Part of the Family
This is my blog to write about alpaca stuff but tonight I must make an exception. Today I said goodby to my first French Bulldog, “Boomer”. He had been with me 13 1/2 years. I have joked with many that he was that parinoid son I always wanted. Now that he is gone I don’t have the words to explain what a joy he has been to me. I remember the first time I saw him sitting in an x-pen. His ears were erect and he was bouncing like a rabbit. I picked him up and from that moment on he was my boy. He has been a partner raising golden puppies, and has traveled with me...
Read MoreIt’s All In The Eyes
It’s all in the eyes. If you have every really looked at an alpaca you know what I am talking about. I don’t know if its the way the eyes sit in the skull or if it is those long flowing eye lashes but alpacas eyes have a way of swallowing you in. Marissa’s eyes are huge. When she looks at you she gets close up to your face and looks deep into your soul. Immediatly you know that she is connecting with you and that she has important things to say. I feel a responsibility to listen to each and every word. Maya has soft searching eyes. She looks at me as if she...
Read MoreI am an Alpaca Farmer
I am an alpaca farmer. I believe that this is the best thing I have done in years. No, not just because of the money but because raising alpacas is different than than raising any animal I have ever had. Yes there have been a few other animals. There were cats when I was very young. Ok, I didn’t really raise them they just appeared when they wanted and there was alway more than there had been before. In some ways it was not long but in other ways far too long before my mother and I learned the benefits of nutering cats. Then there were my...
Read MoreGreystone Pasture Vac
This summer one of our major purchases was a Greystone Pasture Vac. We had look at this over the past two years trying to decide if the benefits would justify the cost. Well, we have had our Greystone for about four months now and it has been wonderful. It has done a great job cleaning the pastures in short and long grass, wet or dry. The engine has plenty of power for everything we have asked it to do (which by the way included sucking up some extra dolimite we wanted to get out of the barn). It is easy to empty once it is full of Alpaca Beans. If it is not full it can sit until...
Read MoreDoing Your BVD Tests Through ARI
BVD tests have always been a little bit of a pain for us. No reason really it just seemed like it was very expensive and several we got back did not have the cria’s name listed just right. We are now doing our BVD test through ARI with the blood card we send in to register our cria. It is great. The price is much more reasonable than having the vet do it. The cria only has to be stuck with the needle once rather than twice (which they really appreciate) and the reports come back very quickly. You can’t beat it.
Read MoreEmail Encore Alpacas
