Finally its a girl for Theresa!

Finally it happened, at 11:10 on November 10^th (now how’s that for coincidence being born at 11:10 on 11/10) Theresa’s cria was born – and after five boys in a row Theresa had a girl!

Theresa was bred on November 15, 2008 so by my calculation she had a gestation of 360 days – phew!

We suspected that Theresa was finally thinking of having her cria when she started acting differently late in the day on Monday.  We noticed Theresa was standing a lot, not eating as much as usual and when she did cush it was very slowly.  By 8 p.m. Theresa had started to hum which was a bit concerning as it was an indication that labor was getting closer and we didn’t want a cria born during the night.  Apart from the humming though Theresa seemed otherwise comfortable.  I monitored her until 1:30 a.m. on Tuesday and as she still seemed comfortable at that time I made tracks for bed.

Of course you never really sleep that well when you are wondering if one of your alpaca girls is outside in the throes of labor, by 5:15 a.m. I was up to check on Theresa and could see that she was still cushed comfortably.  Theresa ate well at feeding time, although the humming was still continuing, but after feeding she isolated herself from the herd and then I was certain her cria was on its way.

By 8:50 a.m. Theresa was starting to push.  I have known Theresa for many years and have seen her give birth several times.  I know that with Theresa labor does not progress quickly and just when you start to think you should call the vet she gives a huge push and out pops her cria.   Theresa’s labor progressed as I expected and by 11:05 a.m. I could just see the tip of the crias nose.  Next came Theresa’s usual huge contraction and at 11:10 a.m. her cria was born.

By the time the cria arrived the other alpaca girls had gathered round to check out the new arrival, much to Theresa’s annoyance, so as soon as Theresa was rested and up I took her and her cria and put them in a catch pen to bond.

Theresa's cria tries out her long legs

For Theresa there had been a long gap between crias, following the birth of her last cria she had developed a uterine infection which took a long while to clear up.  Once the uterine infection was gone Theresa was bred again but sadly lost her cria at 90 days gestation when the crias umbilical cord became wrapped around the crias neck.  We have not had that happen before, it was an unfortunate accident but there was nothing we could have done to prevent it and nothing we could do about it.  Theresa was bred again (after we had allowed her body to recover from the loss of her cria) and this time all went well.   Theresa had a good pregnancy, even though it was another long one.

So now Theresa finally has a daughter and what a good looking girl she is.  Her fleece is very curly and soft and like her mother she loves to eat (or in her case nurse).  Theresa’s cria wasted no time in getting to her feet and having a nurse as soon as she was able and Theresa was more than happy for her to do so.

Our congratulations go to Theresa’s owners Troy and Mary Ogilvie of Timber Lodge Alpacas.  Troy and Mary were very patient during the process of getting Theresa bred again, through all that happened their only concern was that Theresa be healthy and given all that was needed to help her have a good pregnancy.  Troy and Mary’s patience paid off and now they have been rewarded with a beautiful female cria.  I am sure Troy and Mary will love her when they get to see her, and knowing them I am betting that will be soon!
Rosemary

Alpaca Knights Challenger's Champ - a blue ribbon winner

A few weeks ago we acquired a new male for our herdsire row.  Alpaca Knights Challenger’s Champ is our latest addition and is a beautiful true black junior herdsire.

We purchased Champ from Carol Knight of Alpaca Knights in Kentucky.  As Champ was the last male at Carol’s farm she suggested that she take him to her friend’s alpaca farm so that Champ would have some company until we could arrange transportation for Champ to New Mexico.  The farm that Champ went to was Providence Alpaca Farm the farm of Roni and Brad Perkins.  Not only is Roni a friend of Carol she also co-owns Champ’s sire Legend’s Challenger of KPR.

About 10 days ago Carol emailed me to say that Roni was very impressed with Champ and wanted to know if we would like her to take Champ to the OABA Alpacafest Show on our behalf.  Roni had already registered for the show and had stall space for Champ.  Well we couldn’t turn down that opportunity and so we gave Roni the go ahead to register Champ for the show.  A few faxes later everything was settled and Champ was entered in the show.

