Alpacas!!!

        A few weeks ago, we bought two Suri alpacas. Surprise! It was all rather sudden, but I had been wanting them for a while now for spinning, and my mom wanted them for guarding other animals. They had been on my 'animals-I'm-going-to-have-on-my-homestead-in-the-future' list, but when an opportunity to get them now arose, we jumped on it. It was all done in a rush, getting the pasture fence in and building a shelter and then actually going and getting the beasts, but everything fell into place and I'm so thankful we considered this venture in the first place.

        In early December, we took a trip to Tractor Supply (love that place so much!) to purchase fencing materials. My mom had done a lot of research on what kind of pasture fencing and posts to get, and the next day we started putting them in. The ground was, I suppose, reasonably soft in most places, but I found that the perimeter of half an acre is longer than it appears. Heh heh. So I pounded stakes for a couple of days, and then we started stretching the welded wire fencing across them. This is also harder than it looks, since the bale of fencing probably weighs more than my mom and I combined. Nevertheless, we got it all done, as well as the wire strips along the top. Thankfully, alpacas don't test fences like goats do, so we didn't have to make it perfect. I'm sure we'll do better next time when we need to. :)

        This is the type of fence we put in:

        We even took the goats out a few times so they could explore and eat yummy grass. I put Eponine on a tether and then the babies stayed pretty close by. There are a lot of coyotes in the area so we have to be careful with these small animals. I'm convinced Wynnie was posing in this picture. She's a kick - whenever I go out to see them in our backyard she's draped over the old turkey coop like a fashion model. I'll have to get a picture of it sometime because it's pretty hilarious.

        Now I'm sure y'all are wondering just what the animals look like! Your curiosity will be satisfied shortly. But first, a random picture of pretty moss and mushrooms. Just 'cause.

        Okay, here they are.

         The girl is mine. She is about five years old and will be having a baby in May. I'm having issues thinking up a name for her - it's been more than two weeks and she's still just 'the girl' or 'the beast'. Shameful, I know. But not as bad as my mom calling her the easter bunny. If you think of a name for her (you know I like to name my animals after book and movie characters), let me know.

        They're all wet in these pictures, but she really does look like a bunny when she's white and fluffy. ;)

        This is Sebastian (my mom bought him). He's really funny. When he gets nervous about something he starts humming. I hum back at him and he gets really confused *evil laugh*

        Look at this lovely, luscious fiber. I can't wait for shearing!

        We have a lot to learn about these animals; there is a certain way you train them and all. They're so fun to have, and I think they're enjoying their new home. Here's their shelter/food storage shed.

        We also got some guineas to hopefully keep the bugs down, but I don't have pictures of them yet. Stay tuned for more updates and pictures!

Blessings,

Reyna