A new (for us) herdsire arrived at Snowshoe Farm today! We’ve acquired half interest in Alberta Clipper, a full Peruvian male from Jolimont bloodlines. We have a number of light females that are closely related to our champion male, Snowshoe Aristides, and we look forward to using Clipper on some … Read More
We’ve been waiting for several crias to be born and Izabella finally gave birth to a beautiful white male this morning. The dam is our Dom Lucilio daughter, Izzy, and the sire is our champion male, Snowshoe Aristides. Both Izzy and Ari have some really nice offspring, so we’re looking … Read More
Alpacas, unlike many other livestock, have a fairly wide window for length of gestation. At Snowshoe Farm, we use 335 days from the last breeding to estimate each female’s “due date”. This gives us a heads up to start keeping a close eye out for a birth. The actual length … Read More
Our first cria of the season was born yesterday and we’re off to a good start. Snowshoe Praline gave birth to a light brown female at day 325. That’s a little early and it shows; the cria has slightly floppy ears and her teeth have not erupted, but she weighs … Read More
Here’s the official show photo for our two male – FULL BROTHERS – Snowshoe Aristides and Snowshoe Astraios. The pair won the White Male Color Champion and Reserve Champion at the Northeast Alpaca Expo last weekend! Aristides’ first crias were born in 2011 and we expect to see several of … Read More
The North American Alpaca Show will be held in Springfield, MA this coming weekend. This show always kicks off the season for us. Getting ready for the first show is a bit of a challenge. Our show supplies have been packed away since fall and it’s time to drag them … Read More
Taking good fiber pics is not one of my strengths, but I couldn’t resist snapping a shot of this fleece today. The alpacas look pretty ratty during mud season and I had to open up this fleece to remind myself how nicely this guy is coming along. This fleece belongs … Read More
Here at Snowshoe Farm we are looking back at 2011 and counting our blessings. Despite a down economy, we’ve managed to sell quite a few alpacas this year; we had a beautiful crop of crias – mostly female (yes, that’s a good thing); our homegrown herdsire, Snowshoe Aristides, won another … Read More
This time of year is as close as we get to “down time” on the farm. Outdoor chores are limited: no gardening, no mowing. Breeding chores are limited; no breeding, no birthing. We stick very close to home in the spring and summer, but this time of year we have … Read More
Every spring we look forward to a new crop of crias – baby alpacas. And every fall we’re relieved when the months of being on “baby watch” are over. This year we had 15 crias due and the last one made its appearance yesterday. But not successfully. Our beautiful white … Read More