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That day, you don't want to have...

Fri, 27 Jun 2025 05:15:57 GMT

Cria Birthing

We are newcomers to the world of alpacas. We immersed ourselves fully into this endeavor and occasionally question the wisdom of undertaking such an initiative as we approach retirement. For my wife, retirement is just a few months away.

It was only a couple years ago, when we started with a couple pet boys and here we are a short time later with 8 females, 4 adult males, 2 yearling males and several dams expecting over the next few months. Our new affinity goes beyond the quantity of animals we have on the farm, to the fact that our investment has been focused on acquiring seed stock animals. Maybe ‘that’ is the craziest part of this journey, taking on this type of hobby with little to no experience, didn't think I was a gambler, perhaps just foolhardy.

To our credit, we have taken classes, joined clubs and networked with all of the right people. The amount of information Tina and I have taken in over this short period of time is immense and yet we feel so unprepared for days like today.

I have to say, my personality type is to be prepared. This goes back to when I was child, growing up as a cub scout. Our motto was “Be Prepared” and here I am, decades after my scouting career, still employing that way of life. I have totally earned my patch in alpaca birth preparation. We took a seminar with an amazing vet, who has seen it all in the Alpaca mecca of the Northwest. I have laminated the notes, purchased every possible thing you can need for birthing alpacas and put it in a kit ready to walk out the door for assisting the birth of alpacas, and step in when/if there are signs of distress.

Today was the day… I got the text that one of our girls gave birth and the picture showed a young cria standing next to its mom. I left work just to be there and witness the new life of our very first alpaca in our breeding program, the first birth on our farm and be in the presence of arguable one of the cutest babies in the animal kingdom.

I was nearly 2 hours away at a jobsite in the sticks. Traffic was slow and I felt like a new dad trying to get to the hospital to meet his first child. Tick, tick, tick… Patience Daryn, you will get there!

When I got home all of the anticipation and excitement I had been percolating turned to instant terror when I saw the cria laying on the ground gasping for air. All of my planning and understanding of what to do was gone and I was stricken with paralysis. My instinct was to jump in and do ‘something’ but the training said no, you have to observe. Cria are known to be up and down in the first few hours, they have 30-40 breathes per minute, this is all normal…, but in my heart I knew this was different. I read the laminated information card trying to remember the first few hours, but since we don’t know how long the cria sat in the pasture before Tina found it, I couldn’t pinpoint the hour we were in, and I decided it was time to act.

Cell phone in hand I called mentor number 1 with no answer. I reached out to another alpaca breeder who had seen this before and didn’t get an answer on this call either, but I left a message. As I was reading my queue card once again, trying to manifest the answer, I got a call and sprang into action with my lifeline, well I was hoping for the baby cria’s lifeline! The thermometer revealed very little, Karo syrup gave the little guy a jolt of ‘sit-up’ medicine, but he quickly went down again like a lifeless ragdoll. No, this is NOT good. He struggled to move, slowly becoming less active, one breath, long pause, next breath. With stethoscope on, listening to the heartbeat, then as quickly as I found it, it was gone. I quickly moved the stethoscope around, trying to find it again… but it was gone along with any sign of life, my little guy was also gone. I couldn’t do anything to save him.

I have been through so many versions of trauma in my half century on this planet but this one paralyzed me, I was momentarily in shock, unmoving, unthinking, just defeated. Here I am, the human protector who failed in his first attempt. I have no business doing this! The alpacas on this farm need better than I am able to provide. The dam came back into the barn, smelled him, turned and left. I sat there with this little guy for nearly an hour, the dam never came back, she knew... As grief gave way to intellect, I began going over what happened, analyzing the details of what I could have done better. Should I have…? Maybe if I did ‘that’ better? Surely, I missed something, right?!

