Wow and so the hotel is at full capacity.  I suspect that the breakfast bar will be packed in the morning so I am really glad that the New Mexico Alpaca Breeders have arranged to have a continental breakfast served at the seminar.

So this morning we will start to learn the method which the Two Coarse Broads recommend when it comes to sorting fiber.  This seminar could change the whole way we do things at shearing time! 

Ric is still planning on shearing some of the alpacas at home, and while I would usually turn my cell phone off during a seminar this time it will be set to ”vibrate” just in case Ric has news of Queen.  Dear Queen was acting a little differently on Friday and her udder was slightly larger so who knows, maybe her cria is thinking about making an appearance.

So I had better start making my way to the adjoining hotel where the seminar is being held to give myself time to meet and greet all who are attending the seminar and to grab a quick something to eat to set me up for the day.  It promises to be an interesting and good day!

Rosemary

Fiber, Fiber and More Fiber!

This afternoon I will be leaving for Albuquerque to attend a seminar put on by our state alpaca organization “New Mexico Alpaca Breeders“.  The seminar consists of two classes “Fiber Sorting For Maximum Profit Plus Fiber Herds – Raising Alpacas For Their Fleece” and “Mirror, Mirror On The Wall Who Is The Fairest Alpaca Of All” and is presented by Robyn Kuhl and Carrie Hull of Coarse Broads, Inc.

The seminar promises to be very interesting and full of information which is especially pertinant at this time of the year when alpaca breeders throughout the state are shearing their alpacas.  To me it is encouraging that more education is becoming available on the fiber side of the alpaca business, for eventually that is where our future lies.  Other alpaca breeders that have attended this seminar have only had good things to say about it and in fact the Membership Chair of New Mexico Alpaca Breeders attended this same seminar at a different location last weekend and enjoyed it so much she is also coming to Albuquerque this weekend to take the seminar again.

It will be good to get together with the other breeders from the state, and as the event is open to everyone I am sure there will be alpaca breeders from outside the state present and maybe even some people who don’t own alpacas yet but want to gain more knowledge about the fiber side of the business.

Ric will be staying home to hold down the fort, care for the alpacas and maybe even get a few more shorn.  He may also get to deliver Queen’s cria if she finally decides to have it, although tonight she decided to jump over one of our raised feeding troughs so I suspect she is not even thinking about labor yet!

The hotel that I am staying at has high speed Internet, so I will hopefully be able to update this blog from my laptop.  If for some reason the blog is not updated then it probably means that the Internet connection at the hotel is not working.

On Sunday following the seminar we will be having a brief New Mexico Alpaca Breeders meeting.  It has been a while since I have been able to attend a meeting so it will be nice to get up to date on all the group is doing.  For me it is interesting to think back to the summer of 2002 when a group of five or six alpaca breeders got together for an afternoon and decided it was time we formed an alpaca group within New Mexico.  Somehow I walked away from that meeting having been elected President of the organization and went on to complete my two year term.  Now the group has over 40 members and has developed into an organization that puts on seminars, shows, cooperative marketing ventures and provides support for breeders and those interested in alpacas throughout the state of New Mexico.

I am sure by Sunday night my mind will be reeling with information from the seminar.  I really enjoy learning anything new about alpacas and of course alpaca fiber is a subject that is very dear to my heart.  With a three and a half hour drive home though, I will have plenty of time to think about all the new information I have learned and contemplate how I am going to use it on our farm.

Rosemary

Show Preparations

At the end of next week we will be showing our alpacas at The Great Western Alpaca Show (GWAS) in Denver, Colorado.  We really enjoy our time at shows but there is always preparation that needs to be done well ahead of the show date.

We have got into the routine of cleaning all of our show equipment and repacking it every time we return from a show, that way it is already to go for the next show and is one less thing to worry about.  Over the years it seems as if our collection of “must haves” for the show season has grown and grown.  Our first couple of years of participation in alpaca shows always seemed to include at least one trip to a local hardware or department store in the show area per show to purchase an item we had forgotten or decided that we needed in order to be able to try out a new display idea.  These days we rarely have to do that, and are more at the stage of going through our show boxes and weeding out things we do not use any more.

