The Good, the Bad, and the Ugly

Mariah gave birth to an adorable male cria. His owners named the baby Stark after a character in a novel. They are delighted with his light fawn fiber. The first few days are normally the most critical in a cria's life as far as survival is concerned. Stark's owners were anxious to welcome the cria and their other alpacas still living on Stormwind Farm to their own place. Because of the heat, I insisted on waiting to transport the group.

Finally, on Sunday, we loaded Rosie and her cria Caira as well as Mariah and Stark into our small livestock trailer and delivered them to their new home a few miles down the road. The alpacas immediately took possession of the pasture. Within two or three minutes, Rosie and Mariah had their heads down and were grazing. Kaira and Stark wandered around and took in the new sights. All was well!

I spent a few enjoyable hours visiting the farm of prospective customers and future alpaca owners. Together, we explored different options for their new business and all the work that must be accomplished before alpacas can be brought to their property. It was a good visit!

Coming home, I found out that the septic system alarm had gone off. The workman who came out could not detect any reason for it and advised to "wait and see." We have always been careful not to flush bleach or chemicals into the system so as not to destroy the bacteria that keep a septic system functioning.

"Other people have an alarm go off when a thief tries to steal their valuables; we don't have any valuables, so our alarm only goes off for a s*** alert," I joked to a friend. Bad!

That same afternoon, David was working outside when the alpacas raced wildly out of the barn as if chased by demons. David investigated and found a cracked blade in one of the barn fans. Fortunately, the blades are encased in a cage, and the alpacas were not harmed. It's not an old fan, so I am not happy about the expense and trouble of buying a new one. Bad timing!

The ugly? On Wednesday morning, I discovered that a small piece of Aura Lea's nose leather had been ripped open. There was hardly any blood, but a tiny piece of flesh was flapping loose. I cleaned the wound with a disinfectant. While I gently restrained the baby, David glued the skin flap back with Crazy Glue. 

"Of course, it had to happen to the beauty queen," my friend, Kristin, sympathized with me.

It's true. Out of this year's cria crop, Aura Lea is the most beautiful alpaca on Stormwind Farm. I have no clue how this injury happened. David and my customers can attest to the fact that I am fanatical about safety issues in barns and pastures. I can only hope that the injury will not leave an ugly scar. Since it is so small, it should be fine in a few days. 

The Burlington County Farm Fair will be held this week only a short distance from our farm in Springfield Township. Dare I hope that this year—unlike in 2011—no balloons will be handed out at the fair? If people were aware of the agonizing pain and horrible deaths grazing animals suffer from ingesting popped balloons, they would never release a single balloon to drift and land in pastures and hay fields. 

Other than that issue, the farm fair is all good fun, and hopefully a learning experience for all visitors.