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Alpaca heat index forecast - <120° What's this? |
Thursday, July 2, 2009 6:25 AM
The hot weather has been cancelled due to lack of interest. We're
going to be in the 80's for the next few days, a welcome change.The
boys will be happy, they get to play in cool weather.
Wednesday, July 1, 2009 7:14 AM
Wow, it's July already! It was a hot one yesterday and today is
looking to be the same. Gabi waited yesterday until we left the
paddocks, and then plunked out a little boy with no problem. He
was up and walking by the time we knew she had delivered.
For now, we're off of baby watch, and we don't go back on until
Sunday.
Tuesday, June 30, 2009 7:14 AM
It ended up being nice yesterday, we had an overcast and even a
few tiny drops of rain. It reminded me of monsoon season in Arizona,
except it lasted all day. We had the vet out for travel certs, and
I did get thrown onto my back once. Oh yeah, the huggable investment,
Monday, June 29, 2009 6:29 AM
It was a hot one yesterday, and today is supposed to be as bad.
Turnout was low yesterday, but we ended up with some alpacas that
will be going to new homes.
We're going to try to get everything back to normal before it gets
too hot today.
Sunday, June 28, 2009 7:00 AM
It got a bit warm yesterday, but we had a nice breeze throughout
the day. The alpacas didn't seem to mind being upstairs for the
pen sale, it was an adventure for them. Today, we're doing it again,
then we have some sorting and rearranging to do.
Saturday, June 27, 2009 6:00 AM
Okay, yesterday's update was lame. No imagination, no silliness.
We return you now to your regularly scheduled silliness.
To the tune of (guess)
Luci had a little girl, little girl, little girl
Luci had a little girl her fleece was white as snow.
Everywhere the cria went, cria went, cria went
Everywhere the cria went her mom was sure to go.
Followed her to the scale yesterday, scale yesterday, scale yesterday
Followed her to the scale yesterday and saw she weighed 22.5 pounds
Then she new why it was hard, it was hard, it was hard
Then she new why it was hard to get her on the ground.
Mom and daughter are doing great!
Friday, June 26, 2009 8:17 AM
Late and short update, I was busy, Luci just had a girl. Life is
good!
Thursday, June 25, 2009 6:36 AM
We had June gloom yesterday morning, so Luci decided to wait one
more day. I'm absolutely sure that with the sun we have this morning,
she maybe might deliver today.
Wednesday, June 24, 2009 6:37 AM
Yesterday at about 9:00, nothing was going on, so we decided to
leave the paddocks for a few minutes for breakfast. Right after
sitting down, all of the alpacas ran from one field to the other
like something interesting was going on. Sure enough, on the way
there we heard a tiny voice. That tiny voice ended up coming from
a 23.1 lb boy. He's doing great, and once again Cantana is a perfect
mom, mellow as can be.
Tuesday, June 23, 2009 6:53 AM
It's warming up here, they'll get the sprinklers today. It should
be a really nice weekend for the Pen
Sale. I wonder if Luci wants an audience when she delivers?
Do I need to roll out the red carpet?
Monday, June 22, 2009 7:20 AM
Yesterday was the first full day of summer, and we braved the 78º
heat. No babies born yesterday, hoping maybe today.
It's another June gloom morning, maybe when the sun comes out one
of the preggos will get busy.
Sunday, June 21, 2009 6:38 AM
The new guy has a name already, it's Vincent Van Grey. I won't go
into full details on how he got the name, suffice it to say that
his ear is going to be fine.
We had June gloom all day yesterday and today is starting out the
same. I'm hoping someone gives us a Father's day present. Luci maybe?
| Saturday, June 20, 2009 6:27 AM Yep, I forgot to upload the picture of the hummingbird yesterday, so people thought I was a goofball. I remembered to upload today's picture though. At about 5:30 yesterday morning, it was apparent that we were going to have a cria from Autumn. She played around with stage one labor for about 4 hours, back and forth to the poop pile, then a bit of a roll and a grunt. Once the nose came out, she growled at it, and them plopped out this 22.4 lb boy. She has a ton of milk and is a good mom. We'll get the tui tips off of him this morning so he looks better for the spring shows. The June gloom is back, so we'll wait just a few hours, shear him, then let him meet the world. |
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Friday, June 19, 2009 7:08 AM
I finally got a picture of the baby hummingbird, it looks like it
will soon be leaving it's nest.