In the next day or two we will check Rian and Rohan’s toenails and if they need trimming we will do so to give the boys time to get used to how their feet feel after their pedicure.

Every time we travel alpacas to a show we have to obtain a Certificate of Veterinary Inspection from our vet to certify that the alpacas are in good health and that we have complied with any health requirements of the state we are going to.  On my to-do list for today was to call our vet and set up an appointment for him to do the necessary examination of the alpacas and issue the certificate.  I now have the appointment set up and will ensure that I check both the show web site and Department of Agriculture site to familiarize myself with any treatments the alpacas need prior to transportation or endorsements that our vet needs to put on the health certificate.

For this show we are taking the “twins” Rian and Rohan.  Rian and Rohan are not really twins but do have the same sire Enchantment’s Prince Regentand bear a strong resemblance to each other.  That’s their picture at the start of this blog entry.  They really are quite hard to tell about although Rian has wavy hair on his muzzle where Rohan’s is straighter.  We don’t actually own Rohan but agreed to keep him here and transport him to the show for his owners.  Both boys behave well on the halter and are looking good so fingers crossed they will do well in their classes. 

The Great Western Show is a big show and the competition will be strong so any ribbon we come away with will make us happy.  The white classes are particularly competitive and that is where both Rian and Rohan will show.  We are also showing our co-owned male Travasura’s Altiplano Treasure, he too will be in a white class – I guess we are gluttons for punishment when it comes to showing in competitive classes!

Our farm sitter is due to come out this weekend and have a refresher course on the daily chores.  Hopefully the weather will behave itself for her, but it always seems that when we go to a show the weather turns and the poor farm sitter has to deal with the worst of conditions.  A good farm sitter is invaluable to an alpaca farmer, we try and have two or more on the books at all times in case one of them is unavailable when we need to go away.

 Of course if Queen still has not delivered her cria we may have to rethink our plans, but we will cross that bridge if and when we come to it!

Rosemary

The Tooth Fairy Comes to Windrush Alpacas

Still no cria from Queen but I stuck to my plan and did my best to restrain myself from checking on her every few minutes.  She is doing some very strange things with her tail and it is quite amusing to see which position it is in at any time.  It is almost like a form of alpaca semaphore, I just dread to think what the message is she is trying to send me!

So in my attempt to not focus on Queen I tried to concentrate really hard on the morning chores.  This proved a little difficult as the wind was blowing hard yesterday morning, but I can’t have been doing too bad as when I went to fill up the girls hay feeders I noticed something lying in the bottom of one of them – an alpaca tooth!

I was not too alarmed at the sight of the tooth as I had notice a little while ago that Zoie was in the process of changing out her teeth.  A quick check of Zoie revealed that it was indeed one of her baby teeth that was lying in the hay feeder.  Zoie is right on schedule with her teeth as alpacas usually lose their baby teeth when they are 2 1/2 to 3 years old and Zoie will be three in July.

When alpacas change out their teeth their bite can appear messy for a while.  The adult teeth start to come in behind the baby teeth and so sometimes you will see both the adult teeth and the baby teeth still present in the gum.  Eventually as the adult teeth continue to push in the baby teeth will drop out, which is what happened to Zoie.

Occasionally an alpaca will retain one of it’s baby teeth, if this happens it is best to consult with your veterinarian as to how to remove the retained tooth.  To date all of our alpacas have lost their baby teeth without a problem but it does seem that some take longer than others.

So Zoie now has her full set of adult teeth, and maybe she will get a visit from the alpaca tooth fairy (and if the tooth fairy happens to know of the whereabouts of the alpaca cria stork perhaps she can point him in our direction!)

Rosemary

Patience is a virtue – of which I am running out!

Still no sign of Queen’s cria – okay it is only 6 days past her due date but she is not showing any signs of giving birth.  I can still see the cria kicking occasionally, which of course is a good thing, and Queen’s udder is very slightly larger but apart from that she is not giving any indications of giving birth soon.