Well, it has been 2 days since this event and reading my thoughts on the moment, stirs me and naturally the doubts come back. But, of course, I know there was nothing I could have done, and literally nothing that Tina or I did that caused this. The odds of having an animal die this quickly after birth are slim and yet, somehow this is our journey, this is the universe telling me to listen. Maybe there is a lesson in all of this? I am quiet and still waiting for the answer, hoping…

About

Sat, 23 Nov 2024 13:46:09 GMT

Alpacas?

Why an alpaca farm, of all things? As my wife, Tina and I have grown over the years, we have organically developed a calling to create something bigger than a house on our property. Something that allows us to share our creativity, our love of family and community, something that brings people together with laughter and love. Let me take you back a few years…

In 2016 I was asked to be the wedding officiant for a couple who are very dear to me. I mean, you cannot say no to a request like this, so I accepted with honor. Wow, how cool is this, to share one of the most powerful life events with people this important to me was such a great feeling. I wrote the ceremony to follow their theme and practiced my part over and over. I wanted to create an atmosphere where the audience would be part of the experience, and the couple could feel the love being shared by everyone present.

The event was a success, and during the months leading up to the wedding, Tina and I built props for the ceremony and assisted with set up and organizing the event. The feelings we shared when performing the event were like a flower blossoming in both of us for higher calling. Sharing the great unifier with others, sharing love!

Tina and I spent the next 4 years working to create a wedding venue on our 40-acre property. We set up a business and renovated a dilapidated barn into a majestic icon of the Yelm, Washington countryside. We did a second wedding, then a third… And as time went by, the wedding buzz started turning into something different, a wedding hangover. Weddings represent the most beautiful, time-honored event of our lives, but with such great honor and happiness, comes the opposite… Expectations, deadlines, perfection and ultimately disappointment. Weddings had lost their beautiful luster!

Now what? I think more backstory will help paint the picture of our journey, before the wedding buzz, life took us for a ride…

2012, Tina was diagnosed with a rare form of cancer called Pseudomyxoma Peritonei (PMP) and was hospitalized for 6-weeks after undergoing an intense 8-hour surgery involving, multi-process, invasive procedures that concludes with heated chemotherapy washes through her abdomen. This exhausting experience combined with the long road to recovery sparked the desire for change from the disconnected and egocentric world we lived in to living a life of connection and gratitude for each day.

Healing from such a deep all-encompassing shock to the system takes years to overcome. Physical, emotional, and ultimately trauma, ‘being the hardest’ to fully recover from. This can shape your view on life and “what is really important”. Whether the experience was first person or as a powerless bystander watching the life of the person you love literally hanging by a thread, the trauma you feel is life altering.

We all have suffered from trauma in one form or another. The difference is ‘how’ we process our experience that allows our recovery. For my beautiful wife the gift of restored life was a calling to live and give to others. This life event was how the seed to give was planted in both of us. Tina has spent the past 12 years growing her yoga practice and in 2023 received her certification to teach, while I have begun an intense search for deeper understanding of regulating mental and emotional health and wellness.

Fast forward to our new adventure. We sold the Yelm home in 2022 and since we wanted a slower, country lifestyle we purchased a farm in the hills outside of Chehalis, WA to be our retirement destination. We never envisioned the path we would find ourselves on, but through community engagement we discovered alpacas and our alpaca mentor.

If you are following along, waiting for the answer to the very first question… here it is! Yoga… healing… alpacas? [Hmmmm] We had heard of goat yoga but that was not the style of calm and healing we were looking for but when we visited an alpaca farm and were surrounded by a 75-head herd who were softly humming, the feeling we had was indescribable. These animals are special.

Alpacas are enchanting, gentle, creatures with calm and sometimes quirky personalities, they evoke calmness, are naturally curious, and when you look at their faces, combined with the topknot ‘hair styles’ they actually remind you of cartoon versions of people you know!! Alpacas naturally make you smile, which adds to the vibe. They are absolutely perfect therapy animals and fit our vision of what we wanted to give!

The seeds that were planted earlier in our lives have brought us to share healing, to create community, to develop a sanctuary that embodies all these ideas, in one. Welcome to Sweetgrass and Sage Alpaca and Wellness Farm.

