The paddock inhabitants...

Remember I told you that way back in March / April Ronnie saw information on an auction in the local Farmers Weekly.

As you know we deliberated, hesitated, decided, and then fell in love, and have been busy preparing to receive the latest additions to our family.

So, with no further ado I'd like to introduce you all to the two (and a half) newest members of our family...

Can you see them - lying in the far corner of the
paddock by the gate?

Miranda and Kris.

They are alpacas :)

Mianda and Kris - our alpacas.
Aren't they beautiful :)

Miranda, the brown one on the right, is a 6½ year old pregnant female, and Kris, the white one the left, is a 2½ year old male.  The cria (baby Alpaca) is due at the end of February / beginning of March next year.

We are now one of only approximately 400 alpaca breeders in South Africa.

They are incredible animals.  Elegant, inquisitive, gentle and agile.  They are also very eco-friendly - they don't rip the grass out by the roots when they graze, and their padded feet don't dig into the soil. Plus, they wont cause us to run out of water - at roughly 5trs of water each per day they don't drink as much as cows and sheep - and we are supplying them from our rain water tanks too :)  Finally, mucking out their paddock is a breeze - they use a communal midden - and always use the same spot :)

RMan in action - 1/2 a wheelbarrow load after
ony 5½ days.  The empty midden can be seen on
the lower right corner

 Lots of goodies for my compost heap...!!!

Yummy compost in the making... :)

Miranda is the gentle one, and Kris is the tough, hasty male - he is so forceful when he eats from his tub that he almost knocks it out of my hands.  Miranda will happily take grated carrot from my outstretched hand - her mouth is warm, soft and, oh!, so very gentle.  Kris isn't interested in human contact yet, so his carrot gets added to his tub.

C'mon Kris, let me see your eyes...

They have both come from large-ish herds, so this is their first time "on their own". Alpaca males and females are generally kept apart, except when they are breeding. Normally, a pregnant female wouldn't allow a male in the same paddock as her - she will "spit" at him.  But, because they are "out of their comfort zone", and also as Kris is still too young to mate, we have been advised by the breeder to allow them to remain in the same paddock until January next year.

Even crouching down and trying to take a
pic wasn't successful LOL
But, it's not all bad - his Beatle fringe
helps to keep the flies out of his eyes...

The spent the first few days gazing mournfully and humming continuously at the gate through which their breeder and her vehicle had exited.  The "hum" noise that they make sounds like they are asking a question - "Hmmmmm"?

This is where Miranda spends all her time -
in the corner where she first entered the
paddock.

It has taken a week, but they are slowly coming round to us.  Now, when we enter their paddock with their tubs of the lucerne pellets and maintenance meal  mixture, they rush up to us - they recognise that the tubs contain goodies :)

Where are all my buddies...?

Also, the trough that RMan devised is being used :)

Both Miranda and Kris chomped at the contents
of the feeding trough as soon as we filled it

But, we have been told that Miranda will continue to "miss" her herd of females - she will remain at the gate looking for them - rain, wind and shine - until her cria is born next year.  Then she will settle down :)

A hastily errected pergola at her favourite spot - to
provide some shade when it is required

As we are already experiencing some pretty warm days, we decided that we would make her a basic pergola out of the balance of the wood we got from the sawmill - at her preferred spot -so that she has access to shade - she is not venturing to the shade of the trees in her paddock.  Apparently, the farm from which they originated, in Noordhoek in Cape Town, is so shady that they have to be given Vit A, B, D and E supplements.  Vit D won't be a problem here...

This is Miranda's paddock - the first paddock we made
- unti we found out that male and female apaca's
need to be kept separate.

In summer we have temperatures in excess of 35°C (95°F) and do not that much shade unti our trees grow, so lack of sun (Vit D) is not going to be a problem.

This is the view of the second paddock -
Kris' future home.  The first paddock is in
the background behind the stables

As for the "stable" which RMan made - we managed to halter Miranda the first night, and, as we led her to the stable, Kris happily followed.  Since then Miranda doesn't want to know about a halter - so we are giving her some time before we "insist".  Let the poor things acclimatize properly.  It's only fair. But, there is nothing sadder looking than a thoroughly drenched alpaca! 45mm of rain over the weekend left them looking like they needed hanging on the line to dry out...

RMan and I are very chuffed - and very thrilled with the new members of our family.  They bring a smile to our faces every time we look at them :)

Now all I have to do is find a spinning wheel, so that I can spin their wool when they are sheared in November...

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To give you more info on alpaca's I am quoting from http://www.alpacas.co.nz/Alpaca%20Information.htm hereunder:

Easily farmed on a small block, with stocking rates of about 5 to the acre.

Low impact stock. With soft, padded feet, the alpaca has an extremely low impact on fragile landforms.

Low level carriers of internal parasites.

Stimulated ovulators, thus they can be mated at any time of the year.

Accustomed to using a communal dung site.

Parasite infestation is therefore low.

Alpaca dung is a rich fertilizer perfect for growing fruits and vegetables. Alpaca droppings are almost odourless, and are low in nitrogen.

Grazers and chew their cud. They have a split upper lip which prevents them from damaging the vegetation's roots

Consistently trouble free when birthing. The birth of a new cria usually occurs during daylight hours, on a fine day.

Long-lived -- approximately 20 years.

Naturally docile and are typically "mustered" by calling them. Dogs are not required.

Modified ruminant with a three-compartment stomach. They convert grass and hay to energy very efficiently, eating less than other farm animals.

Small and easy to handle.

Intelligent, which makes them pleasant to be around and easy to train.

Adaptable to varied habitat, successfully being raised around the world from 15,000 feet to sea level.

Not slaughtered outside of their native South America, thus allowing us to profit from them without killing them.

Not susceptible to footrot.

Not subject to lice infestations

Not prone to blowfly strike.

Not in need of tail docking.