Thursday, June 18, 2009 6:51 AM
It looks like it's going to be time to get the sprinklers in place
for the alpacas again, going to be near the 90's for a few days.
None of the preggos have been acting up at all, maybe they're waiting
for my July trip.
We'll get some breeding done this morning before it warms up.
Wednesday, June 17, 2009 7:32 AM
The June gloom is starting to go away, we'll be getting up into
the 80's for the next couple of weeks. We're still on baby watch
for five girls, the ovens should heat up now. Luci and Autumn both
have the same "due dates" that Bianca did. Who's next???
Tuesday, June 16, 2009 7:36 AM
Bianca had her cria yesterday at about 10:30. She delivered down
next to the feeder in main field. Normally, after the dam passes
the placenta, we'll carry the cria up the hill to the nursery. We
didn't get to do that with this one. At about 30 minutes old, she
decided to walk up the hill to the nursery to save us the trouble.
Yep, I think this cria will be just fine.
Monday, June 15, 2009 7:34 AM
We really couldn't ask for better weather, June gloom in the morning,
a bit of sunshine in the afternoon. We're expecting a few more days
of this. It would be a perfect day for a new cria, maybe today?
Sunday, June 14, 2009 6:33 AM
I forgot to mention that there were two more babies born on the
farm while I was gone. We don't know the sex, it's hummingbirds.
I don't want to disturb them for a picture quite yet, I'll see what
I can do the next few days.
It's still June gloom here, and Autumn is really talkative. It looks
like it'll be a race between her and Bianca.
Saturday, June 13, 2009 7:06 AM
I'm finally home. I left Cleveland early Sunday afternoon, and started
the trek back. Monday morning there were some major thunderstorms.
I managed to miss most of them, but ended up in one of them, and
saw lightning hit a power pole just about 100' away. I needed to
watch the road so I didn't get to see the alpacas' reaction to the
loud clap of thunder. The rest of the drive was uneventful, and
Monday night I shut down in Amarillo. Tuesday morning, the truck
wouldn't start. I had the truck towed to the Ford dealer, and the
trailer towed to an RV park. I got the truck back late afternoon
Wednesday, and the rest of the drive was uneventful.
No more babies arrived while I was gone, I guess they were waiting
for me.
Wednesday, June 3, 2009 8:25 PM
Yep, Priscilla finally had her cria. She weighed 24.2 lbs,and yes,
that is hay you see in her mouth. Pati said it was a 15 minute birth
at the most, and the cria was up almost immediately, and very aware
of her environment, acting more like one month old than one hour
old.
Today Macy gets to move from her stall over to auction alley, but
she'll come home at night.
Tuesday, June 2, 2009 9:17 PM
I'm in Cleveland, after another uneventful day of driving. I got
here about 1:00, and started setting up the stalls.
At GWAS in Denver, they supply carts and a bunch of people to help
you unload. Here, there are no carts, and if you brought your own,
you're not allowed to use them. I carried about 9,387 loads from
the truck to my stall. If it was any more than that, I'd be sure
to tell you.
Vet check was a snap, the alpacas are in their stalls, and tonight,
I'm staying in the trailer.
Tomorrow, the masses will arrive and have to unload. To top it off,
it looks like they'll be doing it in the rain. I'll do color check,
get checked into the hotel, and enjoy my day.
Monday, June 1, 2009 10:59 PM
Last night an annoying beep started in the trailer. It turned out
to be a malfunction of the propane sensor. I finally got it fixed,
but decided to start my day a bit later.
I dropped off an alpaca in Owensville, Missouri, then headed towards
Cleveland. Missouri and Illinois were soon behind me. After an hour
or so in Indiana, the annoying civil defense tone came over the
radio. There was a severe thunderstorm warning for Tipton county
and anything east. I'll admit that Indiana County geography is not
a topic I'd choose on Jeopardy, so I was wondering if I was driving
right into it. I grabbed the CB, and a trucker told me where it
was, not in our path.