Why are our females all white?

Mon, 14 Oct 2024 03:44:05 GMT

What is an Accoyo Alpaca?

I have been asked several times, why is your female herd all white? I thought this would make a great blog because it is true, why would you want to have all one monotone color, isn’t white, well… kind of boring? Maybe, but it has more to it than that, let’s dig in a little deeper.

To begin, 3 of our 4 alpaca females are 100% Accoyo and the 4 ^th is 75% Accoyo. To answer why, I think a little history of what an Accoyo alpaca will help. Accoyo alpacas are a distinct breed of alpaca that originated from the Accoyo region in Peru. This area is known for its unique climate and geographical features, which contribute to the high quality of the fiber produced by these animals. Here’s a brief overview of their history:

1. The Accoyo alpacas have been bred for centuries in Peru, primarily for their fine fleece. The region's conditions are ideal for producing alpacas with dense, soft fiber.

2. Over the years, breeders in the Accoyo region focused on selective breeding to enhance desirable traits such as fiber quality, color, and conformation. This has led to the development of alpacas that are known for their exceptional fleece.

3. In the 1980s, a few Accoyo alpacas were imported to the United States, which helped to introduce their genetics to North American breeding programs. The first major importation occurred in 1994, when a significant number of Accoyo alpacas were brought to the U.S., further establishing their presence in the alpaca community.

4. Following their introduction, various breeding programs were developed to maintain and improve the quality of Accoyo alpacas. Breeders focused on characteristics such as fiber density, softness, and overall health.

5. Accoyo alpacas gained recognition in the alpaca industry for their high-quality fleece, and they became highly sought after by breeders and fiber enthusiasts. Their popularity has continued to grow, leading to the establishment of various shows and competitions to showcase their quality.

6. Today, Accoyo alpacas are highly valued both for their fleece and as breeding stock. They are recognized for their distinct characteristics and are an important part of the global alpaca industry.

We are new to the world of alpacas and wanted to make sure our initial investment was made with a lower margin of error. Our intention is to breed alpacas for show, so we wanted to start with what we believe are the most important foundational aspects of an alpaca which begin with fleece characteristics, specifically fleece fineness or AFD (Average Fiber Diameter). If you produce a narrow fluctuation of these fine fibers, or SD (Standard Deviation) the blanket will show higher consistency of quality or coefficient of variation and begin the conversation for solid foundation to build on.

When we were researching how to achieve a consistent fleece character, the Accoyo name kept coming up for this feature, over and over again. The Accoyo was also known to have larger solid bodies with consistent conformation in overall composition. Thus, achieving another important aspect of alpaca judging which is body phenotype or appearance.

With the foundation of our breeding program showing consistent fineness and great conformation, we have the beginnings of something we can build from. We can influence color and other measurable characteristics through selective genotype introduction and when combined with modern science we can steer the next generations of our herd towards the “perfect alpaca”. Okay… deep sigh [tempered enthusiasm], we think our program will have an excellent beginning… ��

Shearing Day 2024

Sun, 02 Jun 2024 02:01:33 GMT

Spring 2023 was our first, but 2024 was twice the experience! Our herd has grown to 4 boys, so we decided to outsource the shearing to TopKnot Alpaca Care. Seth and his crew did a great job, we will use them again next year as we will be adding the female and cria pasture late this year/early next. Nails, teeth, shots and shearing is a great value. They were organized, cared about how we preferred our fleece cared for and overall courteous and respectful!

For those who experience this ritual annually, and with numbers beyond our 4, our hat is off to you! It is a process, and prep for the event will help to have a successful day. You need to ensure you have the herd penned up and ready for their turn. If you have females and babies, you need to have them in a separate paddock or holding pen. We prefer to weigh before and after shearing to gauge fleece weight, so having a system to effectively manage that is imperative. Fleece management system, with labels and enough bags for firsts, seconds and dryer ball... Don't forget that sample bag for the histogram. 'That' is a blog, 'in and of itself', sending samples to New Zealand was a process! And, finally, immunization prep. We chose to treat the boys with subcutaneous shots for parasites and CD&T, after fleece was removed for easier access. 4 males weren't too bad, but there were 5 of us to manage.

