And Next We Welcome

Our new girl - Hagen Heights Ana Lynette

Hagen Heights Ana Lynette!

It’s interesting how you can be searching for a black herdsire and then find yourself purchasing a beige female – hmm, how does that happen!

Well it happens when you are looking for offspring of a well know beautiful black Bolivian alpaca called Bolivian Vesuvius.  Bolivian Vesuvius was born in the US out of two parents from the Acero Marka ranch – the top alpaca ranch in Bolivia.  Over the years Bolivian Vesuvius has sired multiple award winning cria in a multitude of colors but predominantly black.

During my search for a black herdsire some of the criteria I used in my search were that I wanted the alpaca to have known, proven bloodlines but I also wanted bloodlines that were uncommon in the southwestern United States.  I wanted to bring some fresh bloodlines into the area.  In the end Alpaca Knights Challenger’s Champ, the black herdsire we purchased fulfills these criteria but the offspring of Bolivian Vesuvius would have also filled them.

As it happened I didn’t find a Bolivian Vesuvius male that I could afford, but did come across a female called Acero Marka’s Bonnie who is a sister of Bolivian Vesuvius – and Ana Lynette is Bonnie’s daughter.  Even better still Ana Lynette is out of WC Magnitude who is also a full Acero Marka Bolivian offspring  and she is bred to Silver Cloud’s Sunsplash (a true black male) and due to deliver her cria in early October.

Many alpaca breeders have overlooked the Bolivian alpacas which is a shame.   There has been less marketing of the Bolivian alpacas than say the Peruvian alpacas and yet many of the founding herd of the Acero Marka ranch are said to have come from Peru.  We already have some Bolivian alpacas in our herd, our male Tobiano is 3/4 Bolivian, his dam Theresa who we owned for several years is half Bolivian and one of our foundation dams Ivanna is half Bolivian.

It has been my experience that many of the Bolivian alpacas have outstanding fleece qualities, they tend to have very consistent and soft handling fleeces and organized crimp, they also tend to hold their fineness over the years, a quality that I really appreciate in my alpacas.   Many of the Bolivian alpacas I have seen have also been colored, making them valuable to a breeding program focusing on high quality colored fleeces.  Interestingly the offspring of my Bolivian alpacas have all sold easily.  Ana Lynette’s previous owner Theresa Reyes-Stassel of Hagen Heights Alpaca Farm told me that she thinks of Bolivian alpacas as “Peruvian’s in disguise”.  If you are familiar with Bolivian alpacas you will understand what she means, if you are not familiar with Bolivian alpaca then you might want to take a closer look at them as they really have some beautiful qualities that can easily enhance someone’s herd.

We are excited to add Ana Lynette to our herd.  As Ana Lynette was so far into her pregnancy we have left her at her home farm until after she delivers her cria, we didn’t want to travel her and risk losing her cria.  Hopefully she will be able to join us in November/December once her cria is old enough to travel.

Once Ana Lynette arrives at our farm she will be spoilt for choice for dates – should we try a Accoyo/Allianza/Bolivian cross by breeding her to our Enchantment’s Prince Regent, or perhaps stick with the Bolivian genetics and breed her to Tobiano.  Of course there are also Zindel, White Blast, Treasure and Champ to consider – so many potential choices, all of which could result in beautiful cria!

Rosemary

Introducing our new Junior Herdsire

Alpaca Knights Challenger's Champ - Head Shot

Alpaca Knights Challenger’s Champ

After many months of searching for a black herdsire who would complement our herd, we finally found him in Alpaca Knights Challenger’s Champ.

I had just about given up on us acquiring a black herdsire.  I looked at many during my search.  Some were extremely beautiful but also came with a beautiful price tag too.  That’s not to say that they were not deserving of that price tag, but it was not within our budget.

Some of the black male alpacas we looked at were strong in some characteristics but lacking in others.  We had definite qualities in mind for our black herdsire.  Our current herdsires have been producing black and colored offspring and we needed a male we could use to breed to those offspring and have available for clients who had already purchased offspring from us.  We wanted to make sure that any male we used was going to be able improve on the great qualities we already had in our herd.

