Alpacas at Cedar Breaks Farm

Sale! Sale! Sale!

2011-03-10T12:10:00.000-06:00

Due to some medical issues (same old, same old) I have been "encouraged" to decrease the size of my breeding herd. The irony of the timing of this edict isn't lost on me, but nevertheless I'm attempting to comply by having a "Please buy my alpacas so I don't have to take them to auction" sale. If you go to my website, www.cedarbreaksfarm.com or my alpacanation site, www.alpacanation.com/cedarbreaks.asp you will see that I have drastically reduced the price on several of my proven females. These ladies all have something to offer and the price could not be more attractive. With these girls, you get a breeding to the Cedar Breaks herdsire of choice, a free rebreed, and financing can be arranged. Really, if you ever wanted to breed alpacas now is the time. Don't let the low prices fool you. These are good girls who absolutely know what they are doing even if you don't. Thanks for looking. Now, I'll watch and see if you're paying attention!

Winter's End

2011-03-09T09:32:00.001-06:00

This winter has been a bear in Kansas and across most of the U.S. We've had odd, out of place, and extreme weather north to south, west to east. I am now, officially, done! It's still cold, and muddy here, with mixed precipitation. The 'pacas handle this chilly damp mess with no problem but I've had it! I'm ready to clean out the sheds, do the herd health, and start cutting grass. March is always difficult because spring is so near and the weather is usually so miserable. I remember, as a kid, I'd stand on the chair in the living room and practice diving into an imaginary pool, barely able to wait for the crocuses and daffodils to emerge. I'm not a lot more patient now!

So, Old Man Winter, this is my official notice! Get out of town! I have cria to halter train, nails to trim, and beans to rake, and I don't want to spend the time with you! OK, I feel better now! Sigh

Alpacas and Politics

2011-02-27T08:51:00.000-06:00

I have met so many wonderful people in the alpaca industry. There are people from all age groups and walks of life that are united only by the love of alpacas and concern for their welfare. Almost universally, they respond quickly and with the best intentions to any problem or query another breeder poses. Really, a bunch of kind hearted, and generous people.

My only problem is that I often find myself gritting my teeth at the political positions and, dare I say, rantings of some who are committed bunnyhuggers. This would be understandable and bearable if I wasn't afraid that the soul of the industry was at stake. After all, this is America, with freedom of speech, the right to assemble, and the right to be a raving looney on either side of the board as long as you aren't threatening anyone. I can certainly attest that I haven't felt threatened by a bunnyhugger lately!

So for anyone who cares...and I won't have my feelings hurt if you don't, here is my take on the alpaca industry and US politics in general. Alpacas are livestock, not pets. Yes, they are cute, but they also are hard work to raise and breed responsibly. I would like the government to "get out" my business and bedroom BUT if tax advantages are available, you can bet your bottom that I will be taking advantage of them. Lastly, all livestock industries need an end use for their product. None of us live forever and alpacas don't either. If some want to maintain fiber animals long past their prime fiber producing years that is fine. Then they are called pets. But in the US alpaca industry we need a shearling, meat, or leather market so these animals have a place to go after their fiber producing value is diminished. This outlet would increase rather than decrease the value and standard of care for the US alpaca herd in general.

OK. Off my soap box now. Tomatoes and accolades will both be accepted. Thank you for your time.

Yarn sales

2011-02-22T20:00:00.001-06:00

2010-11-13T05:55:00.000-06:00

It's that time of year when we begin to dream of warmer climes. Maybe this is what Monty and Evelyn are dreaming about!

Daylight Savings Time on the farm

2010-11-06T18:15:00.000-05:00

As the annual debate on daylight savings rages, I thought a moment of perspective from the farm might be useful.

Tomorrow morning when the rest of America is sleeping in I'll be up in the dark as usual. The dog is the first one that I can't seem to explain the concept to. She doesn't seem to appreciate the purported energy savings. The whining will begin at the normal time regardless of what the clock says. While alpacas are fairly forgiving where time is concerned, I've taken the precaution of leaving the pasture gate open. So if I'm able to placate the dog maybe I can catch a nap! I shudder to think what Holstein cattle think of arbitrarily changing milking time!

Dulcinea After Plasma Transfusion

2010-11-02T08:26:00.000-05:00

Is that an alpaca in your bathtub?

2010-10-31T18:54:00.000-05:00

Marketing

2010-10-20T18:25:00.001-05:00

As a natural born "alpaca whisperer" the easy part of my job is critter care and comfort. I seem to know what's wrong with an alpaca before anyone else even realizes there is a problem. I know which tasks absolutely have to be done today and which can wait until tomorrow. I have a sense about which births maybe difficult and which ones will be a cinch. I see my animals strengths and weaknesses clearly and so can make wise breeding decisions. But all of these strength don't help a bit with marketing and one thing I've learned for sure over the years is nothing "sells itself"!

So now I'm flailing around in the world of internet marketing. I can spend half a day bogged down by a missed link or a typo. It may not surprise many of you that computers are very literal. The phrase, "You know what I meant," doesn't seem to help when you are trying to get something to load.

This is a time of growth for me. I keep reminding myself. Marketing, bad...

Fall

2010-10-19T10:31:00.000-05:00

Well fall has fallen. The trees are bright and most still holding their leaves. We haven't had a hard freeze yet but it's only a week or so out. Time to begin battening down the hatches for winter! That involves cleaning and rearranging all the sheds, gettting the tanks hooked up to electricity, and removing the fans for storage.

All the birthing is done. Final count for the year is three bull calves, two heifer calves, five male crias, and four female crias. Seems like a theme here with the boys winning out over the girls, but just slightly!

All my crias are beautiful...as usual, but one of them is exceptional. He's a little fawn boy out of Evelyn and W.D. Steiner and his density is going to be amazing! He has so much fiber on his face you can hardly make out his face at all. I'm thinking this is how Plantel (famous alpaca) must have looked as a baby! It's always fun to have a cria with so much potential, but it means that I'm going to have to take him to the show ring which isn't my favorite place. The alpacas do fine but I get performance anxiety!

Manhattan Alpaca Market

2010-09-10T17:35:00.000-05:00

Big day tomorrow. We'll be a Cico park all day. See you there!

Time For A Change

2010-08-24T09:34:00.000-05:00

The weather has finally broken. No more 100 plus degree days, at least for now. Vacation in Canada is over and fall baby watch has begun.

After getting ready for Aaryn's wedding and five spring crias, I have decided I'm working too hard! I NEED to slow down and smell the roses before they wilt! The problem is there is always work in front of me that needs to be done. I'm afraid I have some serious rearranging of priorities to do.

But for now, I'm off to feed the horses and alpacas and clean out all the pens. Sigh.

Wowie Zowie!

