2008 CRIAS IN REVIEW

Wow, we have been such BAAAADDD bloggers lately. I am so sorry. I have been wanting to get some photos of a year in review on here for the past month and just have not found the time to do so.

This was our first year raising alpacas, and there has been quite a bit to learn with surely more to learn still. All in all, it has been a very productive year for our crias. The herd has doubled, and I wanted to show you some photos of proof. :) So here goes . . .

First to be born on the farm was Noah (shown here with his mama, Serena). Noah was born June 13, 2008. He had an easy birth and hit the ground running. He was up and moving around in no time. Such an easy birth for both his mother and midwife, Bonnie. Nice way to start off the birthing season.

Then came another white cria, but this time a little female -- Nevaeh (we pronounce it Nee-Vah) August 10, 2008. She was a bit premature and had to grow into her long neck and had such pink skin that showed through her fleece, around her nose and eyes. Her mama is Angel (one of the newest adult females to the farm).

Then on August 29, 2008, along came Jumpin' Jehosaphat aka Joey from an all white dam (Amber), he surprised us with a dark to medium grey face and medium to dark fawn body. His name was the exclamation Kelly thought of when she heard "we had another boy!"

Next was Zechariah aka Zack who was another white male born to Faleen. He was born September 3, 2008. Zack and Nevaeh were hard to tell apart once they grew a little bit (Nevaeh caught up to Zack's size pretty quickly) and unless they were with their mamas, you had to be close enough to see their eyes. Zack has dark skin around his eyes and a dark nose, unlike Nevaeh's pink.

The last cria of the year was born on October 16, 2008 a pretty little black girl that really has quite the personality. We named her Shiphrah (shif-rah). Not sure if she is a true black or bay black yet, but I think we will let that up to the judges. She has to be the most "vocal" of the cria that we have heard so far. She grunts (not really a hum like most alpacas but more like a grunt and groan), and boy does she carry on when you are holding her still to get her cria coat on when it is cold. She is also so inquisitive and tips her head to the side and watches you when you are near her stall or near her mama. Shiphrah's dam is Honey (one of the newest adult females to the farm).

Stay tuned for tomorrow when I hope to have some newer photos of the crias to show you how much they have grown.