The color genetics of alpacas is a complicated subject and there are some differing opinions offered by the experts on alpaca color genetics.  At times trying to figure out if a certain male was a good match for our herd left my head spinning (as competitive as white alpaca show classes are and as advanced as white fleeces are I still feel it is somewhat easier selecting a white male alpaca than selecting a black male alpaca!)

When I came across Champ, it was almost by accident.  Having received an email blast from his owners about some other alpacas they had for sale, I decided to take a look at their website and there was Champ.  Champ has some bloodlines that I wanted in our herd (Peruvian Aladdin, MFI Peruvian Black Mesquite), he is a good looking boy and then there is his fleece – as soon as I had my hands on his fleece sample I knew he was the one.  His fleece has a luxurious soft handle, well organized crimp, bundles, density and brightness.  For those interested in histograms his first histogram was 16.9 micron, 3.7 SD, 22.1 CV and 1.1 over 30 Microns, pretty nice for a black male alpaca.

So the deal has now been done and Champ is ours, we just have to find a transport coming our way to bring him to us.

We are hoping that Champ will be ready to start breeding in spring 2010 and suspect that once he starts breeding his date book will fill up rapidly!

Rosemary

Oh My Goodness

Well summer is definitely over!  Yesterday it was 88 degrees in the afternoon, by 5:30 pm the temperature had started to drop and then “wham” the cold front hit us with stiff winds, dropping the temperature down to 42 (and that’s without the wind chill).  Ironically yesterday was officially the last day of summer.  Typically we do get cooler fall temperatures, but the days usually cool off a little at a time, not in one fell swoop.

It is not entirely a surprise that fall has arrived so swiftly as there have been little signs that fall would be early this year.  Some of the trees are starting to change color already, berries have already appeared on winter bushes, the tarantulas have already completed their fall migration and different birds have appeared in the area.  (Yesterday we had a Wilson’s Warbler in the garden who would be in the process of migrating from the North West to the south east).  Parts of Colorado and Northern New Mexico received their first snow on Monday.

The alpacas seemed to enjoy the sudden cool temperatures.  Our two youngest crias started off the frisky activities by galloping around their pasture at high speed; they were soon joined by the adult females in their pasture.  Once that group were galloping around the main female herd decided that they too wanted to kick up their heels in the cool, windy air.  Evening chores was interesting as we had to dodge all of those low flying alpacas.  By the time the alpacas had settled down to eat they must have felt nice and warm.

According to the older people of this area the signs are all pointing to a cold, snowy winter.  After yesterday’s dramatic fall arrival I can definitely believe winter is not far away.

Rosemary

How Precocious!

Well our new bay windows have certainly paid off already.  While having lunch yesterday I gazed out of our new beautiful windows and could see one of the alpacas by the fence line.  As I looked I realized something was wrong with the picture.  What was wrong was the alpaca was walking out of the pasture gate and was now on the wrong side of the fence!  Our Annochia had just executed a pretty smooth exit from the pasture!

Annochia is now 15 months old and her hormones are talking to her.  She has been cushing for the male spring crias who enjoy trying out their future role as herdsires and she has also been mounting other females.  Because of Annochia’s behavior we have moved her from the main female group and put her in with a smaller group of more mature females who will not tolerate her mounting them.

Annochia has settled in well with her new pasture mates, but apparently still has her mind on other matters.  So it was that yesterday she managed to work open the gate latch and head straight for the male alpacas.   Obviously in Annochia’s mind we have not been paying attention to her needs, she feels she is ready to breed and was heading off to find a suitable date.  While we appreciate Annochia’s ingenuity it is a bit early for us to start our fall breedings and we usually don’t breed our maiden females until they are at least 18 months old.  So Annochia is going to have to wait a little longer before she has her first date.

Of course once Annochia’s pasture mates saw that Annochia was out they soon followed suit.  Willow (our usual escapologist who must have now passed on her knowledge to Annochia) galloped off leaving her cria Whisper behind (bad Willow!), Bjorn and her cria McKinley were next out of the gate and then Carissima brought up the rear.

Our lunch came to an abrupt halt while we rounded the girls up and herded them back to their pasture, where Lady Belle, Keeva and little Whisper were waiting.  A pin has now been inserted in the gate latch to prevent Annochia from opening it again and we had better start thinking who Annochia’s first date will be, before she figures out another way to escape from the pasture in pursuit of romance!

Rosemary

So Where Have We Been?