2010-06-16T23:49:00.000-05:00

So, our last spring cria was born this morning. Everybody has been running late. Babies have been big. Weights have been as follows: Sassy, 23 lbs: Cisco, 19.3 lbs; Pancho, 18.6 lbs, Misty's cria, 18.2 lbs; Collette's cria (aka monster) 24.5 lbs. This last baby was the biggest SOB I've ever seen! Seriously, he's bigger than the last three on the day he was born! Delivery was normal but it was taking longer than normal. I watched a while, then went out to check. His head and front feet were out and in the right position but mom was tired so I gave a litle tug on his front legs and mamma did the rest. Then came the rain, 3.74 inches in a couple of hours. Big floods. Roads washed out, etc. I'll sleep tonight!

Spring!

2010-03-29T15:08:00.000-05:00

OK, I will now pull my head out of my posterior and begin to live again! Boy, I hate winter and this last one was tough! But today is warm and bright and I rearranged the 'paca sheds for spring. All cleaned out and festooned with fans for their enjoyment. Soon the crias will start popping around the same time as the trees leaf out and I start mowing! Happy Spring everyone!

Deep Bedding

2009-12-10T13:25:00.001-06:00

So for those of you who haven't been paying attention, it's been cold in Kansas the last couple of days! I'm talking seriously cold! So last night I had my husband put down a couple of bales of prairie hay for bedding in the shed where the babies live. I was hoping not to find cria-sicles this morning. That part worked but, what a mess! I've heard from alpaca breeders in the far north that they use hay or straw and just keep adding more all winter. When the bedding gets dirty they just put more on top. When the poo underneath gets packed down and the animals lay on it it creates layers of fermentation where the bacteria actually generate some heat and not only insulate but also warm. That may be true but I just can't imagine cleaning up that mess in the spring! After one night the mess is almost more than I can take. I forced my self not to remove all the hay and frozen poop this morning because it's still supposed to be unreasonably cold for a few days but it can't last. I may not be particularly tidy in my home but I hate the mess around my crias!

A little shameless self promotion!

2009-12-07T12:31:00.002-06:00

Not sure if this will work or what will show up but I'll give it a try!

First Snow

2009-12-06T19:09:00.002-06:00

We are in the midst of our first snowfall of the season. It's beginning to look a lot like Christmas.... Anyway, This is the season of frozen poop and chipping it off the ground when it warms up. Good times. But the real goodness is in the fact that no matter how messy it gets down there, we have no flies, no real problems with parasite transmission, and no unfortunate "feedlot" odor.

And for the family, who are now reading the blog from time to time, (thanks, by the way) the ankle is improving slowly. Still have some swelling and an unreasonable amount of discomfort when walking on uneven ground but it's stable and all the pretty colors are gone!

Sprained ankle

2009-11-21T14:43:00.000-06:00

I am such a klutz! I tripped over the ground and sprained my ankle. Literally, over ground that I've walked a thousand times before, I fall on my keester and I'm crippled! It's absolutely no fun taking care of all the critters here with an ankle the size of my knee! And they all still expect to eat twice a day! Now I'm just waiting for the pretty colors to develop. At least we don't have any snow yet. Did I just say that? Uh oh.

Colder Weather

2009-11-18T09:55:00.001-06:00

It's just about time to settle into the season of frozen water lines and frozen poo piles. I hate cold so I always dread winter but in many ways it's easier. The alpacas are generally fine in any weather since they are wearing alpaca coats! I have one special needs girl who wears a gortex coat in the winter because she is tiny and has a hard time keeping her weight up while nursing. Of course, they need shelter from wind and rain, yada yada, but it seems to me that they love the complete absence of flies more than they dislike cold. Poop removal can be something of a challenge when you have to chip it off the ground but it seems less important when they aren't squishing it between their toes (ew, unpleasant visual)!

I did have the vet out yesterday to float the horses teeth and do a pre-winter worming. No sense feeding tapeworms all winter! The bull is about to show up to keep the cows company for a few months. As long as they have hay they don't really seem to notice weather.

Yep, a good freeze isn't looking too bad about now.

Help

2009-11-12T22:14:00.000-06:00

My life is extra full. It's exceedingly hard for me to take time for dust and shower grunge when I'm so busy with feeding and scooping and nurturing! Don't hate me because I'm busy! Last summer my daughter helped by doing the cleaning, but she is now employed full time, nights, at a nursing home. Probably a better use of her skills! Recently, I've hired a young lady to help me keep up with the household duties. I'm hopeful but living up to Greg's standards isn't easy. I'm hoping (and praying) for her sake that this works out to be a match made in heaven!

Lifestyle Choices

2009-10-27T17:48:00.001-05:00

Whenever anyone tries to tell you how delightful the alpaca "lifestyle" is, grab your wallet! You are being sold. I hate the idea that alpacas are magical or mystical and I hate it when they are called a "huggable" investment! They aren't an investment. They are livestock. They are born, they eat, they poop and they die just like the rest of us!

Having said all that, I love evening feedings on a cool fall day. They all crowd around me wanting food, not hugs, but they are gentle and sweet in their way. And watching the crias jump, and pronk, and play is almost, well, magical.

Mouse Hunter, or Alpaca Farmer?

2009-10-26T16:20:00.000-05:00

Mouse Hunt! The game of Knights, Heros, Legends, Masters and others. How can I be an alpaca farmer when I have to hunt mice all day long? I realize that I have 15 minutes between horn blows but that's not really enough time to feed the animals or clean the pens. And what about breeding? The typical male alpaca breeds for 30 minutes and I'm thinking, "Tick, tock, Son, I have a horn to blow"!

Yes, I'm conflicted. For now, I suppose I will just have to accept that I have to compromise. I cannot be either the world's best mouse hunter or the world's best alpaca farmer. Oh.... I have to go. Time to blow my horn!

Animal Husbandry - the last gasp!

2009-10-25T08:45:00.000-05:00

For those of you who are tired of the subject, my apologies, but I feel the need to sum it up.

Alpaca farming is a livestock industry. It's similar in many ways to raising goats, sheep, cattle, chickens, and horses. The bottom line of animal husbandry is that these guys, that we so carefully tend and care for, are not pets. They are livestock, and as such they have to support themselves. They have to produce a product that is worth at least the cost of their keep. If they don't then they are pets. Livestock don't make particularly good pets (maybe with the exception of well trained horses). They don't even want to be pets. It was early in my tenure as an alpaca farmer when a wise breeder told me to accept the fact that the sound of my voice was not soothing to my alpacas. Boy, was she right! In handling alpacas, the goal is to keep the interactions as quick and to the point as possible then leave them alone to "de-stress" from the event.