I'm currently parked in New Lisbon, Indiana. I'm not sure what happened
to Old Lisbon, but this will do. I got the water filled in the trailer,
the holding tanks drained, the trailer reconfigured to add some
room, then hit the shower.
After the shower was dinner, Marie Callender's Swedish Meatballs.
The meatballs and pasta were great. The green beans were just like
mom used to make. Mom was from the south, and all vegetables were
cooked the same. Boil them until all the favor is gone, then serve
them.
I'll get to Cleveland tomorrow, just about 250 miles to go.
Sunday, May 31, 2009 10:25 PM
It was another good day of driving. I left Grants at about 7:00,
and before I knew it I was in Texas. I did hit a trace of rain in
Texas. The trace in Texas trickles terribly on the trails. Oops,
a Mary Poppins moment.
Soon I was in Oklahoma. I got to see the hometown of Susan Powell.
Boy was I surprised that Pati did not know that Susan Powell was
Miss America in 1981. I've known that ever since I saw the sign
on the road today.
It wasn't long before I had my sights on Missouri. It would turn
it into a long day, but would put me well ahead of schedule. I decided
to go for it.
It would have been a piece of cake, but just before leaving Oklahoma
there was a nasty storm. No wind, no rain, no hail, sleet or snow.
This was a bug storm. I did not know that many bugs could all be
splatted on a windshield. It was tolerable as long as no lights
were pointing towards me, but if they were, I just saw cool stuff
kinda like looking into a prism.
I made it to Joplin, Missouri, and have a good parking spot. I didn't
bother to gas up tonight, it'll be a lot of work cleaning my windshield
tomorrow.
Saturday, May 30, 2009 9:49 PM
I'm parked in Grants, New Mexico after a day of uneventful driving.
It's 59º, with a light rain. It's been raining off and on from Seligman,
Arizona. None of the rain has been heavy, the roads and visibility
have been good all day.
The "seasoned" show kids fell right into the groove for
travel. It's the first trio out for Mini-Mo, Rasta, and Butterscotch.
Mini-Mo was fine with it from the start. It took most of the day
for Butterscotch and Rasta, but they're doing fine now.
Of course Pati is back at the ranch, all I asked her to do today
was carry Priscilla's cria upstairs. Did she do it? Nooooo.
I'll try to write from a new and exciting place tomorrow.
Saturday, May 30, 2009 5:57 AM
The trailer is hooked up, and everything is loaded except the alpacas.
I should be on the road by about 7:30, and Priscilla should deliver
by about 9:00. Cleveland here I come.
Friday, May 29, 2009 7:01 AM
I went down to Alpine, near San Diego to pick up a boy that's heading
east. Pati had to sun over for a quick appointment. We figured while
we were gone, Susan would organize labor, but no. We walked and weighed
the kids, they all did well on the walk and all had gained weight
nicely.
Today we'll finish loading the truck and trailer so I can head out
early tomorrow.
Thursday, May 28, 2009 6:28 AM
Yesterday, I went to check on Priscilla, day 347 for her. Windy, a
6 year old female, currently open, was sound asleep. Sedona, got up
to come say hello. I said, "Hi there sweetheart, coming to see
me?" Windy started clucking in her sleep. Just when you think
you've seen it all...
Wednesday, May 27, 2009 6:53 AM
The May grey was supposed to be gone by now but it's still here. It
gives us cool foggy mornings and nice comfortable afternoons. I was
concerned about the heat for the Nationals in Cleveland, but according
to the forecasts, we'll be in the 60's and 70's. I'm hoping Priscilla
delivers before I leave, but she's probably waiting to see my tail
lights.
Tuesday, May 26, 2009 7:35 AM
At about 10:15 yesterday, I knew it was time for a baby. Priscilla
was standing funny and had a blank stare. She'd move a bit, reach
back and scratch, then back to the blank stare. Yep, she fooled me.
Monday, May 25, 2009 7:37 AM
No baby yesterday, so we got to go to a holiday backyard barbeque.
Ribs, beans, bread, salads and beer. Yum!
Today is 345. Can Priscilla be that consistent?
Sunday, May 24, 2009 7:33 AM
It was another nice day but no new baby. Last year, Priscilla went
345 days. Today, she's at 344. I might just need to come up with some
silly holiday name for her.
