Seven Weeks and Counting!

I can't believe how long it's been since I posted!  Time is flying by and yet sometimes it feels like it stands still.  They boys are creeping up on two months and I believe they finally believe this is home.

I hardly know where to start to catch up with all that has taken place in the alpaca world.  When I last left off I had just begun trying to get them where I could think about haltering them.  I had just received all of my tools and we were working in the catch pen.  Amazingly in just a week or so of working with them individually in the pen I was able to put their halters on them and began leading them a little bit.  I started with placing the halter in their feed bowl.  They would stick their nose through to get to the food.  At one point Sammy pulled his head out of bowl and halter was just hanging on nose (see two pictures) and it took a minute for him to shake it off. I'm sure when I go to my classes in Oregon in June I will learn that I wasn't doing it correctly, but at least we seem to be accepting each other's role and tolerating each other.

 The more I was with them, the more they seemed willing to let me touch their heads, we haven't headed to any other part of the body yet, but them we had to make some changes.

Sammy out for a bite of grass.

But let's back track just slightly.  Their small fenced pasture had lost it's green!  They had it down to nubs, so in order to encourage them to be led with halter and lead I took them out into the large pasture where the grass was very green and lots of it!  Sammy was the first to go out and he ate to his hearts content and then we would walk back in to the catch pen.  I would remove the halter and let him out and then work with one of the others.

Pancho out for his turn!

Now remember, they watch each other carefully.  So the entire time we were out and Sammy was eating, the other two were watching and trying to get to that grass.  Now I put their halter on add the lead and start out and they didn't want tot walk.  Finally Pancho figured it out and went out and ate, but Lefty wanted to part of it.

Then came the rain that flooded everything and changes in their stall and my catch pen and so we decided that we needed to let them out to eat, lead or not!  So on a Sunday afternoon, we released them to the big pasture and prayed they would come back in for pellets.  They did!  The next day I let them out again with just me at home and really prayed they would come back in for pellets and they did!  Now I go out open the gates, they go out and they come in on their own for water, shade and their dung pile!  They wander in and out like it's the natural thing to do, until evening and then they come in and I close and lock the gates, so they're in their smaller pasture and that seems to be just fine with them!  I honestly never imagined this could be so easy.

On the negative side, I haven't been working with them and their halters and must get back to that soon as we will be heading out on April 30 for shearing.  I don't know what to expect with shearing and don't really look forward to it, but we must do it or Texas heat would kill them and, of course, I am excited to see what their fiber is like.  Hope it's great, but time will tell.

I must say that this hasn't been an easy last three weeks.  Early after my last post I was ready to put them up for sale.  Their lack of trust of me and the frustration of working with them almost took it's toll.  Accepting that they are livestock and not domesticated animals has not been easy for me.  I've never had anything  but dogs and cats.  They are more like cats, but really not like either one.  It rains and they stand out in it or lie down in the mud and roll.  My mind says protect them!  Bring them  in, keep them dry.  They say let me be an alpaca!  My thoughts are not your thoughts, my ways are not your ways!  See any similarity there with us and God?

I have found many God lessons with these boys and they have assisted me in writing a recent devotion regarding trust in God (my part) and their trust in me!  I'm learning to say I trust you Lord and letting them go!  They are learning to trust me a little and draw a little closer!  But not unlike my walk with the Lord, they pull away and I wonder why, I'm sure just as He looks down at me and wonders why.  Makes no sense for either of us!

And so today, I sit here and watch them run in the pasture and it is a joyful run.  I watch them graze and thank God I have them, trusting that I will learn how to handle them and they will learn to trust me and we will live in harmony!  Believe me, no one wants that more than my sweet hubby who has been living with me on this roller coaster ride!

He surprised me with a new (old) trailer for them this week.  But more on trailers and fences later.  Got to get back to reality and get those pesky taxes done!

Racing Ahead With the Boys - One Step at a Time!

I will even stick my head through this hole for pellets!

I can't believe it's been almost two weeks since I last posted about the boys!  So much has happened since then both with me and the boys.

As I waited for the tools to arrive, I spent time reading and studying the new new ways to work with the boys.  The most important thing I think I've learned is that it's me that has to be trained and then they are simply handled properly.  It's a new concept to me, that all I want from them is to accept me as their handler and learn to do nothing.  I don't mean that they won't learn to do things, they will, but first they just need to stand still and do nothing!  And I have to breathe!

I continued to go out to the pasture and stall and give them their treats (alpaca pellets) when they come to me.  And now when they see me coming they almost run, well, actually Sammy does run to me.  He's the two year old and he has his own way of doing everything and is proving to be the most difficult to work with, but he's had two years of no handling, so I think that's to be expected.  I am seeing progress with him.

