Alpaca Babies 2019
These two female alpacas were born on Aug 23 and 25. They are just beautiful!… Read More
Assessing Alpacas
Recently I was asked how early we can assess the quality of an alpaca. I’ve been asked this question before and I usually reply that we generally wait until after the cria’s first “real” shearing (not the shearing that happens a few weeks after birth) and see how the fiber … Read More
Sale – Daughter of Champions
Snowshoe FancyPants is a daughter of two champion alpacas. She gave birth to her first cria last year, a beautiful beige female we named Snowshoe Haiku. FancyPants is an excellent mother. She is an easy keeper and breeder. Her fiber is fine with good character and a soft handle. We’re … Read More
Baby Alpacas!
We’re in the midst of birthing season here at Snowshoe Farm. Now we get to see the results of the pairings we selected last year and that is one of the most rewarding parts of breeding. We have a few first time moms this year and there’s always a concern … Read More
First Cria of 2014
And she’s over a month early…. At 301 days gestation, she’s by far the earliest cria born at Snowshoe Farm. She’s small – only 11.4 lbs – but not frighteningly small. It took her about an hour to be able to hold herself sternal and about 4 hours before she … Read More
Alpaca Breeding 2014
Shearing season is coming to an end and that means it’s time for breeding season to begin at Snowshoe Farm! There are two sides to breeding season: breeding our own females and breeding females that belong to our clients. For our own herd, breeding begins with the decision-making process – … Read More
The “Barn Book”
You hear a lot about the equipment and supplies you need to have in order to properly care for your livestock. But it seems it’s often the little things – the simple things – that turn out to be the most-used and most-valued tools. From day one of alpaca ownership, … Read More
‘Tis the Season
No, not that season – not yet!! But it’s always one season or another around here. For example: It’s hay season! This time of year we are “on call” for hay. We don’t grow our own hay; we buy second cut hay from several local hay producers. It’s necessary to … Read More
Cria Shearing
I’d venture to say that most alpaca breeders don’t shear their crias until the spring following the crias’ births. But those cria fleeces become messy very quickly as their fine, velcro-like tips attract hay and other debris. We’ve learned that we can get much cleaner and more valuable fleeces in … Read More
Champion in the making?
We sure hope so! This handsome little guy was born yesterday (July 7). He is full brother to our multi-champion male, Snowshoe Aristides, and he is looking at least as good as Ari looked at birth. The luster and crimp on this baby is breathtaking! I can’t get a pic … Read More