Paca Talk #26 posted

This is part two of our discussion of setting up bare land for an alpaca ranch. It includes what we did and what we should have done. Oh, and "Old Smokey."
Enjoy!
maren
http://www.pacatalk.com/2010/01/pt26-part2/

Paca Talk #24 is up!

http://www.pacatalk.com/2009/12/pt-24/

Paca Talk #24 is the second half of our discussion on buying your first alpacas. Enjoy!

m

Paca Talk #23 -choosing your first alpacas

Hi Everyone!

Our first "Alpacas 101" podcast (part one) covers what novice should know before buying their first alpacas.
http://www.pacatalk.com/2009/11/pt-23-choosing-your-first-alpacas-part-1/

Enjoy!

New Paca Talk Episode-- "Problem Child"

http://www.pacatalk.com/2009/10/pt-22-farmtalk-problemchild/

We've posted a new Paca Talk Episode about our "Problem Child" Little Margie. We had to bottle-feed her for a few days, and it took her a long time to gain weight at a reasonable rate.

Enjoy!
m

New Paca Talk Episode-- new format

http://www.pacatalk.com/2009/10/paca-talk-21-the-new-format/

"Paca Talk #21" discusses the changes we're making to the Paca Talk format. Short-ish and sweet-ish.

Big Cat

Wow!

I saw a cougar on the private drive leading up to our ranch tonight! It ran in front of me along the road for a bit until it crossed the creek and could run down the other bank, so I got a good long look at it. Unmistakeable 4-foot long tail.

This is the second time the cat has been seen near our ranch. The last time was six weeks ago, a little closer to the house. Our neighbor and her children saw it in the daytime as they drove home. They watched it "play" for several minutes, also confirming the long tail and tawny coat. My neighbor also said that the cat seemed "young," and I'll have to second the impression. There was something rangy and half-grown puppy-like about the way the cat moved...like its feet were too big or something.

Well, exciting as that is, what it points out again, some more, is that though our female and baby alpacas enjoy the safety of a barn, our adult male alpacas sleep outside, unprotected. We don't worry too much about them for a couple reasons: 1) cougars are ambush hunters and tend to like to pounce on prey from underbrush or drop on them out of trees. We keep our pastures free of underbrush and keep branches from overhanging the fences. The New Zealand fence we have has no hope of stopping a cougar, but then, no fence really does. 2) Big male alpacas (especially a group of them) are formidable prey. If there are easier eats out there, the cougar will go there first.

We are planning on building the boys a barn this fall, but it will be for weather protection, not cat protection.

I am considering getting a Livestock Guard Dog (LGD). More than one of my alpaca friends has one, and have had good results. Of course, they may actually have a banana in their ear (as in, "it keeps the elephants away...what? you don't see any elephants, do you?"), but I'm thinking that a large, barking deterrent might help me sleep easier at night.

Do any of you, dear readers, have opinions about LGDs? I'd love to hear them! Suggestions for breeds and ways to keep them on my property and not the neighbor's would be appreciated, too.

Thanks!

m

Celebs Save the Alpacas

They care. Why don't you?

Paca Talk #20 -- Listener Survey

http://www.pacatalk.com/2009/09/paca-talk-20-listener-survey/

This Paca Talk is a plea to please fill out our Paca Talk Yearly Listener Survey. We want to improve the show, so we need your imput!

Thank you all in advance!

maren and charles

Alpacas in the News for 8/21 posted

In this week's "Alpacas in the News," we talk about what people in LA think an alpaca is (video) and an opening on the AOBA Fiber Committee.

Alpacas in the News for 8/14/09 posted

http://www.pacatalk.com/2009/08/an-8-14-09/

This week's Alpacas in the News includes a dog/alpaca incident and the mystery of the alpaca daddy.

Enjoy!
m

Alpacas in the News for 8/7/09 posted

http://www.pacatalk.com/2009/08/an-8-7-09/

Paca Talk #17, Alpacas in the News for August 8, 2009 is posted (late). Included are Bill the Alpaca Breeder and Tansy Ragwort pictures.

Enjoy!
m

Surprise! Cria a week early!

Sophie had her baby a week early! He's a surprise, not only because he's a hair early, but also because he's a darling little brown boy: his mama's black and his daddy's grey. It really is like Christmas with alpaca colors. 

Name suggestions so far include: Stampy, Moe, and Troy McClure (you may remember him from such movies as "cry hard!").

Do you have a suggestion for a name for this little guy? Drop me a comment or send me an email if you do!

m

What to do with Alpaca Fiber: Skirt it! Part 2/4

This is the second in a series of blog entries about what to do with alpaca fiber. These articles are taken from Paca Talk #2 “What to do with Fiber” which can be found on pacatalk.com. I’ve taken the time to expand each section a little more in these blog posts than we had time for in the podcast. These first four entries will focus on skirting a raw fleece.

