Angel Tree Farm Alpacas

The Final Cria of the the season arrives!

2010-09-17T16:44:00.003-04:00

Yes, the final cria of the season decided to read it's pretty little head! It was a cold (potentially wet) fall day so we decided to keep Cinnomon...the mom... inside should she decide to deliver when we weren't home...well she did! We had Grandma checking in on Cinnomon during the day and when she arrived there early afternoon there was the cria and placenta. The cria wasn't moving much so Grandma almost had a heart attack! Lately I have been in shock a bit myself with the cold temperatures setting in. Well it seems as though she was a bit chilled...shocked at the weather and apparently a little thirsty! (I couldn't resist posting a picture of her with her tongue out!) She just couldn't keep her tongue in and was licking and sucking like crazy! We quickly dried her, weighed her (15.5 lbs) took her temp (99.4) and put her coat on...and of course a little neck warmer as well. (I knew those designer Izod leg warmers from 25 years ago would come in handy some day!) It's hard to believe it is almost turtle neck season...well this little one is starting it out...she's lovin' her turtle neck and so is her friend and neighbor Ranata who helped G'ma with the birthing chores:-) She is quite a little character and we all laughed a bit as she was "dressed" for the weather! We'll keep you updated on her latest fashions...I am hoping it is just beautiful alpaca fiber in the near future!

Cria Update...

2010-08-25T20:58:00.008-04:00

Over the past few weeks we have had two additional crias... August 4th we happened upon a new female black cria...three weeks early according to my records but when you go 350 days whats a few weeks early? She is adorable and what conformation! Still un-named...

We just went on vacation to Orlando Florida and left with one of our females OVER due...approximately 370 days gestation. Well wouldn't you know it she went and had the cria on the eve of our return...fortunately we left the animals in the care of our new tenants/vet students! It was uneventful and the mom had the cria as usual...on her own and quickly.

We put out requests for name suggestions and have yet to firmly decide on names...at this point it looks as if the boy will be "Orlando" and the female "Noir" which is french for black. She gave such a fight while being bled though that many wanted to name her bronco...

It was a fun day all around and we have enjoyed our season thus far of crias!

Talk about an audience!

2010-08-25T20:48:00.004-04:00

Okay this one I had to post. We had our annual Cornell Lab at the farm the past two days (they arrive in car loads and go through 4 shifts of students, the professor and their assistants as well) we merely provide the alpacas and a few llamas! The incoming vet students always look forward to the alpaca farm lab...well this day was no exception. We did the usual...ivomec, nails, some toe swabs, blood draws, blood cards...and a spit off/breeding. Marcus was not bothered by the audience. If you are an alpaca and you have an opportunity to breed...you do it! Well he did and were there ever were laughs at the "orgling"! This is what you call "receptive"! :-)

Jay wins naming rights! Cria number two... of birthing season 2010 is born on Angel Tree Farm!

2010-07-20T22:41:00.011-04:00

It was an exciting evening on the farm...unfortunately you just don't know when an alpaca birth will occur! Tonight was farmer Jay's (Engels) night. While down by the barn doing chores all the animals in the stall came in...all but Joy. Something was up. He went to the pasture to check on her and he noticed a head and ONE leg coming from Joy's posterior! He was the picture of calm from what I was told. As if HE had taken the classes on birthing alpacas in abnormal positions...he went and had to put his hand inside and help her to get her crias other leg out. He gently pushed the cria back in enough for the cria to present normally...with both legs AND a head! No Name yet...Jay earned the naming rights to this one!

Fortunately... SHE was a healthy 14 lb little cria.

***Stay tuned to the blog... a technologically savy teen was on the farm and caught part of it on video...we will try to upload it for you in the next day or two! Otherwise feel free to do a drive by and watch for the "It's a Girl" sign!

Welcome Frankie!

2010-04-28T15:54:00.005-04:00

Here... Ashley is holding our latest bundle of joy!

Yes we were surprised...but not too surprised to see we had an early arrival last night around dinner time. We went to the barn to start chores and lo and behold we found a cria! Yes we had a nice little white MALE cria in the pasture as well as a placenta. We believe the little guy was around for a few hours by the time we found him on the cold spring evening.

We will keep you posted as we await new arrivals but we have a lul now until July I believe... hope you enjoy our cria. We will get our blue "it's a boy" sign up!

