After the craziness of fall alpaca shows and fiber festivals, we always have big plans for all the “free” time we’ll have during the winter. Well, March is here, the first spring show is in just three weeks, then shearing starts start soon after. And all those big plans for … Read More
We have a number of husbandry tasks that are done on a regular basis. Today we took advantage of the relatively mild weather and weighed and body scored our 2011 crias and weanlings. We weigh young alpacas more often than adults as a way to keep track of their growth. … Read More
Yep – it’s that time already. Has been for a while, actually. I finally sat down at the computer and entered our spring show string for two shows: North American Alpaca Show and Northeast Alpaca Expo. Those are the only two alpaca shows we’ll do this spring due to the … Read More
We received a new batch of alpaca yarn back from the mill. This is yarn is spun from our finest white fleeces and we have both laceweight and fingering weight. Today’s task is to reorganize my fiber studio so I can get some dyeing done soon. I’ll get that yarn … Read More
The forecast for tomorrow and Friday is sunny and 30’s. Perfect weather for skirting alpaca fiber in the barn. The south facing window warms the space up nicely when the weather is above freezing. I still have a fair amount of fiber to skirt and move before alpaca shearing starts … Read More
Visitors to Snowshoe Farm often ask how the alpacas handle winter. As you can see, at least on days when there’s not a cold wind blowing, the alpacas are quite comfortable. Unless the weather is very windy or it’s snowing or raining hard, our alpacas generally are free to come … Read More
On Saturday we delivered three young male alpacas to their new home at Fantom Farm in Mass. The farm had two older alpacas and when one died recently, they were left with one alpaca who was looking for his companion and not happy with just his goat and sheep herdmates. … Read More
Snowshoe Farm, along with two other Vermont fiber farms, is eagerly awaiting our first batch of socks from our farms’ fiber. Early last year we joined with Vermont Grand View Farm and Stonesthrow Farm to combine our different natural fibers to produce what we hope will be a very nice … Read More
It’s that time of year again…we’ve weaned most of last year’s crias and they are big enough to wear halters comfortably. This means it’s time to start lead training. We start by fitting the alpacas with halters and letting them wear the halters for short periods for a few days. … Read More
Those of us who farm in colder climates have to work around some challenges posed by the cold, ice and snow. One challenge is to stay warm while working outside, especially if you can’t wear heavy gloves for the task at hand. Another is to find good days for using … Read More