Alpaca BlogThe Alpaca Blog will keep you up-to-date with changes to this website.
To subscribe to my Alpaca Blog, simply right-click on the orange RSS button (see bottom buttons on the left) and then paste the URL into your RSS reader. Or click on the My Yahoo! button or My MSN or Add To Google button if you keep a personalized home page there. Alpaca heat stressDescribes alpaca heat stress. Permalink -- click for full blog post "Alpaca heat stress" Extreme weather and alpacasHere, in our local area, we are suffering 100 degree weather for days. We must protect our alpacas from the heat. In the Andes Mountains they are suffering -11 degree weather that has decimated alpaca herds. Alpacas are very hardy animals and do well in most climates, but extreme weather either way means taking extra precautions to help your animals survive. Because alpacas are so adaptable, some owners forget that when temperatures soar or dip into the extreme, we need to watch our alpacas very closely. In extreme cold, give them someplace to get out of the wind. In extreme heat provide them with shade. Monitor them at least twice a day to be sure they're doing ok and catch any problems early. Be prepared to take appropriate corrective action if your animal is heat stressed or hypothermic. You can read about the extreme cold in Peru by following the link. Alpaca fly control tipAre you having fly issues? Try buying garlic powder, flakes, or granules and top dressing your alpacas hay or grain with the garlic. Just sprinkle some over your hay and the alpacas will eat it. The odor emitted from their body will repel flies. We top dress their hay with minerals this way, too. They actually dig down and eat it all out of the feeder. Felted FlowerFelted flower tutorial using wet felting and needle felting techniques. Permalink -- click for full blog post "Felted Flower" Needle Felting A Dragon DVD is hereOur Needle Felting A Dragon is now available. With our DVD you follow along as Debby makes a needle felted dragon. You will be able to see her techniques and when you are done you will have a very cute dragon and the skills to create your own characters. Permalink -- click for full blog post "Needle Felting A Dragon DVD is here" Baby alpaca tortured and killedWe feel physically ill when we read about animal cruelty of any kind. Owning alpacas, we know how gentle these creatures are and torture of these wonderful critters is just beyond our understanding. How sick can a person be? A 3 month old alpaca was beaten to death by a couple of 17 year olds in Ohio. Our hearts go out to the owners who are trying to do something about seeing to it that this horrible crime won't happen again by getting laws changed. Follow the link to read an article about it. Dog obedience tipDog obedience tip for Great Pyrenees. Permalink -- click for full blog post "Dog obedience tip" Vinegar usesVinegar uses on an alpaca farm. Permalink -- click for full blog post "Vinegar uses" Alpaca Fiber SkirtingAlpaca fiber skirting information. Permalink -- click for full blog post "Alpaca Fiber Skirting" Alpaca Fiber ProcessingAlpaca fiber processing. Permalink -- click for full blog post "Alpaca Fiber Processing" Training AlpacasTraining Alpacas to lead in 10 steps. Permalink -- click for full blog post "Training Alpacas" Information on AlpacasGet great information on alpacas from others tips and stories. Permalink -- click for full blog post "Information on Alpacas" Normal Alpaca BehaviorDescribes normal alpaca behavior. Their body language, sounds, and herd responses. Permalink -- click for full blog post "Normal Alpaca Behavior" Breeding AlpacasBreeding alpacas and problems that can occur in the dam and stud. Permalink -- click for full blog post "Breeding Alpacas" Alpaca hair lossDescribes alpaca hair loss and some simple remedies. Permalink -- click for full blog post "Alpaca hair loss" Rattlesnake biteWhat to do if your alpaca or dog gets a rattlesnake bite. Permalink -- click for full blog post "Rattlesnake bite" Death of an alpacaWhile we were away on an extended vacation our eldest alpaca Windsilk passed away. She will be missed by us and the herd as she was the lookout for danger. Someone else will assume the role now but we're not sure who will take the job, yet. Rest in peace Windsilk. Not So Happy Alpaca EndingIf only we could reach everyone buying alpacas and convince them that the one most important thing you can do for your animals is to protect them from dog attacks with proper fencing, there would be a lot less alpaca deaths. It's such a shame to have this type of death continue to happen when alpacas can be protected. We hope everyone considering buying alpacas will remember that one of the most important things to do is allow enough money in your budget to build a proper fence before you bring them home. If you can only afford the alpacas and not the fencing, either don't buy, yet, or leave them where they are until you can afford a proper fence to keep them safe. Dog attacks happen and alpacas always loose. Happy alpaca endingMartin was a neglected alpaca. Read about his happy ending. 7 Reasons to Buy Alpacas in Todays EconomyNobodys buying much these days. Everyone is being affected by the economic downturn. One Alpaca farm came up with seven reasons why purchasing Alpacas is actually a good thing to do during a slow economy. Sculpting noses with woolTutorial on sculpting noses with wool. Permalink -- click for full blog post "Sculpting noses with wool" Alpaca novelty productsWe have a new online store in which you can order notecards and other items. The items are made with our own alpaca photos. We will be adding more items, so check back often. You can see the items that are available now by following the link. Geriatric AlpacasLearn what it takes to keep geriatric alpacas healthy and happy. Permalink -- click for full blog post "Geriatric Alpacas" Felt celtic knot bracelet instructionsInstructions for creating a celtic knot bracelet with felted craft wire. Permalink -- click for full blog post "Felt celtic knot bracelet instructions" Felting Craft Wireshow to felt craft wires to use in making bracelets or other jewelry. Permalink -- click for full blog post "Felting Craft Wires" Alpaca fiber paintingFiber artist Pat Sparks does a really fabulous job of making watercolor looking type wool pictures. If you don't want to make 3D characters with needle felting, you can combine wet felting and needle felting your alpaca fiber to create watercolor wool pictures. You wet felt a blurry background using a photo for inspiration, and then needle felt shapes on the blurred background to define the objects. Works really well with flowers. If you click on the link, you will see what we are talking about. We are going to venture into this type of painting with wool soon and hope to provide a tutorial of the process. Alpaca fiber useDo You have alpaca fiber that you are storing at your home. Here is a possible use for all that fiber. Elderberry Creek Alpacas are working with Pendleton Woolen Mill to create 100% alpaca fiber woolen blankets. Right now you must donate the fiber for which you will be able to buy a blanket at cost + 3% that you should be able to sell for a profit, but they will eventually be able to pay you for your fleece in subsequent runs. Click on the link to read about the Alpaca Blanket Project and see if this might be a good idea for your alpaca fiber business. Free alpaca patternsRecently someone requested more patterns on our website. We'd love to do that, but time has really been a factor lately for us. We are just plain busy and have not had time to develop any. So, we are providing this link. You can check out the free patterns and see if you want to try any. You can spin up your own alpaca yarn or purchase alpaca yarn. Hope this at least gets you some ideas. Alpaca goes to the pubShort video of prize winning alpaca going to a pub. Year of the Alpaca FiberDid you know that this is "International Year of natural Fiber"? Well, it is. Because synthetic fibers have caused a drop in consumers using natural fibers, the Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations is organizing the promotion of natural fibers this year. To keep informed of the activities you can get added to their email list. Read the article by clicking on the link provided.
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