Leia and the Log

Our Anatolian Shepherd livestock guardian puppies are turning 10 months old.  You'd never know from their size that they are still growing puppies.  Luke is taller than our biggest greyhound now (and Louie's a big boy) and Leia isn't much smaller.  Luke's probably between 90-100 pounds.  He could top out around 120 when he fills outs.

There have been many challenges bringing up puppies with the other farm animals.  The Anatolians live in the barn in their puppy stall with access to an outside secure yard when we're not home.  We've had some brave chickens venture into the puppy area and not all have come out alive.  The pups are definitely getting better as they get older.  They haven't killed a bird in about 4 months.  They can successfully interact gently with the birds now and when we are home, they accompany me to do the chores in the chicken yard. 

Our most recent issue has been Leia chasing the alpacas.  Again, she's never allowed to interact with them unless we're home, but recently she's taken to chasing them (almost like a herding dog would do) and actually tried to wrestle one to the ground in play (like she would with a puppy playmate).  Totally unacceptable behavior for an LGD.  It got to the point where I called the breeder for help in finding a more acceptable home - perhaps with animals with horns that could teach her lesson in polite behavior.  During the conversation, I asked for suggestions and he offered one that I immediately dismissed.  Not sure why at the time - maybe my years as a pet dog trainer focused on positive reinforcement techniques made me think that I'd tried everything possible and that she just wasn't meant to be a livestock guardian.

He recommended attaching a log to her and having her drag it around when she had pasture privileges.  I thought it was a little crazy and possibly even a bit cruel.  But, I saw the point - prevent her from practicing the behavior and teaching her a more acceptable speed at which to move around the alpacas.  I talk to my clients about this all the time - how can you manage the situation so that the dog doesn't rehearse the bad behavior?  We can't keep Leia totally away from the alpacas; she has to learn how to interact and be calm instead of being a pouncing puppy.

Well. the log did the trick.  She wears a front clip harness so that she pulls the weight from her chest, rather than her neck.  The log itself only weighs a few pounds and is attached to the harness with old choke chains that I've been saving for 10 years.  I knew I'd find a good use for them!  She's definitely not entirely happy when it's attached, but if this is the way she has to learn, then so be it.  Otherwise, this is a dog that could be a danger to livestock and might have to be put down.  Here's a photo with her sad "I can't believe you did this to me" face.

The "After" Shots

All the alpacas wanted to pose for photos the day after shearing.  Here's a few shots of some of the same animals from the "Before" post on 3/29.

Here are Choco and Chip and Cosmo.  When we got Cosmo, he looked like a giant Poodle.  We'd never seen him without a lot of fleece.

And here's little Frankie.  You can actually see his pretty blue eyes again.

Some of the new boys we just took in didn't have names, just ID numbers.  We named this guy "Bob".  What an unusual face!

The boys seemed proud to show off their new haircuts.  You don't see a lot of gray alpacas and I was tickled to be able to bring this guy home.

So, I've got lots of new fleece now to work with.  I'll be spinning all summer! I'll also probably be selling some. If you're interested, let me know.

Shearing

Yesterday was co-op shearing day at Patrick's Pastures in Denton.  We took our 16 alpacas for shearing and stayed the day to help with the peripheral duties involved in shearing - handling and moving animals, laying them out for shearing, gathering and bagging fleece, cleaning up after each cutting, etc.  There were a total of 121 animals to be sheared, but unfortunately, not everyone that brought animals was able (or willing) to help out.   We got there at 7 AM and didn't leave until 9 PM.   It was a very tiring and sometimes frustrating day (too many animals and too few people), but overall a good experience - and very educational.

Getting the animal prepped involves putting on leg ties, laying it on the ground and then stretching it out with ropes attached to pullies.  The actual shearing process takes between 3-4 minutes.  I had a break long enough to take some pictures and video (link below).  The red-haired girl in the video, Emma, was my replacement for a while.  (I did this fleece gathering job  for almost 100 animals and my legs and back are pretty sore today.)  The "blanket" comes off the animal first and it's important that it be kept intact as much as possible.  This is the part of the fleece that spinners use to create yarn.  The blanket is kept apart from the rest of the fleece that comes off the legs and neck. 

Alpaca Shearing Video 4/3/10

I'm hoping to get out today and get some photos of our naked alpacas.  They look SO different than they did with all their fleece.

The Crew from LSU

Last fall, we were asked if we'd like to have a few more fiber boys who were involved in a study at the LSU Veterinary School.  These 12 boys needed somewhere to go after the study was done, as the person who donated them didn't want them back afterwards.  If you're not aware, the alpaca industry is in dire straits.  At one time, breeding animals were going for tens of thousands and sometimes even hundreds of thousands of dollars.  Not so anymore.  Farms are shutting down and animals are selling for pennies on the dollar and sometimes even given away.  It's basically a coming to a point where there will be alpaca rescues, just as there are dog rescues.