At the moment the only thing that seems to be on Queen’s mind is eating and she is spending a lot of time doing it.  I keep reminding her that the more she eats the larger the cria will get and the tougher the delivery will be but she just looks at me with another mouthful of hay and carries on eating!

Queen is a real character, a very independent alpaca and also very athletic.  Just the other week she jumped over one of our hay feeders despite being so heavily pregnant.  I am due to go to a seminar on fleece sorting in Albuquerque this weekend so perhaps she is waiting for me to leave.  Ric will be holding down the fort so he may get the joy of watching Queen deliver her cria.

This is the first cria that Queen has had since we purchased her so I don’t have any idea of how she usually behaves prior to delivery, she may be like my girl Clarissa who showed no signs of impending birth and who I swear could only have had one contraction before delivering her first cria.

So here I wait impatiently and every time I look at Queen even from a distance she seems to know and looks at me as if to say “Will you stop looking at me”.   Perhaps I should try a new tactic and just ignore Queen for the day.

Like all other babies Queen’s cria will arrive when it is ready and not a moment before, I am sure it will be worth the wait even if it is driving me crazy to have to do so!

Rosemary

An Oldie But A Goodie!

Among the alpacas we sheared at the weekend was the oldest alpaca in our herd.  Cristobal is nearly 15 years old, although you wouldn’t know it to look at him.  Cristobal is a white suri alpaca who still has a lot of presence and is the boss of his group of pasture mates.

Prior to shearing I had noticed how well Cristobal’s fleece is holding up.  He still has locks that twist down to the skin and that are consistent over his whole fleece.  The more I looked at him the more I thought that it would be nice to take his fleece off as a show fleece and put it in a show, just to see what will happen.  So yesterday Ric got to try his hand at shearing his first show fleece.  It probably was a little unfair to spring this on Ric with his second alpaca of the day when he is still a novice shearer, but I figured that if he messed the fleece up it would not be the end of the world as I had really decided to show it on a whim.

 Now Cristobal being the macho male that he is was not too thrilled with the whole shearing process and told us about his displeasure the whole time we were shearing him.  We had expected that he would do that as we know he is a very proud male who considers shearing a total indignity.

Ric was able to shear Cristobal’s blanket area without too many second cuts and I skirted it as soon as Cristobal was shorn.  The static electricity was a little bit of a problem so I will probably lay the fleece out and check it one more time before sending it off to show.

So now I just have to decide which show to send Cristobal’s fleece to, his fleece will be in the Mature Class but I think it stands a good chance and if nothing else we will get some feedback from the judge on Cristobal’s fleece,

Of course Cristobal would be much more impressed if we allowed him to breed a female rather than show his fleece, but as we do not have any Suri females he will just have to keep dreaming about that!

So keep watching the blog and maybe in coming months we will have some news of a ribbon for our “oldie but goodie” Cristobal.

Rosemary

Making a Start on Getting It Done

Well today the weather finally cooperated to where we could get a start on our shearing.  While by the afternoon we had high winds and blowing dust the morning was warm and dry and so we decided to get a start on the shearing task.  Of course by this weekend most of the help we had previously arranged was unable to come out, but we had sufficient help to enable us to work at a slow but steady pace.

This year we are using a restraint device called a Pro-Tie , this simple device enabled us to restrain the alpacas easily and calmly and whilst we did have a couple who voiced their opinion about the shearing process our shearing candidates for the day did well.  A couple of them even seemed relieved to have their fleece taken off, and for the alpacas there is nothing quite like that first roll in the dirt after shearing!

The advantage of working at a slower pace was that for the first time ever I was able to sort and skirt the alpaca fiber as it came off the animals.  It will be so nice to be able to just send off our fiber for processing rather than having to face several more days of opening fleece bags to sort and skirt fleece.

I always enjoy assessing the fiber on alpacas at shearing time, it gives me an opportunity to have a really good look at each alpacas fleece and assess their fiber quality and production.  It also gives me good food for thought on which open female should be bred to which male.

With the wind blowing so hard by this afternoon the static electricity made it a little hard to sort the fleeces as it started to stick to our clothes and the fleece bags, but we persevered and completed all that we sheared.

