Bathing beauties

The extended period of hot, humid weather has been hard on the Alpacas. The recommended way to cool them is to provide a child's wading pool for the animals to bathe in.

The hardware store clerk wanted to know where the party was when we purchased 3 pools at once.

The males have not figured them out yet (they each have their own private pool), and the girls have been splashing their feet in the water.

Separation...

The 2 males, Icelander and Pirelli have not been able to work out their dominance issues. So we have made the decision to modify their pasture and portion of the barn.

Over the past 2 days we have run a fence along a tree line conveniently located in the middle of the pasture, creating 2 smaller paddocks one for each guy. We did have to add boards along the top of the wire, Icelander stood on his side of the fence making taunting noises at Pirelli which of course Pirelli could not ignore, and went crashing over the fence to put Icelander back in his place.

We then divided the inside of the barn into 2 stalls and added another exit to the outside.

Miraculously things have quieted down considerable although the fellas are still within spitting distance.

Bought the farm truck

We are now the proud owners of a 1999 Ford F150 4x4 long box. Just what we need to move stuff around the farm and tow the stock trailer (still to be bought). Tried the cooperators for truck insurance but the customer service was not any better. Took 3 days and still did not have a policy and they wanted to inspect the vehicle (used or brand new). Phoned Monnex an old provider from our city days and had a policy in 10 minutes plus we ported our sedan over as well for additional savings. Glad to be back with Monnex as we had such great service with them in the past. Best rates, no surcharge on monthly payments, and very efficient claims dept when we were hit by Hurricane Juan. Only problem is they do not insure loghomes. I would not mind going throught all the hoops Cooperators wanted if the rates would be better as time is money but the rates were not their.

Insurance issue solved

We finally got the insurance issue solved. The Co-0perators came through with reasonable rates and the type of coverage we were looking for. Unfortuneately there vehicle insurance is not as competive even with multiline discounts. While the cooperators have the coverage it took to the end of June to get firm quotes and all the details on the coverage. If I have a claim I sure hope the customer service is better. One of the biggest issues with the Co-operators is that they have divided up the province into regions. Unfortuneately our region is lumped in with Halifax and all the city agents have no clue about farms. They also over inspect everything.

Cadence has a boy

The seventh female we purchase for our start up herd is Cadence. She is a white female with Aztec Alpacas in Okotoks Alberta. She was bred to Artic Ice and a boy was born on June 30th. M Mother and son are healthy. This is the 4th male out 5 births with one more, Nikki, still to give birth. While nature is 50/50 we are currently at 80/20 when being 20/80 would be much better to allow our herd to grow to a more productive size. Cadence and cria will arrive in September with Sedona and Oreo. Pictures to follow.

Thoughts on breeding

Good fences are important, and have a chair because it takes a while.

Five acres of sweet freedom

We finished the task of collecting old fence posts and barbed wire from the back portion of the main pasture, making it safe for the females. We altered the temporary fencing to allow the smaller pasture to rest and rejuvenate, and herded the ladies into the new larger area.

We had anticipated they might take a while to acclimatize to the new surroundings, but we were quite mistaken. The Cria took off at a gallop across the filed, with the Moms in hot pursuit. The gang surveyed the whole pasture and spread out to enjoy the new fresh grass.

The current family

Left to right: Callebaut, Kiana with daughter, Wyonna, Sweet Dreams, Toblerone, Nikki in front of Karmelita.

Males showing dominence

Came home the other day and now most days since, our two males are regularily battling. They are chasing each other around the pasture, spitting at one another, biting at each other (canines have been ground down), and sometimes wresting each other to the ground. This in course insites our dogs which start barking and chasing spurring on the Alpacas like a crowd at a good fight.

This all started about 4 days after we bred Icelander to Sweet Dreams. One mistake we did make upon rereading the breeding sections of the alpaca books was we forgot to have the breeding take place on neutral ground and instead it took place in the male section of the barn. So this problably was the initial stimulus for the fighting. Hopefully the two males will soon establish the new pecking order and peace will ensue.

Callebaut - update

Here is a headshot of Callebaut. He is thriving at 24 pounds.

Its a Girl!!! Finally.

Came home last night to a pleasant surprise. Kiana had a baby girl (yet to be named) about two weeks earlier than expected. She is all white except for one brown spot. Sire is Ceaser.