In my previous post, I described how to make a skirting table. 

Once you have your skirting table, how do you skirt a fleece? Honestly, I can’t really TELL you how, but I’ll give you the basics. If you want to learn to do it, go find people who know how and watch them. I suggest asking to help them skirt fleeces for a day in exchange for a lesson. Certainly get help from someone if you are skirting a show fleece. Many show fleeces are marked down for improper skirting. 

To skirt a fleece, you must first decide what the fleece is for because skirting a show fleece is very different from skirting either a fleece for hand spinners or commercial applications. However, for all these applications your general purposes are the same: 

• remove dirt (some at least)
• remove poop
• remove big vegetation
• remove second cuts
• remove hair
• check for "tenderness"

Today, we'll talk about the first three since the others are a little more involved. 

To remove dirt, you can just spread out the fleece and bang the table a few times. This knocks out a surprising amount of dirt. You won’t find a lot of dirt in the fleeces if you used your shop vac (on “blow”) to remove the dirt just before shearing. Doing this just before shearing a show fleece isn’t recommended because it can compromise the structure of a fleece. You can do it a few days before shearing so the fiber can "reorganize" and get good results. 

Poop should be a no-brainer. Find a bean? Pick it out. Find a "smear?" Throw out the affected fiber.

"Big" VM should be removed

Big vegetable matter (VM) should be easy, too, except for that “big” qualification. My alpacas like to roll around in hay. Some places on them, especially the base of their necks, are just filled with tiny bits of hay, etc. How much work you put in to removing these bits is determined partly by the ultimate use of the fleece. If you are working on a show fleece, throw out any hunk of fleece that is badly contaminated by bits of vegetation. If the fleece is headed toward a small mill or hand spinner, do your best to get out the bits. Mills can remove a lot of VM, but remember that any VM left may end up in the yarn. 

A small amount of VM can be left in a fleece.

That's all for now! Next time I’ll describe how to deal with second cuts. 

New Items on Etsy!

http://www.etsy.com/shop.php?user_id=7350164

I've posted some new bags of fleece on Etsy.com. These are some of my nicest fleeces, and they come in 2 ounce bags. Perfect for someone who wants to play with alpaca fiber, but doesn't want to commit to a whole bag!

Enjoy!

m

Alpacas in the News for 7/31/09 posted

http://www.pacatalk.com/2009/07/an-07-31-0/

In this episode, we have an ARI registration discount and llamas as golf caddies, among other things.

Enjoy!
m

What to do with Alpaca Fiber: Skirt it! Part 1 of 4

This is the first in a series of blog entries about what to do with alpaca fiber originally posted on thealpacaguy.com. These articles are taken from Paca Talk #2 “What to do with Fiber” which can be found on pacatalk.com. I’ve taken the time to expand each section a little more in these blog posts than we had time for in the podcast. These first four entries will focus on skirting a raw fleece.

So, let’s begin!

You’ve had a big day shearing (that was Paca Talk # 1 and #14 ), and now you have a room full of plastic bags filled with alpaca fleece. Now what?

Unfortunately, there are only a couple ways to make money from a raw, unpicked fleece in a bag: 1) sell it at a discount to a hand spinner, and 2) well, I can’t think of another way.

The point is that you need to pick your fleeces clean of debris and of second cuts before you can sell it. The first thing you’ll need is a skirting table.

Here’s a picture of my El Cheapo brand skirting table:

(I’ve since moved the whole operation to the garage). It is made of PVC pipe and 1/2 inch hardware cloth and duct tape. I have lost the “plans” but basically, you need a frame of about 3’ by 5’ of either wood or pipe. Then you need to attach the 1/2 hardware cloth to it. Hardware cloth is wire mesh, and 1/2 inch holes will allow dirt, poop and some second cuts to fall through. Then you need to set it up on legs or sawhorses. Over the years, I’ve added duct tape to the edges of the cloth to keep it from snagging fiber and an anti-fatigue mat so I don’t get so worn out standing on the concrete garage floor.

That’s all for now. Next time, we’ll talk about how to skirt a fleece!

Paca Talk #15- Alpacas in the News for 7/24/09 posted

http://www.pacatalk.com/2009/07/an-7-24-09/ 

This week, we have some VERY cute pictures of 4-Hers and their llamas and alpacas. Plus, lots of communiques from AOBA. 

Enjoy!

m

Paca Talk #14 Posted! "The Normal Delivery"

http://www.pacatalk.com/2009/07/pt-14-delivery/

That's right! A real, full-length Paca Talk has been posted! We cover the normal alpaca birth, what to do with placentas, and revisit shearing day 2009.

Enjoy!

m

Cute nick-name

"Canyonera" is a mouthful, and it doesn't fit the cute little baby girl out in the barn. Charles suggested we call her "Can Can."

And so it was. :)

m