DMAR Update for Wk 6/16/08

Posted 19 June, 2008 in Alpaca Health, DMAR Store, Maremmas, Alpaca General | No comments

DMAR Update for Wk 6/16/08:

It is hot here. High 90’s and low 100’s all this week. I go out at noon everyday and hose down the legs and bellies of all the alpacas. Funny how I seem to get kisses from the ones who never kiss me when I spray them down. I’m sure it feels real good to them. Especially to the dams carrying fetus’ in their bellies.

I took Emma and Carina to the vet last Wednesday and they are both confirmed pregnant. Lock & Load is the herdsire we used for Carina and Apollo is the herdsire we used for Emma. This is the second confirmed pregnancy for Lock & Load and the first for Apollo. It is exciting to see these young herdsires producing their first crias. Unfortunately we have such a long time to wait to see the results. Nonetheless they are pregnant, so that is one milestone down.

Two major changes seem to be occupying my time these days. I have enrolled in a veterinarian assist course. I am trying to learn more about animals and the illnesses (causes and cures) they contract. I definitely do not like feeling helpless when my alpacas, dogs, or cats are not feeling well and my vet is unavailable, so I decided to do something about it. I have already finished lesson 6 and am anxiously waiting for my new material to arrive, so I can dive in again.  

The second change is I am working on doing a website face lift. I am redoing the main website and because their are so many pages it is quite time consuming. However, I look forward to publishing the finished content. That won’t be for a little while yet.

Other than that things are quite calm around here. The alpacas and maremmas seem to be coping with the weather with the daily hosing down (not the dogs they don’t like to be sprayed) and staying in the shade with the fans and/or the two evaporative coolers we have on. 

This weekend we will be at the Bisbee Farmer’s Mkt again at Vista Park in Warren. We are there every other Saturday and bring our products from our DMAR Store.

DMAR Update for Week 5/25/08

Posted 26 May, 2008 in Alpaca Sales, DMAR Store, Alpaca Shows, Alpaca General | No comments

DMAR Update for Week 5/25/08:

AOBA National Show in SLC, UT: I just got back from the national show last night. I left last Wednesday for a fun time networking, learning, and observing alpacas. To my disappointment I didn’t do as well on my fleeces as I thought I would, however on the upside I did take a seminar on how to do fleeces and plan to put my newly found knowledge to work and redo my fleeces to see if I can improve the overall scores. I had a great time and look forward to the next show.  Of course that won’t be until the end of September in New Mexico.

DMAR Nikoli and DMAR Antonio: Both of these juveniles are now fully weaned and beginning their halter training. Both boys are for sale and I will have a link to their information within the month.

Bisbee Farmer’s Market: Tom and I will be back at the farmer’s mkt. this weekend. We hope to see you there.  

DMAR Update for Week 5-11-08

Posted 16 May, 2008 in Alpaca Shows, Alpaca General | No comments

DMAR Update for Week 5-11-08:

2008 AOBA Nationals in Salt Lake City, UT: I am so excited as this will be the first national show I will be attending. It runs from Wednesday, May 21st thru Sunday, May 25th. Thusday and Saturday are filled with seminars and show watching is left for Friday and Sunday. I will be entering six fleeces at the show. I have my fingers crossed.

Today we will spit check Emma who is bred to DMAR Apollo. Emma, a true black, is very fine, but lacks density. Apollo is a very dense medium brown male with wonderful crimp. Both maiden and herdsire have the typey head and nice fiber coverage. I believe this pair will create a wonderful cria.

All is well this week. This past Saturday we went to the Bisbee Farmer’s Market to find out that it had been moved to Elfrida. All was not lost as we were able to be vendors at the Fire Station Centennial Festival. Sales were good.  

DMAR Update for Week 4-21-08

Posted 23 April, 2008 in Alpaca Health, Maremmas, Alpaca General | 1 comment

DMAR Update for Week 4-21-08

Athena: What can I say? Still no cria yet. We did have her looked over this past Sunday and the vet felt the baby move. Basically nothing more we can do. The vet says not to worry until there is something to worry about. Tom said to me this morning that Athena was laying on her side ever so slightly and that today might be the day. I laughed. Well it has to be one day, but I won’t believe it until I see it.

 Shearing Days took place this past weekend. We took two full trailer loads both Saturday and Sunday to the Cokely’s ranch where they had professional New Zealand Sheep & Alpaca shearers on site. They work incredibly fast and do a great job. It never amazes me how much fiber comes off the animal and just how slender they are underneath. They look funny with those long necks. Anyway, I guarantee they feel better having the fur coats off of them in the quickly warmer weather hitting Arizona.

