Happy New Year! I realize that I have been on a hiatus... I didn’t think anyone was paying attention, and I'm happy to have been wrong. Thank you for all of your prompting!

There is no escaping it, show season is almost upon us and halter training must be done. I did take a half-hearted crack at it last fall, but I really wasn’t ready and neither were the animals. My inexperience made me think that the attention span of an alpaca should be at least as long as mine. This is not the case. You can not ‘cram’ halter training. I am taking a slower, more relaxed approach now, and I will share with you here how it is progressing.

Mother, Cria and a Handful of Grain

Last fall I tried to work with 'Channel', but was unsuccessful for many different reasons -- primarily because she wasn’t really ready to break with her mother, Ember. Ember was not interested in having Channel leave her side either! Mind you, Channel has been weaned for months, but the bond between mother and cria remains strong. Fortunately for me, her desire for grain is even stronger… usually!


I started the week feeding Channel in the catch pen with her sister 'Manhattan'. When the girls finished eating, I worked on having them get used to me handling their heads and ears in preparation for the actual halter (we’ll do teeth, tails and feet later). Manhattan is an old card at the halter, and it was actually great to have her near if for no other reason than to remind myself that I have done this before successfully.

Small Steps to Success

I rubbed Channel’s face and ears… gave her a little grain… rub, rub, rub… little bit of grain, etc..... I showed her the halter and let her sniff it. I also had it wrapped around my hand and let it jingle as she ate the grain from my hand. That is all we did the first day, once for the morning feeding and once for the evening feeding.

By the next morning Channel was eager to get into the catch pen not only her breakfast, but also for the extra yummies I was sure to provide! By the end of the second day, I was able to get the halter on and have her stand for me. We didn’t even try to walk.


On the third day we walked around the catch pen and left her sister out of the enclosure. It was just Channel and I; what a pair!

Well, by the end of the week we were out of the catch pen, using very little grain, and walking in what we call the 'runway' along the fence. Elated would be an understatement. We still have a LONG way to go, but we are now working together and not fighting each other on opposite ends of the lead.


What a terrific week! Stay tuned.

Right on the heels of our busy show schedule we are anticipating a whole bunch of babies here on the farm. I guess our big summer vacation is off the books!

May 29th

Due on this busy day is Pacific Moon’s Brooklyn (below, right), her service sire, the beautiful Midnight Magic Houdini (below, left) is from Krystal Acres Alpaca Farm on San Juan Island. We are sure that by pairing these two ribbon winners together we will produce a winning cria. Brooklyn is a first time mother.

Our sweet Pacific Moon’s Minnie (below, right) is also due that same day with a cria from our very own NWA, Ltd Chaucer (below, left). We expect this combination to produce a very dense, blindingly white cria. Minnie and Chaucer both sheered more than any other animal last spring, an amazing feat considering neither one is by any measure the largest animal on the farm. Minnie is a first time mother


Wait there is more, May 29th is going to be a busy day. Our watchful Trina (below, right) is due also on the same day with a cria out of our boy Pacific Moon’s Phoebus (below, left). Phoebus is himself an Alpacapalooza ribbon winner and a real handsome boy with a gorgeous helmet head topknot. This will be Phoebus’ first cria and we look forward to seeing what he will do for us. Trina is the experienced mother of Tinkerbelle, and Carmen.


June 11th

Due on this day is Pacific Moon’s Manhattan (left). Mattie, as we call her, is also due with a cria from Krystal Acres’ Midnight Magic Houdini. We have confident hopes for a dense and crimpy cria. This is Manhattan’s first cria.

Pacific Moon's Tinkerbelle, (left) another first time mom, is due on June 11th with a cria from the handsome Krystal Acres Kryptonite’s Triton (see below, left). This should be a dynamite combination. We think that this cria will be a beautiful fawn color.

July 5th

We are expecting a Yankee Doodle baby for Crescent Moon’s Ember (left) with our very own Chaucer. This combination has worked for us in the past giving us our delightful Channel who will show this spring. We are crossing our fingers for another crimpy, conformationally balanced cria.



August 19th

Pacific Moon’s Minnie’s mother, NWA Ltd Mickey (below) is due with a cria from the dashing Krystal Acres Kryptonite’s Triton (way below, left). This will be a cria to watch. Mickey and Triton should combine to give us a super dense fawn cria with great conformation.

September 3rd

Our last cria of the year will be from our girl Wanda (below, right). Sensitive Wanda was also bred to Krystal Acres Kryptonite’s Triton (below, left). Their highly anticipated cria should be lean and leggy with a great head just like it’s parents.

Busy, busy, busy here on the farm. We are really looking forward to 2009. I will outline a few dates we are anticipating. On with the show this is it! Orcas Moon Alpacas will be attending 3 shows in the spring. You will be able to meet and greet Pacific Moon’s Valentino, Orcas Moon’s Channel, and our newest arrival Orcas Moon’s Autumn Diva.

A few notes on alpaca show terminology follow.

Halter

There are two types of shows, halter and fleece. A halter show judges the conformation and fleece of the individual animal. There are two comparative judging criteria options for the individual halter show. The judging options for comparative judging are 50/50 basis fleece and conformation -or- 60/40 basis fleece and conformation.

Fleece

Fleece show procedures are different. The AOBA (Alpaca Owners and Breeders Association) Fleece Judging System is an absolute system judged anonymously. The shorn fleeces are judged by comparing them to an ideal fleece, which is expressed by a perfect score of 100 on the AOBA Suri or Huacaya Fleece scorecard. The scorecard is divided into sections, with each section describing a particular fleece characteristic and the maximum number of points allocated for the ideal of that characteristic. A fleece is evaluated for each characteristic and the maximum number of points assigned according to how close it comes to the ideal. The scores from all sections are added and the highest absolute score is the winner in the class.