Well that is a good question!  We have not actually been anywhere but have been dealing with various things at home and time has been short.

This last week we had contractors show up unannounced to install bay windows in our living room and master bedroom.  We had purchased the windows back in July and it has taken until now to get to the top of the contractors list.  While it is good to be having our windows installed a little notice would have been nice!

The new windows will make our view of the girls pasture even better and it is amazing how much bigger and brighter the rooms seem since they were installed.  We can cria watch in style now.

Along with the contractors we have also had puppy Blue back to the vet again.  It seems she has quite a sensitive stomach which is not helped by her wanting to eat everything she comes across.  We thought we were making some progress with her but tried a tiny amount of a different dog food on Friday and she is back to having an upset stomach – looks like I will be cooking meals for a little dog as well as humans as she seems to do fine on cooked chicken.

We have also been busy buying alpacas – a couple for us and a couple for a client of ours.  More on that in later posts, but my search for a black male alpaca is over!

Ric has been busy preparing for the New Mexico State Fair and the show program is now coming together.  He will leave for Albuquerque on Wednesday to get things set up at the show grounds before the exhibitors start arriving on Friday.  I will be staying at the farm, looking after alpacas and cooking for dogs.  If you are attending the State Fair make sure you go and say hello to Ric and I am sure he will be happy to see you.

So life has been a little time consuming (are we getting older or are the days really getting shorter and going by quicker?), but that’s how life goes sometimes and before long everything is back on track.

Contractors and sick puppies permitting I hope to resume the posts to the blog in the coming week.

Rosemary

Snake Herding

Monday morning as I was happily scooping the poop in the girls pasture I noticed some of the crias paying attention to something outside the fence line.  I couldn’t see what was causing their distraction but thought it was most likely a rabbit.

A short while later though the attention had moved to the middle of the pasture and now along with the crias were Inca (one of the guard llamas) and Cinnamon.  Just looking at Inca and Cinnamon I could tell that something was amiss – they both were dancing, their tails held high and their necks stretched forward toward something on the ground.  At first I thought it was a stick and then I realized it was moving and the stick was in fact a snake.

I went over to see what sort of snake it was; if it was a rattle snake something would have to be done quickly as the attention of the alpacas and llamas would surely annoy it (snakes are not very sociable creatures and prefer not to be the center of attention!).

Fortunately the snake was a bull snake, about four feet long and the brown and tan variety, unlike the black and yellow bull snake I had seen earlier in the summer.  Still I didn’t think the snake would be too pleased about the attention the girls and crias were giving it so I needed to try and get it out of the pasture without the alpacas or llamas annoying it along the way.

Armed with my poop shovel in one hand and the rake in the other I decided that it would be easiest to follow the snake to the fence line using the shovel and the rake to keep any inquisitive noses away.  Of course once word got around the pasture that something different was happening the whole herd gathered to look at the snake.  The snake was very cooperative and made his way across the pasture with me walking behind him and the shovel and rake at either side of him.  Theresa got a little brave at one point and tried hard to get closer to the snake but I was able to guide her away with the rake and keep her from getting too close.  I did have to chuckle though as walked behind the snake guiding him on his way, it was just as if I was using the shovel and rake as we use the herding wands to move the alpacas when we need to, but this time I was herding one well behaved snake.

Soon the snake was through the pasture fence and headed down the driveway, my first attempt at snake herding had been successful and the girls and crias could go back to eating their hay.  I’m not sure my snake herding would be so successful with more than one snake and I am pretty sure that if the snake had been a rattle snake I would be using the shovel for a different purpose than herding snakes!  Let’s hope the rattle snakes stay away from the pasture and I never have to find out!

Rosemary

Sometimes You Just Have to Spit!

One of the most frequently asked questions we get from people who are meeting alpacas for the first time is “Do they spit?”  It is sad that many people automatically associate alpacas and llamas with spitting as it is one small part of their behavior and it is something that occurs far less often than many people think.  On the whole alpacas and llamas are docile animals who are happiest going about their business.

Yes alpacas and llamas can spit, it is part of their vocabulary to other alpacas or llamas (usually saying “get out of my feed” or “stop annoying me”), and it is also a part of their defense mechanism.  Llamas and alpacas have very few ways to defend themselves and spit is one of those few ways.  If someone or something does something to a llama or alpaca which they really don’t like then they can spit as a way to startle that person or thing and stop whatever is annoying them.