So tonight we took it easy, ordered in pizza and felt happy that we have at least made a start on our shearing task.  We have several more days of shearing to go, but each day we shear we will get a little closer to getting it done.

 Rosemary

Sometimes Things Just Click

We heard great news from our friends with the bottle fed cria yesterday.  The cria has gained one pound in weight overnight and is doing really well.  It sounds as if her plasma transfusion and the additional supplemental milk are working out well for her.  She did have one day when she didn’t seem as interested in her milk but we feel that was due to the switch from her dam’s milk to goats milk.

The cria had taken to following our friend around as she did chores around the farm, and was continually trying to nurse off her even when she had just been fed.  As cute as this might seem it was not a good thing, the cria was not respecting appropriate boundaries with our friend and our friend was literally tripping over the cria at times.  Our friend knew she had to put some distance between herself and the cria, yet still be able to feed the cria when necessary.  Our friend came up with the bright idea of using clicker training to let the cria know when it was time to feed from the bottle.

Clicker training has been used for several years to train dogs, but can also be used for other species.  The whales and dolphins at Seaworld are trained using clicker training and I am aware of some llama breeders who routinely use clicker training.

 Clicker training is a method that uses positive reinforcement when the animal performs the desired good behaviour.  A small device called a clicker is used, this device makes a clicking noise when pressed.

Our friend started by clicking the clicker when the cria came up and started nursing on the bottle.  By doing this she was getting the cria to relate the click of the clicker to the reward of milk from the bottle.  As with any training consistency is important and our friend was consistent in her use of the clicker every time the cria started nursing on the bottle.  Within a short time our friend was able to enter the pasture set up the cria’s bottle in a bottle holder and then click the clicker.  At the sound of the clicker the cria now comes running and nurses from the bottle.   Interestingly the cria has stopped following our friends every move and now remains with the other alpacas for the majority of her time.

I have not used clicker training with our alpacas yet, but the next time I have a bottle fed cria I will take a leaf from my friends book and give it a try.

It’s great to hear that the cria is doing so well, we will keep our fingers crossed that she will continue to make great progress.

 Rosemary

How Fortunate We Are

I received an email yesterday from a friend and fellow member of the alpaca community who like many is deeply saddened by the tragedy at Virginia Tech.  This wonderful lady is a retired teacher and has a heart as big and caring as you could hope for.  The sorrow that this lady felt would not leave her heart and so she turned to her friends in the alpaca community.  She wrote a few words describing how she was feeling and how fortunate she felt to be able to go to her barn, rest her eyes on her alpacas and take rest in her heart from their presence.

 I feel her words ring true for many an alpaca breeder, I can still remember when September 11 happened that I found great comfort in standing watching the alpacas that day.  Ric was still active duty in the US Air Force and was in Virginia at the time of the September 11 attacks, I was home alone caring for the alpacas.  To stand and watch the alpacas eating their hay, rolling in the dust and stretching out for a nap makes you aware of how life does go on despite the bad things that are happening in the world around you.   There is a definite feeling of peace that comes from being around alpacas and as alpaca owners we are fortunate to be able to experience that peace during times of turmoil.

A couple of years ago we had a lady show up at the ranch who had been to one of our open ranch days.  We usually ask that visitors to the ranch make an appointment, but on this occasion the lady just showed up unannounced.  We went out to talk to her and she apologized for showing up without notice but went on to explain that her mother had just passed away.  She remembered how peaceful the alpacas were and she just wanted to come and sit with them and enjoy that peace during her time of grief.  Of course we told her to make herself at home and left her to enjoy the alpacas.  We also told her that she was welcome to come and sit with the alpacas whenever she felt the need.  When she left us her face was visibly less strained, while we are sure her heart was still grieving for her mother the alpacas had worked their magic and given her a small amount of relief from her heartache.

It is hard to describe exactly what it is about the alpacas that brings such a peaceful, tranquil quality to them but once you have experienced it you will never forget that feeling.

Alpaca owners have much to be thankful for, we get to spend our time among these wonderful creatures and we also get to spend our time with other alpaca owners who are typically some of the most caring, friendly people you could hope to meet.  May we never forget just how fortunate we are.

Rosemary