It’s now been three weeks since we brought the alpacas home. Everyone seems to be getting along find and getting into a routine. Alexis is helping to feed every morning before going off to “school” and again when she returns. The alpacas are getting to know that when they see her with the pans, it’s time get some grain.
There are times when I think we have two herds with three alpacas each. The one herd of the girls from Canada, Judith, Sunspot and Ilsa… and the other herd of the three that were at Cedar Ridge here in Kentucky, Chardonnay, September Rain and Chispero. They seem to stick together. However in the last week or so I have noticed them blending in a little better…. except for at meal time. They spend their days grazing in the pasture and come to the barn periodically for hay and water. With some pretty sunny days lately they have also been spending time in the shade of the barn, which is about 15 degrees cooler than outside. We shut the south facing doors in the late afternoon to keep it cooler in there.

It did not take me long to figure out the “personalities”.

Judith – She is the alpha. She gets to a pan of grain and nobody gets any till she’s done… and if she decides she wants YOUR pan, she will take it. She’s not easily caught and she kicks.

Ilsa – The calm one. She was the first to approach us when we offered the grain on the first day. No hesitation. We’ve caught her easily and examined her fleece which we found to be a beautiful dark brown with maroon hues when in the sunlight. We took her temperature during herd health because she felt a little warm. The next day we took it again and she continued to stand in place even after we walked away. She was just fine.

Sunspot – The indifferent one. She’s not aggressive at the food pan. She waits her turn and finds some anywhere she can. She’ll share with “the other herd” if she has too, but most often she will find a feeder off to the corner and stand there quietly munching along.

Chardonnay and Chispero – Mother & Son – They pretty much stick together, even though he is nearly a yearling. He was weaned at Cedar Ridge before coming here and we have caught him trying to nurse a couple of times. However Chardonnay has no milk and he has soon figured out that there is nothing there. He will be moved to the boys pasture as soon as we get the shelter done and fencing up.

September Rain – Our “little” girl. Just six months old now, she weighed in at 76 lbs last week during herd health! She’s a sweet heart and is doing much better than Chispero in the halter training sessions I’ve been doing. She sticks with Chispero and “Auntie” Chardonnay most of the time, but she is also beginning to make her own place in the herd.