The clock is ticking....

2010-04-26T21:39:00.005-04:00

The clock is ticking down to the first birth on the farm this spring birthing season. Kenya...who ALWAYS goes early is due May 15th. She is acting very pregnant to we are on cria watch already. Watch for the sign...will it be a pink alpaca sign or a blue one??? Stay tuned!

This would be Kenya's first pink sign...she has had three crias and they have all been the color of she or the father. We thought we'd take a chance and breed her to our medium silver grey Marcus this year. Can't wait to see what we get! (Kenya pictured with her '08 cria)

Spring on the Farm!

2010-03-24T16:08:00.006-04:00

Spring has started to appear on the farm! This was first apparent when the peacock began to grow his feathers for mating season. (Little does he know his mate is captive...and the size of the tail just doesn't matter!) In a matter of a week or so the feathers have come into full plumage. One male has started to use his feathers the other has not. There are a few guinea hens in their pen so maybe he is confused!

The rabbits have been returned to their outside cages and seem very happy to be out of the stuffy barn.

The chickens are happily free-ranging on the farm again and are back in breeding mode themselves. We have chicks in the basement that are anxiously awaiting their turn to venture out on the farm.

On a sad note our beloved "Abby" (llama) the queen of the farm came down with P-tenius about 3 weeks ago and has been struggling to overcome it. She is a strong, stubborn animal and is not going down without a fight. She can no longer get up on her own (so we help her up a few times a day...and are getting very strong ourselves!) She is able to talk around for a bit before going down again. We have tried all the remedies in the book and have seen the worst it is going to get we hope!

We continue to grow fiber and babies until shearing day and birthing begins. It has been a long hard winter but now as the sun begins to shine and the mud is in full bloom we begin to realize the fruits of our labors.

Sat. Bakers Acres and Open House Sunday at ATF

2009-10-09T16:53:00.005-04:00

We will be having an open house on Sunday...we chose Sunday because we (the alpacas, some of our products and us!) will be at the Baker's Acres Apple Harvet Festival this weekend on Saturday...it should be awesome. Come by and check out all the activities...it is supposed to be an incredible fall day! Click on their logo to see what the schedule is for the day!ooh yes...and Monday will be a day of rest in honor of Christopher Columbus! :-)

Touched by "recovery gift" at The Great Cortland Pumkin Fest

2009-10-09T16:22:00.007-04:00

Two beautiful days were spent in Cortland this weekend. It was truly a celebration of pumpkins...and fall. They were incredible fall days and hundreds of people filed through our stall...but two made our days completely worth the time and effort.

Two special ladies bought hats for themselves. One was going to be losing her hair soon due to radiation and the other was buying herself a "recovery gift". I recognized the woman as a woman who had purchased our stylish alpaca hats last year...asking her if she had bought hats last year she immediately said "yes"...two...and this year I am buying one as a gift to myself. I wore the hats all winter because they were so soft, warm and didn't itch my head. She then told us that she was told she had breast cancer only a month after buying the hats...not knowing how important they would be to her bald head! But on this day she was buying herself a new one as a recovery gift. It gave me chills...and my mother...the Creator of the unique hats was touched that something she made had made a difference in the life of someone with cancer. It seems as though no one is spared from being touched by cancer...and on this day my mom felt how she made a difference!

Prepping for National Alpaca Farm Days!

2009-09-21T16:03:00.006-04:00

As usual we have been working hard on the farm and are beginning to prep for winter and fall events. You know... the list one last barn door to replace, spit offs to be sure all are bred and the daily work of animal upkeep. (Above pictures are from the Lansing Harbor Fest)

We will be open the the weekend for National Alpaca Farm Days (Sept. 26th and 27th). The farm store will be open, animals in pens with new babies to be seen. It has been another good year on the farm and we look forward to sharing it with you this weekend. We are distributing our fall events schedule and will be around at local festivals, farmers markets and will be having open houses at our farm...and in between we will be knitting ;-)

For more information on our events go to our website at www.angeltreefarm.com !

Puttin' up hay!

