Alpacas in California

Thursday, August 28, 2008 6:31 AM
"Discovery" for the new guy was a bit unusual yesterday. Normally new crias are a bit timid as all of the alpacas come up and welcome them to the herd. Not this guy, he immediately sought out alpacas his size to play with. I have a gut feeling that this little man will soon be the terror of the neighborhood.

Wednesday, August 27, 2008 7:17 AM
Okay, maybe I glanced just a little bit. It was very apparent with Kir at about 9:00 that it was show time. It wasn't long until we had a head and one leg. Of course, we really need two legs. After a couple of minutes, I told Pati that I was going to need to fish the other leg out, and went upstairs to get the OB gloves and lube. As I got there, Pati said "is this the leg you were looking for?" Yep, sure enough, Kir knew what she was doing. Back upstairs I went to put the gloves and lube away. Back down I went, and he was on the ground.
I carried him up when he was about 30 minutes old, and I've had two day old crias that couldn't struggle as much as he did. Good job Kir, you sure made me get my exercise.

Tuesday, August 26, 2008 6:51 AM
I thought surely that yesterday's update would make someone deliver, but nope, it didn't. They just lounged around all day. Maybe they didn't bother to read the update yesterday? Maybe they're just trying to make me even crazier? I'll show them, I won't even glance at them today.

Monday, August 25, 2008 7:06 AM
There once was a farmer named Rick
Who'd update his website quite quick
If there was a day
He had nothing to say
He'd make up a dumb limerick

Heat must have gotten to me eh?

Sunday, August 24, 2008 7:22 AM
It did get a bit warm yesterday, but still nothing like we've had most summers. It didn't seem to bother the kids though, they were spunky as ever. The special one though is Aurora. Dusty Rose, her mom, would come for kisses all through her pregnancy. We assumed it was something she learned, but Aurora taught us otherwise. Aurora will come up and give kisses for as long as anyone will stay put. I'd say we have a new ranch ambassador.

Saturday, August 23, 2008 6:21 AM
It's nearing the end of August and summer really never got here. Once we hit September, it starts to get busy. We have Alpaca Farm Days in September, the Pacaribbean Cruise in October, AlpacaFest West and my famous Thanksgiving turkey in November. Just to keep Thanksgiving really interesting, we have 8 girls due within three days of it. It should be a fun fall!

Friday, August 22, 2008 7:36 AM
I've been keeping a bit of an eye on Prissy. I don't go on official baby watch for another week, but she sure looks like she's about ready. She did breed twice, exactly one month apart, so there is a remote chance it was the first breeding that took. I guess I'll know for sure in about a month.

Thursday, August 21, 2008 6:52 AM
It's really hard to believe that just two short years ago, we carried an almost lifeless blob up to the nursery, and with the help and prayers from so many, she's grown up to be a pretty little lady named Percy, short for ALLAA Perseverance 291. Never before had there been such a short gestation cria survive, almost two months early.
We tubed her every couple of hours, had her inside the house in diapers, she followed us around the living room like a puppy dog. Yep, she's a special girl. She bred for the first time a couple of weeks ago.
Hopefully today, she'll get her first spit test, and cover Mo and me in stinky green slime. What better way to say "thanks dad?"
Oh yeah, happy birthday to Oda Mae Brown, her half sister, and Star also.

Wednesday, August 20, 2008 6:17 AM
I got an email about "Emily" yesterday, pointing out that not only did she appear to have a double chin, she had a gaggle of rear legs. I guess I'll need to try to get another picture, but at least the name search is done. Yep, the name stuck. That was easy. Next?

Tuesday, August 19, 2008 6:29 AM
Pati Did such a good job getting Rockstarr's picture after dark the other day, I figured I'd try with Arianna's cria. No matter how it's done, it's still hard to get a picture of a black alpaca. You can see she has eyes, but the shadow makes it look like she has a double chin. Now we need to come up with a name. Maybe Emily Litella? Never mind!

