Edda

Today, I found Sanibel's newborn cria cushed at the back entrance to the barn. Another girl! The baby was still soaking wet, so I guessed it was no more than an hour old. I named it Edda. Sanibel had already passed the placenta. Edda nursed and passed the meconium while I went about my chores. Her fiber is a rich, chocolate brown color; her conformation looks flawless. Things can change as a cria grows—not always for the better—but for now, I am happy. Edda is beautiful and healthy.

The final alpaca count on Stormwind Farm includes five adult females, four adult males, and four crias, a comfortable number heading into fall and winter. We have such an abundance of pasture that the alpacas will be able to continue grazing around the clock. Only a solid covering of snow will keep them in the barn.

I filled the hay bin in both barns. People have often asked me,"How much hay do they eat?"

Because of fluctuating herd numbers and other variables, there is no precise answer to that question. However, these past two months, I've kept track. The four adult males consumed one bale of hay in twenty-one days. That's roughly ten pounds of hay per alpaca during a three week feeding cycle. Five adult females and three crias ate four bales of hay in fifty days. Consumption will be even less during the fall.

All hay is always fed free choice. During the days mentioned, the males received no supplemental grain; the females were each fed one ounce per day. The crias have all been nursing and have not shown the slightest interest in eating grain. In my opinion, that is as it should be. That puts me at odds with advice given by a very prominent veterinarian known in the alpaca community. I don't care. My opinion is based on common sense. The proof is in my healthy alpacas.