There appears to be a universal approach to restraint of the animal during shearing. using two opposing locations to tether front and rear legs pulling the animal into a fully stretched out position. I have seen YouTube videos of other ways, but this approach allowed for quick work and since alpaca prefer not to be handled, I would suppose this approach would be preferred, over longer periods of handling. Our handlers moved quickly, one began by gathering our sample from the flank of the animal in an area of the blanket where you generally get the best fleece, then on to shearing the blanket, or the 'first' cutting. The blanket, which is removed from the back and sides is generally the best quality of the fleece, due to the length of staple. Spinners prefer long fiber when making yarn, as it is easier to work with. 'Seconds' is the rest of the fleece taken from alpaca's neck and legs.

The alpaca spa continues with trimming of teeth. Ok, this one can be harder on the untrained person. First off, an alpaca does not have a top row of teeth in the front. They have a soft pallet that the lower teeth meet to pinch grass against when they are foraging. An ideal alpaca has lower teeth which align with that top pallet and do not extend beyond. If their lower teeth extend, it becomes difficult for them to eat so grinding these teeth down help the animals health but trimming with a grinder leaves a smell that is undeniably distinct! Oh boy! Next is the fighting teeth. 3 of the boys are younger (2-year-olds) and haven't developed these hooked menaces yet but Mort, our older gelding does have them, and they needed to be removed. The males will fight each other for breeding rights and the intent of these teeth is to hook onto the testicles of other males while they spar. Males fighting is quite the ruckus experience (Blog at a later date)! Since Mortimer has been gelded (before coming to our farm), he is relatively docile, but we want to be sure the other boys remain intact. So 'off' they go! There is a tool that makes short work of them. This is painless as there are no nerves in the tooth.

Finally, the pampering (lol) is complete with toes, final trimming of the topknot, followed by subcutaneous shots. All of this happened for us simultaneously since there were so many of us. We release the front legs during these closing moments to let the alpaca begin to get its bearing again. Once everyone has cleared, we assist the packy to its feet and guided it over to the chute with the scale for final weight and into the holding pen with the other walking Q-tips.

Fleece weight and blanket weight are calculated to determine yields, the bags with fleece are left open to allow them to dissipate any moisture but once fully dry they are tightly sealed awaiting to be processed. We had one of our full fleeces weigh in at 11.5lbs and his blanket was 5.8lbs.

Sounds like we will be processing 2023 and 2024 fleece soon. Stay tuned!

Socks

Tue, 28 May 2024 03:21:29 GMT

I like socks...

Socks... I mean, what more can I say?! Good pair of socks for anything you do is the foundation of the day, right? Have you ever had your toe, stick through a hole in your sock and have to deal with that for the remainder of your day? Well, I have and it was a constant reminder that you tried to throw that thing away and realized you had a completely good mate and didn't do it. Alright, it is time... Let that thing go!

The pitch... Hypoallergenic... Ok, that may not be enough. How about the warmest, most comfortable sock that nature could put on the planet?! Wait, wait, with little furry alpaca fleece keeping your feet from stinking? Still need more, eh?

The sock industry has created a man-made synthetic fiber that has a hollow core which holds heat, wicks water, and breathes. The likes of REI, and others have made a killing on these products. Put a really fit person climbing up a mountain with a man-bun, eating a granola bar telling you how incredibly humbled he is to have seen life from the top of that mountain. Ok, ok, no offense to the Birkenstocks out there! Just that my point is, they have cloned the very fiber in these socks. These things do all of that, are natural, 'and' eco-friendly, and they come from the cutest little humming creatures you will ever see.

I needed a test blog for the website, thought it would be fun to tell you about Sweetgrass and Sage Outdoor Socks as a first post. You can find them in our store! They look great with a Birkenstock!!!

Sweetgrassandsage.net