DMAR Alpaca and Maremma Blog

Bisbee Fiber Festival

The Bisbee’s Fiber Festival is tomorrow, May 15th at Warren Park starting at 8am and going through 1pm. We have attended this festival for the past 4 years and enjoy it very much. We expect tomorrow to be another great time for all. DMAR store will be there with this year’s shearing, yarn, hats, scarves, toys, and more! Be sure to stop by and say hello as this will be our final festival in Arizona. The next one we attend will be in Georgia.

Update on Maremma Pups:

The Maremma pups are now 3 weeks old. As you can see their eyes are fully open and they are quite mobile. I know their ears are open since they wake up each time I walk into their area. Personalities are becoming apparent. The males are all pretty much laid back where the females all seem to be little trouble makers. They are vocal and launch attacks against their litter mates. Teeth are now coming in and I expect that a few yelps will come to help them learn how to curve their bite.

The pups are being given puppy gruel. A mixture of crushed up dry puppy food mixed with hot water and milk. They all like it, but it is still quite messy as they walk, sit, and fall into the pie plate that holds the cream like mixture. On a good note…most are now lapping it up from the plate versus waiting for me to feed them. Donatella, dam, waits patiently until I give her the go ahead to lick the plate and clean off the pups.

The Maremma puppies are for sale and will be ready by the end of January. Females are $850 and males are $750. Costs include first shot, worming, micro-chip, and registration paperwork. To reserve a pup we require a $100 non-refundable deposit. Contact us to reserve a pup today!

Other DMAR News:

Breached Dystocia: This past Saturday Tom and I were called to aid a fellow alpaca rancher. She had a dam in heavy labor with no progress being seen. The rancher said she went inside and couldn’t find the head.

On the drive over I played in my head how I would proceed to determine the position of the cria. I took the neo-natal wet lab twice, so my confidence level is slightly more than most.

Once there I gloved, lubed, and went in. Immediately I felt two pointy elbows and a little knob on top. No neck or head was found. I followed the leg to find it was z-shaped and knew immediately the cria was breached. I contacted the vet and advised the owner with alpaca would be on their way shortly. The vet had me warn the owner that the situation didn’t look good and to be prepared. Even though the cria is still attached at the umbilical cord once the water breaks the cria may still try to take a breath. This could lead to drowning. Knowing all this made the situation seem more dreadful as the vet is approx. 45 minutes away when driving swiftly.

It was about two hours later when I listened to my messages where the alpaca owner advised that the vet had delivered an alive, alert, female cria. The owner was thankful for my help as she was struggling trying to figure out the position of the cria. She probably would have wasted a lot more time and possibly could have lost the cria.

Kaitlyn-Rose: Kaitlyn is due next month with her fifth cria. To date she has had birthed in this order a female, male, female, male. According to her history we are hoping for a female from her. Kaitlyn is a remarkable dam and has produced all blue ribbon offspring so far. Two of them have even won reserve color championships, DMAR Athena and DMAR Magnum. DMAR Athena is currently for sale and goes with her 2009 Fall female cria, DMAR Chanel. DMAR Chanel’s sire is HRAZ Lock & Load who is out of Xanadu’s Presidio. Chanel is a white beauty with dense, beautiful crimp, and lock structure that is already apparent in her cria fleece. Chanel was born in October 2009. Click Here for more information on Athena. Click Here for more information on HRAZ Lock & Load who is available for stud.

Alpha Carina: Carina too is due next month with her 3rd cria. To date she has given us a male and a female. We are excited to find out what it will be this time. Carina’s first offspring, DMAR Armani, is a 2x reserve color champion. We are currently looking for a partner in taking 1/2 interest of Armani. Click Here for more information on Armani.

Christmas at Desert Mountain Alpaca Ranch: Is this Saturday, Dec. 19th from 9 am to 4 pm. We hope you can come out and visit with us. Take a self guided tour of the alpacas and crias. View our Maremma livestock guardian dogs and the 4 week old litter of pups. You will be sure to fall in love with all the creatures of our ranch. Afterwards go into the DMAR Store where you can sip on eggnog and munch on cookies while you shop, view spinning and needle felting demos, or meet with the vendor Premier Designs and their line of beautiful, high fashion jewelry.