So I have come to the conclusion that, in order to continue breeding alpacas, we as an industry (and me personally), cannot offer every alpaca a guaranteed long retirement in green pastures. The "no kill" model of alpaca husbandry is just not sustainable. There are too many older fiber boys now whose fiber quality has declined and who have no market value as companions anymore. Some of these guys have the personalities to be farm ambassadors (ie pets) but most don't. For their security and well being a responsible alpaca farmer has to have a plan for their future, or lack thereof. I do not want to see any of my boys in the condition that I have seen many horses since horse slaughter became unavailable, starving in a field.

You'll note that I'm not posting this on alpacasite. There is still not widespread acceptance of the harsh realities of the livestock biz among many alpaca owners. I really don't want to stir the pot publically. But for myself, I think I must acknowledge that there is a point in a male alpaca's life when he needs to go live in the freezer like my steers. How this will be accomplished is something I haven't worked out yet. Lord knows, I can't even kill flies because I flinch. But, intellectually, I've accepted that in the future I'm going to need to cross this bridge and it's wasteful and disrespectful to take a life and not produce a product. So alpaca sausage and shearling fleeces here I come, reluctantly, but after careful consideration.

Last Birthday of 2009

2009-10-21T14:19:00.000-05:00

Monday, October 19, we had our final cria for the fall birthing season. She's a beautiful light fawn girl from, Zehari, one of the best moms in the world. I got to watch her being born (which is not as common as you'd think with my older girls) and it was "easy breezy lemon squeezy"! A fully cooked, vigorous cria is a wonderful sight to behold! She was up and running in no time, and by today, you'd be hard pressed to tell which of the three babies in the paddock is youngest.

Lost and Found

2009-10-16T11:52:00.000-05:00

We have a little Boston Terrier named Fred, that we rescued from the Vet Hospital several years back because her owners were going to euthanize her due to cataracts. We fell in love with her and have since had her cateracts removed and eventually her sight was lost anyway due to glaucoma. So we had eye sparing surgery done which removes the innards of the eyeballs and replaces it with silicone. It's like she has little fake boobs in her eyeballs. Obviously, Fred is blind but as she's gotten older she's losing her hearing too. So now it's like living with a canine version of Helen Keller (no disrespect intended toward Helen or any of her family).

Well this morning, after I fed the dogs, I let them out as usual and went to relieve my bladder as well. When I returned not two minutes later Fred was gone. I knew she couldn't have gone far so I checked all the usual places, like around on the other side of the house etc. Still no Fred. So expanded the perimeter of the search out toward the road (which is about 1/3mile away). Finally by about 8am when I'd looked everwhere I could imagine I started alerting the neighbors, every one of which lives at least 1/2 mile from the house. Everybody said they would be happy to help so now I've got even more people beating the bushes. It's an interesting neighborhood in that there are veterinarians on both sides of us.

So I start walking the creek bottoms, and looking in every hole in the ground that I can find thinking she might have fallen and hurt herself. By this time it was 11am and Fred has been gone 4 hours on a very chilly morning. I was just beginning to despair when the guy next door comes riding up on his ATV with a little head poking out of his jacket. He had found the little stinker down in one of the hay fields by a tractor shed. It's not that far as the crow flies but as Fred travels, pinging off one side of the road and then the other, it's a loooong way.

So, all's well that ends well. A big "thank you" to the neighbors! But I'm thinking I'm seeing a tie-line in Fred's future!

Sheep/ Cattle husbandry vs. Alpaca Husbandry

2009-10-14T23:22:00.001-05:00

This is the unfortunate end point of fiber husbandry. We, in the states, can't compete with any international comodities industry unless we have a resource that they don't. They have "made" alpacas for lots of years w/o the romance. Are our alpacas better than theirs...maybe. They exported the best to us.

Sheep are sheep. They are easily bred. They have shorter gestation periods. They twin. Yada, yada,yada. I'm sure that, if you are a breeder of quality wool bearing sheep, you love every one of the little ones that come every year. But I'm also sure that every serious wool sheep breeder is as comfortable with the life cycle of sheep as I am with the life cycle of my cattle. Why is it that there is no single word for sheep?

Cattle females are heifers or cows. Males are bulls or steers. Sheep are ewes or bucks or wethers (Sorry, I've run out of terms. Message me if I'm way out of line), but it's not common to refer to them that way. Why do we call all cattle "cows"? Is it easier, because we don't identify "cow" with hamburger, but instead with milk? Trust me, when a Holstein cow quits producing milk and doesn't "freshen" (which means doesn't get pregnant), her life expectancy is not long. And all the newborn baby boys become "veal". That's the reality of dairy farming.

The same is true with all livestock. That's why we raise them and provide for them. They have a unique and beautiful ability to turn grass, that is undigestible by us, into protein, or power, or fiber. They are a gift from God, all of them. I choose what animal protein I choose to eat based on the husbandry practices that I can handle. Seriously, I don't eat veal and I blur my eyes over poultry but my real conflict is over pork. I wish they could all be free, (ie wild boar) but I can't be giving up my bacon! So we all agree I'm a sell out!

So, what is the appropriate life cycle for a fiber producing animal, like an alpaca. Many breeders have decided to let their females go unbred for a season due to the current economic "trash can" that we are all living in. I'm not sure that that is the right option. How do I justify being in a breeding business when I quit breeding? What are the tax implications if I decide to not breed this year when the market is "iffy "and then breed again next year when things are better? The best female alpacas have, maybe, a fifteen year window of fertility. Why waste the years of my best females when I can't get them back? And do I commit myself to a cradle to grave welfare program for every cria, male or female, regardless of their fiber quality?

All hard questions. What do we do? Next post will tell you how I'm leaning.

The Ethics of Alpaca Husbandry

2009-10-07T08:27:00.006-05:00

OK. Now comes the hard part. This is the crux of the matter and where my ideas are changing.

When I entered the alpaca industry in 2003 a major part of the appeal was that it was a "no kill" form of animal husbandry. There were few enough registered alpacas in the US (around 20,000) that even the geldings had economic value. At that time a registered gelding sold for anywhere between $1200 and $1800. Their value was not only in their fiber but as a herd management tool. Because alpacas are social, they stress if left alone. A halter trained, neutered male was the most cost effective companion for a pregnant female when either traveling or hospitalized. For my first two pregnant females I bought a gelded male alpaca and a gelded llama to provide companionship and protection.

Now six years later there is estimated to be around 100,000 registered alpacas in the US. Of course, there are also alpacas that have not been registered. This is impressive growth considering the gestation period for alpacas is 11.5 months and twinning is rare. The number of breeders in Kansas has at least tripled in that time so clearly the interest in owning alpacas has increased too. But every breeding has a 50% chance of resulting in a male and only one out of ten males is of sufficient quality to become a herdsire. Even the best male requires a lot of money and effort in showing and marketing to become a real income producing asset. So we, as an industry, are producing a lot of "fiber boys", but the fiber part of the business is not as well developed as the breeding part of the industry. This has resulted in a steep decrease in the price for these animals and they are filling up our farms because there are not enough people interested in fiber herds. The realities of a fiber herd are much different than those of a breeding herd. I'll try to arrange my thoughts and continue this post later.