Having someone else show your alpacas for you can really be a treat.  While Ric and I were having breakfast on Saturday morning we were blissfully unaware that our Champ was in the show ring.  The first we knew about what was going on at the OABA Alpacafest was when we got a phone call from a very excited Roni to tell us that our Champ had taken first place in his class under AOBA Senior Judge Jude Anderson.   How exciting!

What a great start to our ownership of Champ, and how thoughtful of Carol and Roni to suggest that we enter Champ in the OABA Alpacafest.

Champ is scheduled to be transported to us in a couple of week’s time and you can bet we are excited to meet our new blue ribbon winner.  If you are an alpaca breeder you will want to keep an eye on this young male, I get the feeling his career as a herdsire is going to be a great one!

Rosemary

Our herdsire - Enchantment's Prince Regent

We had a special birthday over the weekend.  Our herdsire Enchantment’s Prince Regent turned 10 on Halloween (October 31).

We don’t make it a habit to celebrate all of the alpacas birthdays, with as many alpacas as we have we would be doing a lot of celebrating if we did that, but it is nice to remember significant events such as Regent’s 10^th birthday.

Enchantment’s Prince Regent was our very first cria, his dam Enchantment’s Peruvian Jennifer was our first alpaca purchase. We purchased Jenny in June of 1999, she was already pregnant by PPPeruvian Yupanqui and we were excited to see what our first cria would be like.

Of course Jenny went past her due date and we anxiously awaited the phone call from the farm where she was boarded telling us that Jenny was in labor.  We lived about three hours away from the boarding farm, Enchantment Farm Alpacas in Ruidoso, New Mexico and so we knew that we had little chance of seeing our first cria being born, but we wanted to get to see our cria as soon as we could.

Fortunately it was a Saturday morning when Jenny went into labor, Ann Evans from Enchantment Farm Alpacas called me to give me the news.  At the time of Ann’s call I was on my way to volunteer at a local animal shelter but that plan soon changed and after returning home to collect Ric we were on our way to Ruidoso.  To this day Ann Evans teases us about the speed in which we made that journey, she could not believe how fast we made it to the farm.

Arriving at Enchantment Farms we could see Jenny and her cria penned in the pasture.  Ann and her husband Rick met us at the pasture and took us in to see our new arrival, a little white male cria who we called Enchantment’s Prince Regent.  Initially we were a little disappointed that Regent was a boy, but when Rick and Ann suggested that perhaps we would like to sell him to them we realized this was not just any little boy cria, he was something special.  While we were grateful for Rick and Ann’s offer we decided to keep Regent and have been so happy we did so.

Rosemary and Regent the day Regent was born

Regent was undeniable cute as a cria, Ann nick named him Little Monkey Face because of his round face, but as time passed by Little Monkey Face soon became an alpaca with a beautiful sought after head.  We have had people book breedings to Regent just because they liked his head style.

Regent has shown us many aspects of alpaca management during his life.  It was with Regent that we first learned how to bottle feed a cria, Jenny did not have enough milk for him and so Regent received supplemental feedings.  I can still remember being in the pasture with Ann’s daughter Thea during one of our visits to see Regent.  Thea (who I think was then about 9 or 10) instructed me in how to hold onto Regent and get the bottle in his mouth at the same time.  It was quite the challenge to me, but Thea had it down to a fine art!

We experienced our first alpaca show with Regent along with our female gray alpaca Ma Cushla in Estes Park Colorado.  That was to be the first of many alpaca shows for Regent and for us, and during Regent’s show career he won many ribbons and gave us our first Reserve Color Champion.

Enchantment's Prince Regent wins his first Reserve Color Championship

Regent has been responsible for bringing income to the farm in the form of breeding fees and the sale of his offspring.  His offspring have done well in the show ring and he has several color champion offspring to his name.

At 10 years old Regent is still looking good and still getting bookings for breeding.  His correct confirmation, dense fleece that has held its fineness, heavy bone and of course that beautiful head make him a herdsire that is still sought after – and he is more than happy to continue to have dates with beautiful alpaca girls.  As a herdsire he is easy to manage, all you need to say is “girls” and he will stand still and allow himself to be caught and haltered.  He is well mannered with the ladies and if a girl says no, while he is undoubtedly disappointed, he will allow himself to be led out of the pen with just a little grumbling.