We recently had a farm visitor who had been to a county fair where there was a camel on display.  The camel was being used to give rides and apparently had a ring through his nose so that his handler could lead him.  Our farm visitor witnessed a teenage boy go up to the camel and pull hard on the camel’s nose ring – and guess what, the camel spit at him.  Who can blame the camel for doing so.  No doubt that pull on the nose ring hurt the camel and the only way he could communicate his displeasure was by spitting.  Hopefully that teenage boy will never repeat his behavior again.

Our herd of alpacas and our three guard llamas are all laid back animals.  Farm visitors unfamiliar with alpacas and llamas are given a brief rundown of good pasture etiquette resulting in a happy, fun farm visit for both them and the animals.

Sometimes though we find ourselves in a position where we need to communicate to one of the alpacas that their behavior is inappropriate.  Such an occasion happened over the weekend when young Annochia kept mounting and attempting to breed Dream.  Now Annochia and Dream are both females so Annochia’s breeding attempt was never going to be successful.  Rather it is an indication to me that either one or both of those young ladies is reaching maturity and there is some hormonal confusion.  While Annochia’s behavior could be considered innocuous it is something I want to discourage.  If she continually tries to mount and breed Dream it could cause a retained CL in Dream causing her to be non receptive when the time comes to breed her.

Initially I tried removing Annochia from Dream, that worked for a little while but Annochia hung around close to Dream and as soon as I started to walk away Annochia would start to orgle and try and mount Dream again.  After several times of trying to remove Annochia from Dream I knew that I needed to talk to Annochia in “stronger language”.   The next time Annochia went to mount Dream I spit at her just as another alpaca would.  Now when I say spit I am talking of an “air spit” where there is the spitting noise but no accompanying regurgitated slime (I am sure you will be pleased to know that!).  At the first air spit Annochia turned away, I then followed up with a series of air spits and at that point Annochia got the message, walked away and left Dream alone.

I don’t recommend spitting at your llamas or alpacas as a part of your daily routine.  It is much better to use other methods of communicating with them as a rule, but once in a while the other methods just don’t get through and then you just have to spit.  Done right and in the right circumstances it does work and is quite effective.

Rosemary

It’s hard to have a cria when your back’s against the wall!

Bjorn's cria - glad to have found his way into the world!

That’s what we had to tell Bjorn yesterday as she tried to deliver her cria.

Yesterday wasn’t particularly a hot day, but it was a humid day making it feel hotter than it actually was.  As we fed the girls in the morning I noticed Bjorn cushed shortly after eating which was unusual for her.  Sure enough she was in labor and once we let her out of the pen where she eats she made her way to the shade of the shelter.

As Bjorn’s labor progressed she wandered around the pasture.  I prepared a pen to put her in once her cria had been delivered.  Being on dry lot I prefer to have a pen with blankets or bedding to put new crias and their dams into so that they can bond after birthing.

Bjorn was definitely seeking out the cool breeze of the fan, but she had strong competition for the prime spot immediately in front of the fan.  Ivanna had already staked her claim to a spot in front of the fan and Black Prince and Buccaneer were cushed there also.

Before long I could see the nose of Bjorn’s cria emerge, but by now Bjorn had firmly wedged herself in front of the fan with her rear pressed up against the wall of the shelter blocking the cria from making any progress.  I tried to move Bjorn so that there was space behind her but as fast as I moved her she moved herself back.  The crias nose came out and went back in again at least twice, and once the cria’s head and feet had fully emerged Bjorn was pushing but there was nowhere for the  cria to go.

Eventually I manage to get Bjorn’s rear away from the shelter wall and with a few more pushes she delivered her cria a large white boy.

Bjorn usually has large crias and at 19.8 lbs this was one of her smallest cria.  You would have thought that Bjorn would be anxious to get her cria delivered quickly rather than position herself to where her cria could not come out.

Bjorn’s cria didn’t seem any worse for wear once he was fully delivered, and was cushed and then up on his feet in a short while.  Bjorn though looked tired after the birthing and took her time resting after the cria was born, but some MSE drench, a bowl of alfalfa and a nice cold bucket of water to drink soon had her up on her feet again.