2009-09-02T22:53:00.006-04:00

Hay you alpaca farmers...I got lucky! You know when you get that call from "the hay guy"? Well if you are not familiar with it, it is kinda like that call that that proclaims"the baby is coming"...you drop everything and run...only in this situation it is to the barn! Depending on the weather and when the farmer will show up with the hay wagons...you just take it when you get the call. Well, I was preparing for a graduation party at our house/farm...when I got "the call". Not quite knowing what to say I said "okay"! When you are getting second cutting hay you take it when it is ready because you don't want it sitting on the wagon and drying out or let it get caught in the rain...so I took it! Well about midway through the party..."Ray the Hay guy" shows up with about 175 of the bales (we had already put up two wagons ourselves!)...my husbands farmin' family (and friends!) pictched in and we had the hay put up in about 20-25 minutes! It was fun and is always a bit of a thrill in a weird... exhausting... sweaty way...but on this day it was really special whenpeople took their positions and we did the tedious job of putting up hay...together. (Did I mention I was the photographer on this day?)

We bought a used hay elevator from a local farmer and were thankful for it this season...it was worth every penny!

Belated Blogging!

2009-09-02T22:48:00.002-04:00

Hey bloggers...I want to say that here at Angel Tree you are sure to get the scoop on the latest...but it might be a day late! I am struggling with getting all the hapenings onto the blog quick enough. Also finding that between web, tweeting, blogging and facebook I am not able to "get it all done". And to top it off I am doing the countdown for going back to school. When not farming and doing the family thing I am teaching kindergarten...and we all remember kindergarten. So I am prepping for the first day and trying to do "it all" as my husband says...and have only shed a few tears. But...would I do it again? Absolutely...so enjoy the ride and forgive my belatedness! :-) Thanks, Carol

Cornell Labs held at Angel Tree!

2009-09-02T22:24:00.004-04:00

Well, it was that time of year again

and Cornell asked once again to have Angel Tree host the vet students for one of their first labs on various farms. The students started arriving and getting into their blue "jumpers" as I call them (you'd have to ask the students about their nick names for them! :-).They quickly rallied around and started to learn about "the alpaca". We here at Angel Tree use llamas as guard animals for the alpacas...and we have a young female llama that has decided that she wants to be the star of the show. "Liberty" quickly won the hearts of everyone and allowed us to demonstrate, poke and prod for the sake of learning about the llama and alpaca. There were 4 goups totally 90 students in all that came through the farm on two days. They filed in and filled the lawn with cars and seemed anxious to learn about some of their potential future "clients"...the llama and the alpaca. We vaccinated, trimmed toenails, drew blood, completed blood cards...and even sedated a few of the adult llamas for their pedicures! Yes...can you imagine having to be sedated for YOUR pedi??? The animals tolerated the barage of students fairly well...but everyone was ready to be put out to pasture when all was said and done. A lot got done and it was beneficial to everyone...the students, professors and us! (PS: I did the "chipping" or microchipping that night...without an audience!) It was a few days packed with learning! Thanks students (and Dr. Smith!) for all your hard work...sometimes it's not easy wrestling an alpaca :-) but they are incredible creatures and we hope you enjoyed them as much as we do!

Lansing Harbor Fest Rocks!

2009-08-24T22:16:00.005-04:00

It was yet another fabulous year of the Lansing Harbor Fest...it was a gorgeous day with lots of sunshine...a little humid but everyone was having so much fun it didn't dampen the mood! Each year there are more and more exciting exhibits...this year it was the Verve booth that got us going! We had energy drinks and raised money for the Lansing swim team. It is a great product and worth considering if you need a little healthy jumpstart!

The alpacas fared well for the day but left a little early due to the heat. Liberty and Yu lo were very courteous and enjoyed all the festival goers. People got a chance to see some of the handmade alpaca products that can be found at the Angel Tree Farm Alpacas Farm store and see what incredible things can be done with alpaca fiber!

Back to Back Babies!

2009-08-24T21:39:00.003-04:00

It was quite an end to the breeding season on Angel Tree this year. We were surprised again and again this year...and again on Sunday (Aug. 16th)...to find a beautiful black male cria...and again on Saturday... we found a long awaited little white female cria. It has truly been a year of surprises. It has made it so much easier on the stress level of WAITING...which alpaca people know can drag on for days with dozens of trips to the barn a day...watching and waiting for a pending birth. We have been blessed that the births have been uneventful and independent. Yeah!

