Monday, August 31, 2009 6:31 AM
It's still hot, but not quite as bad as it was. About noon yesterday, the breeze came back so that took the edge off of it. I did get a call yesterday that I got a kick out of. There were a couple of girls that came here for breeding a while back. One of them, a "maiden", refused to breed. I really wasn't keen on giving her estrumate, so we decided we'd give her time. The number one cause of infertility is pregnancy, and yep, she delivered a cria yesterday. I guess they needed better separation between the boys and girls. She's a suri, the dad is a huacaya.

Sunday, August 30, 2009 6:28 AM
If we had a water bill here, it would be astronomical. I probably went through enough water yesterday to fill an Olympic size swimming pool and Lake Erie. The alpacas are tolerating the heat and everyone is muddy. It's looking like we have a few more days of this, arrrgggghhhh!

Saturday, August 29, 2009 11:31 AM
I got Pati to the airport, poop is scooped, a couple of rounds of belly hosing done, it's going to be another hot one.

Friday, August 28, 2009 7:09 AM
For about the third time ever, we've cancelled ranch visits because of the heat. We're pretty much spending all of our time hosing bellies. We've doubled the times that the preggos get the sprinklers, and alternate fields so that it's wet under both trees. It's looking like we have about three more days of this.

Thursday, August 27, 2009 7:05 AM
It's going to be another really hot day today, the preggos aren't liking it much, nor are the really dense white ones.
For the last few days, Carmel Sunday has been auditioning. She wanted to join the grumpy plumpies. Sure enough, they let her into the group, so now we have five fat females fighting furiously.

Wednesday, August 26, 2009 9:10 AM
I'm back from San Diego, it was a successful trip.It was cooler there, I accomplished what I wanted, so all is good.
It's a hot one here, the preggos are not happy about it. I'll be doing some sprinkler modifications today to help them feel better.

Monday, August 24, 2009 6:42 AM
It was a little bit cooler yesterday, but still not exactly comfortable. It's going to stay warm for the next few days. I'm down in San Diego where it's a bit cooler. I'll be here until tomorrow or Wednesday.

Sunday, August 23, 2009 6:41 AM
It was a beautiful cool morning yesterday, and we even had a few drops of rain. Then the sun came out and it was just plain muggy and hot. We didn't get to walk any of the kids due to the heat. I's supposed to be a bit drier today, I do hope so.

Saturday, August 22, 2009 6:27 AM
It was hot yesterday until about 10:00 AM. Then, the clouds came in and a cool ocean breeze picked up. The alpacas and the humans loved it. Felix, Alpha, and Rasta got to go to their new home, where they will be working with handicapped kids.
It's cool and cloudy this morning, and getting darker any minute. If I didn't know better, I'd say it might rain.

Friday, August 21, 2009 7:29 AM
It was a good day yesterday, but it did get a bit warmer. Today is shaping up to be a bit warm also. We did get to bring some boys up to play, and took some girls for a walk. They really did well. We're a couple of months away from AlpacaFest West, they'll all behave just fine.

Thursday, August 20, 2009 7:26 AM
Yesterday didn't exactly go as we'd hoped, Starr delivered a stillborn cria about noon. Apparently the placenta ruptured during the process. I brought the cria up to the nursery so Starr could mourn and figure out what happened. She got special hay and a couple of buddies, then we let her rejoin the herd.
Starr seems to be taking it well, likely better than the two leggers.

Wednesday, August 19, 2009 7:38 AM
If Starr would deliver today, I'd get a break from baby watch. I'd enjoy the break, not having to constantly find someone, see what they're doing, and stare at their back end for a while. Yep Starr, it would be cool if you'd deliver this morning. I'd get the whole afternoon off, I go on watch for two more tomorrow.

Tuesday, August 18, 2009 6:52 AM
One we didn't get to spit check on Sunday was Carmel. Yesterday, she was up in the nursery, so I suckered her into the breeding pen with some California pepper branches. I went down and got Mo, and as I brought him in, she let me know what she thought of the idea by sliming. She's tall enough that it went right over Mo and into my face. What a way to start the day, but at least we know she's pregnant.

Monday, August 17, 2009 6:08 AM
Most of the boys that walked up yesterday, got "prizes", only one suffered the walk of shame. It was a day of klutzes though, three of the boys acted like it was their first time breeding.
I did get a good laugh yesterday. Pati gave me a little airline bag of peanuts. There was a warning on the back that said "Produced in a facility that processes peanuts." Duh!

Sunday, August 16, 2009 7:07 AM
It was a really nice day yesterday, and it's really cool and foggy this morning. All of the show girls got to walk on the halter yesterday, and they really all did pretty well.
I have a tentative name for Percy's cria, Isis. Isis is the Egyptian Goddess of magic and life. It seems kind of fitting.

Saturday, August 15, 2009 6:58 AM
My little girl (Percy's) is a perfect lady. She doesn't annoy the adults, stays close to mom, and in the evening pronk, came back when her mom asked her to. On the other hand, Pati's little girl (Michaela) is a terror. She annoys the adults all day, jumps on their backs, runs off every chance she gets and gets slimed a lot.
Starr's cria should be showing up any day now, I wonder who she'll learn from?