Monday, August 18, 2008 6:28 AM
Yesterday, we got trees and bushes planted, drip system installed, just a typical day on the farm. Today, I'm hoping to get a couple more trees and bushes planted, we're just about done. Before I do though, I need to put hay in the middle field, move some girls down, and carry Arianna's new daughter up and weigh her. Just what we needed, another true black one that is so hard to get pictures of.

Sunday, August 17, 2008 7:48 AM
We got some alpacas moved to north field testerday, Patron and DJ went to their new homes, and all's well on the farm. Malea's little girl finally has a name, Roseanne Rosannadanna. She got that name because I need to go to Home Depot and pick up some PVC connectors and a new handle for the pick. What does that have to do with her name? It just goes to show you, it's always something.

Saturday, August 16, 2008 7:04 AM
So much for an interesting few days, Aianna is good as new. Looks thine it will be typical boring days around here. We can deal with boring. Then again, we're on baby watch for a gaggle of girls, that always has the possibility of raising the excitement level.

Friday, August 15, 2008 6:20 AM
Yesterday, at first light, Pati noticed an alpaca that had not come upstairs, and was sitting low in the field. When she got down there, she found Star, with a completely dry and clean rose grey boy next to her. We guesstimate that he was born somewhere around midnight, he was already very familiar with locating the milk bar. His name is Rockstarr.
Late afternoon, Arianna started acting up again, so we brought Dr Thacher out to check on her. There's no dilation, and everything felt normal. We were concerned about her not eating, but she's back to eating and ruminating this morning. The next few days could prove to be "interesting."

Thursday, August 14, 2008 5:02 AM
Okay, so you spent the day yesterday with that tune in your head. Deal with it ;)
Yesterday we were certain Arianna was in labor, but soon went back to acting normal. We were trying to figure out why a lot of our girls have been on time or a bit early, while Star is going late. Pati came up with an idea, and sure enough,I checked the paperwork and verified that she was right.
We didn't realize that when we signed up for our breeding program last year that it included rollover minutes that could be transferred. Star is enjoying being pregnant, and has been trading treats for minutes. We thought she had grunts of discomfort, they're actually grunts of joy. We suspect she may have lots of minutes saved up, so she may just hold out until late October so that she can break the record. I'm sure no one will mind

Wednesday, August 13, 2008 6:53 AM
Oh give me a home
Where the pregnant girls moan
And the crias and bunnies all play
Where seldom is heard
Updates from a nerd
And I hope we have a baby today

Tuesday, August 12, 2008 6:46 AM
Happy day! Your trained professional daily updater dude is back. Yes, I know how you felt, kinda like tuning into the olympics to see it's been pre-empted by the Sun City shuffleboard championships. Or like tuning in to Oprah to find that Rosanne Barr is the guess host, discussing effective weight loss techniques and Emily Post's etiquette.
I'm on baby watch for four, other than that, not a lot going on. I can say that as a trained professional. More dribble tomorrow!

Monday, August 11, 2008 6:28 AM
Today's daily update by Susan:
Ring, ring.....
Good evening, Baskin Robbins Cria Delivery. How can I help you?
I'd like to order a Cria Sundae, to be delivered
Suri or Huacaya?
Huacaya, please.
Do you want all toppings, including nuts and cherry?
No nuts, please. Just a cherry.
When would you like it delivered?
As soon as possible
Sorry, due to the economy, fuel increases, global warming, the housing market, bank failures and a lousy Presidential campaign, we cannot make a delivery that fast. It could take a day, a few days, or even a couple weeks before we can get that Cria Sundae to you. We apologize for the inconvenience.

Okay, let's take a look at the "update by an amateur":
First, everyone knows that Baskin Robbins does not deliver.
Cria Sundae? That would need to come from Vanilla Sundae, she's not due to November. Duh! Wouldn't Starbucks have been more fitting?
Fuel prices are dropping, and global warming is due to sheep flatulence in New Zealand.
Lousy Presidential race? What could be more fun than watching a young black man race an old white guy? Better than the Olympics!
Daily updates really should be left to trained professionals. I'll be back tomorrow, same Bat time, same Bat channel.

