April 21st, 2008
by webmaster
Has the rest of the country been dealing with unusual Winter weather this year? It’s April 21st and I was watching snowflakes fill the sky this morning. It’s been snowing off and on the last week and I’m ready for Spring.
We couldn’t wait any longer and moved the herd to our lower pastures yesterday. The grass was getting long and the fields off the barn need a rest.
It’s one of my favorite times of year. After a long winter, moving the girls to a new field of Spring grass and watching them kick up their heels. With the day of steady grazing, they’re already acting very full and content.
These pastures are also my favorite for cria patrol. When we built the house, I bought the best pair of binoculars I could find. When I have a free moment, you can usually find me at my favorite window just watching. I think I’ve learned more about their care by observation, especially the first year, than by any other way. Raising alpacas and running an alpaca farm is an on-going learning experience.
February 9th, 2008
by webmaster
Last week we were awakened by the sound of coyotes nearby. Several nights later we heard them again. The neighbor that borders the back of our property had a small herd of exotic deer that has fallen prey the last two winters to coyotes. The last two left on his property were the reason for the packs return.
We have several acres in the far corner of our farm that is not fenced as well as we would like. For that reason we don’t use it for the alpacas. This morning, at around eight o’clock, Jerry looked out over the fields and in that far field we could see a group of 5 or 6 coyotes. The alpacas didn’t seem too concerned and the coyotes just moved on to the next farm.
The return during the daylight didn’t present a problem, but during the night visits the pack was in a very vocal, hunting mode. Both times Jerry brought out our Cyclops light. He would shine it out over the fields in the direction of the pack and they very quickly left the area. We’ve used this light many times after bringing alpacas to our farm and would recommend it as an invaluable tool to anyone who needs to evaluate a problem in their fields at night. We can shine it over 30+ acres in a matter of seconds. We’ve used it not only to scare off predators, but check on pregnant females and even spotted a new cria a time or two.
