We'll miss that big puppy!

Scamp 4 weeks
7 weeks
8 months old

I love livestock guard dogs! Love them. Guess that's why we have 6. After today we'll have only 5 because "Scamp" is going to his new home today at Serenity Farms. Look at how he has grown.

Scamp's new owner, Rochelle, also welcomed female alpacas Ivy By Knight, and Windy Cindy into her herd today. Both girls are blue ribbon winners. What can we say? Rochelle has good taste. We'll miss them all but are so glad they are going to such a great home.

BUSY getting ready for Alpacas 101 tomorrow.

What IS an Alpaca Anyway?

A few of our alpacas (lft. to rt.)Siege, Minette, Portia, Caesar, and Tapioka.

Alpacas are members of the camelid family. The alpaca is a fiber-bearing, domesticated animal, considered to be livestock. They are very gentle animals. Alpacas have large, expressive eyes and are easy to care for. They are easy on the environment because they do not pull grass out by the roots and their soft, padded feet don’t harm the ground. Alpacas grow to be about 3 feet high at the withers and 4.5 feet high on the top of the head. Adult alpacas weigh about 150 lbs. on average. Pregnant females (dams) bear only one offspring per year. The gestation period is between 11-12 months. A baby alpaca is called a cria, which means creation in Spanish. Crias weigh between 12-20 lbs. at birth. Alpacas produce between 2-10 lbs. of fiber a year. They come in 22 specified colors with many shades in between, more than any other fiber-bearing animal.

Alpacas are ruminants and eat grass, hay, and alpaca feed. 7-8 alpacas can generally be put out to graze on one acre of pasture. They also eat a small amount of pellet type food daily. Alpacas need to be sheared once a year. In the summertime they need access to fresh water, shade, and air circulation to do well. With proper management alpacas can thrive in hot, humid climates. Currently, alpacas are being raised in all 50 states. To care for an alpaca it costs about as much as it does to raise a medium size dog, including medication and feed. Alpacas can be insured against theft and full mortality. Alpaca ownership has great tax advantages. They are considered to be the world's finest livestock investment. For more information on these lovely creatures, visit our farm website.

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'!

Morning Nature Walk

Every morning I walk my house dogs (beagle and collie). Why? Because every time I have a pen where I could possibly put them outside, I put alpacas in it. This morning I took some nature photos so you might join me. The sun was just coming up so it was still rather dark.There a two little birds at the top of the weathervane (the M is for Morton Buildings)

Looking for a New Farm

Steve and the kids explore Tennessee

I cannot tell you how much I love my farm. I adore our location. We live in the cutest town in the world. If you have never been to Fairhope, Alabama you must plan a trip! It is the greatest place to visit, and to live and raise a family. It used to be the best place to have a farm, but times they are a changin'. Since everyone is discovering how adorable it is, the farmers are getting squeezed out by suburbia. I try not to be resentful of this occurance. I do enjoy the Super Wal-mart that is down the street from me.

Another contributing factor to our current restlessness is the fact that I am running out of room to grow the alpaca herd. With only 10 acres, single family homes beginning to dot my fenceline, and big alpaca plans, last year we had to start looking for a new farm. Since moving a farm with 50+ alpacas, several dogs and cats, and four children will be quite an undertaking, I thought I would record the journey in my blog.

I had to do some serious soul searching about how big of a farm I really wanted. Okay, I suffer from bigger is better -itis. I'm an American, it's in the blood. So I worked up a business plan for the next 5, 10, and 15 years. I determined that I would like to have the ability to have 150 alpacas on the farm. Once I picked hubby up off the floor, we started to discuss location. At first I insisted that since I was the President of the Deep South Alpaca Connection, I had to live in the states we served. Since my husband was voting for West Virginia (I am severely allergic to winters that cold), and I began to realize my attachment to DSAC could be considered a bit unhealthy, I knew I'd better compromise. We found a gorgeous piece of property in Crossville, Tennessee. Seemed like a good compromise on locations so we took some time during Spring Break to drive up there to look around.

Heaven on Earth. This is one of the views that enticed us to consider this piece of land.Gorgeous views. But can you see how steep this is? This stunning piece of land was on the side of a mountain! We could barely walk it, much less drive a tractor over it. Alpacas are used to mountains, but the severe grade was an insurmountable obstacle for the humans involved.

It sure was pretty, but it was back to the drawing board. On the way home we happened to spend the night in the up and coming city of Chattanooga...

(to be continued)