Sunday, August 10, 2008 5:17 AM
Malea and her cria got off easy in discovery yesterday. We also had Erica, a girl here for breeding, and her two month old cria join the herd. They went down first, and while everyone was checking them out, Malea and her cria slipped out pretty much under the radar.
Today we add Kalea to the watch list, so who's next?

Saturday, August 9, 2008 7:03 AM
Yesterday, at 10:30, Malea delivered an 8.1 lb placenta. I had to laugh, that placenta was heavier than Percy when she was born. The placenta went into the fridge until trash day, and seems to be doing fine.
Oh yeah, I guess I should mention that she preceded the placenta with a 17.1 lb girl. Yep, I had to carry another one of those pesky female crias upstairs.
This girl is special, her dad is Blade, and both Malea and Blade were orphaned at a young age. With the start of the Olympics, 8-8-08, and the luck of having two orphans give us a female cria, she'll get a special name.

Friday, August 8, 2008 6:56 AM
Everyone had fun meeting Aurora yesterday, but it sure tuckered her out. She's doing great, but her tender little tootsies sure don't like the rocks downstairs. The other gravitationally challenged girls are still hanging in there. I'm quite certain that no one will deliver today, as no cria wants to be named "Tres Ochos Olympiad or Lucky for short."

Thursday, August 7, 2008 8:04 AM
It's overcast and cool this morning, and in a few minutes I'll be letting Dusty Rose and Aurora out of the nursery in a bit. She's doing fine, but like most preemies, she does sleep a lot. I'd imagine all of the other crias will do their best to change that.

Wednesday, August 6, 2008 6:14 AM
I came up with a great idea. Dusty Rose' cria is named Aurora. It's Greek or Latin or something for early or dawn or light or something like that. Okay, my great idea was to like the name Pati came up with.
She could have used a bit more time in the oven (Aurora, not Pati). She's a bit dysmature, dropped pasterns, but she'll just need an extra day or two upstairs. Dusty Rose doesn't seem to mind, and Prissy is happy to oblige, because there's extra treats up here.

Tuesday, August 5, 2008 7:31 AM
After treat time yesterday, I told Pati that I noticed a bit of swelling on Dusty Rose, not as much as on Star, but it was there nonetheless. At 6:00 this morning, we discovered a 13.3 lb girl from Dusty Rose. We're not yet sure what color she is, but guessing light fawn. She was a bit slow to get started, but once she warmed up, she had a sudden burst of energy, she'll be ready for her picture in a bit.

Monday, August 4, 2008 7:50 AM
It did get warm yesterday, even though the weather dudes said it wouldn't. We didn't have a cria yesterday, even though I said we would. Oh well, I guess I'm in good company. I'm positive that we'll have a cria no later than

Sunday, August 3, 2008 7:17 AM
We got some alpacas sorted first thing that will be heading down to San Diego. As we were enticing the main field girls down with fresh hay, Star sat down with an uncomfortable look on her face. Maybe today?.
It is nice and cool this morning, the nursery is currently empty, we're ready for her.

Saturday, August 2, 2008 5:41 AM
I can't write about the new cria, because we don't have one. Writing about the weather, well I did that yesterday. Also yesterday, I predicted a new cria for today. I'd hate to appear foolish two days in a row, so I guess that's out of the question also. How 'bout those Yankees? Naw, not much of a baseball fan. Oh well, I guess today's update has been cancelled due to lack of interest.

Friday, August 1, 2008 5:52 AM
Wow, it's August already! It was likely the coolest July on record, and most of June was really nice also. They've repeatedly forecast hot weather, then changing their mind, and right now the first half of August is forecast to be cool. It must be nice to have a job where you can change a prediction and no one cares. I'll go ahead and forecast scattered crias through the paddocks today, followed by an extended period of dark, with a new cria arriving about 10:30 tomorrow morning.

