We now have three geldings, all 13 years old. Their names are: Faro, Fyta and Fergus. We started keeping Alpacas with these 3 boys plus a fourth, Fidget, in June 2007 and although we had up to eight boys for several years, we have now reverted to keeping our originals. Sadly Fidget passed away in January 2019. Through this blog we hope to show how much pleasure can be had from owning Alpacas.
OUR SMALL HERD
Our original four boys came from Ardo Alpacas in Aberdeenshire. We are not alpaca breeders and have our boys purely as pets. Our experience is that you don't need to be a breeder and that a 'batchelor herd' can give much pleasure to the owner.
We have 5 acres including our big garden and grazing for the boys, 15 miles north of Inverness, Scotland. I spin, knit, felt and crochet with the fleece from the boys.
Clicking!!
Just a reminder that clicking on (most) of the photos will show them greatly enlarged.
Sunday, 1 November 2009
Nails and things
We put the boys into the catch pen yesterday and trimmed Gully's fringe. Alpacas are not too keen on having their heads touched so getting the fringe clipped, especially when the fleece is wet, is not easy! He also has a long term dry skin problem so I rubbed udder cream on his ears and between his front legs. He was as good as gold whilst this was done. The two white boys, Fergus and Fidget, had one or two nails each trimmed, and they also put up with it! The nails of white alpacas seem to grow quicker than coloured animals, and other alpaca owners have also found this. We always halter the boys in the catch pen as this gets them used to being handled, and we end our session with a wee walk - in Fyta's case this was a very wee walk! After a couple of yards he refused to budge, spreading his rear legs in the A shape and making it quite clear that he was not in the mood for walkies. Ah well, maybe next time!
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When you say the fringe, is it the hair on top of their head or under the chin or both...Do you have your mainly to sell the hair for yarn?...debbie
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