There is a saying that just because an alpaca is male does not mean he deserves to be a herdsire – a saying that is very true.  With Regent though he truly does deserve to be a herdsire and how fortunate we are to have been blessed with such a wonderful herdsire as our first cria.

So on Regent’s birthday I sang him Happy Birthday, told him how much he means to us – and then had to apologize to him as I didn’t have a breeding arranged for him for that day.  Oh well that’s all part of life as a successful herdsire and Regent was quite happy to receive hay and feed as a birthday treat instead.  Happy Birthday Regent!

Rosemary

First Snow of Fall

This was the sight we were greeted with when we did chores on Thursday morning – snow!  You may be able to tell from the picture that this was a wet snow with big, heavy snowflakes.  As fast and as furious as the snow was falling you would think that we would have had a large accumulation, but our ground was still warm and we ended up with just about an inch of the fluffy white stuff.

When I had set out for Blue’s early morning walk at 5:45 a.m. the temperature had been quite mild, but as is often the case in New Mexico within an hour everything had changed.  The wind started to roar, the temperature dropped and then the flakes started falling.

Many of the alpacas remained cushed as the snow started.  They had made a nice warm spot on the ground and didn’t want to give it up.  Theresa in particular did not want to move, heavily pregnant she felt more comfortable staying put, blinking away the snowflakes as they landed on her eyes.

A very pregnant Theresa refuses to budge from her spot despite the snow

After feeding, the boys soon made a dash for cover and stayed under their shelters until things started to warm up.  The girls ate quickly and then headed for the hay feeders, but some of them were quite happy to stand out in the snow.  Theresa was a little shivery at feeding time, a result of her refusing to give up her spot in the pasture, but a bowl of alpaca feed and alfalfa followed by some hay and warm soaked beet shreds soon had her warmed up.

We usually have a snowfall around Halloween; this one was a little early but not too far off track.  Parts of the state got a foot or more of snow – rather them than me.  Once our Halloween snowfall has arrived we often don’t see snow again until January.

For this weekend the forecast is for temperatures in the 60’s – much better weather for Theresa to deliver her cria in.  As of Friday night it looked like she had a little udder development so maybe we will get more of a treat than a trick this Halloween!

Rosemary

While in England I came across a short magazine article that mentioned that Apple has issued a warning that some people listening via iPod, iPhone or Mac Computer have received small electrical shocks through their ear buds – ouch!  People using the devices in areas where the air is very dry (such as ours in New Mexico) sometimes build up static electricity and receive a discharge of this static through their ear buds.

To be fair I am sure that the problem is not confined to users of Apple products, but rather is a possibility for anyone using a device of any make with ear buds, but Apple has taken the initiative to the address the problem and has listed on their web site some steps people can take to reduce the problem.  Amongst the steps listed is:

“Try wearing different clothes. Try clothes with natural fibers since synthetic fibers are more likely to hold a static charge.”

Whoopee – commercial giant Apple is suggesting the use of natural fibers.

Of course when I read the words natural fibers I think of alpaca.  It would be great to think that we could convert all iPod, iPhone or Mac computer users to wearing alpaca – even better still to hope that we could get all people who use ear buds to wear alpaca.  I am sure the other natural fiber producers would also want a look in at the new market of opportunity, but there should be enough people to share among us.

Natural fibers are a much better option for reducing static in your clothes.  Natural fibers are not entirely static free, but do offer a more static free experience.  Natural fibers tend also to be better for your skin as they allow your skin to breathe and often wick any moisture away from the skin too.  Remember though that garments often have some nylon or elastic blended in with them and to guarantee the best chance of being static free everything you wear would need to be made of natural fiber.  Still the wearing of natural fibers such as alpaca generally makes for a more comfortable experience.

So thank you Apple for encouraging the use of natural fibers – and for all of you out there starting to think of Christmas shopping think alpaca when it comes to a gift for the ear bud users in your life!

