Kumari Comes to Stay

One creative way to diversify our herd was to trade like-valued animals with another farm. Alpaca Country, with a majority of white alpacas, wanted to add color to their genetics. We have many brown and black animals and could use more light colored (aka, dyeable fleece) animals. So we assessed the possible candidates and selected two 14-year-old production dams to trade.

On Valentine's Day, 2005, Windancer was one of two alpacas we purchased to begin our herd. The daughter of Yupanqui, the number one pick of some of the first Peruvian imports, she is a small-framed mahogany-brown female who reliably breeds in one take and delivers unassisted on due date. A 'clock-work' dam. Windancer is not gregarious -- she prefers her independence -- yet her offspring are alert and engaging. Her daughter, Aymara, is ready to carry on the genetic line for us.

Now in her place is Kumari, a fine white female who is easy-going and friendly. She immediately found her place in the herd, self-possessed without being insistent. After just a few days, Kumari has learned the daily routine, the gates, and where the new-to-her boys are. It is fun getting to know her.

Happy Birthday, President Lincoln!

Today marks the birth of Abraham Lincoln 203 years ago. As a nation, we have been fascinated by early stories of the 16th president of the United States studying law books by candlelight, his pivotal position as leader of a divided country during the Civil War, and his murder at age 54.

Recently we enjoyed watching Sam Waterston's portrayal of Lincoln as a real human being who faced severe challenges on personal and national levels.

Lincoln's stern-looking profile is as iconic on the copper penny as is his face on the $5 bill. Generations of Americans recognize his tall figure in black top hat, black vest and tie, and long coat. And that black coat so identified with Lincoln was made of alpaca!

"Lincoln became one of the first Republicans. The oratory of this strange, serious man seemed to inspire the hopes of the people. They looked upon him in bewilderment as they saw this giant of the woods, in a black alpaca coat, with his sleeves rolled up, hammering away at the institution [i.e., slavery] which he believed to be unjust. His appeal was always one of peace..."
(quoted from the "Portrait Life of Lincoln: Life of Abraham Lincoln, the Greatest American" by Francis Trevelyan Miller, 1910)

With this bit of history in mind, we proudly named one of our black male alpacas 'Mr. Lincoln'. And whenever we 'dress' the boys with bandanas for visitors or excursions, he always wears a red, white and blue scarf.

And his name is....Kokopelli

When we bought Q'Inti and her nameless cria, we decided to hold a Name the Cria contest at the recent Green Home & Garden Show. From almost 100 entries, we selected Kokopelli, a playful trickster and pied piper.

Kokopelli is the youngest of the six weanlings. Yesterday, Cindy and I weighed them all and took the opportunity to assess their fleece. Our little suri boy's is gleaming white fleece up close, and very fine.

The biggest surprise of weighing was that Ruana (female) weighed in more than either of the two slightly older males. Her fleece is dense and soft, but I really thought Tondero was the heavier. Can't tell by looks! ~ the scale is an important tool for herd health.

Today we had return visitors from last week's Open Farm Day -- two girls who where completely taken with the alpacas. After doing a bit of farm chores (spreading shredded bark in muddy walkways), they broke out the bags of carrots they'd cut up to share with the alpacas. When they walked into the hay field where the dams were grazing, alert eyes and ears quickly spied the orange-colored treats in crinkly plastic zip bags, and the excited girls were practically mugged.

Another visitor, a neighbor who is an artist, came with camera in hand to take photos of Kokopelli. It was her first time to meet a suri. Her paintings are quite remarkable, capturing the personality of each of her subjects.

All of this while Mike busily dug post holes for the vineyard fence!

to Bend and Back Again

Hopi the llama has been a such good 'visual' for farm visitors to see the difference between the camelid cousins that I have wanted to get a suri to demonstrate the two types of alpacas, too. Suri fleece drapes from the animal's body in silky locks, rather than fluffing outward like the huacaya's crimpy fleece.

My good friend Cindy, of Hum Sweet Hum, and I made the trip to central Oregon (near Bend) on Thursday to pick up a suri dam and her young son. We are the proud new co-owners of Q'Inti, a multi-award winner before beginning her breeding career. Her name means "hummingbird" in Quechua (Peruvian Indian).

