Late autumn is a time when alpaca breeders begin to find time to draw breath - the country shows have mainly finished, no birthings are usually planned, and the hay will hopefully be in the barn. As the nights draw in, for those with a full-time job, paddock chores and husbandry have to be carried out at the weekend, so we hope for good weather at the weekends...not always assured. The late afternoon check on the herd becomes difficult when it is dark before the working day ends - as I am self-employed and my office is just 6 minutes away in a near-by village, I nip home for twenty minutes mid-afternoon for a few weeks , unless I am away on site, but it's frustrating not being able to enjoy them in the evenings like you can in the summer. Paddock hoovering becomes difficult when it is wet as the hose becomes clogged, and it is like two hours weight-lifting.
We watch the cria develop, making sure they grow steadily, becoming independant, and see how the character of their fleece develops. Joy will accelerate her fibre processing, creating woven, knitted and felted items to build-up stocks for the Chrsitmas markets. This winter she had successful open evenings in the studio and craft fayres in the village hall.
Paddock management becomes critical as the grass stops growing, and we increase supplies of hay in the mangers and hay-ricks - the paddocks become more muddy depending on the amount of rain - this autumn has been relatively dry, and the paddocks have held up well - we must be due a wet spell, but with lengthening days now, hopefully new growth will begin soon, and reduce the deterioration if we get a wet spell. We've had quite a lot of frosts and foggy or misty mornings recently - the fog and mist bring a special silence to the coutryside, with a blanket deadening all sounds.
Our herd numbers remain constant, as we sold and bought equal numbers - unfortunately we had a disappointing year last year when two females lost their pregnancies over winter and a third had a still-birth - we have two male cria, and they are developing well. On the brighter side, we have five pregnancies, and our stud male, Fortune, has begun work, with several pregnancies, some to clients and other breeders. Fortune gave us many highlights this year in the show ring, with a 2nd place at the 'National, and three Firsts at county halter shows, along with compliments from other breeders and 'off-duty' judges.
I will be helping at the judges assessment in a few weeks, and will also be stewarding at the National Show, all very exciting.
On the farm, we have more fencing lined up which I will be doing with my neighbour, and I have plans for a new shelter in my head, re-cycling timber form our village hall.
So we have plenty to look forward to in 2017....soon I will take a look at the options for cria names in the list of apple varieties under the letter 'I' - it's not urgent but fun to anticipate what might arrive, males or females, and what colours: we 'expect', a grey, a brown, and three whites....time will tell!