So we have another white boy to add to our herd.  He’s a handsome looking cria with bright white silky fleece and the dense bone of his sire Zin.  I think he will be quite the good looking lad as he grows up and will be competitive enough to take part in the white classes at the alpaca shows once he is of age.   Now he’s finally out I suspect nothing will stop him!

Rosemary

It’s That Time of the Year Again

Time for National Alpaca Farm Days!  This year the Alpaca Owners and Breeders Association has scheduled National Alpaca Farm Days for September 25 and 26, 2009 which is great except that those are also the dates of the alpaca show at the New Mexico State Fair.

This year Ric is the show superintendent for the New Mexico State Fair and so it will be difficult for us to hold our National Alpaca Farm Days Open Day when Ric, at least, will be away at the State Fair (I am still trying to figure out if I too can attend the State Fair even if only for a day, that will depend on us finding a reliable farm sitter)

The State Fair was not willing to reschedule the dates of the alpaca show, so we have decided to hold our National Alpaca Farm Days celebration a little early.  On September 12, 2009 from 10 a.m. to 3 p.m. we will hold an Open Farm Day in celebration of National Alpaca Farm Days.  During the Open Farm Day we will conduct pasture tours, give brief educational presentations, have some fiber arts demonstrations and we will also have the farm store open for business.  With Christmas rapidly approaching our Open Farm Day will be a great opportunity for people to do some early Christmas shopping.  Of course Willow’s new cria will be a favorite I am sure and hopefully by then Bjorn will have had her cria too (she’s due today!).  Visitors to the farm always like to see the new crias.

For now we are busy working on marketing the event to the local community and hope that we will have a good turnout.

If you are not in the Clovis area and would like to attend a National Alpaca Farm Day event you can go to the National Alpaca Farm Day website where you can locate participating farms in your area.  If you are in the Clovis area we hope to see you at our early National Alpaca Farm Day celebration on September 12.

Rosemary

Beautiful Day, Beautiful Cria

Willow's New Cria

Monday was a beautiful day, temperatures were in the 80’s, a light breeze was drifting across the pasture and everywhere was damp from rain we had received the night before.  It was New Mexico at its best with bright blue skies, brilliant sunshine and some fluffy white clouds in the sky.

Willow must have thought it a beautiful day too for that morning she went into labor.  I first noticed her looking restless at 9:40 a.m., she was sitting on one hip her legs kicked out to one side.  After a while she would get up and walk around then cush again rolling onto one hip or the other.  From there she started pushing a little harder and making those frequent visits to the poop pile that are often a sign of labor in alpacas.  Then her contractions became very strong and she cushed again, rolling onto one hip and pushing hard.

I could see progress was being made and so left Willow alone (that’s the hardest part of watching an alpaca in labor sometimes!).  Soon I could see a little white foot and nose emerging from Willow, followed shortly by another little white foot.  When I saw Willow was between contractions I moved her to a pen so that she could finish labor in peace without being bothered by the rest of the herd.

At 10:40 the cria was born, a shiny bright, snowy white female cria – beautiful!  The cria looked quite small, but when I picked her up she felt heavier than she looked, perhaps an indication of some good heavy bone.  Willow is not a large alpaca and Treasure the cria’s sire is an average sized alpaca and so I expected that the offspring from that pairing would not be huge.  Later when I weighed Willow’s cria she was 14.7 lbs. a nice weight for a smaller dam to deliver.

A Close Up of Willow's Cria's Fleece - if only you could feel it!

There is no doubting that Treasure is the sire of this little girl for she has his outstanding brightness to her fleece and that silky, slightly waxy handle.  The pairing of Willow and Treasure was a good one and I think this little girl will be one to watch out for.

The usual routine of the day went out of the window as I spent time watching Willow and her cria, making sure Willow passed her afterbirth without problem and that the cria found Willow’s udder and had a good nurse.   Later I let the pair out in a pen so that the cria could stretch her legs and have a trot around, and as she discovered that her legs would carry her well and fast, so Willow ran beside her not wanting to let her new baby out of her sight.

Days like those are just one of the advantages of being an alpaca rancher.  For those first precious hours of that cria’s life you can put the routine to one side and just enjoy the miracle of a new life.  I think you have to agree it’s not a bad way to earn a living is it!

Rosemary