Can’t make it out to our Christmas celebration? Don’t fret. You can shop online at www.dmarstore.desertmtnalpacas.com. Hurry as time is running out to receive gifts in time for the holidays.

We hope you can all make it out. We have new crias, puppies, and hand crafted items made by BJ Powers from Power Ranch. Also we will have the vendor Premier Designs where they offer beautiful, high fashion jewelry at an affordable price. Drink some egg nog and have some cookies while you shop for your holiday gifts.

Tom will be available to answer any questions you may have about the alpacas or the maremma livestock guardian dogs.

If you can’t make it don’t fret. Shop online at www.dmarstore.desertmtnalpacas.com.

Don’t miss out on this sale! Shop today and save money and last minute stress. See below for how:

CHRISTMAS IN JULY SALE at  Desert Mountain Alpaca Ranch Store “Today’s Fiber for Tomorrow’s Fashion”
Save Big on Purchases With our Christmas in July Sale! Beat the chills this winter and be stress free with purchasing your holiday gifts well before the holidays.  Our selection of high quality alpaca apparel can keep you warm and looking your best this winter. Get free shipping on all orders $150 or more. Save 10% on Entire Purchase at Checkout by Using Coupon Code: FYW9IU2E
100% Baby Alpaca Men & Women Sweaters Style, warmth, and comfort all in one. Plenty of selections to choose from.		Alpaca Teddy Bears $30.00 BUY NOW! Our alpaca teddy bears are made out of 100% baby alpaca fiber. They are unbelievably soft and very cuddly. Choose between stuffed teddy bears or stuffed kitty cats. .
Save a bundle as you get bundled. For more deals visit our website at www.dmarstore.desertmtnalpacas.com.

Fawn and white skeins now available at DMAR:

 DMAR Athena’s blanket provided 9 skeins of 3 oz and 220 yds worth of yarn. Beautiful 100% baby quality priced at $21.00/skein.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

HRAZ Lock & Load, DMAR Electra, GLA Peruvian Alexis, and Wall’s Edge Shasta all provide white skeins. All are superfine quality except for Shasta who is baby quality. This yarn is supersoft and luxurious. Skeins range from 2.5 oz to 5 oz and between 200 – 220 yds each. Prices range from $17.50 – $30.00 per skein.

You can purchase these skeins online at www.dmarstore.desertmtnalpacas.com or you are welcome to come to our store on the ranch. Just give a call to 520-803-9569, so I can expect you.

DMAR Update for Weekending 5/9/09:

Gianna is finally home. She is our newest maremma. Tom and I imported her directly from Italy and I flew to NY last week to pick her up. She is only 9 weeks old, but she is a big girl. Probably weighing around 25 lbs. She has made our ranch her own and gets along great with all the other maremmas. She shows no fear of the alpacas and has already started guarding the property with her barking. Of course not to the same extent as the older dogs, but still she is trying. Gianna will be Santino’s new girlfriend as we had to spay Bianca earlier this year. She has already taken over Santino’s spot laying next to the dog house. Tom wets it down each morning and night making the dirt cool. As you can see she is already dirty.

 Armani with Vincenzo - People are constantly asking us how the alpacas get along with the maremmas. I think this picture says it all. Armani is literally laying his head over Vincenzo’s head while napping. Unfortunately I could only get one picture because Santino started barking at me, because I was sneaking up to the fence trying to be quiet. He gave me away which made both boys lift their heads. However it is obvious that they get along great. Both boys are yearlings in this picture taken just yesterday. Cute, cute, cute.

Update on Michelle Rose: Well we sheared her on April 22nd. Her wool was 3 lbs. Then the next day I left for NY for 6 days. Tom could feed her in the morning and night, but mid-day she wasn’t given any grain as he works. When I got back Michelle looked noticeably skinnier. We weighed her and she was only 144 lbs. She lost about 15 pounds in the 6 days I was gone. Now I am starting all over again in making sure she eats. I may have to change her medication back to ketoconozole. Not sure yet.