Saturday, May 23, 2009 7:38 AM
It's a cool morning, 60º, and we have a nice marine layer. It's going
to be really comfortable for the next few days. Before delivery, there
is a ligament in the back end of a preggo that loosens so that they
can deliver more easily. There was an article in Alpacas magazine
on how to feel that ligament a few months back. Now I'm not one that
relishes the thought of pinching grumpy pregnant girls' backsides,
so we don't use the technique.
Sometimes, the loosening of the ligament will cause a girl to stumble
a bit, especially on uneven terrain. Yesterday, Priscilla did the
loose ligament stumble. Because of that, we are certain that she'll
deliver no later than
Friday, May 22, 2009 7:24 AM
We got the trailer just about done yesterday. The days have been very
comfortable, only in the 80's, but Priscilla isn't much enjoying the
weather. I think she's tired of being pregnant. I just wish she'd
quit complaining and do something about it.
Thursday, May 21, 2009 7:23 AM
I made it Barstow and back with no problems. Yep, the truck is good
to go. Pati has been the project manager for new insulation on the
trailer, it's made a big difference. We're going to finish up the
project today, and I'll be all set to go to the Nationals / World
Alpaca Conference.
Wednesday, May 20, 2009 6:31 AM
I didn't get my truck back in time to go to Barstow, they wanted to
put a "flight recorder" on it. A flight recorder is the
"black box" you hear about on airplanes, except unlike the
black box on an airplane, this one is not orange, it's black.
This one's also a bit different in that once I push the button, it
takes a recording of everything going on with the engine 20 seconds
before to 30 seconds after I push the button. That's what they tell
me anyway, it may just make a video of me going bonkers so they can
make fun of me and upload it to You Tube. Hi ho, hi ho, it's off to
Barstow I go. Film at 11:00?
Tuesday, May 19, 2009 6:40 AM
Hopefully today I'll get to go to Barstow. There's so much to see
and do there. It's about 100 miles from here, and when/if I get there,
I'll make a U-turn at the Flying J truck stop and come on home. What
fun!
No baby yet, still waiting on Priscilla and the hummingbird.
Monday, May 18, 2009 7:34 AM
The truck is back at the shop, when I do get it back, I'll make another
test run. Who knows, I might make it as far as Barstow?
We can't see any babies in the hummingbird nest yet, but it's fun
being on baby watch for multiple species.
Sunday, May 17, 2009 6:34 AM
The test drive went just peachy. I was cruising up to Hesperia on
a 6% grade at 65 mph, then suddenly I was down to 18 mph in the right
lane with the 4 way flashers going, the heaviest of 18 wheelers passing
me by. Oh well, it did well going back down the hill. I guess the
truck needs to go back in.
We went out last night for sushi with some friends, then to Pechanga
casino's comedy club. The first comedian wasn't able to make us crack
a grin, so we thought we were in for a long evening. The second and
third were great.
Now I'm in the mood for a new cria, maybe today?
Saturday, May 16, 2009 7:02 AM
I didn't get my truck back until 6:00 last night, so after poop patrol,
I'm going to hook up the trailer and drive up to the high desert for
a test drive.
Friday, May 15, 2009 6:51 AM
Theoretically, I get my truck back today, if so, I'll do a test drive
up to Hesperia with the trailer. It's going to warm up over the next
couple of days, possibly up to 100 º. I think we'll want to get the
mucking done early.
I had to include a picture of the hummingbird nest that is right outside
our window. I didn't want to use flash or get close enough to disturb
it, so it isn't the greatest picture. I'm looking forward to seeing
the babies.
Thursday, May 14, 2009 7:02 AM
We had a great day yesterday. We got the health certs done, the bellies
shorn, and good eats at the end of the day. We did have one little
problem, but it worked out okay.
They threatened to take Paris Hilton's blue ribbons away from her.
It turns out that she posed for a picture right after shearing last
year, yep, she was nude. She also offended some people with her opinions
on breeding huacayas to suris. She's against it, and was quite vocal
about it.
The decision was all up to Forest Gump. He said she could keep her
ribbons, and wasn't fired. She wasn't, however, invited to Gump Towers.