That is the beauty of alpacas...natural birthers and natural mom's! When we started in the alpaca business we would aniticipate the pending births with angst and now it has become a momentary thrill and then we calmly go about the rituals of prepping the cria for life on the farm. Now we have two more added to the herd...and to watch grow. No names yet :-)

The Three B's

2009-08-16T23:23:00.002-04:00

It was an exciting and exhausting day on the farm today...we had the three B's. It started off with a Birth, then a Burial and ended with Breedings! The birth was an unexpected twelve days early and delivered a healthy male cria (yet to be named!). The death was of one of our beloved old girls...Feliz. It was not a complete surprise as she has been showing signs of age for some time now. She delivered an adorable male cria (Rudy) earlier in the season who is adjusting to not having mom around. Abby the guard llama has taken him under her wing and he is doing fine. It will be strange to go to the barn and not see Feliz there with a mouth full of hay. It was a sad day. You think your aged alpacas will live forever on the farm as a "pet" but one day they die...that day came earlier than we had thought but she is resting now.
The day ended up with a few alpacas going for a drive in the trailer to breedings...then back home to the farm !
It was a day that showed...literally...the circle of life on the farm.

And then there was...JUSTICE!

2009-08-02T22:11:00.004-04:00

We returned from our vacation in Indiana just in the nick of time...or so my farm-sitting-nephew Kyle and mother/father think!

We were down at the barn when we noticed front feet and a head...coming from Abby our female guard llama. Abby continued to walk around the pasture for about 20 minutes or so before getting the sensation to push. (The intermittent rain and downpour didn't phase her). The baby came out nicely on it's own... and so considerate and perfectly timed that we could all watch. My parents, Mal and Ellie even had time to finish their breakfast and still got there in time to see the eventual birth! We watched Abby, who is a natural mom, wander around the pasture and stall as she passed the after birth and allowed us to do our usual birthing procedures...drying, weighing (a whopping 27.5 lbs!), temp...(a perfect 100.3), dipping the umbilical cord and putting on the cria coat. Then we wait as the two rested, attempted walking and the eventual nursing. Abby is a gentle giant and loves her babies...and only gave us the occasional warning spit...of only air! She knows we love her and we were helping.

As we stood watching this incredible act of birth...we talked about "Liberty" Abby's cria from last year and decided this one should be appropriately know as "Justice" for Liberty (female) and "Justice" (Male). Liberty is a gorgeous female grey and white llama that has stolen the show...from the alpacas on the farm. She is the first to approach the fence line and offer"kisses' to a passerby. Justice will hopefully follow in his sister's footsteps. He is a beautiful grey, white and light brown llama. It is exciting to watch as they turn from not-so ugly ducklings into princes and princesses! Join us on the adventure, drive by or follow on the blog as we watch them grow!

And baby makes 5!

2009-07-05T13:33:00.007-04:00

I was casually working across the road when my parents happened by and asked if ..."we had a baby?" I was shocked only to cross the street and see as they saw...a young cria under a new mom! It was Joy standing in the pasture with a cria suckling under her. It was her cria...a little over a week early and the spitting image of her! It was a male that was criated out of our very own Marcus. It was thier first pairing and her first male cria after two females. This new young male will make a beautiful herdisre for the farm someday (we don't have any brown herdsires!). Although each cria born to the farm makes you think about another alpaca for the farm. But as my husband says...everything is for sale...and we are geting up there in numbers...and continue to sell a few here and there! We now stand at 30 alpacas on the farm. Three left to go this season...2 alpacas and 1 llama. One alpaca is due this week. We have been fortunate that most of the cria this season have arrived unannounced and healthy. This is far less stressfull than past birthing seasons where we spent the summer on "cria watch"...there is no way to desribe the agony of it! For today we are thankful and with each birth we fall in love with alpacas again!

Got Water???

2009-07-05T13:20:00.003-04:00

Yes, it is that time of year. Any alpaca farmer knows that it is a big day om the farm when the pools come out! Well Joy could not wait...she literally followed me down the pasture when my son Tyler and I began putting out pools. She could not wait and quickly jockeyed into position in the pool...then proceeded to defend her spot in the pool. She is a "pool lover" there are also alpacas who have absolutley no interest in the "alpaca pool"...but prefer to be sprayed! The pools are wonderful but need maintenance...dumping, cleaning and monitoring when there are cria about! We don't tend to put them in a pasture when there are cria in it...but move the mom and cria to a different pasture and back once the cria is able to be near a pool and the herd. Even though it only contains a few inches...one never takes chances with new cria. ;-) PS: the next day she had a beautiful male cria!