*Note – I don’t own an iPod (sorry Apple) but do own an MP3 player and to date I have never experienced a static shock through my ear buds, but of course I wear alpaca!

Rosemary

The vacation in England is over and I am now back in New Mexico.  My flights home went smoothly and even the trip to Heathrow  Airport via the notorious M25 (complete with road works of course) went without a hitch.  You know you have good friends when they get up way before the crack of dawn to get you to the airport in time – thanks Val and Linda!

My time in England was not only relaxing but also productive.  I completed a little knitted alpaca bag and also started and finished a balaclava made from alpaca lopi yarn that someone had asked me to make.  Time was spent with friends and family and I even got a quick alpaca fix at Mayfield Alpacas in Ringalow Village, Sheffield.  I was fortunate to get to spend a short time with Elaine Sharp the owner of Mayfield Alpacas and we had a great time “comparing notes” on our alpaca operations.   As I looked at Elaine’s alpacas grazing on lush pastures I could not help think of how our alpacas would love to be set loose on such abundant grazing.   If ever you are in the Sheffield area and are looking for something to do make sure you take a trip out to Mayfield Alpacas, not only are there beautiful alpacas to see but also a lovely café with tasty goodies, a gift shop featuring alpaca products and a great display that educates people about alpacas and the history of the alpaca industry (and the map of North and South America actually has Clovis, NM on it – how about that!).

So now I am back at the farm and having gone through the three stacks of junk mail that awaited me, caught up on the laundry and all of the other things that go on the back burner while you are away its time to get back in the swing of things.

At the weekend two of our visiting alpacas Sonora and Dona Cleia were collected by their owners Melita Clark and Mark Hogan of Milagro Meadow Alpaca Ranch.  Sonora and Dona Cleia had been at our farm for breeding and both are now confirmed pregnant.  Sonora was bred to our Enchantment’s Prince Regent and Dona Cleia had the honor of being the first breeding for our Junior Herdsire Windrush White Blast.  We will look forward to seeing pictures of the crias once the girls deliver next year.

Next on our delivery list is Ameripaca’s Theresa who is owned by Troy and Mary Ogilvie of Timber Lodge Alpacas in Kaufman, Texas and bred to our Windrush Jennifer’s Zindel.  Theresa was due to deliver on October 25 but no cria yet so we are watching and waiting.  Hopefully Theresa will not decide to do as in her last pregnancy and go 368 days gestation – I have warned her that if she waits that long she may well be delivering in the snow as our weather is definitely on the turn.

It was good to have a break away from the farm, but it is also good to be back home.  The crias have grown since I left, Blue the puppy is looking more like a little dog than a puppy (although she is still chewing anything paper or plastic including the Windrush Alpacas check book!) and Ric didn’t look too exhausted.  All in all everything looks good – so I guess that means I can leave again sometime!

Rosemary

Our newest cria - son of Ana Lynette

Now this is the sort of cria delivery that is fun.  Here I am on vacation in England while in New York one of our newest additions to our alpaca herd “Ana Lynette” delivered her cria – a beautiful light fawn boy.  Talk about a stress free delivery – well it was for me anyway!  A big thank you to Lindsay Butkiewicus of Wild Thyme Farm for keeping us updated on the cria’s delivery and for looking after Ana Lynette and her cria until we are able to move them to our farm.

Ana Lynette is being a wonderful mother, very attentive to her cria and producing lots of milk, while her cria is enjoying life as crias tend to do.  Lindsay says that there is a chance that the cria may be more rose grey than fawn, which is a distinct possibility given his genetics (black sire and beige dam with black in her background).  Some greys become more apparent as they age so time will tell for our little boy.  Now we just have to come up with a name for him (and if you have been following our blog you will know how boy crias always prove a challenge to us when it comes to names)

We will not get to see Ana Lynette and her cria until after I return from England.  We want the cria to be at least three weeks old before he travels as it will be a long trip for him and Ana Lynette.  Hopefully by late November Ana Lynette and her boy will be with us and maybe we can even get our new junior herdsire Champ on the transport too.

Ana Lynnette and her cria

Here in England it is still sunny but the temperature has dipped to the mid fifties, still not too bad for October.  Ric reports that things are cooler in New Mexico too and so I think we can say fall has arrived.

