We always make a point of reviewing our herd of alpacas around the first of the year with an eye towards spring alpaca shows, the upcoming birthing and breeding season and updating our sales list. It’s exciting to see last year’s crias now growing into beautiful and healthy young alpacas … Read More
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
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
Snowshoe Farm is an alpaca breeding business. As such when we sell alpacas, we offer service and support to our customers both before and after the sale. We see the alpacas produced from our breeding program as our responsibility long after they’ve left our farm. We do not breed unless … Read More
Here’s our newest offspring sired by our multi-champion, Snowshoe Aristides: Snowshoe Pleione. This photo was taken just as we were getting ready to shear her. This little girl is a pistol. She’s gaining weight like crazy, leads the rest of her group out to pasture and is already chewing her … Read More
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
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
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
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
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