Saturday Surprise!

2009-06-07T22:24:00.004-04:00

Well, we were going about your average Saturday...when I saw my husband Jay in a fast canter up from the girls barn...with that look that says "we've got a baby!" There is nothing like the excitement of a cria birth on the farm!

We have been looking at each other for the past few weeks and saying NO Way is Lacey going to make it TWO months! But I had double checked my records and checked the gestation tables and yes....that was the calculated date...but I knew Sat. when I saw him running up (in a controlled way) from the barn that we had a baby...and when I met him half way I called out...Lacey had her baby didn't she? The answer was yes! Any alpaca breeder will tell you that we alpaca breeders know our due dates! We plan, we calculate... select or herdsires, we check... we chart and we re-check. In looking back over my records the only thing we can figure is that last season she went down, bred and we calculated based on the last breeding...when in actuality an earlier breeding took? This makes you wonder...was she just in the mood? Enough of that, we could be here all night discussing the breeding habits of male and female alpacas, their breeding habits etc...!

Well I am sure you are curious at this point...the cria and mom were fine, healthy, up and enjoying HER Saturday! Yes she is a beautiful white female weighing in at 16.5 lbs. Not bad and the best part...no waiting, no butt watching and pre-delivery stress. Alpaca breeders will actually drive themselves crazy watching the expectant mother...for days, hours, minutes, and even seconds. Literally staring at the alpaca's butt, it is as if if we watch hard enough... a tiny head will peek out from under the tail and say "Hi, I'm here". Of course everyone wants to be around for the birth of the cria's on the farm in the event they really DO need our help:-) ON this day we were blessed.

All kidding aside it is the first unobserved birth where I have found the mother with slightly bloodied teats. I think she may have actually nipped at her own teats to "unplug" her teats as we alpaca farmers deem necessary :-) A quick clean up with a sterile wash and all is normal. The two are fine...and did it all by themselves. Imagine that. This Saturday had a happy ending. It was after all "D Day" and in honor of D Day and our surprise we have named her ATFA's Normandy "Mandy" for short.

(We will let you know if someone on the farm just can't live with "Mandy")

Recovery time...a week!

2009-05-24T11:24:00.002-04:00

Okay, you know you are getting old when it takes you a week to recover from shearing day! Seriously though...doing 36 animals in two days doesn't sound to bad but we did it a little different this year and due to the excitement of the day I will have to do separate blogs!

This year we used a different shearer and we were very happy for the most part. Let me explain. In the past we have used a skilled sheep-shearer turned alpaca-shearer. The difference...care of the alpacas! This shearer used a table and took the time needed to make the animal look fabulous! This meant that the animal was walked to the side of the table and gently tipped on it's side and strapped to the table. There was literally little to no struggling and the animal was gently tipped back off the table. It was great. Once you have used a shearing table you will most likely never go back. It was a little more time consuming compared to the usual wrestling and flipping of the alpaca...and more gentle on the pregnant females. This process also allowed us to sort the fiber as it came off the animal, inspect the animal and take care of shots, teeth trimming (if needed) and nails! It was a great couple of days but tiring doing 36 animals over two days. It is like that family trip when you had children...best to some times get in the car at 4 am in order to have a quick quiet trip rather than dragging it out over two days...but if and when we do it again...it is still worth the loving gentle technique used with the table rather than the wrestling match that sometimes ensues with the ground/mats. Alpacas first!

Birthing Season 2009, Cria #1

2009-05-04T23:08:00.003-04:00

We usually keep our births posted...and the dates of our pending summer birth schedule is posted on our website...but the posts are coming in slowly and for that we apologize. We work multiple jobs and the farm is a passion we enjoy before after and sometimes during work!
This cria was 18 lbs and is a real spitfire. He was born in the late evening but we were fortunte enough to catch the birth in person. A visiting friend of a relative told us Yulo meant "night" in Japanese...so he shall be...since we recently found out that the original name we had chosen..."Kulo" meant something not to nice about an individuals rear end...in a few other languages...Thus the change ;-) We'll keep you posted and catch you up to date over the next few days. It is a busy time on the farm as we are preparing for shearing day in the farm this Sat. May 9th.

