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OUR FAMILY OF
ALPACA PARTICULARS
Welcome to our farm:
Our “girls” Angie, Dolly, Dora, Eva, and Daphne range in age
from about two years old to almost thirteen years old. Their
fleeces are a variety of colors. Our youngest girl Angie is
light fawn beige and her fleece is quite crimpy. Her mother Dora
has a medium auburn brown coat. She has a pretty face with large
brown eyes. Dolly has a soft to touch white coat. Eva is silver
gray like her mother and sports a furry “top hat” of white and
black. Dolly’s mother Daphne is light brown with a beige
underbelly. All the “girls” except for Dora came from a
Connecticut farm in June of 2003. Dora came from New Jersey as
a holiday gift at the beginning of 2007.
In March of 2006 we welcomed three-year old Onyx and seven-year
old Renegade to the herd. Both are gelded males and came from
Hampton, Connecticut. Onyx is reddish black and is very food
focused. Renegade is true black and is our “gentle giant”.
Simon our intact male is three years old and is mostly dark
brown with calico colored leggings. He’s our biggest boy. And
our newest addition Vetran was born May 2008 and has his mother
Dora’s medium auburn brown coat.
Behaviors:
Dolly is most curious and usually first to greet visitors.
Dolly likes to get up close to visitors and sniff faces. She
also likes to “herd” people by walking in front of them. Eva is
usually next to approach newcomers and will keep a sharp eye out
for anyone with a handful of grain. Daphne is the "alpha" of the
herd and keeps all the alpacas in line. She has been a very
protective mother to Dolly over the years. Dora has a very sweet
disposition and tends to be on the quieter side. Angie enjoys
sticking her nose into the water bucket and is quite loveable.
Our youngest boy Vetran is very frisky and always looking for a
playmate. Renegade usually keeps his distance from visitors but
keeps a sharp eye out for predators. Onyx and Simon are pasture
buddies and usually get along.
Eating:
The alpacas have interesting eating behaviors. Daphne appears to
drills holes into a bale of hay. Eva will step up onto the hay
bin to get a better portion of hay. Dolly usually eats next to
her mother who will often relinquish her place to allow Dolly
more food. Dora and Angie and Vetran usually lay down in front
of the hay bin. Vetran was weaned from his mother at about six
months old. Onyx is a fast eater and oftentimes gets into
conflicts with Simon over food. Sometimes it’s like a feeding
frenzy. The alpacas do eat from each other’s grain dish once
they are finished with their own portion.
Communication:
The alpacas are very verbal. They will hum softly and stay
close together as they graze for food and explore their
surroundings. When becoming uncomfortable or stressed, the
alpacas will begin to hum louder. Eva will twist her neck around
when signaling her displeasure and neck wrestle. Vetran hums a
lot to gain his mother’s attention. Renegade elicits a
high-pitched shrieking sound as a warning signal whenever he
senses danger. Daphne most often spits to show her displeasure
with the other alpacas. These animals are very interesting to
get to know and enjoy. Hope you have a nice visit!
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