Farm Visits

2009-10-03T12:51:00.003-05:00

We had a lovely farm visit today from one of our friend's church group. The weather was perfect, the folks friendly and interested in our farm, and the animals even cooperated! I was a bit worried Zehari would decide that today was the day to have her cria. Fortunately, it all went perfectly, although Nip decided to take an unauthorized walk off lead. Actually, that worked out for the best as well, since I needed to move the little boys over by the big boys and Nip made the trip on his own. That only left four trips for me to do on lead with untrained boys!

Herd Health -Cattle

2009-10-02T17:14:00.002-05:00

I love our cattle. No, really. Most of them have wonderful distinct personalities, eat cookies out of my hand, and come running when I call them. They are very tame, as Angus go, but not a one of them likes herd health day! The mildest among them puts up a fuss when herded toward the chute and head gate because they know no good can come of it. Today was just vaccination, fly treatment and replacing tags for most of them. One girl had to have an ultrasound, and you can hardly blame her for being cranky about that considering the technique. Maybe our mistake was doing the ultrasound first. Apparently, they talk amongst themselves because nobody went in willingly after that one!

Another thing you might not think about everyday is how big cattle are. None of ours would kick at you or hurt you on purpose but I'm always certain I will be crushed inadvertently. For some reason they all seem to want to go through any narrow space at the same time and I'm always keeping an eye out for an avenue of escape.

But herd health is over for now. So I'll just go take some Ibuprofen.

Attention Alpaca Lovers!

2009-09-25T14:41:00.002-05:00

Tomorrow is National Alpaca Farm Days and I've cleaned up all the poo piles and piles of waste hay just for you. OK, actually, you can come see the alpacas any day if you call first but tomorrow and Sunday the farm will look spiffier. We have two brand new little crias who are never gonna be any cuter! And Nip, my bottle baby, is happy to accept love from anyone! If you do plan to come out it's best to call first so I know when you are arriving . You can't see the critters from the house so I could be out showing off the 'pacas to someone else. The number is 785-776-6240

National Alpaca Farm Days

2009-09-21T13:45:00.004-05:00

This coming weekend, September 26th and 27th, are National Alpaca Farm Days, an event planned and promoted by AOBA, the Alpaca Owners and Breeders Organization. This is an opportunity for those interested in alpaca husbandry or even those who are just curious, to get up close and personal with these great critters.

Here at Cedar Breaks Farm we look forward to these days every year. We get to meet nice folks and talk about our favorite animals all at the same time. This year we are planning to set up a display explaining fiber processing and hand spinning of yarn too. If you are a spinner I will have raw fiber available for purchase and you can meet the animal your fiber came from...kinda fun! Due to the layout of our farm, here in the beautiful Flint Hills, we have to walk a bit to see everything, so wear comfortable shoes and you may want to bring a water bottle. It would be great if you can call ahead (785-776-6240) to let us know when you would like to come so we can be sure to have someone at the house to greet you.

We're located about 4 miles west of Blueville Nursery on Anderson, and about one mile north of Anderson on 69th Avenue. If you get to Keats you've gone too far! The house sits way back off the road and has a windmill in front and a sign over the driveway so you can't miss it!

We're looking forward to seeing you this weekend!

New Baby!

2009-09-17T22:57:00.002-05:00

Today was an incredibly happy day here at the farm. Finally, after seven seasons, Evelyn, one of my first alpacas, has given me a little girl! She's a medium brown little beauty with a white spot on her nose and mouth that looks like a kiss! Her dad, Conquistador, has a similar pattern but this is the first of his crias here that have had that "flash"! I think it adds curb appeal, while leaving the blanket, where the best fiber comes from, uniform. Frankly, I've been waiting so long for a baby girl from Evelyn that I would have been happy with a spotted dog as long as it was a girl! Birth days are good days at Cedar Breaks Farm!

The Ethics of Cattle Husbandry

2009-09-14T22:36:00.005-05:00

Now this is a subject with which I'm completely comfortable. Today one of our heifers gave birth to a beautiful baby boy. He was just as darling as the baby girl that was born here a couple of weeks ago. The mommas are so sweet and attentive to their little ones. They really love their babies and care for them with all the faculties the Lord has blessed them with. Unfortunately, sometimes those faculties aren't quite enough, and I spend a good deal of time out in the pastures finding the little crufters and reuniting them with their mommas, who have lost track of the rabbit. For some reason the wee ones seem to squirt out under the fences and when the moms can't find them right away,the moms have a tendency to wander off and forget about the babies. This is a particular problem with first time mommas. More than once I've had to retrieve calves from the neighbor's horse pastures and reunite them with a mom that seems to have forgotten them until the baby starts bawling. At the first wail from the baby, Mom comes running back, like a freight train! I take from these experiences that this is a strong bond, albeit a tenuous one.

When the time come to wean the babes it is a hard time for all involved. There is weeping, wailing and gnashing of teeth...especially for the calves. Within about thirty minutes the cows wander off and never look back.

As they mature cow's brains seem to go into slow motion. It takes a while to get their attention and get them to start moving in the desired direction. Usually shaking a bucket of cookies does the trick! But you also don't want to expect them to stop too fast once they get going. Even my "bucket calf" Bump, who loves me an unnatural amount for an Angus cow is slow to rile and slow to stop.

When little boys are born you know they have two wonderful years to live, and play and grow. Because of BSE, (mad cow disease, to the uninitiated) most little boys have to be butchered by two years old to be perfectly safe. They are castrated young and only one in ten (probably, in reality, less) is of sufficient quality to be kept intact to breed. Does that make them less darling and sweet? No. But they were born and bred to be hamburger and there is really no sorrow that they fulfill their destiny.

I long ago had to decide whether to give up McDonald's and decided against it. I can't tell you how often people tell me they don't want to think that the beef that they are eating had a name! I proudly state that all of our babies have names as well as numbers before they go to live in the freezer. They are happy steers with lots of room to play and graze and lots of cookies until the day that they have an appointment at the locker. Each one is taken on the day of their slaughter, and run through immediately, with my husband standing by to supervise. There is no waiting in a feed lot, no undue panic. We choose a custom meat packing facility where they humanely dispatch our stock in a way that minimizes stress and distress.

The result of this well considered "end" is that I have no reservations about breeding. When I start the process, by introducing a bull into the pasture, I know that the animals created will have "cradle to grave" care and consideration. What more could we do?

The Ethics of Animal Husbandry

2009-09-11T09:01:00.003-05:00

Yes, it's a big subject but it is one that has been troubling me lately.