Rudy it is!

2009-05-04T22:47:00.004-04:00

Well I was thrilled to be in the barn today...I came home from my school at lunch time to help "nurse" a mom and cria...only to find that the new cria we had Sat. had in fact just started nursing! It is exactly like when you make the appointment at the pediatrician and then realize your kids are better. I had the vet coming in the afternoon and voila..she's nursing and her borderline high temp was lower! We were thankful. While standing there watching one cria nurse, my husband...who is a man of few words...refers to cria # 2 as Rudy. In that moment I knew he was right. It looked like a Rudy...after the movie...little... but mighty! Rudy has made his debut at Angel Tree Alpacas!

Look, look, look...Feliz, Feliz, Feliz!

2009-04-27T22:35:00.006-04:00

Translation: Happy, Happy, Happy!

This is the meaning for our alpaca mom's name...and this is how we felt yesterday. Happy...when our cria finally arrived at 5:20pm yesterday afternoon. We have been waiting for this birth from our favorite elderly alpaca (for 350+9 days!). This past year we couldn't resist but give her one last try for a rose grey girl...she came through on half of the gamble. We had a rose grey...boy...so it is hard to complain. (This alpaca pairing has produced a rose grey boy, medium brown girl and now another rose grey boy).He was 9.4 oz and a little small but is doing well. When you have a healthy, nursing alpaca you are a happy alpaca farmer. Within seconds of the birth my family was prodding me to "look"..."look"..."look"! Not only have we been lucky enough to be present for the first two births of the season, we have had healthy crias and they are nursing and on their way! Alpaca owners know about that moment when you are standing over a brand new cria on the farm...time stands still and you hesitate, taking a deep breath...before lifting the leg to look in order to determine if you will call it "he" or "she". Then it is over. The long wait, the anticipation. Then you quickly remind yourself how lucky you are to be a part of this incredible animal, to witness the birth of a magnificent creature that will surely win your heart within moments...whether it is a boy or a girl!

No name yet...forward suggestions and help name the cria!

Dirtiest Jobs? Alpacas? Come and see!

2009-04-18T14:37:00.006-04:00

Find out for yourself at our Shearing Day open house May 9, 1-3:00pm!

Angel Tree Farm will have the farm open on May 9th from 1-3:oopm so that our alpaca followers can come and see what "Shearing Day" is all about. Many "alpaca people" have been discussing the edition of America's Dirtiest Jobs show...you know the one...where they feature alpacas/shearing as one of America's Dirtiest jobs! For years now of our visitors have been asking what alpaca shearing is like? We decided to give the alpaca enthusiast an opportunity to see for themselves what shearing day is all about. East Hill Alpaca Farm will come for the day and our two farms will shear our animals. The day will offer an opportunity to see the shearing, bagging of fiber and readying it for the mill as well as the end products. The farm store will be open with handmade alpaca items, such as, felted hats, mittens, scarves, fiber art products, yarn, roving, batting, with many products made from our animals as well as natural items from Peruvian alpaca pelts such as, teddy bears,, slippers and rugs.

It should be a fun day and an opportuinty for you to decide if Alpaca shearing/alpacas are one of America's dirtiest jobs or America's most loved job??

Okay...alpaca shearing is a "dirty job" for that day...but also one full of love and rewards! The reward of incredible fiber grown throughout the year and a special day for the alpaca breeder to reap the rewards of their labors during the year. That of incredible... luxurius of fiber that is yet become an amazing product whatever it may be turned into! Come and see for yourself!

And cria season is off... ATF welcomes cria #1!

2009-04-16T07:40:00.004-04:00

Well it was a quiet evening on the farm and while hanging around in the pastures we noticed Kenya laying on her side and being a bit of a stinker when another alpaca came near. She had that "stay away from me...I'm about to have a baby look!" That was a 8:30pm and by 10:30 she was the proud mama of a 19.4 pound baby boy! A night birth is a little unusual. (Births in alpacas usually occur between 5 am and 1 pm so that in their natural habitat the baby cria can be up and nursing before night when predators are out) She is a good mom and we were able to just watch and enjoy the natural birth of yet another beautiful cria on the farm. This was her third and the first for one of our personal favorite herdsires...Black Kilo (for you passer-bys, he's in the pature accross the street). We have owned Kilo for just about 5 years now- ever since starting the farm. He is special to us. The cria...as you can see is a dark black/brown tinged. We are guessing he may end up being a bay black like his father. He has a small white spot over one eye and a white chin. He will be named ATF Kilo's Kolu. Kilo after his dad and Kolu for "night' in Japanese. We had a family member's Japanese exchange student here visiting and we thought we would impress her with the birth of a cria...thanks with a little help from Kenya! Do drive by and see this new little one in your travels...he's a beauty!