Thursday, July 31, 2008 7:13 AM
Yesterday when I was doing some spit testing, one of the maidens kept trying to get into the breeding area. I had girl after girl in, and as I'd let them out, the annoying maiden that I wasn't ready to breed kept trying to come in. Finally, during the last girl for Mo, she got in there. I'm good at steering Mo to the right girl, so no problem. Natasha spit off, and this annoying maiden sat down. Oh well, I guess they know more than I do, and neither one of them would have been happy with me if I did otherwise, so I turned Mo loose.
That annoying maiden, you guessed it, Percy. "You've come a long way baby!"

Wednesday, July 30, 2008 7:02 AM
It won't be too much longer until we have a new cria, but I'm not exactly sure which field it will arrive in nor which girl it will be. Star, AKA "Waddle" is up there in the running, and Yesterday, Arianna was a bit different. Malea is as big as a house. Maybe I should just head to Katmandu.
I'm sure everyone heard about the earthquake in Southern California. After a quick assessment, I made a few calls and let everyone know all was well. I'll not use the term "just a 5.4" again. Turns out, we did have a problem that I didn't find until I toured the entire ranch, the story and picture is at http://aaalpacas.com/earthquake.html

Tuesday, July 29, 2008 5:37 AM
Mr. Bojangles is doing great, but as you see, I didn't get a picture of him yet. I'll try to get that done today. I'm enjoying some new technology I have here, I can sit in the living room with my laptop, log into my office computer, and work from there. I'd even be able to do it from the paddocks. Naw, then Rose will want to start writing.

Monday, July 28, 2008 7:12 AM
The tail light trick worked. I headed out with the trailer, and Carmella saw my tail lights. At about noon, she delivered a healthy little boy with little fanfare, Pati & Susan got to watch. He's a feisty little guy, and loves to hop around. We had some horse people here yesterday, and I brought them upstairs to see the new cria. He did a really nice dance for the 7 of us, and earned the name "Mr. Bojangles." I'll change the picture when the sun comes out if I can get him to stand still long enough.

Sunday, July 27, 2008 6:12 AM
So one girl is at day 362. Her record was 360. A couple of girls at 321, that went 349 and 359 last year. Then just for grins we add 2 maidens. Yikes!. I'm heading to Ramona this morning to drop off some alpacas, maybe when I leave there I'll just head to Katmandu.

Saturday, July 26, 2008 7:28 AM
Saturday is a great day for a cria, and we'll have one today or I promise to eat raw fish with green horseradish on it. We add Arianna to the baby watch list today. It's getting hard to know which way to look.

Friday, July 25, 2008 5:53 AM
It looks like I'm done with jury duty, I didn't need to report. I do need to check in at 5:30 today, but since there's no court on Saturday, it's probably just so the scheduling department can justify working on Fridays. They probably didn't want me because I'd be against life in prison for jaywalking and parole for axe murderers.
Now I can get back to watching for crias and tearing my hair out. At least I'm not on baby watch for 5. Unless someone delivers today, I will be tomorrow.

Thursday, July 24, 2008 6:56 AM
Riiiinnnnnggggg
"Domino's crias can I help you?"
"Yes, I'd like a large female cria delivered today"
"Okay sir, you know you can add a medium size cria for just one dollar more?"
"Ok, that sounds good"
"What toppings would you like on them?"
"Make one a suri, one a huacaya."
"Where would you like those delivered?"
"The corner of Carmella and Star, right next to Dusty Rose and Malea"
"Okay, we'll get them there as soon as possible"

Wednesday, July 23, 2008 7:04 AM
We're starting to think that maybe Carmella is waiting for Star to go first so that she has company in the nursery. Maybe they can wait for Dusty Rose and Malea, and make it a foursome. Great, just what I need.
Oh well, we're heading to the farmer's market in Temecula this morning. Maybe we can buy a new farmer? Based on the update yesterday, I'd say we can use one, looks like the one we have is defective.

Tuesday, July 22, 2008 7:22 AM
The grumpies are still plumpy
The weather's still great
They should have a cria
And not hesitate
If they don't deliver
Quite soon I do fear
That I will go bonkers
And chase them around the paddocks.
Betcha thought that last line would rhyme, huh?