I was OK with taking a few more animals and agreed to take no more than 5 of the 12 that were involved in the study.  I enjoy having a personal relationship with each of my animals, whether it's dogs, chickens or alpacas; and the more animals you have, the less one-on-one time you get with each of them.   Somehow over the winter, the 5 turned into 12.  They didn't have anyone else willing to take the rest, I guess.

During the study on the effects of anesthesia, 2 of the animals died, so that left 10 for us to bring home.  Chet had to drive to Baton Rouge to pick them up and got home with them on Tuesday of this week.  There are 5 black, one white, one grey and 3 dark brown.  One of the black boys is over 10 years old and I was worried that the stress of the study along with the 8+ hour drive here would be very hard on him.  He seems to be doing well, though.  He's the only one that would take food from my hand today.

They are all thin underneath the fleece and they haven't been outdoors for 5 months.  They were so happy to be on pasture again once they unloaded from the trailer.  They leapt in the air and rolled on the ground like dogs scratching their backs.  It was very cool to watch.

Here's a picture of them meeting the horse next door for the first time.

And meeting the home boys on the right.  They'll be kept separated for a while.

This is Dude, the grey one, enjoying the dirt on his back - getting nice and dirty just in time for shearing.  Sigh.

Countdown to Shearing Day

I thought I'd take some photos of the boys before the big shearing experience next Saturday.  Choco, one of our 2 year olds, has the nicest fleece by far.  I can't wait to get it off him and onto my spinning wheel.  I love the expression on his face here. 

Cosmo, our big white boy, is always ready with a goofy face for the camera.  He's got some nice, soft fleece, too.

This is Frankie, our little deaf Suri alpaca.  His fleece isn't very long, but he'll get sheared with the rest of them.  I think this will be his first time and his fleece will be fun to work with.  He needs a bang trim more than anything!

And here's Jimmy, who has the most interesting coloring pattern of all our boys.  I love that ring around his face.  Hopefully, he'll get some dental work this weekend and fix that underbite.

Spring, where are you?

Just when I thought this awful winter was over, a storm blew in yesterday bringing more snow and freezing temps.  The wind chill was down in the 20's and we got some accumulation that lasted through today.  I'm hoping our garden survived.  I covered everything I could.  Chet had already planted lettuce, tomatoes, peppers and some fruit trees that could all be killed by the freeze.  We've also got garlic, onions and potatoes in the ground that should be fine.  This picture was taken just 3 days ago.

I also planted an herb garden in front of the house with easy access from the kitchen.  I love to cook with fresh herbs.   

I've got rosemary, basil, chives, thyme, sage and lavender here.  The soil here is mostly clay, so we added a lot of peat moss and alpaca manure (which we have PLENTY of).   Actually, Chet has been pretty successful in selling alpaca poo - gotta love Craig's list!

My very own riding mower

I've had so many new experiences since we got our alpacas and moved to Texas.  Here's another milestone:

My very own riding lawn mower and my first time out on it.  Leia and Luke look a bit worried, but everyone stayed safe!

Yarn and Construction

I've finished the first batch of yarn from Jimmy.   This is the first "from scratch" attempt for us.  The fleece was straight off the animal.  Chet picked it clean of vegetable matter, then I ran it through the Fancicard twice (to blend in some of the white) and pulled it off into roving.  After that, I spun it (my favorite part) and voila - yarn!  It took about a week of working a couple hours each evening.

We have a building on the property that has a brand new roof on it that we are converting into an office/workspace for me.  It didn't have a floor, so they are lifting it off the ground to pour concrete.  When they lifted it, a corner of it collapsed.  Glad I wasn't home to see it.

After the floor, inside walls will need to go in as well as doors and windows, then electricity.  Maybe by this time next year it will be ready to use.

It's Roving!

My second batch of roving off the Fancicard!  I couldn't wait to spin the first one, so the photo had to wait for this one.  I pulled it right off the carder through a diz.  This fleece is from our boy, Mulligan James (below), from last year's shearing.  It's incredibly soft and spun up like a dream.

Leftovers

While prepping the fleece for the carder, a lot of smaller pieces must be discarded.  Hating to waste any part of the fiber, I wanted to find some way to use the leftovers.  Spring will hopefully be coming soon and the birds are always picking up things to make their nests.  When Chet grew cotton in Arizona, I'd find that the birds would pick at the cotton and take away to the trees to make their spring nests.   Alpaca fleece would work well too. 

In the back are 6" balls made from cut grapevines.  In the front are empty suet containers.  I'm getting an Etsy shop set up and will be selling them there:  http://www.fleecefurandfeathers.etsy.com/.  I hope the birds here will like them and I find some designer birds nests this summer. 

We're on our way to getting 7 inches of snow today.  It's heavy wet snow that I haven't seen since I lived back east 10 years ago.

Everyone says that we should have had some 70-80 degree days here by now.  I guess El Nino is in full force this year.