Now I'm hoping that all of the publicity gets her a spot on "Pronking
With The Stars."
Wednesday, May 13, 2009 7:32 AM
It was cooler yesterday so the "oven" didn't heat up, so
no baby. My guess is that Priscilla was giving us the two week warning,
and she'll deliver once she sees my tail lights on the way to nationals.
I'm really hoping I have my truck back by then, it would be a pain
to have to carry the trailer to Cleveland.
The vet is coming today for health certificates for the show, and
were planning on belly shearing the kids going to Nationals that didn't
get it in Denver.
Tuesday, May 12, 2009 7:54 AM
The mornings are cool but the afternoons are quite warm. Priscilla
is not a happy camper at all. I still think she's going to hold out
a few more days though.
Monday, May 11, 2009 7:38 AM
It's cool and foggy again this morning, but I'll spare you the pain
of hearing about the local terminology again. We had a really nice
day yesterday, we had some visitors and made a picnic out of it, they
brought chicken and stuff.
Priscilla is at day 331 and the cria appears to have dropped a bit.
She's also sitting in weird positions. She went 345 last year, but
I'd expect this year to be a bit earlier.
Sunday, May 10, 2009 6:55 AM
It's a cool foggy morning, what's known around here as May Grey, sometimes
spelled May Gray but not to be confused with Macy
Grey or Macy Gray. It's like June Gloom but happens earlier. If
it happens in July, we don't really have a name for it, so we still
call it June Gloom. Okay, yes, maybe baby watch is driving me up a
wall.
Saturday, May 9, 2009 7:11 AM
It looks like the really warm weather is over for a while, and we're
going to be in the 80's for the next week or two. I'm already starting
to get the trailer ready for Nationals, mainly making sure I can keep
the alpacas nice and cool for the trip.
Friday, May 8, 2009 7:11 AM
A few months ago, a friend invited us to enter a spin off for Alpacapalooza.
A spin off is where you send in two ounces of fiber and judges spin
it into yarn. Just for grins, we sent in some of Mo's fiber. Of course,
being 12 years old, we didn't really expect much, but knew we'd have
some yarn for display.
Sure enough, in the mail yesterday, we got our entry back, all spun
into yarn. What really surprised us was that it was accompanied by
a blue ribbon! Not bad for an old guy!
Thursday, May 7, 2009 7:32 AM
It looks like summer is on it's way. We set the sprinklers back up
and the girls are really enjoying them. I took my truck in for repair
yesterday, and soon it'll be time to hook up for Nationals in Cleveland.
The grass area really helped the suris look better in Denver, but
it didn't seem to make a big difference on the huacayas. We did belly
shear the ones in Denver to keep them cooler, and we'll do the same
for the others that are going to Cleveland.
Wednesday, May 6, 2009 7:07 AM
I'm back from Denver, what a trip! I ended up needing to stop every
50-150 miles to add coolant, the same problem I had last September.
It did allow me to see something I hadn't seen for years. I pulled
into a gas station in Williams, Arizona, and an attendant greeted
me and cleaned my windshield.
The show was great, about 1400 alpacas. That makes it larger than
the Nationals last year. Of course, that also makes the competition
fierce. The girls all got ribbons, but the boys came home empty handed
(empty pawed?). Everyone behaved really well in the ring.
As usual, the Denver show had the best organization in the country,
the check in process is easy as can be.
On Sunday, I was driving, Pati was at the airport waiting for her
return flight, and Susan was playing ranch manager. Indy decided it
was a great time to have a baby.
Susan did a great job at not letting on that she was in a panic, and
took care of everything well. I'll put up a pic of "A boy named
Sue" as soon as I can.
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
| Less than 120 | No Problem |
| 120 - 160 | Possible problem |
| 160-180 | Likely Problem |
| 180+ | Critical |
How it relates to alpacas, the "Rick Heat Index" based on feel:
| I'm comfy. | I go about my normal business |
| It feels too warm to go up and down the hills | No breeding goes on, but I can work with them in other ways |
| I'd much rather sit in the shade | I pretty much leave them alone. |
| I'd rather sit in the air conditioning | It's belly hosing time. |