Crias Then and Now . . .

Okay, yesterday I posted the crias in review from this past year, and their photos were mostly the day of their birth or within the week of their birth. Here are some photos of the crias now. :)

This first one is really blurry (sorry for that). It was bright and sunny outside of the barn roof area, but dark here underneath. This is Noah from early January. He is now over with the "big boys," and picks on them now, although not quite as much as he did the smaller crias. I think he was kinda put in his place by Warrior and Rafael's grumble. *wink*

This one is a picture of Nevaeh. She is getting quite a bit bigger than she was just a few short months ago. Hard to tell she was a preemie now. She is actually quite a bit taller than Zack, and she looks to be a little bigger than Joey (but the fluffy fleece can fool you). When they are shorn late spring, we will be able to really tell their size better.

Here's our little Shiphrah. When she gets out, she runs and runs and runs circles around the pasture getting everyone riled up. :) It is really funny to watch. Of course, you see she is more interested in the camera than where her mom is going.













Here are the "partners in crime." Well, not too much they can get into really, but where one is the other is sure to follow. This is a photo of Zack and Joey who were probably just nipping at one another's feet, if I know them.







And lastly, I just had to show you a newer photo of the "pups!" From left to right, Sophia now weighs in close to 90 lbs and Ariel is about 20 lbs behind her in weight. They are really doing well with the alpacas, bonding with them and learning they are there to protect and guard them. Sophie does her rounds around the perimeter while Ariel sits back and seems like she says, "I got your back, sis. Howl if you need me." lol They are sure beautiful dogs when they aren't wet from the snow, and Sophie can stand right up on her hind legs and put her paws on your shoulders, she is that tall already (although this is not encouraged for obvious reasons).

Hope you have enjoyed the newer photos of the little ones. I am sure there will be more photo opportunities in the spring when the frozen "tundra" we call Tioga county thaws out a bit.

We are also looking forward to another alpaca show towards the end of April in Harrisburg, and we will keep you informed if/when we go. Thanks for stopping by!

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.

Feels Like Winter on the Farm

Although the calendar doesn't say it's winter . . . the chill is definitely in the air in Tioga County! We have had snow off and on for the past month, and as you can see some is still lying on the ground. The pups (Sophia and Ariel-- left to right) have really gotten big (about doubled in size since we brought them home), and they are wanting Cody to come in and play here in this photo.

The alpacas don't enjoy being kept in the barn much, but they have a little bit of space to move around out in front of the barn.

Next you can see Bonnie lovin' up on Amber who usually is right by your side come feeding time and any touching, petting, or sometimes kisses from Amber herself are free for the taking. She looks like she was thinking, "okay, okay where's the grain?"

Here you can see them at feeding time when everyone was getting in their "assigned areas" for feed.
There are two females who like to get as much as they can from the others(Angel and Amber), so they are penned up alone, and then Honey and Shiprah are separate because Shiphrah is still little. Another spot is for two of the other females, and the bigger crias get to eat together as well. This seems to be the best plan to keep everyone fed well without too much spitting or squealing at the dinner trough/pans.

Last, I leave you with a "Got Milk" photo of Joey after he rinsed down his oats and grain from a trip to the milk bar. *wink* See the milk under his lip? It was all white and drippy. So cute! :)

Thanks for stopping by! Hope you too are staying warm.

Nevaeh, how do you say?

Well . . . a few of you have asked me how do you say that? We had heard of spelling heaven backwards for a pretty little girl's name by a church friend of ours, and although we loved the way they said it we wanted our little girl (okay, really our little cria) to have a unique name of her own, so . . . we decided to pronounce her name as Nee-Vah. This keeps it shorter in the 2 syllable range like Hea-ven itself is. We also thought it was a little more unique and still keeping with our Heavenly names we are planning for all of the crias born on our farm.

While Nevaeh seems to be doing well and looking just adorable, she is having some difficulty gaining weight. Please keep her in your prayers that she continues to nurse well from her mama and put on weight so that she grows up to be just as beautiful as she is to us right now.

Blessings to all of our readers,

Welcome, baby!!!

Look at what we were surprised to find last night around 10 p.m. Angel gave birth to her first cria, HGA Angel's Nevaeh. She weighed in at 13.9 pounds, but she is about 2 weeks earlier than expected. Crias are usually born with their teeth, and they are considered a preemie if they don't have them. Well, this little girl doesn't have hers through the gums yet. She is one little sweetie though, but what babies' aren't, right?! :)

Still a little wobbly, but trying to lay down like her mom does.

Ooh, oohhhh, I think I am standing. Yep, she found her footing and was standing on her own. Go little, Nevaeh, we are all cheering for you, little one!!