Farm News/Events

We will be open again this coming Valentine’s Day weekend; Saturday and Sunday, February 13 and 14th from 10 AM to 4 PM.  Come visit to see how much Babar and Mike Mulligan have grown.  Babar is almost off the bottle and he is now eating grain.  We are also weaning the older young boys; Christopher Robin, Mowgli,and  Curious George.  They aren’t happy about it, but my gosh, they are 7 months old and they are eating plenty well enough.  Netherless, it is traumatic for these younsters.

Make sure you visit our farm store while you are here.  We have some new yarn that wasn’t here for the holiday season; a beautiful dark grey from Damascus and Celebration; a nice light fawn from Saladin and Violet; a beaufiful brown from Annamia; and a true black from Euphrates and Palmyra.  This could also be one of your last chances to get some alpaca socks, gloves and whatever to keep you warm the rest of this winter.

We will be open the 2 weekends after Thanksgiving for our annual Holiday Event and Sale. Please plan to stop by to see our new fall babies and see how the spring babies have grown. We have a newly remodeled farm store that is well stocked with alpaca yarn, gloves, mittens, scarves and more. See our new items including arm and leg warmers. We will have our traditional hot cider and alpaca cookies.

We will be open Saturday and Sunday, November 28-29, and December 5-6, from 10:00 AM to 4:00 PM. You can also come any other time or date, just call ahead to be sure someone is here. Call 413-253-4485.

Introducing Barbar and Mike Mulligan

This year we have chosen to name our babies after early 20th century fictional characters from children’s books.  Babar had a difficult start to his world.  There was a slight dystocia so he and his mom had a difficult time with his arrival.  We were lucky to have a local midwife familiar with farm animals help us out with the delivery.  Babar was not gaining weight, so we started giving him goat’s milk every two hours. Babar’s next challenge was his front legs.  He had contracted tendons which made him walk with his front knees bent.  He then developed a limp on his left front leg.  After we tried our own version of physical therapy, Susan took him to a vet and he got a split pictured here.  Our grandson, Hayden, also broke his arm and we wanted his cast to look like Babar’s, so they both have purple appendages. 

Babar with splint

Babar and Hayden

Babar’s last  challenge (we hope) is high IgG level is low.  IgGs are immunoglobulins that we is supposed to get from his mom’s colostrum within 12 hours after birth.  He didn’t get enough, so we gave him llama plasma.  I’ll spare you the details on how this was done, but you can ask me when you visit.

Mike Mulligan is doing very well.  He weight 16.4 lbs at birth and just 3 days later, he is over 19 lbs.  He has been bounding around the pastures.  He is a very cute boy with a white spot on his nose.

Mike Mulligan

Mike Mulligan

We have been busy getting our farm store ready for this season and we are done!  Or almost done.  It seems like there is always one more thing to do.  Anyway, we fixed drywall, put in new lights, painted, added new trim, and installed a new floor.   Here are some pictures.

FarmStore1

FarmStore8

FarmStore7

We will be at the Spencer Fair along with alpacas from Blue Lake, Great Rock, and Hidden Acre Alpacas at the Spencer fair.  We will also have products to sell.  Check out the Spencer Fair website for more information (not about the alpacas, but about other things going on there).

www.spencerfair.org

Come to Shutesbury Town Center and see that alpacas.  We will have a couple of alpacas in an pen under a tree to provide shade for our wonderful animals.    The hours are 10:00 AM – 3:00 PM.

We are going to be open for farm visits this day in celebration of National Alpaca Farm Day.  Our hours will be 10:00 AM to 4:00 PM.  Join us to see these friendly creatures and also feel the warm and luxury of alpaca.  Find out how you can get started in raising alpacas.  Our newly remodeled farm store will be open.

Have you been wondering what it takes to do really well at alpaca shows?

This clinic will train you in the skill areas necessary to “bring home the ribbons”! You will learn the difference between average and outstanding show performance! Kim will also explain the importance of correctly shearing your show alpacas. A correctly shorn alpaca is more likely to stand out from the others so that the judges will notice. 

To reserve your space, send a check today to Fred Porth, Hidden Acre Alpaca Farm, 27 Freeman Rd, Charlton, MA 01507.

For more information, contact Steve Rice, steve.rice@alpacas4u.com or Jack Lathrup, jmliii@aol.com.

This event is sponsored by the Alpaca Venture Alliance.  www.alpacaventurealliance.com.

Craigieburn Farm wins ribbons at the prestigious North American Alpaca show.  K-Ran Simba’s RePete win a fith place ribbon out of a class of 14 in the halter show and Sophie Kaplan-Bucciarelli wins a 5th place in the junior public relations class.