Don't Look at Me - I Didn't Do It!

When I was on my walk this morning, I came upon this site. Hmm. What's wrong with this picture? (Note: Luminescence sees nothing wrong as he gobbles his breakfast.)

Dillon looks back, as if to say, "Well, would you look at that."

Oopsie Daisy!

(that leg had been giving us trouble, rusted screw/bolt whatever)

"We did NOT do that!"

"Uh, Miss Katy, this will not affect our daily eating schedule, will it?"

Nope. We'll just prop it up. With kids and critters - It's always somethin'!

Ten Reasons to LOVE Alpacas!

1. Luxurious Fiber


2. They look like big teddy bears


3. Once pregnant, the girls spit at the boys (helpful and humorous)


4. No need to bathe them - EVER


5. Great fertilizer


6. Over 95% of the time they birth unassisted


7. They potty in a community poop pile


8. Tax advantages


9. Those big, beautiful eyes


10. They hum

Fruit Basket Turn-Over

People often ask me how I determine which alpaca goes into which group. We break the larger herd up into smaller groups for several reasons. We like to have animals of the same sex and age together for feeding and management purposes. We might have one group with show animals in it that we try to keep out of the mud. Sometimes we will have a "skinny" group with animals who could use feed that is richer in nutrients. It is easier to catch animals for various reasons if they are in smaller groups, and this system aids in pasture rotation.

When planning your alpaca farm, you will need to plan for at least 4 groups of animals eventually. A group for younger (weanling - yearling) males, a group for mature males, and two groups for females. Having the ability to separate your females into two groups helps when it comes time for weaning and managing different body scores, birthing patterns, and personalities. If you start with all females, you can house your alpaca herd in one group. Just be prepared that as the herd grows, one day you will need at least four groups.

Several times a year we re-evaluate each group and move some animals around. Today I did just that in preparation for the Autumn "Fruit Basket Turnover" as I like to call it. All the female alpacas that are due in 2008 will go in one group. The females due in the Spring of 2009 will make up another group. We will also separate the girls who will need to be bred this Fall. I have a "special" group of 5 girls that are to be bred to Shawnee. He is a younger herdsire just starting out his breeding career. We will consider "field breeding" him with these girls for about a week. More on that once he arrives from Ohio. (This is not a usual practice for us. Almost all breedings we do are "hand breedings" where we put the male and the female together, watch the breeding, and record what occurs. But with his inexperience, we think Shawnee needs a more naturalistic approach to get him past his first time jitters!) We will also have a group of younger males and our herdsire group.

I will go over the groups again with regards to personalities before we actually move any animals. Alpacas have sweet, somewhat sensitive temperaments. Some alpacas are pretty tough and don't seem to mind where they go. Some alpacas are very sensitive and need to be with alpaca "buddies" or herdmates they have known for a while. The lovely Antigia, pictured here with daughter Juliette, is one of our more sensitive girls. When we wean her cria (baby alpaca), she will really miss her. Antigia will come to the fence and cry for her for several days. (not all alpacas do this) We will want to make sure that when we move Antigia and her baby away from each other, she has some friends in her group to help her with the transition. Alpacas are very social animals and they exhibit emotions just like people do. We have decided to put Antigia in a group with other girls who will birth when she does next year. This way she can stay with the same group of animals for the long term. Paying attention to each animal's individual needs pays you back tenfold with regard to that animal's production.

(Almost) Free Labor

I have always wondered about making my kids work on the farm. I didn't grow up on the farm so I don't have a first hand example to follow. The dairy farmers who have all the members of the family working long hours, and the families where children have farm chores in the hours before dawn are foreign to me. (But I am also fascinated by this) One alpaca family we know has a single mom at the helm. Her teenage boys lay around on the couch while mom slaves in the fields. That doesn't seem right. Another family requires the children to have some contact with the animals each day. That sounds pretty good, but with 4 kids, I have too many other things to keep track of.

Having a farm is an excellent opportunity for us to instill a good work ethic in our children. They should work and learn the value in it. At the same time, I can't see myself making them do all the work. I don't want them to resent the farm where they are growing up. Plus we do have a full time farm manager, and I need to keep him! (For me, over 40 alpacas required a paid employee if I was ever to be able to leave the farm, even to go to the grocery store once a week.)

One example I love is a family with twin boys who have been required to help their parents on their alpaca farm in whatever way was age appropriate since they were about 5. The father of this family and I were talking this summer and he gave me an idea. His boys were working for $5/hour so they could buy a wii and games for it. The lightbulb went off in my head, and I put my son to work for $5/hour. He usually makes $35-45/week. Quite the builder, he buys legos. (You wouldn't believe the places we find tiny legos and arms of lego stormtoopers.)

This summer my seven-year-old boy has gotten to know the majority of our alpacas. He is perfecting the art of watering tummies of hot alpacas, and learning the ropes on how we run them out to graze at night and inside to sit in front of the fans during the day. To keep him from getting bored we let him do lots of different tasks rather than having to fill up 15+ water buckets day after day. He feeds, scoops poop, and helps herd the alpacas. On the weekends, he is even instructing his 5 year-old sisters how to do some of the farmwork. He is our resident expert on how to administer electrolytes. The above picture is of him and Caesar playing one summer evening.

Those of you who were raised on a farm or who are raising kids now on a farm, please leave some comments/thoughts/suggestions! How many chores are enough or too many? Should they be forced to do work or be paid? On a related note, should allowance be given or earned? I look forward to hearing from you.