 DMAR Store: Have you been in our online store yet at www.dmarstore.desertmtnalpacas.com? We have sweaters that are 100% baby alpaca, teddy bears and cats, scarf sets, coats, ponchos, yarn, and plenty more. It’s never too soon to purchase your holiday gifts.  

 

Knitting:I made this scarf from my 100% alpaca skein in color rose grey. You can purchase the skein online at www.dmarstore.desertmtnalpacas.com. It took a little less than the 250 yds that come in each skein. Using size 9 knitting needles the pattern is as follows on a multiple of six stitches:

row 1: *k3, p3, repeat from *

row 2: *k1, p1, repeat from *

That’s it. This is a real simple knitting project for any beginner. Pattern was found online at http://fuzzygalore.biz/patterns/reversible.shtml.

DMAR Update for Week Ending 2/28/09:

Tom and I are super busy this week finalizing all aspects of the SouthWest Regional Alpaca Show that is being held next weekend at the Arizona State Fairgrounds in Phoenix. Over 400 alpacas will be attending and over 100 different ranches. Although this was a tremendous project for Tom and me as event managers I think we have covered all the necessary parts. We are super excited as usual and can’t wait to see what the judges think of our group of alpacas. As the owners I can tell you that we are quite biased to our own and almost always think our alpacas are better than everyone elses. Ha ha. We will be taking five of our young males and of course Dominique.

If you are interested in going to the show please feel free to visit the show website at http://www.swras.org for more information. It is free to the public except for the parking.

Ever since our article has come out in the papers we have been booking more visits and tours of our ranch. Tessa, the 8 wk old pup, is the overall biggest hit with the guests. She is so fluffy and loving towards the visitors. She allows them to hold her and she offers her little puppy kisses. Once they place her on the ground she is playing with their shoes and then rolling over on her back offering her belly to be petted. What a ham!

The other big hit is Magnum, the month old cria of Kaitlyn and Lock & Load. At two weeks of age he started chasing the other alpacas around trying to breed them. He makes the orgling noise and everything. Granted he doesn’t know exactly what to do since sometimes he is mounting the victim’s neck, but he’s trying. Anyway the poor little guy now has the nickname of being “the horny one”. It is quite amusing to see and if you come visit us it is very likely that you will see it as he puts on this performance everytime we have visitors.

That’s my update for now.

Carina due to give birth this week. Today she is on day 333. Two more days and the cria is full term. I’m hoping she holds out for a few days as we are having a cold spell for the next couple of days. Of course if she doesn’t I will be out there with towels and a hair dryer to get the cria warm asap. This will be HRAZ Lock & Load’s 2nd cria to hit the ground. We are very impressed with DMAR Magnum who was born last week. We are hoping that Carina gives us a female.

Tessa, maremma pup, is growing like a weed. She can now pull herself up onto the ledge of the whelping box and teeters above until she falls out. Of course we prefer her not to fall out, but sometimes we aren’t there to catch her. She is now over 4 lbs. and is very active. I have to be very careful not to step on her while filling up the buckets. She is constantly biting my pants or shoes. When I reach down to play with her she lets out a playful growl. She is so fluffy and too cute for words.

I can’t believe it, but Tommy is almost done with the transition of our garage into our store. The walls are almost all painted. New light fixtures and ceiling fan have been installed. Folding doors are painted and just need to be installed. I am so excited to move everything in. We are hoping to have it all completed this weekend. Just in time for my RV tour coming in on Feb. 5th. Yippee! 

 

DMAR Update for Week Ending 1/17/09:

Kaitlyn-Rose:She is now full term and on day 339. She can give birth anytime now. Two days ago we started Kaitlyn on Domperidone. This is a paste that will help with her milk production. Kaitlyn can nurse her babies fully, however it takes a little time in the beginning for her to produce enough milk to keep the cria gaining weight. We have found that by using domperidone we only had to supplement 1 bottle per day for approx. 3 days then mom takes over completely. Keep your eyes open for her tell tale signs of labor….going to the dung pile repeatedly. Don’t forget you can watch her at http://www.desertmtnalpacas.com and then clicking on the Live Cam link at the top menu.

