Minky progress

Minky - just after  birth

If you were a follower of my blog back on the 3rd March 2014 you'll remember that Foothills Michael, a.k.a. Minky, was born and we experienced the first ever birth of a farm animal - our precious Minky, the Alpaca cria.

Minky - in all his
cuteness

Miranda has been an amazing mother and has cared for him beautifully and that is evident in the change that is now visible in Minky.

Minky has certainly grown.  And then some...

This pic is deceptive - his coat has grown...
and even his face is covered with a blanket.
Just as well - it helped to keep him warm
on the coldest nights this winter

He's now just over 5½ months old and is almost as tall as his mother.

Because Minky is so tame, he insists on "smelling"
your face whenever you enter the paddock and has
the gentlest nose that you ever felt :)

Because he has not been left in a paddock with other alpaca's with no human contact expect when they need their inoculations / deworming, he been "humanised" and is extremely friendly - to the point that anytime anyone enters his paddock, he rushes up to give their faces, necks and ears a good sniff LOL

I have read on quite a few alpaca websites that alpaca's don't like to have their heads or necks touched - obviously Minky hasn't been told that alpaca trait!  There's nothing he likes more than a good rub of the fur on his neck or on top of his head.

Minky's not too keen on the water splaching on
his legs or feet - it makes him flick his
feet - maybe it tickles LOL

Initially, Minky wasn't as mad about water as his Mother and Kris.  Now...

"Give us a drink, RMan"!!
With the drought we have been
experiencing, RMan was watering their paddock
with the water from the rain tank.  Minky
rushed up and shoved his mouth in the streaming
water.

...he can't get enough, and will even try and drink it as it flows out of the hosepipe.  And, like Miranda and Kris, has stated cushing in any puddles that form.  Strangely enough though, when it rains he rushes under cover?!

Mother and son - what a difference!!

Minky, although very friendly, can be "difficult".

He is obviously going through the Terrible Two's / Troublesome Three's and the moody teenager phase - out of the blue he has been known to give RMan a welcoming sniff, flatten his ears, and then give him a dose of the contents of his stomach - probably just practising for when he needs to spit as an adult. Thankfully, with his immature spit, it's not as bad as when an adult does it to you LOL

Oh, brother - that fur is going to take time to
get clean again!

There is nothing he loves more than to roll over in the loosest grass he can find - not ideal as he works it right into his fur, and it is an extra chore when it is time to give him a brush.  That fur will have to be sparkling clean before he is sheared in a month or two - otherwise the blades get blunt very quickly.

His playfulness with his mother extends to nibbling the back of her legs, until she gives him the same treatment.  That stops him in his tracks LOL  Then they have a session of neck rubbing -  similar to giraffes - or he tries to walk under her stomach as though he is still a small cria.

He can be a handful - just like all small children.

And, he also is not terribly neat.

The original midden is the circle at the back -
the "skid" mark is the midden as Minky moved it
closer and closer to the stable area.

Due to his laziness (?) the midden that Miranda created near the stable has been stretched from it's original position, and now reaches almost to the stable.

Alpaca's are incredibly agile - it always amazes
us how he can bend down to suckle from Miranda

His body fur is an even mink colour, his face is a slightly lighter shade - almost like coffee with milk, and...

Dark, dark fur round his hooves.  Almost as though he
is wearing dark booties LOL

...the fur round his hooves is dark brown

Who wouldn't love that face? :)
He almost looks like he's smiling for the camera,
doesn't he.

For all his nonsense, we love him.  Life at Foothills Farm wouldn't be the same without Minky - or Miranda or Kris :)