Llama Kisses

2009-03-21T23:05:00.007-04:00

There is nothing quite like the soft fluttering kiss of a loving llama. Just walk in the barn and wait for the quiet qpproach of a friend. Liberty is that friend. She is a young llama born at Angel Tree last May 25th (2008) from our guard llama Abbey an our guard llama male...Homer. She is a beautiful light blown/grey female with white neck and legs as you can see and that's her friend... Ashley! This, this is what the alpaca (llama :-) farm is about. It's an escape from the busy day...it's a investment...it's a lifestyle... We love the animals and do all the day to day care othselves. Because we love it and that makes our animals loveable and very used to people. Try it...you will fall in love with alpacas.

Angel Tree Farm Alpacas hosts Farm City Day!

2009-03-20T20:41:00.005-04:00

This summer he had an event to remember! The co-operative extension contacted us and asked if we would like to host Farm City Day? We of course said yes and were excited to get the field of alpacas out there to the public...well we sure did! With incredible planning and expertise the Co-operative extension enticed approximately 700 visitors to the farm that sunny day. I do recall her saying that we didn't have to do a thing...but that is like inviting 700 guests over and not cleaning your house! We painted, fenced, trimmed and planted (with a little help from "The Plantsmen") in preparation for the day. What do they say? If you build it they will come...well the Co-operative extension really put on a Farm City Day to remember! The sun was shining and the people came to see not only alpacas but spinners, vegetable sculpting, sheep herding, the Dairy princess and her court scooping ice cream and the list goes on. It was a day to remember on the farm!

Mud, Mud, mud!

2009-03-07T21:57:00.005-05:00

Some remember as a child...liking mud. I never remember that nor do I think I ever will! This weekend I moved fences so that the animals are confined by the barn door and hay area by the hay bins. They are just trampling down the pastures and we are concerned that the grass will not grow. They don't seem to mind and will just feed off the hay until grass grows. I have a hard time believing that we have seen the last of the snow for the year:-) So for now, whether we like it or not...we will deal with mud. I wish I was an alpaca...not much phases them!

Alpaca Red Hats!

2009-02-28T14:55:00.008-05:00

When speaking of hats one cannot go without mentioning the new and stylish Red Hat. Ellie did not want to leave the "Red Hatters" out of this one! For anyone that knows red hatters knows they are special and wear only stylish red hats. Well Ellie figured that a "red hat" for this group would be a special hat indeed. She can create them with purple ribbons and bows or a simple knit in purple band. Our website features these special hats and one special lady got one of the first few to be made...our very own Curly Grandma!

(Pauline Engels)

Hats by Ellie

2009-02-28T14:23:00.006-05:00

Okay, if I wrote about socks... I must write and tell you about the incredible hats that are being produced by my mother, Ellie Hunter. She has found that she has a new talent at the age (of 70 something!). She knits, felts and molds that alpaca yarns into these very in-demand hats. They are thick and luxurious and always one of a kind because she hand makes each one. She uses antique pins to decorate each hat and although they are beautiful some people like them plain with the brim. Some are adorned with felted flowers or ribbons. One of the favorite hats is made from a gorgeous dark green iridescent alpaca yarn and embellished with a peacock feather from the peacocks on our farm. They grow them special for us. Once the courting season is over the peacocks conveniently drop their feathers and we gather them up to be sold in the farm store or put on a hat! That is what is so great about our farm...no killing! The alpacas are sheared (once the weather turns nice around here!), the chickens lay the eggs to be sold on the porch and the peacocks drop their feathers for hats and excited kids visiting the farm store. We are not self sustaining yet...but maybe someday!

