Encore Alpacas

Breeding Time

Mon, 27 Jun 2011 02:30:53 +0000

Saturday morning we loaded up the trailer with our Sienna Rose and her mother Sharona Rose and headed up to Crystal Lake Alpaca Farm to meet up with two of their herdsires. It was a year ago when we purchase these breedings and have waited for this time to come. Yesterday was it. We arrived at Crystal Lake Alpacas and Chris showed us all the new cria. What a fantastic looking bunch. It was clear to us from the moment we saw what he was producing that “Crystal Spartan” was exactly what we were looking for. “Sparty” as they call him was the 2010 Futurity Huacaya Color Champion and his fiber has been described as Elite. It is clear that he is producing cria that live up to their sires rapidly growing legacy. In addition to “Sparty” we decided to breed our Sharona Rose to their “Crystal De Diego”. We were in a stall next to the Nelson’s at a show when we first saw “Diego” and it was love at first sight. He is a multi Color Champion with fiber that is fine and dense.

We are very excited about both of these breeding. We want to thank Chris and Dave Nelson of Crystal Lake Farm in Frankfort, MI for allowing us to use their boys. Chris and Dave are two of the nicest people you would ever want to meet and work with. I would be remiss if I didn’t thank their little pug Sophie for her welcoming kisses. They make this all so easy.

The End of The Day

Fri, 24 Jun 2011 02:39:22 +0000

At the end of the day there is nothing more comforting then to stop by the alpaca pen and have a moment of conversation. I start every conversation when my call out from my truck, “Where are my Paca’s”. Within seconds the heads start popping out as if to say, “What has been keeping you?” I could share with them all the details of the day that keep me away but none of it matters at that point. The only thing that counts is that Melody has her ears up and is staring at me (I know she is waiting for me to sing her song to her) and Marissa is wondering if she can smell my hair one more time (just to make sure I haven’t changed anything while I was gone). Then there are the babies who are so curious they don’t know what they want but they know they have to get closer to check things out (but not so close that they lose track of their mothers) And me, I am now home and back to loving being an Alpaca Farmer.

Welcome to Encore Alpacas!

Wed, 15 Jun 2011 21:42:20 +0000

Encore Alpacas, located in historic Marshall, Michigan, is home to a select herd of the finest Huacaya alpacas. We invite you to visit, call or email us and let’s alpaca chat.

Let’s Get Rolling!

Wed, 15 Jun 2011 21:40:43 +0000

Are you ready to get rolling on your alpaca adventure? Ready to bring home some of these amazing animals? We can help.

Home Sweet Home

Wed, 15 Jun 2011 21:39:35 +0000

Our farm setup is a source of great pride. We invite you to visit, tour the farm, and start planning your alpaca dream come true.

Kick Up Your Heels!

Wed, 15 Jun 2011 21:37:48 +0000

Encore Alpacas will make you want to kick up your heels! We love spending time with our alpacas and invite you to visit.

Champion Alpacas

Wed, 15 Jun 2011 21:35:13 +0000

We are proud to be home to Encore bred Color Champions and the offspring of color champions.

Love at First Sight!

Wed, 15 Jun 2011 21:32:16 +0000

We’ll help you get started in alpacas or kick-start your current breeding program. Contact us to start living your alpaca dream!

The Secrets in the Sorting

Sun, 18 Apr 2010 02:47:51 +0000

In February I attended a Fiber Sorting class. I had no idea how that class would change the way I think about the alpaca business and fiber. It is so clear to me now that not sorting out the different grades of fiber in a fleece before putting it into production is much like saying as long as I am using wood it doesn’t matter how good the wood is the table I make will look the same. It won’t, some wood will look grainy and rough and not get you a good product. Fleece comes in different grades and in order to end up with a superior end product you have to sort. You only have to see the product that is made with Certified Sorted Fiber and processed through NAAFP ( www.naafp.us ) to know what I am talking about.
I am working toward my certification and right now I am starting down the road of sorting 250 fleece. That may seem like a lot to do for a certification but I think it speaks to the quality of work that the Coarse Broads are doing with this certification. They are committed to making sure that the people they certify do a good job and I appreciate that. I would encourage anyone who has the chance to take this course.

Again and Again

Mon, 01 Feb 2010 03:56:52 +0000

It is cold outside and quite frankly I hate winter and cold. That being said I can put aside all that dislike for the weather once I get out in the barn and have one of these wonderful animals run up to me as if to say “What have you been up to. We have been waiting for you all day”. Now I know they are mostly interested to see me when I am going to get the kibble out for them so they can start their feed ritual but I still am thrilled with their apparent happiness at seeing me walk in the barn door. Marissa who leads the pack pushes to the front and puts her nose right up to my face. Her eyes are big and bold and insistent. She speaks for the whole group as she watches my every movement. If I am taking too long doing one thing or another she begins to make her humming noise. Soft at first and then louder and louder. I have to acknowledge her message or I think she may convince her herd to rise up and all start humming in protest. “I am hurrying Marrisa” Tell everyone to just wait. I have lost all awareness of winter by now and I am just enjoying the interaction between me and the paca’s.

Alpacas are creatures of habit and so we repeat the same ritual every night. They go to the same spot, wait for their feed. Complain about having to wait to long for me to get the hay as I stop to rub on a cria or mess with a fence. But they know and I know the end is all the same they get their food and I get a break from thinking about how cold it is. I only think about how my I love these pacas.