Although recently weaned, we rejoined dam and cria for the ride to their new home in the back of Cindy's Honda Element. To minimize stress, I have left them together for the first few days of adjustment to a new environment, new herd mates, new routines. The Kid is asking to nurse again, Q'Inti is stepping aside. No, no, no!

Soon I will reshuffle the groups so all 6 weanlings are in a pen by themselves, the Kindergarten class. Meanwhile, the Kid is getting to know Smuggler and Trinket and the others, and the dams are accepting Q'Inti. Bred to Cha'ska, another show-stopping suri, Q'Inti is due in June.

Now to come up with a suitable name for the Kid! He's our candidate for "Name the Cria" contest at ABC's upcoming booth at the Eugene Green Home & Garden Show next weekend.

Q'Inti and her current and coming offspring are all full Peruvian suris. Their fleece just shimmers. New spinning experiences await!

Around the Bend

Winter Solstice was just three weeks ago, and already we notice the difference in length of daylight. Solstice is a welcome marker to the shift in natural rhythms -- and I inwardly celebrate passing it.

Besides the inevitable season of mud, winter brings foreshortened days and I am time-challenged by solo farm chores. But now we've rounded the bend, and darkness before 5:00 p.m. has stretched to dusk at 5:15. Wow, simple pleasures! A minute per day gain may not seem like much, but the affect is noticeable and welcome.

On my iGoogle home page I have a map that displays the dark/light phases across the globe. By observing these shifts through the seasons, it helps me to feel more connected with folks I know in other parts of the world: family in Southern California and Texas, friends in Michigan and Massachusetts, and wishful travelers to Ireland or Japan.

The continuous, inevitable shifting of daylight to darkness and back again is the earth breathing in-n-n-n-n and out-t-t-t-t, yoga-like. And the moon phases to and fro, accompanying the melody.

And so the seasons flow one into another.

Avoiding Weaning Woes

Our 2011 cria arrived in May and June, their births grouped together and timed so that they would grow and develop over the summer instead of during Oregon's sun-challenged fall and winter. However, that means that weaning at six or so months of age comes in the midst of winter.

Rather than segregating the young alpacas from the main herd, I chose to take their moms out and group them with newly pregnant dams. This way, I could continue to "feed 'em up" with extra calories. And the weanlings were well supported by remaining with their buddies and aunties.

Garamond and Tondero (photo taken in Sept) were the first two to wean over Thanksgiving weekend, when Mike was on hand to help me with sorting into feeding areas until they learned the new routine. I think Murphy Brown and Gracie missed their boys more than the boys missed them, even though both are experienced dams. But they soon got over it when they realized extra food was involved.

The next set of cria were old enough for transition on Christmas weekend. I checked the weather to make sure the nights were not too cold since they wouldn't have mom to cuddle with. Two of the nursing dams are rebred, so for the mom's health, it was important to separate the cria from them. Again, I moved the dams to the other group.

The moms and weanlings could visit over the fenceline for reassurance. For the first few days it was a challenge to urge Smuggler out into the pasture with the rest of the herd -- his buddy Trinket would call to him to come along. After a week of lagging, I decided to allow his mom, Jedlicka, back into the main herd. She is not pregnant so her health is not compromised. Jedlicka's presence had a calming affect on the other weanlings, and I have not observed Smuggler nursing any more. That's an unusual bonus.

Gradually I have shifted the two female herds from "main" and "young females" to "main" and "pregnant/weaned females" -- the feed 'em up group. Plus Blackberry, our lively 19-yr old who has lost a tooth.

The weanlings continue to eat pellets in their kindergarten group at evening feeding. During their transition, I added probiotics to the bowls to alleviate any digestive stress. One of the most fun parts of my day is to spend some time in with them as they eat, and they are accustomed to my presence among them.

Trinket and Smuggler (unrelated)
are best friends, born a day apart.

Life lessons

Chantica has finally joined our herd. She was the last of our agisted (boarded) alpacas, remaining down south until she'd weaned her cria and been rebred for a spring birth. She's the daughter of our Sheba, and half-sister to Jedlicka (f) and 4-month-old Sarek (m). Sheba greeted her daughter quickly, then returned to grazing. It's been two years since they'd seen each other.