Level

In addition to an alpaca show type, shows are assigned levels depending on how many animals or fleeces will be shown. The greater the number of animals the higher the shows level number.


Now with the terms out of the way here Orcas Moon’s spring show schedule to date. We will only be showing in the halter division.

o Alpacapalooza (Level 5) April 3-5 Puyallup, Washington

This was a great level five show last year, a little cold and rainy but we walked away with a ribbon.

o Northwest Alpaca Showcase (Level 4) April 25-26 Pasco, Washington

o Columbia Alpaca Breeders Association (Level 4) May 9-10 Portland, Oregon

We truly hope to see you at any and all of our shows. Stop by and say hello. Meet the animals and enjoy the lifestyle. If you feel like scooping a little poop, I’ll even let you do that too! ;-)

My astute children reminded me that when writing about our chickens that I neglected to include Tinkerbelle. This oversight is understandable as Tinkerbelle is an alpaca. Sweet, compassionate, Tinkerbelle watches and hums to the chickens daily. She, like our new mom Carmen, is from the same very vocal family.

Tinkerbelle is very interested in their goings on. The chickens have had very limited interaction with their guardian alpaca. The Colonel and his harem occasionally stray into the pasture but are usually terrified by the alpaca, especially curious Tinkerbelle.

All of us here on the farm wish the chickens would come over and pay her the attention she deserves. So here is Tinkerbelle. (Please excuse the Amish hair style, I left Jeff in charge on sheering day. He misunderstood my direction about leaving cheek fiber and left the herd looking like bobble heads.)

Just a couple of photos of our new cria, she is now 1 month old. Thank you Kris and Albert Olson of Krystal Acres Alpaca Farm for the great breeding! Look how she has grown!

This is the rest of the hen story. This post will focus on our new girls. The three new hens are all from an Araucana enthusiast Anne of Willow Hill Araucana Farm in Bellingham, Washington. Anne was kind enough to entrust us with "Quetzal", "Survivor" and "Polly". These girls came with their names, except for Polly, who was previously known as "No Name".

Anne maintains a website built to celebrate and promote the Rumpless, Tufted Modern Araucana chicken. To check out more of Anne’s birds click here. (Believe me it's worth the click!)

"Survivor" is a 1-year-old White Splash Araucana hen. She was a winter hatchling. The story goes that one snowy, frigid day in January, she and 3 of her siblings got lost in the snow. When Anne found them, she was the only one left alive. Survivor is a prolific layer. We just love her, she is, however, the most difficult to get back into the coop in the late afternoon. She is very fond of my son Kahana.


"Polly Pullet" a.k.a. "No Name" is a 6-month old Silver/Black Mottled Araucana hen. She is part rumpless (has several downward-pointing tail feathers in the back). When we welcomed Polly to our farm she was a pullet -- a non-laying female. Since her arrival she has graduated to a hen. She is a great layer leaving an egg a day, even with the days getting shorter. Polly has nice willow legs (the proper color for most varieties of Araucana). Polly is the fastest girl we have. She can really run.


"Quetzal" is a 3-1/2 year old Black-Breasted-Red Araucana hen. Quetzal is amazing and loves to cuddle with her human friends. She is a beautiful girl with gorgeous ear tufts. Her beak is very slightly crooked and needs to be trimmed with a nail clipper every once in a while. The matriarch of the bunch of our new girls, she has a calm disposition, but likes to boss the others around!


Here are a couple of photos of our coop, as adapted for our misty Northwest winters!

Well, now that you have read about "The Colonel", let’s talk about his girls. Our hens fall into two categories, the new and the old. This designation has absolutely nothing to do with the age of the girls, but everything to do with the time when we acquired them.

The four old hens came with the farm, although finer hens we couldn't have chosen. The new girls are ones we brought home with us from a special trip to the mainland. FYI, the names didn't come with the birds, they were chosen by my children. This post focuses on the old girls.

"Zig" and "Zag" are two of the old girls. They are Barred Rocks who lay the most beautiful brown eggs. There is only one person in the house who can tell them apart: my son Kahana. He can even look just at the eggs and tell you which one laid it. I think maybe we need to get him into more hobbies. Currently Zig (or maybe it's Zag) is the Colonel’s mi amore.


"Martha", and we are not talking about Martha Stewart here, is a Buff Orpington just like The Colonel. Martha is a sweet girl who lays soft brown eggs. She is gentle and will gladly eat out of your hand. Over the past couple of months we had thought and hoped that Martha was broody (i.e. sitting on the eggs until hatching) -- but eventually she gets up and leaves them. Maybe she will reconsider in the spring. Interestingly, the eggs don’t all have to be her own. She is just as happy to sit on whose ever eggs are in the nest box.


"Henny Penny" is so much more than one can imagine. She is a nervous Nelly who seems always to be worried about something. Henny is usually our visitors’ favorite because of her unique appearance and curious ways. She is a Golden Bearded Polish who lays smooth white eggs. Polish are a crested breed, which means that they have a top hat of sorts. We are not sure, but think that this elaborate headdress affects her vision and balance. Henny seems to run into things when she gets excited. Another reason she is a farm favorite is her flying ability.

Our home is situated on a hill and the coop is on the lower slope. When we call the girls over for a treat, Henny uses the slope as a runway and flies on down. This is truly a glorious sight, we have even caught her on the barn roof.



I have included photos below of our girls. For more information on the breeds and just because it is a fun site here is a link to a hatchery that we like.