The NFC B-Day Chat Thread

[CapricornFarm]

Oh goody, I thought that little girl was the last one.

I never planned to sell him, he has a condition called flat chest which occurs occasionally in siamese cats.

 

[ronott1]

They fix dead deer?

 

[bruceha2000]

They fix dead deer?

 

[N F C]

How does the Wyoming state song go? We've got more critters than Kansas, they went and pinched what should be our song....

Hmmm, had to go look up the WY state song. According to Wikipedia, "Wyoming" is the state song of Wyoming." Gee, thanks Wiki!

Actually, it gives the lyrics too but they're way too long to post. And I've never heard it sung so really have no idea what it's like.

P.S. It mentions snow but no antelope or deer

 

[bruceha2000]

I think one line is
"where the snow, sleet and hail fall"

 

[N F C]

I think one line is
"where the snow, sleet and hail fall"

Well, that would be fitting

Bruce, I meant to say thanks for sharing your alpaca pics! Was wondering, do you shear them like sheep and have a market for their wool? fleece? fur? whatchacallit?

 

[bruceha2000]

I was given the boys last October so no much experience yet. I tried to shear them like sheep, bought the shears and a camelid comb (slightly higher than a sheep comb so not quite as short a cut) but as noted, had some trouble. You can see the comb lines on the picture of Teddy half sheared. I did buy a pair of hand shears so if I fail with the electric shears again next spring at least I have a proper pair to use rather than the household scissors. The scissors actually worked halfway decently but are harder on your old, somewhat arthritic, hand since they don't spring open after each cut.

Most YouTube videos show alpacas being stretched out on the ground for shearing like they were tied to a spit for roasting. Seems like that is traumatic so I built an 18" high stand. They weren't fond of that either though it was easier on my back than having to kneel over them would have been. Given how much Laddie was bucking, I bet he still would have needed several people to hold him down if he had been trussed up like that. And no way they were holding still so I could lift their feet for hoof trimming, that STILL needs to be done! No idea how I could have gotten a loop of rope over their feet to stretch them if I couldn't get even one foot while they were on the stand to keep them from moving around. These boys were not handled routinely and were manhandled (according to the prior owner) when they were worked on.

I'm STILL hoping they will learn I'm not going to manhandle them but no luck yet. They don't care for the treats they are SUPPOSED to like (apples, carrots, etc) and while they do like their alpaca/llama pellets, yes they will eat out of my hand, no I can NOT touch them while doing so.

Sheep are usually sheared between the legs of the shearer. Talk about hard on the back! That wouldn't work on something the size of an alpaca though.

I think when you are shearing alpaca it is called fleece but once off it is referred to as "fiber". I have no idea why. At the moment their fleece/fiber is still sitting in the large plastic bags where it was put when it came off. DD1 IN THEORY wants to do something with it but claims that since we don't have a spinning wheel no sense in doing anything with it. Given we have a 42" floor loom that has YET to be used (gifted by a friend a few years ago when his mother could no longer use it) even though DW and DD1 bought a starter kit to learn how to use the loom, I'm in no hurry to buy a wheel. Especially since she hasn't shown any interest in even cleaning what we have.

BTW, she is 24 Y/O, we aren't talking about a 5 Y/O with dreams bigger than her abilities here. I suppose we could sell it for something on CL but since it hasn't even been picked for vegetable matter and shaken out * let alone washed, someone would have to be really interested in it since it is "raw". Unlike sheep wool, it doesn't have lanolin in it so theoretically is easier to wash. But from what I've read you can NOT agitate it or it will self felt and be useless for spinning.

* Boy did they have a lot of dirt in there. No surprise, they dust bathe just like chickens do. Teddy is more gray than black now.

 

[N F C]

Wow, I just learned a whole lot more about alpacas than I ever thought to learn! They sound interesting. The shearing process sounds like a pain (especially for the back!) but maybe once you mess with them more, they'll get somewhat used to it?

Although, thinking back to when we raised goats and tried to milk them...well, maybe not.

 

[CapricornFarm]

Wow, I just learned a whole lot more about alpacas than I ever thought to learn! They sound interesting. The shearing process sounds like a pain (especially for the back!) but maybe once you mess with them more, they'll get somewhat used to it?

Although, thinking back to when we raised goats and tried to milk them...well, maybe not.

Goats can learn to be milked, you just have to work at it. I had a few i either had to crush up against a wall or sit on to milk but heck yeah, i milked them. Being a Capricorn, i am more stubborn than a goat!

 

[CapricornFarm]

I think my guineas are lazy. I feed them around lunch time and open the door to the run so they can go out. They just sit there! I am going to start feeding them just before dark so they are hungry enough to get out and look. How are they going to eat ticks if they just sit on their butts?