Hopi takes her new guardian duties seriously -- when she met Chantica, she chased her. I stepped between them, held my hand wide in front of Hopi's face, and told her "Stop! -- she's OK, she's one of us now, too."

The other dams and cria came to check out the new girl as Chantica surveyed the landscape. For the first few days, I kept her in small groups so she could become accustomed to her new home and learn the daily routines. At feeding time, Hopi tried to segregate her once more, but again I firmly told her No, and she backed away.

Chantica is in with the weanlings, maiden females, and a couple of dams with cria, including Sheba and her crew -- here the 'little family' is seen sharing the hay bin. I selected a range of ages and sizes to be in this mini-herd so the separated babies won't feel so alone.

It's been a full week now, and all is well. Chantica and Black Sable are both due mid-May, the first births of 2010 here at Aragon Alpacas.

On Friday I spent awhile mucking out a couple of barn areas where the weanlings and companions are penned at night. It rained most of the morning, and the dams chose to remain out in the hay field, obliviously grazing. Their fleece is so long and thick that only the top gets wet, they're still dry at the skin.

Getting ready for a trip to the feed store, I looked out the window and noticed Blackberry had come back up toward the barn and was all by herself, cushed or laying on the ground. At 18, she is our eldest, and her fleece is shorter because of her age. I recognize that she gets tired now more easily, too, and lately she sometimes cushes to eat. With a halter and some pellet treats, I went out to check on her.

Blackberry stood to eat from my hand and I haltered her easily, led her back to the barn where I toweled her off, put on a jacket, took her temperature (it was low), and gave her more food. Before leaving for the feed store, I put another alpaca in with her, as companion -- they stress when left alone.

Mulling all of this over as I drove down Dillard Rd, I glanced over at a pasture of sheep and goats. Down away from their house I saw a white animal laying on the ground, head in an awkward position, and thought, "Oh no, another animal in trouble. I hope they do not come out to discover a dead one."

That concern hovered in my thoughts as I did my errands. Driving back, I looked in the pasture again to see if anyone had noticed the downed animal. To my great surprise and delight, there was a white goat standing with two little bright, shiny white kids nursing! It wasn't a death, as I'd feared, but Life!

Blackberry was fine. I took off her jacket so the afternoon sun could continue to warm and dry her, then unloaded bags of supplies, and went to check on the weanlings. The clever girls discovered that I hand not quite closed a partition in the barn, and next I saw Blackberry and Jedlicka in the gated driveway, headed toward the pasture.

This time when I tried to get Blackberry back to the barn, she steadfastly refused to go. It's always preferable to their well-being that they're not stressed, so I took the cues from her. Since she really wanted to be back out there with her herd, I let them out and both girls ran down to rejoin them.

Blackberry's boy Toledo is one of the weanlings, and now all of her resources can be solely for her. For the first week I day-wean, allowing the pairs back together at night. This way they are not quite so frantic, and the moms' milk can begin slacken off. Then it's 24/7.

Since we have so many cria of similar color and size, I put bandannas on the weanlings for simpler sorting. The three girls who generally stayed near their moms have had less trouble adjusting than the two free-lance boys who are now whining and crying until distracted by food.

And Hopi the llama just observes all of this, not quite understanding what all of the activity is about or why her herd is in different sections now.

We are preparing to plant our spring garden. First of all, deer fencing is going up. Mike has designed a gate with an arbor above it, yet to be built. We're researching roto-tillers, trying to decide if we really need one, and if so, which brand and style? Laying out a bit more cardboard (from a neighbor's new stove), lasagna-gardening style; and marking pages in the Territorial Seed Catalog. This will be quite grand in size, since I've only gardened in a small backyard plot until now.

Lastly, we have finally installed the walls on the back of Galileo's shed, and painted on the primer coat before the weekend rains. He seems quite pleased with it! A sliding door is next, so we can store hay and supplies for him there instead of bringing feed up from the boys' barn each evening.

Slowly, our plans continue to take shape!

Much like a website, a farm is never 'done.'