Check out this blog for other great felting ideas! http://www.alpacafarmgirl.com

Alpaca socks and hats

2009-02-28T13:57:00.003-05:00

Although I will probably wear to my grave the incredibly beautiful hat that my own mother knit and felted for me out of one of my favorite alpacas (Snowy) I must admit that as I am aging...I have absolutely fallen in love with alpaca socks! There is nothing quite like putting on these luxuriously thick warm socks on a cold wintry day. It is easy to understand why it was only incan royalty that was afforded alpaca to wear hundreds of years ago. It is this feeling that has truly made me feel old lately! Joy from socks? Ha! The sad part is we have a distributor that has been having difficulty getting us the socks and they meagerly arrive in half dozens every few months. They are so incredible that demand is greater than the supply. Imagine that? So for now as we await our next shipment we and our loyal customers (who have been very patient!) will be satisfied to wear our old alpaca socks and our incredible fiber hats by Ellie. The hats are embellished with antique pins of gold, pearls and jewels. They are one of a kind and just to die for!

Alpaca School Visit

2009-02-28T13:45:00.002-05:00

I am excited to report that Jay and I did our first Alpaca School visit. A local school was studying about South America and the teacher wanted them to experience the alpaca, as it is such a vital aspect of the culture and economy in South America.
We really enjoyed this eventhough it fell on an ugly rainy, wintery day in February. The children were interested attentive and very polite. They were amazed just as we are constantly at the facts about this incredible creature...Of course as soon as I mentioned that we had brought her to visit in our "paca van" they laughed...and practically while explaining how clean they are and that they would never relieve themselves in the van or gym where we were presenting...didn't she go and do it..."tinkle" on the floor as one child mentioned in their beautifully written thank you note! It was quite a day. We only wish we did not work (I am a kindergarten teacher but I was excused by my principal during my lunch and planning period to meet Jay for the presentation) Jay recently opened his own accounting firm so that he can have more flexability and more time for the farm. Maybe when we retire we can do more visiting!

Oh, the Pregnant Alpaca!

2009-02-28T13:30:00.004-05:00

Yes pregnancy is a beautiful thing! The alpaca pregnancy begins with a spit off. Yes I said spit off...and in some alpacas this can last 350 days...the entire pregnancy! This is one of the methods used to determine pregnancy. The female will spit at the male who attempts to breed with her. (I must admit I snicker to myself each and every time they do this...oh the poor male!) We have one female that spits, spits and keeps on spitting. Let me explain...she is an "older mom" and although her body is accustomed to being pregnant she is just a plain old b-_-_-_-h when pregnant.I pity the poor alpaca I put in her stall. For this reason I only make an alpaca endure her for a day or so. I keep her in during the brutal winter days in upstate NY. My husband asks why? because although she might be a b----... she is smart enough not to go out despite the fact that she has a stylish alpaca winter coat in addition to her own made of elderly fiber :-) I have learned rather quickly about what my vet refers to as "middle aged" alpacas. I fees them extra feed, hay and they get extra TLC...Don't be fooled when an unscrupulous (although there aren't too many!) alpaca breeder tells you they live for 20 years and can breed that whole time. Our one or two are now "pets" and will die in our loving arms on the farm because they are not for sale. I would not sell them for money to someone getting into the alpaca business. Yes, I love the pregnant alpaca...and yes they do spit especially this one with attitude and while pregnant.

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2009-02-23T22:13:00.000-05:00

Ithaca Farmer's Market

2008-12-08T13:11:00.005-05:00

December 6 - Ithaca Farmer's Market was cold and lightly attended. Those who did brave the weather were looking for warm alpacaware. We were able to help them out with some nice alpaca hats and everyone seemed satisfied. In the afternoon Angel Tree Farm could be found in Cortland at the American Red Cross Holiday Bazaar. At this venue we could sell any and all of our items, not just the hand made ones. It was a fun event. Especially nice to be inside out of the cold. Sales were good as many people were doing their christmas shopping. We sold many small stocking stuffer type items. Reply if you saw us at either event. This upcoming weekend we will again be at the Ithaca Farmer's Market and also at a craft show in Weedsport. Let's hope for decent weather.

Trying this out

2008-12-01T21:46:00.000-05:00

Never had a blog before so we wanted to see how this worked. We will use this space to discuss the goings on of our farm and various topics dealing with our alpacas and alpaca farming in general