The weather improved again so we took the protective tarps off the alpaca hay and moved about 5 tons into the barn for winter feed.

The remaining 10 tons we will sell and I really must get down there and drill some samples for the hay analysis.

Its quite amazing for October and is 75 degrees and sunny right now. Long may it last while I have autumn babies still to be "unpacked".

Now we live and work on a farm and are at the mercy of the seasons and weather in general it adds new meaning to Thanksgiving and the celebration of the harvest.

I am really looking forward to this years Thanksgiving, that uniquely American celebration that should be more widely adopted I believe.

Adrian Stewart

Having bought two large Rubbermaid water troughs last year I was determined to get them installed and the heaters connected before winter arrived.

One of the problems with this size of trough is that some alpacas just love to get their feet in the trough. Which of course fills the clean water in the trough with mud and goodness knows how many parasites from the poo pile.

So I built a concrete base added concrete blacks and set up the trough complete with heater and electrical connection.... we then set about trimming some toe nails on the boys and when I had finished I walked to the barn door and there was one of the boys stood on his hind legs with his front feet in the trough....Damn!

Back to the drawing board....

In the end I made a simple plywood lid to restrict the drinking space available which of course defeats the idea of a large trough in the first place. But it does keep their feet out...



Large troughs are not good news with alpacas, but at least I will have ice free water this winter and alpacas do not like to drink really cold water either so we should all be happy!

If you do put a heater in a plastic trough of this type remember to also fit an earth wire that connects the actual water to earth. Then if you get a fault on the heater it will trip the circuit.

Adrian Stewart

No sooner had we baled the alpaca hay and stacked it the field than the rain arrived.
So we put the traps on to protect it from the worst. Hopefully it will dry out and be in the barn by mid week. Assuming of course that the weather forecast is accurate.



This second cutting looks quite good so i must drill some samples and send them off for analysis.

I wont need all the hay so some will be sold off.

We have taken about 250 bales in the second cutting which at 100lbs per bale is 25,000 lbs or 12.5 tons. The hay sells for $175 per ton.

Adrian Stewart

I almost made it to Portland and back in the day but the slight detour o collect an alpaca on the way home added almost 2 hours ( I had scheduled 30 minutes) so it was the early hours of Friday morning when I arrived home.



The irrigation water from the reservoir has now been turned off so the Talent irrigation canal is almost empty and will stay that way until spring next year.



The girl I collected is K2's Joni and she is in need of a vet exam and BVDV test before she can go in with the rest of the herd. She isn't enjoying being on her own very much but then alpacas never do.

No need to worry about the lack of man made irrigation as the natural irrigation system is forecast to kick in soon...which could be tricky as I am just about to bale the second cutting of hay.

Adrian Stewart

I am on the road today heading up to North West Alpacas then back home. Back on the Blog tomorrow.

Adrian Stewart

The weather has held out and we have now taken our second cutting of hay which I will keep for the alpacas this winter. Depending how much we get I may sell some.
So lets just hope the weather holds so that we can get it dried and bailed.




We have a cria with a small hernia at the point where the umbilical cord passes through the muscle wall. Small hernias like this are not uncommon in ruminants as the the whole weight of their digestive system rests there from day one. Unlike humans who tend to lie on their back after birth.

We have used a small pad and vet wrap for now to create a hernia support. I have also ordered the hernia support kit from useful alpaca items as it makes it much easier to take on and off which is essential if you want t know how quickly the opening is healing.

The key things to look for are that the small lump is indeed small and can be pushed back into the body cavity. You will need to call the vet if it is large or if it is red in color and warm to the touch.

Large hernias are more problematic and often require surgery to close the gap. The bigger concern with a large hernia is that it may be hereditary in nature and therefore undesirable in a breeding alpaca.

Adrian Stewart

Archaeologists have discovered the 100,000-year-old fossilised remains of a previously unknown giant camel species in Syria.
The bones of the dromedary were unearthed by a Swiss-Syrian team of researchers near the village of El Kowm in the central part of the country.
The animal is thought to have been double the size of a modern-day camel.
It may even have been killed by humans, who were living at the once water-rich site during the same period.
Jean-Marie Le Tensorer of the University of Basel commented: "It was not known that the dromedary was present in the Middle East more than 10,000 years ago.
Kingsize camels
"The camel's shoulders stood three metres high and it was around four metres tall, as big as a giraffe or an elephant. Nobody knew that such a species had existed," he said.




