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 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.  

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.

Maremma Pup, Poppy, Goes to New Home

Posted 24 March, 2008 in Maremmas | No comments

Maremma Pup, Poppy, Goes to New Home this past March 13th. Late night on the 12th we had our alpacas and Poppy in the truck on our way to the IAO show in San Diego. There we would make the transfer of Poppy to her new owners of Alpaca Knolls Ranch.

The ride was long at 8 hours plus. However, I held Poppy on my lap for the first couple of hours. She was very good not whining or moving around very much. I eventually had to place her in the kennel in the back seat as I could tell she wasn’t very comfortable on my lap. She didn’t want to go, but once inside she laid down and stayed quiet. We stopped occassionally to let her drink water, eat breakfast, and go the bathroom. For the last couple of hours I held Poppy on my lap again. She was absolutely wonderful.

When we got to the show Poppy was allowed out to walk around while I supervised her. She was now 10 wks old and looking fluffier than usual as I washed her the day before. The new owner appeared and we could tell that Poppy was nervous. Eventually we asked the new owner if he wanted to hold her and he said yes. To our horror she peed down his leg and then starting yelping as if he were hurting her. Thank goodness the new owner understood her nervousness. After a little bit we placed her in his car. Poppy then went on to poop in his car seat. Oh my goodness! I hadn’t realized just how attached she had gotten to Tommy and me. It was almost heart breaking, but we knew she would love where she was going.

Alpaca Knolls ranch bought another female maremma from another ranch to be delivered the same day Poppy arrived. This made me feel good as she would have company for her first day at her new home.

The next day I saw the owner’s wife, Lorraine, in which she stated that when she went out that morning Poppy was waiting with her tail wagging and quickly rolled over onto her back for a quick belly rub. Yes, that is the Poppy I know. She get that from her dam, Bianca, I said. Lorraine also went to tell me that although Poppy was a week younger than the other pup that she was bigger. Lorraine believes Poppy will be the Alpha dog and when she does breed she will breed Poppy only. This was a thrill to hear.

All in all it was sad to say good bye to Poppy, but I trully believe that she deserves to be alpha dog of her own ranch. What Lorraine shared with us just proves that we are breeding the right kind of temperment as well as guardian dogs.

Gino is now 12 wks. old. He is still available as a prospect pulled out at the last minute. Gino is absolutely gorgeous and ready to protect your herd. Call us today.

Maremma Pup, Poppy, Goes to New Home

Posted 24 March, 2008 in Maremmas | No comments

Maremma Pup, Poppy, Goes to New Home this past March 13th. Late night on the 12th we had our alpacas and Poppy in the truck on our way to the IAO show in San Diego. There we would make the transfer of Poppy to her new owners of Alpaca Knolls Ranch.

The ride was long at 8 hours plus. However, I held Poppy on my lap for the first couple of hours. She was very good not whining or moving around very much. I eventually had to place her in the kennel in the back seat as I could tell she wasn’t very comfortable on my lap. She didn’t want to go, but once inside she laid down and stayed quiet. We stopped occassionally to let her drink water, eat breakfast, and go the bathroom. For the last couple of hours I held Poppy on my lap again. She was absolutely wonderful.

When we got to the show Poppy was allowed out to walk around while I supervised her. She was now 10 wks old and looking fluffier than usual as I washed her the day before. The new owner appeared and we could tell that Poppy was nervous. Eventually we asked the new owner if he wanted to hold her and he said yes. To our horror she peed down his leg and then starting yelping as if he were hurting her. Thank goodness the new owner understood her nervousness. After a little bit we placed her in his car. Poppy then went on to poop in his car seat. Oh my goodness! I hadn’t realized just how attached she had gotten to Tommy and me. It was almost heart breaking, but we knew she would love where she was going.

Alpaca Knolls ranch bought another female maremma from another ranch to be delivered the same day Poppy arrived. This made me feel good as she would have company for her first day at her new home.