Bianca’s Pup:The pup is doing well. I have been supplementing the puppy with 4 bottles daily and she has been gaining weight consistently. She is currently four weeks old and weighs a little over 2 1/2 lbs. Her eyes and ears are open now. She is getting more active and is constantly found sitting up just looking around. She growls a little here and there, but I think it is more by accident than on purpose.

DMAR Online Store:I have been adding more products in the online store. Products such as men’s and women’s alpaca sweaters. My favorite new product is a baby alpaca stuffed cat:

The dimensions are 16″ x 5″ x 6″ and is wonderfully soft. You just want to cuddle with it as if it were a real cat. The price is $35.00 and comes in many colors. Too many for me to list, so I ask that you let me select the color to send to you.

To view this product in more detail and all other alpaca products, please go to the online store at http://dmarstore.desertmtnalpacas.com.

Alpaca Sales:We have added more alpacas to our sales list. We have AOCR My Golly Miss Molly, a true black, who will be sold with cria at side, DMAR Versace. Versace’s sire is Snowmass Incan Emperor. To date both Incan’s offspring, DMAR Nikoli and DMAR Armani, have both won in the show ring with Armani going on to winning reserve color champion. Versace has perfect conformation, is very box shaped with fleece that is fine and crimpy. We look forward to seeing this little boy grow and be shown in the show ring. Molly sells with cria for $13k. Financing is available. To view more on Molly or any other alpacas for sale, please go to http://desertmtnalpacas.com/alpaca-sales.html.

DMAR Update for Week 12/21/08:

DMAR Valentino and DMAR Royal Peruvian Princess: Our two newest crias are both thriving and doing well. Valentino had a little bit of retained fluid at birth which caused him breathing issues. It sounded like he had a snotty nose that he needed to blow. It was agitated when he nursed and the first day he went to open mouth breathing. This isn’t what you want to see as all alpacas must breathe through their noses. Crias especially since they continue to breathe through their nose as they are nursing. However with some naxcel, banamine, and pure oxygen Valentino had cleared up the fluid by day 2 and is now a rambucious two week old cria. Princess, on the other hand, has been battling some diarrhea that started out with a case of e-coli. Her poop was yellow and pasty which is a sure sign. I immediately started her out on Albon and within a week the e-coli was gone, but not the diarrhea. We are currently giving her pepto-bismol and probios. It is getting better, but we aren’t too concerned as we see her nursing regularly (getting hydrated) and is running around being active. The diarrhea we are contributing to mom’s rich milk as we believe she only produces heavy cream and not milk.

DMAR Store will be open all this week for the last minute Christmas shoppers. You can stop by the ranch store, but please call for an appt first at 520-803-9569 or you can shop online at http://www.dmarstore.desertmtnalpacas.com. You can still get the items ontime if you select next day or 2nd day shipping.

Registrations have now opened for the 2009 SouthWest Regional Alpaca Show held at the Arizona State Fairgrounds on March 7th & 8th. The alpaca show is free to the public and if you ever wanted to learn more about alpacas attending a show is a great way to network and meet alpaca ranchers and ask questions. Tom and I are the event show managers, so please contact us at swralpacashow@yahoo.com if you have any questions. The show website may also answer a lot of your questions and that address is http://www.swras.org.

Our maremma dog, Bianca, is due sometime this week or next. We are excited as always to welcome her new pups. The whelping box is in place and Bianca has made herself comfortable in it many times now. I truly felt like she gave a sigh of relief when she saw me putting it in place. I know she was searching a location to have her pups and now she needs to search no more. This week Tom will place a camera in the feed room where the whelping box is, so we and online viewers can watch. Remember that you can reach the web cam by going to http://www.desertmtnalpacas.com and clicking on the Live Cam link at the top menu.

Don’t forget that in January we will have the Alpaca Know How Seminar. This is great for all you need alpaca ranchers to get a hands on as to how to select a good quality alpaca from a pet quality. For more information click on the DMAR Seminar link on the left hand side menu.

Happy Holidays Everyone!