I'll start with an observation about horses that will probably get me in trouble with most of America. A number of years ago horses were slaughtered in the US and used as a protein source in pet foods. I was horrified by this because my experience with horses suggested that the horses facing slaughter would cotton on to what was happening and would be terrified just prior to the "coup de gras". I had never seen a horse slaughtering facility but I imagined the worse and thought the horses probably suffered more than, say, a cow would.

Recently the animal rights folks prevailed and stopped horse slaughter in the US. This was a good thing I thought until I started to see the increase in starving horses. Horses that would have previously been sent to slaughter and provide the farmer/rancher/stock man a return on at least a per pound basis were now worthless and left to sit in overgrazed paddocks and starve. Sometimes well meaning but ignorant folks would acquire these horses and think they were saving them while only prolonging the suffering. Now we go into a recession and people decide they can't keep their horses, or can't feed their horses, and also have trouble finding anyone to haul them away because they have to go to Canada or Mexico to have them slaughtered.

Enter the ethics question. We have two horses. One is a mare so, theoretically, we could breed more horses. But I would never even consider it, because every darling little foal has potentially a 30 year life span, and with no horse slaughter facilities there is no humane way out. I could have a foal and sell a foal but then I lose all control over it's welfare. I know, because I have seen it, that not every horse that is born on this earth has a cushy, wonderful "forever" home like my Max and Charisma do. So I will not contribute to the problem.

Moving on to cats and dogs, the same thing is true. We have all our cats and dogs spayed or neutered so that we don't contribute to the problem. We rescue. My husband would say that I rescue all the time, but really it's only when the Lord brings a problem to our door. Last year a scrawny black female cat showed up in our cattle shed. She was feral so I couldn't pick her up but she dept flirting with me and so I began to feed her. After awhile she disappeared and I was sorry, but not surprised, that she hadn't gotten tame enough for me to catch her and have her spayed before she left. As winter gave way to spring I started spending more time outside doing farm chores and one day the little black cat resurfaced but this time in the alpaca pens. She looked terrible, skinny and covered with ticks so of course I started feeding her and put Revolution on her to get rid of the ticks. After a few days I began to hear the mewing that explained her return. I found seven little black kittens and one grey one behind the stack of hay bales in the alpaca shed. I realized that I would have to catch her to have her spayed but that would have to wait until the kittens were ready to wean. One day I counted again and realized there were only three black kittens and the grey one left so I scooped them all up and trapped the momma and moved them into a bathroom in the house. The coyotes had already had more than their share! The story ended happily and responsibly with the mom and all the kittens neutered and living in happy homes. The moral to this story is that while I couldn't keep the first feral cat from occurring I could end the chain of unwanted animals in this case.

I'm going to stop for today because I have to do chores but tomorrow comes the big ethical challenge, cattle and alpacas. Stay tuned.

Spinning Uno

2009-09-02T11:19:00.007-05:00

Uno was my first cria born and he's always been special. Just ask him, he'll tell you! He always shears more fiber weight than anyone else on the farm and has an exceptionally long staple length. When he was young and I showed him, he didn't show too well because his long staple would lay over and sort of blow out the crimp on the ends. Judges always asked if he had been sheared the year before (well, of course, we live in Kansas and if not he'd be dead!). Uno was never rewarded with higher than a third place ribbon which was sort of disappointing because I thought he was wonderful! When it came time to make the decision to geld him I just couldn't bring myself to do it, but I have never used his "manly services" as much as other boys due to his show record.

Now I enter my new life as a spinner and I find that, even as an older intact male whose fiber isn't as fine as it used to be, Uno's fiber is my favorite to spin! It makes wonderful yarn that is as strong when one ply as it is as two ply. His fiber has a wonderful hand and is really easy to spin, probably due to the staple length. So I say to myself, "Self, why are you not using this boy more? This is a fiber industry not a show industry!" So that's what I'm gonna do this fall. Uno's gonna get lucky and , hopefully, I get more babies that shear over 10 lb as yearlings! Everybody wins......Ok, the other boys may not agree.

Vacation

2009-08-17T11:46:00.001-05:00

Well, I'm home from three weeks of vacation in Canada. It was a glorious rest and all the animals survived without me. Now I begin the fall cria watch!I have three due in the next 8 weeks. I'm praying for a sweep of all girls this year. After all, I had a sweep of boys last year!

Turkeys

2009-06-19T22:36:00.002-05:00

So, while haying, Greg was responsible for a valiant mother turkey losing her life. Very sorry, but these things happen. What he found next was a clutch of nine eggs, for the love of which she had given her life. Whatcha gonna do? What we did was bring the eggs to the house and incubate them in a newly purchased incubator, turning them 5 times a day. Twenty-eight days after the mothers untimely demise, six of the nine eggs hatched. There was one unfortunate casualty due to crowding at the water trough, leaving us with five healthy chicks. OK, four healthy chicks and one we named "Leo the late bloomer" who seemed to have cerebral palsy. After about 24 hours, even Leo learned to "keep the shiny side up and the rubber side down" and started to navigate around the horse tank that they call home.

Shortly, it will be time for them to start learning the art of turkeyhood. We've moved them to the barn and have plans for a chicken wire enclosure out in the grass so they can safely learn how to scratch and peck, essential skills for survival in the wild. My nephew, Michael, observed tonight, while I was fussing over safety measures in the barn, that he's pretty sure their real
mom would already have lost more of her brood than we have. A very astute observation for a twelve year old.....nature is tough!

We still have the three dud eggs incubating in the kitchen. They don't smell funky, but are way overdue. I can't bring myself to throw them out because of the cuteness of their brethren, but hope fades. Shortly, Ill have my husband, who's a vet, disect one, to determine the fate of the others. If it stinks, they're outta here!

Shear Day or Thank God the Alpacas are Naked Day

2009-05-08T19:13:00.003-05:00

Title speaks for itself. Both Greg and I are stiff and sore, we're almost $1000 poorer, but sooo happy to have naked alpacas. Tomorrow I'll get a picture to share. Twenty seven naked alpacas! It's a sight to behold!

Felting Kuzco

2009-05-05T22:32:00.002-05:00

So Kuzco is and older gelding and I've always called him my "Brillo Pad". It's not that his fiber is so coarse, it's that.... OK it's coarse. Anyway, whenever I sold Kuzco's fiber I encouraged those who bought it to felt it rather than spin it. It's a beautiful color, mahogany reddish brown, but man, was I right. Recently, I've tried again to spin and to felt Kuzco's fiber and the felting is much more rewarding! I'm now thinking of putting felting kits together so that others can experience the easy satisfaction of felting Kuzco! Don't discount the value of your older boys but appreciate them for their strengths. I need to figure out how to make warm booties out of the best and most beautiful felt alpacas can produce. It comes from Kuzco!

Mouse Hunt!