Professor Tensorer, who has been excavating at the desert site in Kowm since 1999, said the first large bones were found some years ago but were only confirmed as belonging to a camel after more bones from several parts of the same animal were recently discovered.
Between 2005 and 2006, more than 40 bone fragments of giant camels were found by the team.
The big species has been found as far back as 150,000 years ago. But fossils from other species of camel have been unearthed at the site dating as far back as one million years.
Human remains dating to the same period as the giant camel have also been discovered at the site. The radius (forearm) and tooth have been taken to Switzerland, where they are undergoing anthropological analysis.



"The bone is that of a Homo sapiens, or modern man, but the tooth is extremely archaic, similar to that of a Neanderthal. We don't know yet what it is exactly. Do we have a very old Homo sapiens or a Neanderthal?" said Dr Tensorer.
"We expect to find more bones that would help determine what kind of man it was."
El Kowm, the site where the remains were discovered along with flint and stone weapons, is a 20km (14 mile) wide gap between two mountain ranges with natural springs

Adrian Stewart

After all the excitement of AlpacaMania over the last four days, today is a welcome slowing of pace.

The grass turf that forms the show arena is taken away by whoever wants to haul it at the end of the show. So our chickens are still in shock at the transformation of their scratching area.



The wine picking season is almost over on our neighbours vineyard so that will free him up to help with the fencing project which has been on hold since last week.





On the alpaca front our latest cria looks like he may have a small hernia where his umbilical cord came through the muscle wall. I will be keeping an eye on this and speaking with the vet first thing in the morning.

Adrian Stewart

The show ended a little after 4pm and we had it pulled down and packed away by 7pm.

Adrian Stewart

The days showing concluded with a reception and dinner and a thoroughly good time was had by all.

Adrian Stewart

Well I was hoping to have some really great shots of AlpacaMania vet check to show you but....suffice to say once the exhibitors started arriving at 10.30 (we were due to open at 12.00) we did not stop until the last one was checked in at 7.20pm

Thanks go to Dr Leslie Richardson and Dr Eric Keiser and their vet tech assistants Anita and Rainer for working without a break until the job was complete.

Adrian Stewart

Just did the minimum on the farm today and spent the rest of the day setting up panels at the Expo to house the 360 alpacas arriving for our show at the Expo this weekend.





Adrian Stewart

The leaves are all starting to change color and as they signal the start of Autumn then there are changes to be made on the farm. The irrigation canal will be turned off on Thursday the 12th and weather permitting we may be allowed to burn some of our dead wood during October. So one of the tasks I need to do is renew the local burn permit.

As if if to confirm my suspicions a flock of geese migrating south land in one of the alpaca pastures to take a break before heading off to sunnier locations.

Our new arrival continues to put on weight and become more adventurous with every day.




Adrian Stewart

Most of the preparations are now complete for AlpacaMania 2006 our Southern Oregon / Northern California alpaca show.

So today I am busy doing all the last minute bits of planning and preparation to help the show go smoothly.

Plus taking our two new kittens Tweak and Simba to the vet to have the last of their shots. Its one thing getting a cat from the rescue shelter but thats just the start of the expense!
However, they are adorable and the children love them.

The weather is now much colder in the mornings and we are going to have to keep a keen eye out for any new cria and make sure we get them dried off and warmed through.
We haven't used cria coats in the past, but we now have two in stock just in case they are needed.

I have replaced the frozen colostrum we used with bovine colostrum but I am hoping to source some goat colostrum soon. I did hear that Snowmass always give frozen colostrum whatever the state of the cria so that they are certain to get a strong IgG score.

There is logic in this approach because I know from experience that if you wait, then test the IgG and it comes back low you are looking at a plasma transfusion as your only option.



Adrian Stewart

October is here and its quite cold in the mornings. Mac is here by about 6am to start cleaning out the animal pastures and barn. From 7 onwards we work on the fencing project until he leaves to go pick grapes.

I then call the vet and arrange for a visit at 2.30 then shoot off to buy supplies for the AlpacaMania alpaca show at the weekend.

The vet arrives on time and inspects the little chap and everything is fine. We draw blood which we use to complete the FTA card which forms part of his DNA registration and we draw blood to do a BVDV test and test for his IgG level which is an indicator of how strong his immune system is. The results take 24 hours so NOW the waiting begins. A low IgG and he will need a plasma transfusion. So fingers crossed that its over 800.

He has a slight temperature of 102 so we will use some blood to run a short chemistry panel.

As always we inject vitamins A,D and E and give a shot of BOSE which is essentially selenium.

Tonight I will weigh him and hopefully he will be putting on weight. He was 22 lbs when born but slipped back slightly the second day which isn't unusual.

The vet commented that spring babies somehow come out in better shape than autumn babies which does not totally make sense. Given that the best grass is in the summer and the sunlight and warmth ... if I discover why this appears to be true I will let you know.

Adrian Stewart