The next day I saw the owner’s wife, Lorraine, in which she stated that when she went out that morning Poppy was waiting with her tail wagging and quickly rolled over onto her back for a quick belly rub. Yes, that is the Poppy I know. She get that from her dam, Bianca, I said. Lorraine also went to tell me that although Poppy was a week younger than the other pup that she was bigger. Lorraine believes Poppy will be the Alpha dog and when she does breed she will breed Poppy only. This was a thrill to hear.

All in all it was sad to say good bye to Poppy, but I trully believe that she deserves to be alpha dog of her own ranch. What Lorraine shared with us just proves that we are breeding the right kind of temperment as well as guardian dogs.

Gino is now 12 wks. old. He is still available as a prospect pulled out at the last minute. Gino is absolutely gorgeous and ready to protect your herd. Call us today.

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.

DMAR Maremma Puppies Update

Posted 18 January, 2008 in Maremmas | 5 comments

DMAR Maremma puppies update:

Well it has been almost 4 weeks (puppies born 12/23/07) since the puppies were born.  It is amazing how much they have changed. They were almost helpless being blind and deaf at birth to now just 3 weeks later walking around, barking, playing, and even growling.

They are beautiful little puffs of white that you can see on our live cam at www.desertmtnalpacas.com. Once on the main website select the live cam link at the top menu. It will scroll between the alpaca maternity ward and the puppies.

You can watch them play and just like one person observed one is more the aggressor. Can you guess which? Well it is the female. She seems to be taking after her mom. Although Bianca (bitch) is lovable to all who we introduce her to she is very hesitant and weary of the stranger. She takes her job seriously. We already can see that the female pup too gives us a growl/bark combo and then licks our faces. The male pup is just as cute and both puppies have their sire’s coat, Santino. Beautiful waves running through it.

Both puppies are for sale and will be ready by the end of March. Please contact us at 520-378-3263 for more information or by email at info@desertmtnalpacas.com.

Maremma Puppies Right Before Christmas at DMAR

Posted 25 December, 2007 in Maremmas | No comments

Maremma puppies right before Christmas at DMAR. Tom and I got our Christmas present just a day before Christmas Eve. Bianca had her first litter of pups starting at 8:30 am. Since it was Bianca’s and Santino’s first breeding attempt (each only a year old) the litter was small - only 2 puppies, a male and a female. All are doing well and doing their thing - sleeping and nursing while crying.

We had been watching Bianca like a hawk since Friday night. I took her temperature and it was lower than usual. We knew that this meant impending birth. However, Bianca took her sweet time about it. Her water didn’t break until 4 am Sunday morning and then she left us waiting in anticipation for another 4 1/2 hrs.

Bianca’s vet said he was thrilled to learn that we were breeding Bianca. She has one of the sweetest temperments he has seen in large dogs. Bianca has no issues allowing others to touch her in awkward ways, especially being placed on her back for x-rays. Hopefully she will pass that temperment on to her pups.

Bianca is a great mother. Her instincts kicked in immediately as she cleaned them off. She knows to roll onto her side to give them access to milk and picks up her rear leg when needed to allow them to feed off the rear nipple. Bianca rarely leaves the whelping box. Only when she needs to go to the bathroom. This is pretty incredible since we keep the room at 77-80 degrees. Bianca is an outside dog and loves the temperature to be cold. She must really love her babies to stay in the box panting for hours on end.

As of now the pups have Santino’s coat style. Waves running from the head to their toes. Santino is anxiously waiting for them to appear, but for now the small glimpses of Bianca when she leaves the whelping box will have to do.

Funny, but it seems Santino knew that Bianca was in labor. The night before he began to act differently really wanting to see her. He didn’t eat his dinner nor his breakfast the next morning.

If you would like to see Bianca and her pups please visit www.desertmtnalpacas.com and select the live cam from the top menu. We have four channels connected, 3 for alpaca viewing (we had 2 new crias this month) and 1 set on Bianca. Sorry if it is kind of hard to see them. They are white and sometimes everything looks white in the picture. You will have to look for movement.

Both pups are up for sale. Please contact us at info@desertmtnalpacas.com if you are interested. They are livestock guardian dogs, so we prefer them to go to a working home. I guarantee both you and they will be happier if they have a job to do.

Merry Christmas!