2009-04-29T23:53:00.002-05:00

OK. I realize it is my new obsession. For years now I have stalked my children on facebook or myspace or anywhere I could gain a glimpse into their lives, but now I have found my calling. This is different from being the best rainbow stealer on LGP. This is big game! Hunting mice is like it used to be going to those oyster parties! I can't wait to see the next "big" one that wanders by. Believe me when I tell you, I am conquest motivated........and I am a mouse hunter!

Spinning Collette

2009-04-24T15:30:00.003-05:00

So many may not know that after six years of raising alpacas I have begun to spin it into yarn. WHAT TOOK ME SO LONG! I know! Anyway, I have just started spinning the blanket from Collette, a mature half accoyo female and I'm in awe of the quality of her fiber. Granted, as a juvenile Collette had 16 micron fiber, which is very fine, but her fiber now as a mature producing female is what is amazing. She doesn't have particularly long staple length but is very dense andher fiber has an incredible hand. I'd be surprised if she doesn't produce fiber under 21 microns this year and that's while pregnant. As an aside, Collette is sort of a nut. She wasn't handled much as a wee one so she is sure I'm going to put her in the stew pot every day. Her first cria for me is due any day now and I can hardly wait for it! In the mean time, I'm just having fun spinning Collette!

Darkest Before Dawn

2009-04-13T15:29:00.002-05:00

For some reason I never get around to updating this, probably because I type so slowly that it takes too long. My latest time sucker has been Shesa's first cria. Born Saturday the 11th, she's a tiny little thing (only 13 lbs) and I've named her Patricia Ann, after my sister who passed away last month. Patricia Ann has been a pistol from the beginning, very independent and vigorous, but not nursing like she should. Maybe she was too busy investigating the world to settle down to eat. In order to ensure that she got the colostrum she needed for immunity Greg and I tube fed her goat colostrum for the first twenty four hours. Then unfortunately, she didn't seem to associate an empty belly with eating or her mother! So we spent the second twenty four hours out in the freezing rain forcing her to suck an ounce per hour from a bottle. We separated her and her mother, showed her the faucet, made sure momma had milk, etc. etc., but still no interest. This morning after two days of no sleep I threw up my hands an told Greg to hitch up the trailer, I was taking them to the Vet Hospital to see if there was something they could do. Through main strength and awkwardness I managed to load a reluctant 160 lb Shesa into the trailer and took them in. When I arrived guess who was nursing? You guessed it! I actually left them there for a day just because I'm so tired and I want to be absolutely sure I don't have to bottle feed this baby! I have both been there and done that and bottle feeding an alpaca is no place I want to revisit! So now after a two hour nap I'm ready to go out and scoop poop! Got to get ready. There's another one due in a week to ten days!

Tragedy to Triumph

2008-10-08T11:55:00.002-05:00

One of the earliest things you learn when you enter the livestock business is that if you are going to have livestock you are going to have deadstock. Knowing this doesn't make it any easier when it happens. This last week we had two crias born here, both beautiful brown boys, and only one of them is still with us. The first, "Sparrow", was premature, a difficult birth, and from a first time mom. The second, "Lesh" was big, robust, perfectly positioned, and delivered by an older girl who is a wonderful mother. As hard as I tried, and within the limits of my wisdom and abilities, I wasn't able to save the first little boy. I had to take him away from his momma and transport him to the Vet hospital where he later died, despite everyone's best efforts. It was heartbreaking when I came back without him and the momma rushed up to me looking for her "lovebug" and I had nothing to give her.

I really thought later that day that I couldn't breed animals anymore because I couldn't take the tragedy. Fortunately, I had a friend to call, another breeder, who said she had felt the same way when she suffered a loss in her herd, but to wait, because another cria would come and another day.

Two days later along came "Lesh" and I was able to experience the fun of his first steps, his momma's devotion, and how the whole thing is supposed to work. It was a joyful experience as always! Interestingly, the first momma rushed up to "Lesh" at first, thinking he was her baby, but as soon as she got a sniff and realized he wasn't she went back to grazing and seemed unperturbed. Nature is a wonderful thing!

So now I go on without my little Sparrow, but with the foresight that my experience with him provided. I hope I can do better next time...but mostly I'm thankful that everytime isn't so hard.

National Alpaca Farm Days

2008-09-28T22:07:00.003-05:00

Farm days are over and we had fun. For those of you who came by, come again any time, just remember to give me a call first. For those of you who haven't visited our farm, the alpacas and the house are a ways apart and if I don't know you're coming I may miss you because I'm cleaning up the poo!

Sunny and I are just beginning to get into the "fiber arts" part of alpaca farming. It was great to talk to people about the "how to's". Especially thanks to Vanessa and Connie for trying to teach me how to crochet. I'm working on it!

For anyone interested in the animal husbandry part of the business, please feel free to ask any questions. If I don't know I'll bet I can find out the answers to your questions. I've learned alot in the five years I've been raising alpacas and the folks I know are the best in the business! For those of you interested in the business aspects, you're on your own! I'm still confused by balancing a checkbook! I'm nothing if not honest!

Tired of Winter

2008-02-24T15:05:00.001-06:00

I'm tired of winter. Sooo tired of winter. Did I mention that I'm tired of winter? Yeah, I don't think I'm exaggerating. So tired!

Parasites! Yikes!

2008-01-23T13:30:00.000-06:00

For the first time, really since getting alpacas, I've been fighting parasites this month. That is not to say that we've never had any before but, up till now, we've only ever found low numbers of strongyle eggs in our fecals and they have been handled by minimum intervention. Well, not so fast little missy! This month we found Nemotidirus, Coccidia sp. and E.mac in the herd and it has required worming every alpaca with multiple agents. That means medicating animals whose method of defense is spitting, with oral medication for many days in a row! And there are lots of them! And it's been cold outside! And Greg has been out of town!

The good news is that the cold weather works in our favor with regard to reinfection. The bad news is that it hasn't gotten above freezing for days so I'm having to chip the poop out of the paddocks. Hopefully, we'll have a warm up this weekend so we can "get to the bottom" of the problem!

The exceptionally good news is that the mom who was losing weight and who started all this investigation is on the mend and has gained seven pounds in the past couple of weeks!

The moral of the story is don't let history make you cocky! Even you (or me, in this case) can have a run in with parasites!

Technical Difficulties

2007-12-04T10:35:00.000-06:00

Sorry to have been gone so long. This last week both the phone and the satellite have been out. We finally got the phone back which gives me dial up but real blogging will have to wait for the satellite!

Vacation

2007-11-14T20:38:00.000-06:00

Sorry folks. I'm taking a few days off to visit my daughter and her significant other in California. That leaves my husband in charge, which is always a mixed blessing. The essentials will be done but there will be plenty left over for me to clean up when I return. Plus, as an added bonus, he'll tell me he doesn't think it's that hard to keep up with the chores around here! Sigh.

