Well it's a New Year and things are looking great!
I want to thank Dew Hills Coffee Shop in Marinette for selling our alpaca sweaters, gloves, hats and scarves. I also want to thank everyone who purchased our items there. Sales were very good, especially for Christmas! I will be dropping off more sweaters sometime this coming week.
We've been trying to streamline our chores at the farm. We've purchased large round bales of hay and placed them out in our two shelters for our alpaca boys and that helps save time. We're also in the process of rearranging things in the barn to make better use of stall space and the barn's "built-in" feed bunks to provide hay without having a lot of waste.
I (Elizabeth) will be getting married in the fall and my fiance' doesn't plan to do much farming so we are looking for more ways to minimize my time at the farm. Part of that plan includes selling off some of our alpacas so feel free to check out our new, lower prices on our AlpacaNation farmsite.
Wednesday, January 12, 2011
Saturday, December 18, 2010
Busy time
These past few weeks have been extremely busy! Not only does Christmas have us rushing around but so has the winter weather.
Last weekend, the power went out at the farm and wasn't back on until about 12 hours later. This caused problems in the house and barn by freezing up the water pumps. Fortunately, after the power went back on, the heat tape along with Rick's persistence and some heaters got the water flowing again.
The snow brought about more challenges with drifting and blowing snow making our daily chores to the outside pastures miserable. Temperatures have varied between the single digits up to the low 20s and the wind chill makes it more uncomfortable. Of course this is something we are used to in Wisconsin.
We do several things to prepare for the winter. The first thing we do is increase their daily food ration to help them build up a little more body fat. We feed them alpaca pellets and add some "Sweet 16" to it for a little extra energy. We also make sure they have enough hay to munch on throughout the day since there is no pasture available to graze on. At least half of our alpacas and llamas are housed in the barn which is the best place for them during the winter.
The others (all males) are in shelters that we have built as our herd grew. The first shelter we ever built is a little smaller but is able to house five alpacas. My brother added an overhang off the front entrance which is a nice area for them to stay in the shade during the summer. In the winter, we wrap the outside of the overhang with a couple of tarps, creating an extra "room" for their shelter. This seems to work well for us and the alpacas.
Our second alpaca shelter is much larger and has paneled walls. In the summer, we remove one panel on opposite sides to allow a breeze to pass through. When the weather starts getting cold, we put those panels back up. A heated water bucket keeps them with a fresh supply of water all day, without freezing up.
For both of our shelters we make sure there is hay or straw for them to lay on. It always amazes me when the wind is blowing hard and it's snowing or the wind chills are below zero and I walk into one of our alpaca shelters and it is cozy, quiet and noticeably warmer than I expect it to be. The animals will be standing or laying down inside, all content with their hay.
We always do our best to keep our animals warm and comfortable. They do their part by growing long, thick, beautiful fiber.
That's all for now...take care and keep warm!
Last weekend, the power went out at the farm and wasn't back on until about 12 hours later. This caused problems in the house and barn by freezing up the water pumps. Fortunately, after the power went back on, the heat tape along with Rick's persistence and some heaters got the water flowing again.
The snow brought about more challenges with drifting and blowing snow making our daily chores to the outside pastures miserable. Temperatures have varied between the single digits up to the low 20s and the wind chill makes it more uncomfortable. Of course this is something we are used to in Wisconsin.
We do several things to prepare for the winter. The first thing we do is increase their daily food ration to help them build up a little more body fat. We feed them alpaca pellets and add some "Sweet 16" to it for a little extra energy. We also make sure they have enough hay to munch on throughout the day since there is no pasture available to graze on. At least half of our alpacas and llamas are housed in the barn which is the best place for them during the winter.
The others (all males) are in shelters that we have built as our herd grew. The first shelter we ever built is a little smaller but is able to house five alpacas. My brother added an overhang off the front entrance which is a nice area for them to stay in the shade during the summer. In the winter, we wrap the outside of the overhang with a couple of tarps, creating an extra "room" for their shelter. This seems to work well for us and the alpacas.
Our second alpaca shelter is much larger and has paneled walls. In the summer, we remove one panel on opposite sides to allow a breeze to pass through. When the weather starts getting cold, we put those panels back up. A heated water bucket keeps them with a fresh supply of water all day, without freezing up.
For both of our shelters we make sure there is hay or straw for them to lay on. It always amazes me when the wind is blowing hard and it's snowing or the wind chills are below zero and I walk into one of our alpaca shelters and it is cozy, quiet and noticeably warmer than I expect it to be. The animals will be standing or laying down inside, all content with their hay.
We always do our best to keep our animals warm and comfortable. They do their part by growing long, thick, beautiful fiber.
That's all for now...take care and keep warm!
Sunday, December 5, 2010
Getting back on track...
Well, it's been almost a year since my last post. Life always gets so busy.
All the animals are well and I'll have to get some new pictures up soon.
All the animals are well and I'll have to get some new pictures up soon.
Sunday, January 17, 2010
Weaning the crias
Victor and Matthias are now old enough to be weaned off milk. Victor is coming along great. A month older than Matthias, Victor has been eating pellets for the past week or two and is getting less milk supplement.
Matthias is still dependent on his mother although he and Victor both enjoy eating hay. Matthias has been introduced to pellets and will eat a little of them but will lose interest right away and go for the hay instead.
This weekend, we are separating the two boys and will keep them in their own pen for feeding and to wean Matthias away from his mom. This will be a tough adjustment for Matthias because he is very attached to his mother. We've learned over the years that crias will often try to escape their pens during weaning to get back to their moms. In the beginning, we'll only separate them for a few hours and give them breaks to get back with their moms. Of course this won't be an issue at all for Victor since he's been bottle fed and is a very independent cria.
