Getting Ready for Spring

I absolutely love this time of year - it's the time when anything is possible. The time before you actually have to start working to make the possible into reality.

We've been working on growing our flocks and herds. I've been talking to different poultry suppliers about what kinds of heritage breeds are being stocked this year - trying to decide to go with chicks or older for laying stock. Also trying to figure out when to order my broilers. I have a license to produce 2,000 broilers for 2012 and it's a matter of organization and when to book slaughter dates.

Also drove down to Armstrong this weekend and picked up 8 "llampacas" - cross-breeds between llamas and alpacas. Some of them may join our breeding herd and some will be used for meat - we'll have to see how they behave over the next few days.

We've also had some interest from more commercial buyers for our pork - hope to make that big announcement at the end of March.

Looking forward to attending the Farmers Market conference in March and counting down the weeks before the market actually starts. I've also registered to participate in the Eat!Vancouver trade show again this year, so I will be bringing some of our llama products to sell during the trade show.

Welcome Baby Avalon!

A few weeks ago we were surprised with a winter arrival of a baby llama! We don't normally breed for winter babies for llamas - they are small, like deer and don't do well in winter. As llamas are pregnant for almost one year, the mom would have gotten pregnant early in the new year of 2011. At the time our herd sire was separated from the girls, so we're not quite sure what happened - but he obviously found a way!

Anyway, we have been carefully watching the new one but she has been doing well, so we are cautiously optimistic. Still a lot of winter left and she is still young, so anything could happen. Baby llamas for the first six months are, not fragile, but not hardy either. Which is why we much prefer to have our llama babies in the spring. Anyway, she is absolutely gorgeous! A real looker and great movement! As she is the first born on our new place we are starting at the beginning of the alphabet, so her name is Avalon. Pictures below:


Avalon - front view - they
are very slender


 

Close up of Avalon's fibre. I LOVE the blend of
colours that she has - absolutely gorgeous!





Avalon from the side - so cute and inquisitive!




Another great pose - Avalon sees the
camera and comes running over




Avalon with Snow White. Avalon
is trying to nuzzle Snow a bit.



Unfortunate News

As the chicks were getting bigger we placed them in the barn with the other chickens. They were doing quite well for the first couple weeks. Unfortunately we had a very cold spell for a number of days and they caught a cold and weren't able to shake it off. So the chicks didn't make it. We were very disheartened and sad after the work we had put into them, but on a ranch these things do happen occasionally.