Exodus

2007-11-10T22:20:00.000-06:00

Big day today, folks! The Anderson alpacas left after about 18 months. I'm sure I've learned more in the last 18months than in any time previous, but the knowledge has come at the cost of lots of poop removal. It has been hard work but I've enjoyed the different personalities and having lots of babies around.

A couple of alpacas stayed because they were breeding. I have moved 'pacas around so that everyone is accompanied and comfortable. The big boon is that the boys left, so there will be less boy strife. For some reason, it was keeping up with the boys' paddock that stressed me.

Biosecuity and "Snots"

2007-11-07T15:18:00.000-06:00

I recently recieved this communication from the Ohio Alpaca Breeders Association. In order to help disseminate this information I'm reprinting it here. Please take this situation seriously, (even if you are in an area that is not yet effected) and institute biosecurity practices on your farm. This should extend to farm visitors and customers. Together we can protect our animals and our industry!
**************************************************

Infectious Camelid Respiratory Disease Affecting Major Areas of US Herd
Between the months of June and October 2007, an unknown number of respiratory cases have been seen across the US varying in severity from sub-clinical, mild to severe respiratory disease with fatalities. This recent occurrence of infectious respiratory disease has gone through most of the large camelid population areas in the US leaving many animals affected, some with fatal results. In The Ohio State University Veterinary Hospital, the initial information we received came from telephone calls and referrals of some animals (mostly alpacas) with mild respiratory signs including nasal discharge, coughing and fever. We examined several animals here and submitted samples for serologic testing and virus isolation through our Ohio Veterinary Diagnostic laboratory and the Veterinary Diagnostic laboratory at Oregon State University. To date, most of the samples submitted for serology have come back negative. I have spoken to individuals from the West and East coasts and have read on the various listservs (Veterinary) that their testing has resulted in similar findings. In some of our cases we have had serologic positives for Adenovirus, (reported in association with pneumonia in llamas); however, this virus is reportedly a common finding in camelids. Others I have spoken to suggest Parainfluenza virus may be involved and the possibility that a Coronavirus may be involved is also being investigated. The demographics of the animals we have examined include: Older females (>10 years of age) who are in late pregnancy or early after giving birth (<3>10 years of age) with healthy crias (~ 2 weeks of age) presented in respiratory distress, pleural effusion and severe lung consolidation. These animals died en route or were euthanized due to severe pneumonia. Their crias survived without evidence of respiratory disease. Based upon our local findings, and those reports provided to me from other locations in the US, this viral respiratory disease can have serious consequences with bacterial secondary infections. The viral agent is as yet unknown. Many groups are actively conducting tests and accepting samples for future testing once the causative agent has been identified.
Recommendations for Those Owners Experiencing This Problem:
1. Enforce strict bio-security protocols to prevent animals from bringing this agent to your farm. I would consider animals that return from shows/breeding farms as potential vectors even if not clinically affected. House these animals separately from the breeding stock for a minimum of 5-10 days before re-introducing them to the herd. As the identity of this agent has not been determined, longer isolation periods may be prudent.
2. The quarantine facility should be separated in all aspects from the remainder of the farm. Separate personnel should tend to these animals during their quarantine period. Animal handlers, grooms, etc should be provided with disposable outer wear (including caps and shoe covers) to prevent the spread of infectious agents to other animals through contamination of clothing, footwear, etc. Clean equipment, bedding, feed, and all materials to be used in contact with these animals should be kept separate from the rest of the herd.
3. Maintain strict bio-security of bred females, especially older animals. In our experience these animals are the most severely affected. Limit the stress of handling of pregnant females by evaluation of respiratory rates in pasture (from a distance) and physically restraining only those with an unexpected rise or work in breathing.
3. Have your Veterinarian examine all animals with clinical signs at an early stage. If deemed necessary due to fever, respiratory rates or other concerns, treatment should be initiated. If your Veterinarian needs information on or about this respiratory condition, please feel free to pass this information on to them. Contact information for experienced Veterinary personnel is posted at the bottom of this statement.
4. Obtain blood samples (for serum) from those animals demonstrating the common clinical signs (nasal/ocular discharge, coughing, fever, open mouth breathing) and submit these samples to a veterinary diagnostic laboratory for respiratory serology. Although we may not get information back on what is causing this problem soon, those individuals investigating this respiratory condition indicate that future testing of frozen (banked) serum, especially paired serum samples taken 2-4 weeks apart may be useful in gaining an understanding of this problem.
5. Treatment of those animals with more severe symptoms (fever, pneumonia), should include broad spectrum antibiotics which are effective against gram negative and gram positive bacteria. Those animals we have examined have had a number of opportunistic bacteria isolated from their lungs.

Contact Information for Respiratory Condition of Camelids
Barbara Baker or Nancy Medland, Co-Associate Directors, ICI614-403-1016 or http://us.f813.mail.yahoo.com/ym/Compose?To=associatedirector@icinfo.org
Dr. Jeff Lakritz, Director, ICI614-292-6661, ext.1
Veterinary Medical Teaching Hospitals: ask to speak with any veterinarian working with camelids
The University of California, DavisVeterinary Medical Teaching HospitalPhone 530-752-0290

California Veterinary Medical Diagnostic LaboratoryPhone : 530-752-8700
Colorado State University Veterinary Medical Teaching HospitalPhone : 970-221-4535
Colorado Veterinary Diagnostic LaboratoryPhone: 970-297-1281
Oregon State University Veterinary Medical Teaching HospitalPhone: 541-737-2859
Oregon Veterinary Medical Diagnostic laboratoryPhone: 541-737-3261
Washington State University Veterinary Medical Teaching HospitalPhone 509-335-0711
Washington Animal Disease Diagnostic LaboratoryPhone 509-335-9696

