Time for Treats

Here is a photo of the alpacas lining up around the 4 wheeler for a treat of alfalfa. Alpaca babies will milk their moms for about 6 months. Some of our moms have been milking since spring. Around this time when the grazing material is not that nutrient filled, we will give the alpacas a bit of alfalfa as a treat. Alfalfa is too rich to give them on a regular basis. If alfalfa is available to them they will always choose the alfalfa over any other grazing material. It is not good for them to eat too much of the stuff. Boy do they love it. We give it to them on occasion to help some of the Moms that are still milking to replenish some of their nutrients and to help them maintain a healthy weight going into winter.


Here is Radley trying to figure out what the big deal is about grass Hay. He is still too young to fully process the hay but he is giving it a try. They are just like babies they kind of explore their world with their mouths. You will often see them tasting the fencing and sticks and whatever else is around.



This is Macho Latte. Remember him? He was born last July 7th. They grow up so fast. He is my problem child. Out of all the babies born this year he gives me the hardest time. He has lived up to his name since birth. When he was born he needed absolutely no help from us and has been calling the shots. Thankfully his Mom is a no nonsense alpaca and will keep him in his place when need be. Back when he was born he gave me the hardest time for his regular weigh ins. Picking him up and carrying him over to the scale was like carrying a Tasmanian devil. LOL. I was so happy when he reached 25 pounds then I did not have to weigh him regularly anymore. He and I are starting to come to terms. I have started harness training the babies born this past spring and summer. Of course he is the one giving me the most grief.

You want to harness train your alpacas as soon as you feel they are old enough to fit in a harness. The older they are the harder it will be for you and for them. If your alpacas are trained on a harness it makes certain activities so much easier. Like when the vet comes, or when you need to move them to a trailer for transport. Or even just trimming their nails.

Pumpkin Seeds

We just finished up the last of the Pumpkin seeds Chris baked up from the pumpkins I carved. They were good. He made a spicy batch and a garlicky batch. He is still not completely satisfied with the end result. I let him mess with them I refuse to make them anymore. Mine never came out right.

Christmas Stocking

My yarn finally arrived from Webs for my Scandinavian Christmas Stocking. I chose to use Classic Elite Classic One Fifty, it is 100% fine merino. The colors are Orchid #7232, Chestnut #7238, & Daisy #7202. I am hoping to get started this weekend. Where does the time go?