When I first met Prada she was like a little concentrated version of Wanda. Very concentrated. She had a cria this year and has undergone a shift in personality.

Prada has blue eyes. I will go into the reasons this is not a desirable trait at another time, but what it boils down to is in order for her to almost 100% assuredly have a baby with dark eyes, she needed to be bred to a dark male- as dark as you can get as far back in his heritage as you can get.

We found a crazy handsome award winning black man for her to pass the time with. He lives about three hours away. Prada (the little stick of dynamite) doesn't travel. She was never halter trained because it stresses her out to be handled. She, with the blue eyes was never going to be shown, so why push the issue? Alpacas don't do artificial insemination. This was a problem.


After much discussion with his owners it was decided that Onyx could come for a short visit...a sleepover of sorts. I did however need to purchase two breedings. Who should I also breed with the dark stranger? I am not telling you today but I won't keep it a secret for long.

Alpacas are induced ovulators. This means introduce them to a male and they will be ready in a couple of days. We bred Prada on day one-three- and seven as it is the protocol I follow. I then wait another three days and do what is called a spit test. This isn't really fun. But it is easier than having her pee on a stick - which doesn't work anyway.

To do a spit test you catch the girl in a catch pen and then bring the haltered male- this doesn't have to be the one she was bred to- and see what happens. If she runs, spits and kicks start knitting those baby booties if not get back in the saddle.

Farmer Jeff decided he was going to assist on this one because Prada is indeed a firecracker! We caught Prada and put her in one of the barn stalls with a gate. We brought in Onyx and stood back to see what the verdict was. Chase, chase, chase (the alpaca, not Jeff and I), orgle, orgle, orgle (again the alpaca not Jeff and I), run, run, run (Prada from Onyx).

I decided that Prada was indeed pregnant- Jeff the armchair farmer - said "But she is not spitting!!!" (when you read that last sentence please use your- I know more than you- annoying inflection- go back and try it again) I assured him that, she was a maiden and maybe a little mixed up but was indeed pregnant. Maiden meaning never having had a baby not a virgin.

As I turned to open the gate to let our new little mother to be out of the stall, she jumped up and landed herself crosswise on the stall divider. She was up there like a car on a cliff teetering back and forth- and couldn't get down. You could have heard a pin drop. Prada looked confused, Jeff wasn't breathing and even I, hard to believe, was speechless.

Jeff was beginning to think that she MAY be pregnant. After we got everyone sorted and settled and looked over- I started to laugh and couldn't stop.

Jeff is no longer involved in breedings. Prada gave us a friendly, beautiful, brown eyed, curious little girl- but she will get her own day!