Maremma Puppy, Gino: I took these pictures yesterday (3/22/08). Gino is now 4 mths old today (4/23/08) and he is a huge teddy bear weighing 63 lbs. His front paws are to be admired and Tom wants a picture of Gino’s paw in his hand to reference the size. Gino has quite a lovable temperment and is really coming into his own. He is now playing more with the larger dogs and just today went running with them barking at whatever it was he was guarding against. Of course Santino ran him over part of the way through and Gino decided that between Vincenzo and Santino they could take care of the problem. He happily ran back to Tom for comforting after he was knocked over. I took Gino to the vet yesterday for his rabies shot and health certificate. Everything was approved and Tom is looking at flights to send Gino to his new owner in California. He will definitely be missed by us, but he will be the alpha male at his new ranch and in my eyes he deserves to be just that.

DMAR Update for Week 4-13-08

Posted 16 April, 2008 in Alpaca Health, Maremmas, Alpaca General | No comments

DMAR Update for Week 4-13-08:

Athena: Athena still has not given birth to her first cria. She is now on day 366. People keep asking when and at this point I don’t even try to guess. Some have advised that they are watching her on the cam and that she looks agitated. Then they ask do you think she will today? I answer my usual response of ”she’s looked that way since day 335 and at this time I will not think she is in labor until I actually see the cria protruding.” Today she looks like she does every other day. Content to eat and chew her cud.

Gino: Well it appears that our 3 mth old pup, Gino, will be going to a sheep ranch in California sometime next week. It was hard to say goodbye to Poppy when she left, but it has already been a month. However, we have had the chance to get to know Gino longer and have fallen in love with him. He is a great dog and I’m sure his new owner will love him just as much.

Shearing: This weekend we will be shearing all of our alpacas at Cienega Alpaca Ranch in Benson. I am pretty excited to see the fiber up close from the inside out. I am pretty busy preparing the bags that will hold prime fleece (blanket which consists of side and back), 2nds (will hold upper thigh and neck), and then 3rds (will be belly and apron). Everyone including little month old Armani will get sheared. With the weather getting up over 80 this week I’m sure they will appreciate having less fiber to deal with.

Bisbee Farmer’s Mkt: This year the DMAR Store will be bringing selected items to the Bisbee Farmer’s Mkt which opens April 26th from 8am - 1pm. We had such a good time last year and look forward to going back. We hope you will stop by and visit us.  

When Athena When?

Posted 8 April, 2008 in Alpaca Health, Alpaca General | No comments

When Athena when? I keep asking this question to Athena as each day goes by. She is making us suffer by not showing any signs of impending labor. Today is day 358 and I am watching her kush calmly. Will she be one of those alpacas you hear that don’t give birth until day 385? Gosh I hope not. I just don’t think I can take the stress of waiting. Everything appears to be fine. Athena eats normally and I do see the cria moving, so I know it is alive. At this time there just isn’t anything more to do than what I am already doing. Watching her on the web cam, checking under her tail each time she goes to the bathroom to look for some dialation, and make sure she is as cool and comfortable as possible. People from other farms are now asking for the status. Did she give birth yet? All I can say is not yet, maybe tomorrow. Once again I will ask, when Athena when?

Shearing Days:  All of our alpacas will be sheared on April 19th and 20th at Cienega Creek Alpacas. Although this is an exciting time in which we can really review the fiber and start making decisions as to which ones will be show worthy and which ones will be made into products, it is also a stressful time. Kaitlyn Rose our 5 yr old proven dam will go totally blonde on us and not recognize her newly shorn cria, Dominique. We know this since we have now gone through 2 previous years worth of cria shearing and watching Kaitlyn run away from the cria screaming. Kaitlyn is not one to allow another cria to nurse from her, so since she cannot recognize her own cria she will run and run. This usually lasts only about 6-8 hrs, but you can’t help but feel bad for the cria who doesn’t understand what is happening.

DMAR Update for Week 3/31/08

Posted 2 April, 2008 in Alpaca Health, DMAR Store, Alpaca Articles, Maremmas, Alpaca General | No comments

DMAR Update for Week 3/31:

We are still anxiously awaiting the birth of DMAR Athena’s first cria. Today is day 352. Tom and I cannot sleep the entire night through as we wake up to check the camera to see if she is showing any signs of labor. We have the camera hooked up right to our bedroom television and we don’t shut it off. Very convenient on one hand and awfully annoying on the other. However, I want to be sure to catch the birthing especially if there are any complications. Don’t forget to watch the Live Cam at Home and you too may catch the birthing.

Last month Tom and I had to deal with an alpaca, DMAR Apollo, getting very sick. We were very nervous about his not eating, having severe diarrhea, and a temperature. Although he never went down we could tell that this young male was very ill and we immediately took action to take care of him. You can read about our ordeal at How We Got an Alpaca to Start Eating Again.

Gino, the maremma pup, is now 3 mths old. He is still available and for $750 he comes fully dewormed, second set of shots, and microchipped. Gino is growing nicely and is already following the rest of the adult dogs around barking and trying to keep up with the chase. Gino is not afraid of the alpacas and does not chase after them. He will occasionally walk up to them and sniff them out, but for the most part he leaves them alone.