Monday, July 21, 2008 5:34 AM
It only made it to 82º yesterday, a perfect day to deliver a cria. Instead, I planted a tree. Right now, it's baby watch for Carmella and Star, we'll add Dusty Rose and Malea in a couple of days.
I'm on call all this week for jury duty. Last time I was called, I did end up serving on a jury. Now there's a courthouse here in Murrieta, just a stone's through from here. Of course, they still have me going to Riverside this time. So much for common sense.

Sunday, July 20, 2008 7:51 AM
It's 58º this morning, a typical June gloom morning. To have days like this in July is really rare. It was nice and cool all day yesterday also, and the most of the boys enjoyed their trips upstairs. Fred wasn't that crazy about his though, everyone said no. I think I'll take advantage of the morning by getting a tree or two planted. I'd sure rather carry a new cria up though.

Saturday, July 19, 2008 7:36 AM
Pati had a great idea and we rolled out the new buy as you breed program for some of the boys. We'd like to see them go somewhere that doesn't have a zillion relatives that they're not able to "play" with.
Carmella is the only one in the main north field this morning, I'd say that today is definitely without a doubt the day that she'll have her cria or drive us crazy.

Friday, July 18, 2008 6:22 AM
There's a new "club" that has formed here. It's only for the grumpy pregnant girls in main field that are over 10 years old. I first noticed it a few days ago. Princess, Prissy, Aria, and Manda were the only four girls upstairs. Princess is the young one at barely 10, followed by Aria and Prissy at 12, Manda at 15. I went to the store, and when I returned, everyone else was up in the nursery, and they had gone down.
We've continued to see the "fat four" hang out together. Aria, Manda and Princess are due in November within 3 days of each other, Prissy is due in September. We'll need a club name, maybe the "grumpy plumpies?" Here's a picture of the motley crew from this morning, yep, they're up again.

Thursday, July 17, 2008 7:23 AM
My forecast was correct yesterday. No cria. Am I good or what? For today, my prediction is qyev auyf sois /piuasffiuf ai ijh.liasaseiu aihd aio ihaefioua ast aeuhdy 8750w74ebcu vysa ,fgy aryfuhkjd .liqwe9-4305 as4utrw845 as4iur. Sorry, went to get a cup of coffee and Lillith was in playing with the keyboard. She still doesn't know how to type.

Wednesday, July 16, 2008 5:59 AM
Due date. Easter Bunny. Tooth Fairy. Santa Clause. No such thing as any of them. Today is Carmella's "due date" so I can relax today, there's no way she'll deliver today. Is there? I used to be indecisive, but now I'm not sure.

Tuesday, July 15, 2008 7:06 AM
Yikes! I just realized that I have been doing this silly update page for 5 years now. 5 years ago this morning, we were waiting for Carmella to be born. Now we're waiting for her to deliver. It'd be cool if she delivered today on her birthday. It's a sure thing she won't deliver tomorrow, as that's her official due date. By the way she's acting, I'd say it won't be until Thursday.

Monday, July 14, 2008 6:31 AM
Carmella cooperated yesterday, so we got to go to Susan's birthday party at Rodrigo's. We had a great time. It's a good thing she didn't have a boy yesterday, as his name would have been "A Boy Named Sue." So now she's back into a safe delivery time, "Okay Carmella, let 'er rip!"

Sunday, July 13, 2008 6:16 AM
Tonto went to his new home yesterday, he'll be really happy there. You probably guessed by the fact there's no picture, no cria yesterday. Today's Susan's birthday, she's 5 in Jovian years, barely old enough to chew gum and...
Happy Birthday Susan!

Saturday, July 12, 2008 6:43 AM
The official high for Murrieta yesterday was 88º. Here, it got to about 82. Every morning, Carmella lays around with her ears back, all grumpy looking. At about 11:00. se gets up. goes to the feeder and looks fine all day. I've decided she's either messing with me, or she's been sneaking out every night to go partying and dancing until 2:00AM. Either way, I'm getting a bit annoyed by it all.