This evening I will be attending the Baldock Knit Together Group.  I tried to attend the group last year when I was over but was unable to do so.  Since then I have kept in contact with the group organizer Rhona and we are looking forward to meeting in person at the meeting tonight.  Of course I will be taking my latest alpaca knitting project with me, and I am sure I will pick up many new tips and free patterns during the course of the evening.  It is wonderful that knitters and crocheters the world over always welcome each other and enjoy admiring each others knitting projects while being willing to pass on tips and tricks.  Being part of a knitting or crochet group is a great way to meet some lovely people who share a common love of fiber arts.

Tomorrow my mother and I will set off by train to go to Totley in South Yorkshire where we will visit my Dad’s cousin Stella.  I have many happy childhood memories of times spent with Stella.  There were at least two summers when my brothers and I went to stay with Stella for a few weeks and had a wonderful time exploring the Yorkshire countryside and learning more of our family history.  It has been at least 20 years since I was in that part of the country and so it will be nice to visit again and enjoy the many beautiful sights of South Yorkshire.

So on that note I had better turn my attention to packing my bag for my trip.

 Rosemary

Well…  Ric is still at home with the alpacas.  I am in England visiting my mother on my annual trip to my home country.  Usually I travel earlier in the year, but this year shearing, crias and new a new puppy meant I postponed my trip to the fall.

Today England is warmer than I remember it being in the fall (or autumn as we tend to refer to it in England).  The English summers have been getting warmer and drier, the storms more severe and the fall and winter milder.  You cannot help but wonder about global warming when such climate change takes place.  I think you would have a hard time convincing many British people that global warming is not a fact.

 During my trip I will be helping my mother with tasks such as filing her tax return and anything else she has on the to-do list for me.  My mother has coped remarkably well since the loss of my father last year, but there are a few things she needs assistance with (and let’s face it who really enjoys filing tax returns anyway!).

 I also will be spending time with my good friends Linda and Val (with a very special party on the agenda but more on that later), my nephews and former sister in law Roisin (who is still very much a member of our family) and of course Laura (step daughter), Ren (Laura’s husband), grand-daughter Aida and Paul (step son).  Also on the agenda is a trip to Totley in South Yorkshire to visit my Dad’s cousin Stella and hopefully see a nearby alpaca farm and while I am there I am hoping to be reunited with my friend Anne-Marie who I have known since pre-school.  Anne-Marie and I have kept in touch on and off through our parents and now via Facebook which has brought us together again.

 At home Ric is very busy with caring for the farm.  It’s a lot for one person to take care of, and now has he added task of looking after puppy Blue who will let  you know in her own way (by chewing something you treasure!), if she feels she is not getting enough attention.  I fully expect Ric to be somewhat worn out and possibly a little thinner by the time I get home – although our dear neighbor Darlene is providing him with some meals and so I know he will not starve to death (A big Thank you Darlene as always!).

 As well as routine chores Ric will be hauling loads of hay while I am gone.  We finally found some wheat hay that satisfies our requirements, with only one drawback; it has some wheat heads in it.  We really do prefer beardless wheat hay, but this year have not been able to find any that is nutritionally correct for the alpacas.  The hay we purchased is almost perfect in its analysis and was cut just as it started to head out, so we felt that it was the best option available to us.

 As if all of that is not enough Ric also will be keeping a close eye on Theresa who is due October 25.  For her first four crias Theresa gave birth on day 345 of her pregnancy, but then threw us for a loop by not delivering her fifth cria until day 368 in temperatures above 100 degrees.  So who knows when Theresa will give birth this year.  Before I left I checked Theresa, her udder was not yet developed and she was not puffy under her tail so there should be at least a little time before she gives birth.  I had a word with Theresa too and asked her to hang on to her cria until I was home, but not to wait until day 368 again – I guess we will soon find out if she was listening.

 My blog entries will be sporadic during my trip I am sure.  Ric may decide to post an entry or two – in his spare time that is, but whether his entries will be coherent or just consist of a string of exhausted zzzzzz’s will remain to be seen!

 Rosemary

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

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