PLEASE READ:=================================================================== This makes for a lousy introduction, but here goes. Some of you may have heard about the serious virus running through the alpaca community. There have been a fair number of deaths, and new ones are being reported daily. On Friday a number of large universities and vets had a teleconference. A number of things have come out of the meeting: 1. They do not know what it is yet 2. It is viral 3. It is NOT adenovirus 4. Secondary bacterial infections are common 5. Take viral precautions to protect your herd (see Bio –Security Precautions above) I am collecting data for two files, which are being sent to the participating universities and vets. A map shows the relationship between the outbreaks, shows, and counties where there have been deaths.Click here: http://www.mountainashfarm.com/images/SnotMap.jpg The excel file gives more information on the total herd size, number infected and premature births cause by the virus.. Here is what I need to know: State and County you live in Date you first noticed symptoms Number infected Total number in herd Death Premature births Shows/transports/ visits before your outbreak Comments and treatment usedYour information will be 100% confidential with no names, towns or ranch names. The universities have found this information very helpful, and want it to keep coming. Any vets that want the same information may contact me, and I will add them to my mailing list. I thought that portions of Dr. Purdy's last email might be helpful to the list:”Thank you for sending the updated info. I will pass it on to the camelid vet discussion group... The animals that are severely affected do seem to be overwhelmed by it with large amounts of fluid in the lung tissue. That was noted by some vets at university hospitals. In my experience lung sounds are not that useful in assessing the amount of lung involvement in camelids. I have seen animals that sounded fairly clear but had very firm lungs postmortem. Other vets have made the same comment. Fever and elevated respiratory rate seem to be the best indicators of lung damageThank you,Steve Purdy" Please spread the word. Send any alpaca/llama farms that you have on your mailing list my contact information, and the list of things I need to know. We have been very surprised by the large number in the alpaca community that have not heard about this. For the lack of a better name the alpaca community has been calling this virus `snots'. I know a pretty bad name. However, it does describe one of the major symptoms. Keep your eye open for snotty noses and fevers, and your ears open for coughs, sneezes, and labored breathing. Some of the worst have not had the snotty noses and the first sign of trouble was open mouth breathing and/or foaming at the mouth. (The foam was coming from the lungs which fill up, and some have actually drowned from it.)”

Auction

2007-11-05T11:22:00.000-06:00

I decided to take a day or two to reflect on the auction experience. I attended my first auction on Friday. I had been “educated” against auctions from the earliest part of my alpaca experience. Auctions were for cattle or other animals destined for the freezer and not for alpacas. After this one, early, experience I understand why I was cautioned away from auctions. Often, people who look into alpacas have little experience with camelids, need a lot of education, and have a somewhat romantic idea of going into a “non lethal” livestock industry. Auctions are probably not a great place to start. In the first place, the adage of “buyer beware” is probably more applicable to auctions than to farm sales. At a farm, the reputation and good will of the farm are a part of the purchase price. At an auction, it’s much more of a gamble, and you had better be able to evaluate the stock for yourself because the seller is there to “unload”. I’m not saying that there are not excellent buys to be made, but the risk is also greater.

One of the first considerations is alcohol. Often at auctions there is a dinner and alcohol provided. Please do not understand me. I am not opposed to alcohol, but right away, I could see how it could influence the bidding! So my first caution would be not to mix alcohol with bidding.

Secondly, allow time for adequately investigating the “Lots”, to include actually getting your hands on the animals. Alpacas are a lot like coins, in that the differences between the qualities may not be obvious to the uninitiated and may be financially significant especially if resale is part of your business plan.

As a producer, I have to say I would be much more willing to risk BUYING an animal at auction than I would be to risk SELLING an animal at auction. The first draw back of being a seller is that you have no idea what price the animal will bring. What if there is a snow storm? What if there is a competing show or the opening of hunting season and nobody shows up? These are just a couple of things that could influence prices. Secondly, you are going to have to detach yourself from the animal in question, so that you don’t care who purchases them or where they end up. I’m not suggesting that auction buyers are acting in bad faith or wouldn’t be fine responsible owners, but you as the seller have nothing to say about it. OK, so I know I sound like a sap, but remember, I look at myself as a mother and an educator, and I truly love my animals.

I’ve also spoken to a breeder that sold at the auction and was relieved to know that they were pleased with the outcome. They have been in the business longer and have more animals than I do so they appreciate having an outlet where they can move “inventory.” This isn’t cynical, just realistic. If you are going to breed and make more alpacas you have to sell the “product” to make room for the new babies.

All this having been said, I think I will be attending more auctions in the future. I will clarify my goals and thoroughly research the offerings. I’m at the point where I think I have the skills to cut through the BS and know a bargain when I see one. I realize that others have deeper pockets than I do and that they can risk more accordingly. I recognize that there are those in the market that are “churners” but I know that I, myself, am a “value added” breeder. What that means is that I don’t believe in buying low and selling high. I believe in taking an animal and through breeding or nutrition or a combination of the two, enhancing that animal’s value. There is a price point and a value for every animal and it’s my goal to maximize that value for every animal and every buyer. I think I am the compassionate capitalist that our country is built upon. Amen.

Considering Maternal Bloodlines

2007-10-30T12:48:00.000-05:00

The question of maternal bloodlines occurred to me this year while halter training cria from a dam whose temperament was, shall we say, challenging! I enjoy alpacas but I have found that temperament as well as time matters!

One of the animals to be halter trained this fall was Yancey’s daughter, Shesa. It took of one session and three “Marty” tugs on the halter to train Shesa to lead! What was the deal? How could she be so much smarter than other yearlings on the farm, and then I thought back to years past and realized all of Yancey’s babies were equally “easy” so I contacted the owners of all Yancey’s cria and, sure enough, they all loved these alpacas!

As it turns out every living offspring of our foundation female Kellan’s Yancey is in someone’s foundation herd! Each of Yancey’s daughters, one in Pennsylvania, one in Arkansas, and one in Colorado, are foundation herd members and unlikely ever to be for sale. Universally, these owners said that they could count on easy breeding, birthing, and quality, easily trained offspring each year from Yancey’s line no matter which sire they chose. It’s a sure bet!

This year you have the opportunity to purchase CBF’s Shesa Beautiful Girl, Yancey’s daughter out of Montero’s Sonspot, an award winning Auzengate grandson! Shesa is lovely, dense and crimpy like her father, and destined to be part of someone’s “foundation” herd like her mom. You are welcome to come by and take a look for yourself!

2007-10-30T11:59:00.000-05:00

The last cria of the season was born yesterday afternoon. She's a beautiful bay black female. Unfortunately, she belongs to a boarder instead of to me. Someday my run of boys will change. I can't wait for the run of girls!

Yancey spit off today so, for now, all my breeding females are spitting. I have one more to breed in about a week and then a couple more I may have to breed for someone else. You wouldn't think it would take a lot of effort from me but it does involve bringing over the stud from the boys paddock which is quite a ways away.

It's warm and windy today but a cold front is supposed to come through so it should start getting nippier by the weekend. Most of the "winterizing" is done. Just need to change a couple of tanks around. I found Zehari's winter coat today which was a relief. Can't have my special needs alpaca shivering!

I guess that's all for today. I need to work on some meaningful articles to educate and enlighten. Oh well, manana.

2007-10-28T10:08:00.000-05:00

We had our first hard freeze last night so it's time to winterize! Around here that means getting all the water tanks plugged in and cleaned out, and unhooking all the hoses. It's also a good time to clean out the sheds and stock up on hay and supplies. You never know when the snow will fly and complicate things.

We're down to only one female who has yet to have her cria. We have seven babies on the ground and doing well. I've been busy getting everyone bred back again, hopefully, for September and October births next year.

Got to get going. More later.