Friday, August 14, 2009 7:49 AM
It's cool and foggy this morning. We really have had a mild summer. For the next six days, I'm only on baby watch for Starr, then I add a couple more in. The cutoff for the Phoenix show is September 1st, so if the crias want to see the Arizona State Fairgrounds, they need to hurry up and be born.

Thursday, August 13, 2009
Apparently Malea felt bad that Percy's cria was up in the nursery with no one to play with. She plunked out this long legged girl at 9:30 yesterday morning. Knowing she had a day of catch up to do, she was on her feet in about six minutes, grabbed a quick breakfast, and proceeded to run and play.
Malea's cria is named Michaela, we still don't have a name for Percy's.

 

Wednesday, August 12, 2009 7:09 AM
I'm still amazed that the little girl in diapers is now a mom. Percy is being a great mom, she's like a statue when the cria nurses. She has a ton of milk. It's more than I could have ever asked for.

Tuesday, August 11, 2009 6:15 AM
Another cool foggy morning here.
It's now 10:28, and I'm just getting around to finishing the update. I needed to get poop scooped, Majik weighed, move a couple of maidens around, put hay out, and try to figure out what color Percy's little girl is. It was nice of Percy to deliver in the nursery. She must figure that since she had to spend the first month of her life upstairs, her daughter would too. This little girl should be ready to go down tomorrow or Thursday though, she looks great.

Monday, August 10, 2009 6:41 AM
Susan had this crazy idea that Percy would wait to deliver on August 21st, her (Percy's) birthday. Oda Mae Brown, Percy's full sister, shares the same birthday. When she came up the idea I didn't think that there was any chance at all. Now, I'm starting to think it's entirely possible. T minus 11 days and counting?

Sunday, August 9, 2009 8:04 AM
No babies yesterday, but unfortunately we did have one girl slip her pregnancy at 4 months. I guess it's better now than later.
The cool weather is done, we'll be back to normal for the next few days. I managed to finish up a server migration yesterday, it went without a hitch, and I don't believe our website was down even for a second.

Saturday, August 8, 2009 6:01 AM
Everyone wanted to see how the new truck pulled the trailer yesterday. I was told that it did just fine. Still no new babies, maybe this weekend?

Friday, August 7, 2009 7:39 AM
It was nice and cool yesterday, but none of the preggos took advantage of the cool weather to deliver. We used the nice weather to move some girls around for weaning. We have some unhappy girls this morning. I always hate seeing them whine for their moms.
It's a cool cloudy morning, today I'll go make sure the new truck tows okay.

Thursday, August 6, 2009 6:59 AM
A nice cool busy day ahead, let's let the games begin!

Wednesday, August 5, 2009 10:33 AM
No cria yet, I think they're just trying to drive me crazy. I'd say they're doing a good job of it.
Tomorrow, I'm taking my truck in for a hitch, Pati is getting a new windshield, and hay is being delivered. Also, tonight is the official full moon. I have a feeling I know when they'll pop.

Tuesday, August 4, 2009 5:43 AM
I got a kick out of the weather report on TV last night. It was one of few nights that we couldn't open up the house, we needed the A/C. The weatherman was talking about our cooling trend.
As we went to check water buckets at sunset, we noticed Percy laying off on her own, her legs stretched out to the side. I went out before sunrise this morning, Percy's legs are out to the side and she's all poofy looking. The only alpaca up and active was Malea. It could be a double header today. Then again with a full moon, Star could make it a hat trick.

Monday, August 3, 2009 7:12 AM
I'd say all three weathermen were right yesterday. It was nice and cool in the morning, about the same as the day before in the afternoon, but it didn't cool off at night like it usually does. I was right also, you can Click Here for the cria picture.

Sunday, August 2, 2009 6:23 AM
It's another cool, foggy morning. It was a bit warmer yesterday. Based on three forecasts, the next few days are either going to be warmer, cooler, or about the same. I'd say each weatherman has about a 33% chance of being right. It must be something to have a job where you can be wrong 66% of the time.
We'll have a cria today, and it will be a girl. Or maybe it will be a boy. Or maybe we won't have one at all. Yep, I'm sure.

Saturday, August 1, 2009 7:26 AM
For once, I'm at a loss for words.
I have a page at http://aaalpacas.com/plasma.html. I put it up in hopes it would be helpful. On New Year's day, we needed to tube a cria. We took a video, and I posted it at http://aaalpacas.com/tubing.html
A few days ago, I received a really nice email telling me that they had read the page and had plasma on hand. They had seen the video and had the supplies for tubing. They had a weak female cria, watched the video again, and gave it a shot. It worked, the little girl is now healthy and happy. They said that they would be sending a "small token of their appreciation."
The "small token" arrived yesterday and I honestly do not know what to say.
I get half a dozen calls weekly from all across the country asking for advice. I'm always happy to help. These people never called, I don't know the farm name, last name, or their phone number. I just know that they are Shelley and Gerry and live in Ohio.
I'll say Shelley and Gerry restored my faith in humanity. Of course, the alpacas no longer wonder if I'm crazy, they see me zooming around on a motorized cooler, they know I am.