Introducing Titus!

We have named our newest male Titus which is an Old Roman boy name. The name Titus is derived from the Latin meaning "title of honor." As always we have nicknames for our animals and we'll call him Tito for short.

TITUS

He seems a bit shy but is doing great. Trellianna is an excellent mother and will not let him venture to far from her. She is doing fine, no problems with her.

Trell & Tito

I was out in the field this morning to observe the pregnant females and snapped a few photos. It's a nice crisp fall day and the leaves are turning and look beautiful.


Marilyn is checking me out as all the girls surround the golf cart.

Here's one of the boys looking back at me and the girls. Notice the foliage in the background!


While walking in the field I looked down and what I thought was a leaf turned out to be a baby snapping turtle! He's about 100 yards from the stream.

Thor (front) Rocco (back)

I can't help but throw in a picture of our future herdsire. Is this guy gorgeous or what!

Sergio

It's a Boy!

About ten minutes elapsed since I had just returned from the field after checking on everybody. All was well and the animals were grazing. It was 8:45 am. I went to pour a cup of coffee and happened to look out the window and saw a small commotion in the field. There were several alpacas with their heads down, it actually looked like they were grazing but, Santo our male guardian dog, was right there in the middle. The grass was tall and I couldn't see anything. I decided to go outside to see what was going on.

By the time I got outside I saw the cria get up on all fours and walking. I thought wow, that was fast. I immediately called Tara and told her the news. She asked if it was a boy or girl. I said I wasn't sure because I haven't even touched the cria yet. Then she asked what color it was and I couldn't tell her because the cria was wet from laying in the grass and it looked darker than it really was. She said check it out and we'll talk later as she had to go to a meeting.

I wasn't sure who the mother was as we have three girls expecting, but quickly figured out it was Trellianna. I wasn't anticipating a cria today as Trellianna's due date was November 10th. The cria was born on gestation day 337 which is fairly early but still normal. The cria was not small by any means and weighed just over 17 lbs.

I followed the pair and observed for about two hours and took some photos along the way. Trell delivered the afterbirth after 35 minutes and I got it out of the pasture. The cria was nursing 10 minutes later. Everything is normal at this point. I put them in our nursery area to bond and all is well. The cria's ear is a bit floppy but I figure it will straighten out in time.

As the cria is drying he appears to be white which will make Tara happy.

Here's a few pictures from this morning. I'll let Tara pick the name as I'd probably name it Bob.

These two pictures are taken in the nursery area and the little guy is drying off. Good thing too as it is raining now.

Let the Breeding Begin!

With the breeding season in full swing we’ve been full of activity on the ranch. Wira Cocha was a busy boy this week breeding Shakira, Aurora and Marilyn. We absolutely love what we have gotten from Wira Cocha and with Marilyn as a full Peruvian, we plan to have a full Peruvian offspring (hopefully female) next fall.

Wira Cocha/Marilyn Breeding

Ottimo filled out an application for stud row and he was accepted! He was immediately put to the test with a breeding to Argento our silver girl. Otto, as we call him, has Peruvian Victor genetics as well as Peruvian Don Julio and Peruvian Oro. His sire is dark rose grey so we’re hoping to create a silver offspring. However, alpaca breeding is like a box of chocolates... you never know what you'll get! Thankfully, Otto had no problem knowing what to do. I thought he did great for his first time.

Ottimo/Argento Breeding

We will field test each female 14 days after the breeding session. If any of the girls kush we will breed them again. Now we just sit back and wait for the crias to arrive next month.

Here's yours truly putting the finishing touches on a new pasture. With too much fighting amongst the boys, we had to separate the yearlings from the older males.

Relatively Speaking!

We had Tara's relatives come in a couple of weeks ago. Spence and Sandy drove up from Texas for a visit and we thoroughly enjoyed their company. I especially loved the fact that Uncle Spence helped me with the farm chores. Here we are hard at work caring for the critters and handling farm duties. It's a tough job, but somebody's got to do it!


We're getting ready for fall birthing season as we have some cria's due in November. Last year during breeding season I tried to time it for a 2009 Thanksgiving Day cria by our very own Ruth Hussey. It'll be interesting to see if she hits that target date.

Fencing & Baling

With the onslaught of too many males I was forced to put in another pasture to separate the yearlings from the older boys. The young males were just getting beat up by the big boys and with separate pastures for each it will work out much better.

Last month I baled our field for the second cutting and we got almost 400 bales. Our two boys Kris and Jansen helped get them out of the field and 9 year old grandson Hunter pitched in with driving duties.







I was working in the field yesterday and our neighbor's Jack Russell Terrorist was barking and running around like the maniac that he is. Well, Marilyn and Shakira didn't like it much and were voicing their displeasure. It did however enable me to get a couple of fairly decent photos.

Marilyn

Shakira

Trellianna

Next month will begin our fall breeding and birthing season. We will have three crias on the ground within the next couple of months so that should be exciting. Also, we have some junior herdsires who have filled out applications for stud row and we'll see if any of them made the cut!

Vacation is Over!

After a much needed vacation, it's back to farming duties. Tara and I enjoyed our time away but it's always good to get back home and see the animals. I'm sure they missed us while we were gone. As if! Our son Jansen did another fabulous job caring for all of the critters and we thank him for that.

This week was spent mowing grass and trimming around the barn. The animals are healthy, have no health issues and things are running smoothly. Just the way I like it! We will be baling hay next week which will give us what we need to make it through the upcoming winter. We'll also field test the pregnant females making sure everyone is still expecting as there are three girls due this fall. If any of them slipped a pregnancy they will be bred in the fall.

Our newest male Sergio is growing rapidly and almost two months old now. He is so sweet and always greets me with a kiss on the nose when I go to the barn. He also likes to nibble on my cheek and arm.

Here's a couple of pictures from today.

Sergio - What a Cutie!

Sergio with the Girls in the Background

In the picture below is Juliet. She is Sergio's sister and is 14 months old now. She is the spitting image of her mother Sammie, has killer fleece and the sweetest temperament just like her mom. She had a skin problem (zinc deficiency) back in June but has now cleared up nicely. Juliet is a bit dirty in the photo as her color is supposed to be pure white.

Juliet

Sad News

It took me awhile to get up the nerve to write this entry. It is very difficult to say but we lost the little cria during surgery last week. Three vets looked at the leg and after seeing x-rays, the only alternative was to pin the bone together. The way the bone was broken it appeared that she may have twisted her leg. The break was too high to put a cast on it. It was a simple procedure but when you put a young cria under anesthesia, it gets critical. Sad to say she didn't make it.

We talk about the animals as livestock, but you can't help but fall in love with these gorgeous creatures. We did everything possible to save her and there was nothing else we could have done differently.

On a happier note, everyone else is doing fine. Sergio is a little spitfire and loves to run and pronk around sunset. Here he is racing into the barn with Thor in tow.

Sergio Wins!

Thor a Distant Second...