Friday, July 11, 2008 7:30 AM
Remember yesterday when I said we'd have a cria? I was wrrrr. I was wro. Ahem, I was wro. Nope, no cria. Today is day 345, she's been 340 and 366 before, so based on that I'd say she'll deliver eventually if not sooner. It's stayed cool, and looks like it'll stay that way for a few more days.

Thursday, July 10, 2008 7:18 AM
Yesterday was just nothing but a great day. It's hot as can be all over Southern California, yet we are nice and cool. The boys got to play, we had a hazy sunshine all day and a nice breeze to top it off. What else can you ask for? Well, maybe for one of these fatsos to deliver a cria. Maybe today, in fact I'm kinda sorta sure about it, maybe.

Wednesday, July 9, 2008 7:47 AM
The weather people are talking about the extreme heat, yet it's missed here. It was really hot the day before yesterday, yesterday was better, and right now it's a cool June gloom morning. The boys are taking advantage of it, so far Mo, Blade, and Conquistador have taken turns to come up to play. We'll let the "batteries charge" for a bit, then see who gets the next dance card.

Tuesday, July 8, 2008 6:43 AM
Carmella has been really annoying the last few days. She lays around with her ears back and a scowl on her face all morning, looking like "today is the day." Sometime late morning or early afternoon, she stands up, goes to the feeder, and acts completely normal for the rest of the day. I think she's just having fun watching me pull my hair out.

Monday, July 7, 2008 6:45 AM
It's back to regular stuff now, I got all I could with the tractor. All of the rain we had this winter made a lot of weeds, most are gone now, but some will need to be done by hand. We'll hopefully be getting that done this week.
Carmella is now at day 341, she's been 340 and 361 before, so I predict that I won't be making a prediction.

Sunday, July 6, 2008 7:24 AM
I spent most of the day on the tractor, and didn't damage any fences, buildings, cars, or myself, so I'd call it a success. I am a bit sore though, but I have another day to go. In times like these, I sure wish it was flat around here, it would make it much easier.

Saturday, July 5, 2008 6:49 AM
Nope, no Lady Liberty yesterday, no Ben Franklin either. I did manage to get the pet male, huacaya and suri female pages updated in between making sure everyone was cool and Carmella wasn't in labor. I'll be spending the next couple of days on a rented tractor, making sure we stay safe from wildfires. Hopefully Carmella won't change my plans.

Friday, July 4, 2008 7:42 AM
I should clarify, the 2nd of July was our 25th anniversary of our first date, we've only been married for 24 years, 3 months, 29 days, 19 hours, 42 minutes. We still have about 20,822,400 seconds before our wedding anniversary. Pati is hoping we have "Lady Liberty" born today. That would be cool, it'd sure beat a "Ben Franklin."
Happy Independence Day, don't play with fireworks, leave them to professionals.

Thursday, July 3, 2008 7:01 AM
Yesterday was just another typical day in the life of an alpaca farmer. Put hay out, hose bellies, and the usual alpaca stuff. It was followed by a typical evening, we popped open a bottle of Dom Perignon and had Maine lobster for dinner. Okay, not all that typical, we were celebrating the fact that Pati has managed to put up with me for a quarter of a century.

Wednesday, July 2, 2008 6:34 AM
Oops, forgot to upload the update yesterday. 20 lashes with a wet noodle. It got pretty hot yesterday and we're planning on the same thing for the next few days.The kids are starting to investigate the sprinkler, it won't be long until they're hogging the water.

Tuesday, July 1, 2008 6:54 AM
Wow, it's July already! It seems like just yesterday it was June. It's been pretty hot, not the scorcher we had last month though. Wrong Way is meeting the herd this morning, it's looking like he's enjoying it, but Toni isn't too sure. We should have a couple of weeks off from births, then we'll start up again.

Click here for past updates

Heat index for alpacas
Formula: Temperature (F) + Humidity = Heat Index
Source: Llama*alpaca field manual
C Norman Evans DVM
Note: We're 5-20 degrees cooler in the summer than Murrieta and have a constant 10-15 MPH wind

How it relates to alpacas, the "Rick Heat Index" based on feel:

Back to top