Usually during weaning, I worry about the crias getting enough water. It's important to make sure the crias have fresh water available to them and that they are drinking it. I've seen both Victor and Matthias drink from the water bucket so I know they will be fine. We'll keep track of their weight and make sure they are both adjusting well to their new feeding schedule.
Matthias is still dependent on his mother although he and Victor both enjoy eating hay. Matthias has been introduced to pellets and will eat a little of them but will lose interest right away and go for the hay instead.
This weekend, we are separating the two boys and will keep them in their own pen for feeding and to wean Matthias away from his mom. This will be a tough adjustment for Matthias because he is very attached to his mother. We've learned over the years that crias will often try to escape their pens during weaning to get back to their moms. In the beginning, we'll only separate them for a few hours and give them breaks to get back with their moms. Of course this won't be an issue at all for Victor since he's been bottle fed and is a very independent cria.
Usually during weaning, I worry about the crias getting enough water. It's important to make sure the crias have fresh water available to them and that they are drinking it. I've seen both Victor and Matthias drink from the water bucket so I know they will be fine. We'll keep track of their weight and make sure they are both adjusting well to their new feeding schedule.
Tuesday, December 29, 2009
Wrapping things up for 2009
I hope everyone had a very Merry Christmas!
Now is the time of year when we close out the "old" year and prepare for the New Year. I've got the majority of our tax information together but still have a few loose ends and information to gather yet for our tax preparer. The hardest part is getting everyone else's information and receipts together. It seems to get easier though and Quickbooks has been a wonderfully helpful program for keeping all of our account information accurate and accessible for our tax preparer.
Looking ahead to 2010, we've already registered for a show in the spring and I hope that we will be able to attend at least two shows this coming year.
I would like to make one New Year's resolution and that is to get back on track with my blog posts. I realize I haven't been updating very much lately, especially this last month when my computer died, but the new (used) computer seems to be working great so I should be able to get back on a blogging schedule.
In the meantime, I wish you a very happy and healthy New Year from all of us at Hidden Pond Farm, LLC!
Now is the time of year when we close out the "old" year and prepare for the New Year. I've got the majority of our tax information together but still have a few loose ends and information to gather yet for our tax preparer. The hardest part is getting everyone else's information and receipts together. It seems to get easier though and Quickbooks has been a wonderfully helpful program for keeping all of our account information accurate and accessible for our tax preparer.
Looking ahead to 2010, we've already registered for a show in the spring and I hope that we will be able to attend at least two shows this coming year.
I would like to make one New Year's resolution and that is to get back on track with my blog posts. I realize I haven't been updating very much lately, especially this last month when my computer died, but the new (used) computer seems to be working great so I should be able to get back on a blogging schedule.
In the meantime, I wish you a very happy and healthy New Year from all of us at Hidden Pond Farm, LLC!
Wednesday, December 16, 2009
Winter officially begins December 21...
This picture isn't actually from this winter but it could be. We had blizzard conditions last week and more snow on Monday so it's definitely beginning to look a lot like Christmas!Well the last post I made to this blog was a few weeks ago and I've probably lost all my regular visitors. I apologize for that. As I mentioned in the last post, my computer died on Thanksgiving. I later found out I would need a new "motherboard" and "power supply" in order to bring the computer back to life. The cost of doing that would be close to buying a new computer so I've had to think on it for awhile. In the meantime, I'm limping along with a very old computer and occasionally borrowing the use of my mom's computer (like right now as I type this).
Winter is kind of rough at our farm, worrying about the water pump freezing up in the barn, keeping the animals cozy and warm, clearing snow when needed, and working outdoors in the cold. I'm a big whiner about putting on my snow pants and heavy boots, along with layers of sweatshirts and coats, thick gloves and a hat. I must be ten pounds heavier when I walk outside in the winter and it gets to be a bit of a workout just to do the regular chores.
Speaking of bundling up, we had to do that in our homes last week. As a result of the big snowstorm, we lost power for about 12 hours at my house and about 15 hours at the farm. Luckily it was "warmer" outside that day so temperatures in the house only got to about 40 degrees. It's a pretty hopeless feeling when you don't have a fire place or alternate heat source to heat up your home! But all is well now and hopefully we won't have any more problems.
I plan to resume posting blogs on a more frequent basis again so check back now and then to see if I've kept my word.
Merry Christmas!
Sunday, November 29, 2009
Always busy at the farm
Today was a very productive day at Hidden Pond Farm! Rick and I had all the animals watered and stalls cleaned, one pasture cleaned, and we gave Ivermectin shots and trimmed toenails on a group of five alpaca boys -- all before 9:00 a.m.
Later we picked up a load of hay and put it up in the loft. Then we fed everyone dinner and cleaned two more pastures before calling it a day. It seems as though everyone loved the "new" hay so we'll see if we can buy another load next weekend.
My computer died on Thanksgiving Day so until I figure out what's wrong with it I'm temporarily (hopefully) using an old computer. Even this simple update is taking me forever as I wait for the computer to catch up with my typing! I hope to be back up to speed by the end of the week at the latest.
Later we picked up a load of hay and put it up in the loft. Then we fed everyone dinner and cleaned two more pastures before calling it a day. It seems as though everyone loved the "new" hay so we'll see if we can buy another load next weekend.
My computer died on Thanksgiving Day so until I figure out what's wrong with it I'm temporarily (hopefully) using an old computer. Even this simple update is taking me forever as I wait for the computer to catch up with my typing! I hope to be back up to speed by the end of the week at the latest.
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