The Arizona Fiber Co-op recently received back our products from the mill. Every year the co-op gathers donated fiber only from the Arizona Alpaca growers and sends it off to the mill to have yarn, sock, and other products made. This year DMAR store has had rose grey cable knitted dress socks and cream colored yarn skeins made. You can view and purchase these items now at DMAR Store. All payments are done through Pay Pal which is secure.

We now have gardeners coming by for our alpaca manure. We off the manure for free, so simply call us for a first time appt. We will show you where it is. After that you can stop by at your leisure to pick some up. We do have a shovel for you to use, but you need to bring your own bags or buckets.

DMAR Updates for Week Ending March 1, 2008

Posted 25 February, 2008 in Alpaca Sales, Maremmas, Alpaca General | No comments

DMAR Updates for Week Ending March 1, 2008:

DMAR Athena is due to give birth this month. Her due date can be anywhere from March 16th through the 26th. Be sure to keep watch on the live cam at http://www.desertmtnalpacas.com/ . Athena was bred to AOBA Champion CTA Zecharia. This is the last cria for our winter birthing season. What a way to end the season. To date we have had four beautiful males and one female (Athena’s full sister), Dominique.

Please check out our sales page at http://www.desertmtnalpacas.com/alpaca-sales.html to view our current offerings. At this time we have AOCR Michelle Rose, a 6 yr old medium rose grey female, who has given birth to three beautiful crias to date and is a wonderful mother and milk producer. Michelle’s easy birthing and great mothering skills makes her an excellent foundation female. Michelle has been bred back to our full Peruvian herdsire, Snowmass Incan Emperor, for a December 2008 cria. Purchase Michelle by herself or in one of our package deals. Don’t forget the tax benefit you get from section 179. This year it has gone up to $250,000 on new alpaca purchases.

Don’t forget to visit our online alpaca store at http://www.dmarstore.desertmtnalpacas.com/. We have a wonderful selection for you to choose from with new items being added monthly.

DMAR Updates for Week Ending February 2, 2008

Posted 29 January, 2008 in Maremmas, Alpaca General | No comments

DMAR Updates for Week Ending February 2, 2008:

The female maremma puppy has been sold. We are thrilled that she will go to another alpaca ranch in Southern California. The ranch is Alpaca Knolls. Thank you Lorraine Smith. I know you will be very happy with your livestock guardian dog. Lorraine believes she will name the female poppy after her friends told her that the puppy looked like popcorn. Poppy will go to her new home in the middle of March.

The male maremma is still available. Please contact us if you would like more information on him. I can tell you that he is the spitting image of his sire, Santino. Don’t forget that we purchased Santino’s brother, Vincenzo, because we were so impressed with Santino. This little pup will make a great livestock guardian dog for your herd. He will show you the love you deserve and make sure no harm comes to your livestock. Don’t wait as he will go quickly!

Alpaca Update:

Carina is due anytime now. Day 335 is this Friday, February 1st. This is Carina’s first cria, so we are hoping for an easy birthing. She was bred to Snowmass Incan Emperor, our rose grey herdsire. Carina has a lineage of blacks and greys, so we will keep our fingers crossed that we will get a cria with some color. Keep watching the cam. You just never know when you will be witness to a birthing.

Update for Desert Mtn Alpaca Ranch

Posted 15 November, 2007 in DMAR Store, Maremmas, Alpaca General | No comments

Update for Desert Mtn Alpaca Ranch:

1. Maremmas - We have a new page up on our website dedicated to Maremmas (livestock guardian dogs). Please visit it at  http://www.desertmtnalpacas.com/maremmas-livestock-guardian-dogs.html . This Friday, Nov. 16th I will be taking Bianca to the vet for her pregnancy test. Although I am 95% sure already as I see signs of mammary growth and a change in temperment. I expect Bianca to whelp by the middle of December. Also, we would like to introduce you to Vinny (pictured above). Vinny is Santino’s full brother. We were so impressed with Santino that we needed to get another male from the same litter and we are thrilled with the new pup. Vinny is 4 mths old and already learning the ropes with the help of Santino and Bianca.

2. New Holiday Hours for the DMAR Store - We will be open both Saturday and Sunday from 1pm through 5pm until Christmas. Spend a relaxing, stressfree day at our ranch visiting the alpacas and doing your holiday shopping.

3. We are anxiously awaiting two new arrivals this weekend. We were so happy with our last purchase, AVR BY Golly Miss Molly, that we purchased her true black daughter, Emma. With Emma we purchased Shasta. Both are maidens just about ready to be bred. They will make a fine addition to our herd.

November is looking to be a great month. Be sure to come visit us. Don’t forget that we are having an after Thanksgiving weekend sale. Everything will be 10% off in the store. See you soon.