Winter preparation

We've started having snow flurries here in Marinette over the last few days. Not any "real snow" but just a few little snowflakes to let us know that winter is on it's way.

All of our alpaca and llama girls are in the barn so there's no big change for the winter except for spreading straw bedding around to keep them warmer on the barn's cement floor. The boys, however, are a different story. We have two pastures and shelters for our alpaca boys and the shelters need to be "winterized".

Winterizing the boys' shelters is not a very big deal. The older boys have wall panels that need to be put up. In the spring, we remove a couple panels on either side of the shelter to allow better air flow. Now it's time to put the panels back up to keep it cozy and warm inside.

The younger boys' shelter is a little different. We have an overhang that provides shade in the summer. In the winter, we hang tarps on two sides of the overhang to provide extra protection from the strong winter winds and all of the snow. This also creates an extra "room" for the shelter so the boys won't feel too crowded inside when it's cold and nobody will get left outside.

Fortunately, the alpacas are growing nice thick fiber to keep themselves warm in addition to the extra straw bedding and winter preparations that we do at the farm.