Lefty with his head between my arm and body to eat treats!

So all of my tools arrived on Friday, so I practiced using the catch rope on the bar stool and then on our carousel horse in the back yard.  I tried it on Bill too, but decided the horse is the best!  He probably likes that idea too; however, we will be using the rope on each other to learn how to "not" hold and to help learn balance without force.  (He doesn't know this yet, but he will help)

Monday I headed out to see what I could do.  I would love to say I headed out with confidence that I would accomplish great things, but I was actually not expecting much, if anything.  They still pulled away if they even thought I was reaching out to them.  But, Marty said in her book that you can't build trust just hanging out with them.  You must work with them, they must learn to trust you as you do things with them and expect them to respond, so there I was ready to get one in the catch pen.

Well, I got three in the catch pen.  It was the first time they had seen that the pen could be cut in half and it didn't seem to bother them, but now I had to get two out.  Amazingly, using my wand I was able to herd two out and was left with just Lefty.  I began running the wand down the back of his neck and across his body as he stood and looked out the gate at the other two.  Sammy and Pancho were right outside looking in and I'm sure wondering when I was going to throw my arms around Lefty's neck and hold him in a death grip, but that never happened.  I moved around with him in a non-threatening way and as I offered him so food I began to touch the top of his head.  When he pulled away, I stopped!  He would walk away and then come right back and I increased the touching.  There are some massage techniques and I began to use them on his head.  So there it was  - he came up, I touched, he walked away and when about 15 minutes were up, I released him.

My first thought was and now I need to get another one in, but guess what?  It appears that they had watched closely and saw that Lefty was getting food inside the pen and they were not!  And so Pancho came rushing in!  I worked with him and he wasn't quite as agreeable as Lefty, but it was a good session and then there was Sammy!  When it was his turn he burst into the pen!  He wanted his share of the goodies, but he really didn't want to do anything to get them!  He paced, he didn't want the wand near him, he wanted treats, but he didn't want me to touch him in any way.  Now remember he's our two year old, so he's gone twice as long without human touch, so I'm really not surprised by his attitude and worked with as much as I could and ended the day.

I was pleased and excited because I had hope!

Lefty letting me rub his head for a snack!

Tuesday I worked with them once in the morning and again in the afternoon.  Both Lefty and Pancho let me touch them more and more and Lefty actually seemed to enjoy the massaging on his head and neck. Sammy really didn't want it at all!  I remembered reading somewhere that you could take the bowl of food, hold it to your back with your arm forming a circle and see if they will place their head through the circle!  And he did!!!!!  First he looked at the bowl and my arm and then slowly moved forward and stuck his head through.  Think about this, now his neck was surrounded by body and arm. He didn't stay long, but he came right back and so this is how I've worked with him on Tuesday.

Sammy being this close to me is just amazing!  

Yesterday there were two more sessions and everyone is doing better.  Well, almost!  In the morning I had a hard time getting them out of the pen and leaving just one and so I worked with Lefty with everyone in the pen and then finally was down to one Sammy.  Again we worked with the circle and he began to let me touch the top of his head for a few seconds before he moved away.  Each time I tried it was a little longer.  And then I let him out and tried to get Pancho in.  All three wanted to come in and I finally took the bowl out and did the circle with Pancho outside of the pen and guess what he stuck his head right through the circle!  Then I just led him into the pen and we had our time together.  He was much better.  The second session was after Bill got home and he was able to snap a couple of pictures.  He was amazed as I worked with them!  Pancho was first and didn't get his picture taken, but here are the other two!  What I need to take is a picture of Pancho looking through the gate watching the Lefty get food!  I really believe they're learning from each other!

I am so excited!  When I let them back out they don't take off they just hang around me .  I really do see hope, but I'm taking it slow.  We are taking this one step at a time!  Next week I will try the catch rope, but if they're not ready, I will slow back down.

Week 2 - Really, Only Week TWO!

I am in pen - trying not scare them as I leave!

Week two began with some serious changes!  We let them back out into the pasture and left the big gate to the stall open.  We opened it - they wandered out and right back in and then out for grazing.  It was good to see that they didn't rush out like they were getting out of jail.

Later that afternoon I went out shook their food can and they came right to me.  I let them eat out of my hand a few bites and stopped.  They wandered back out to the pasture.  In my last post I shared that I had made up my mind there had to be a better way and waited for my two books on handling to arrive from Camelidynamics, well I actually ordered them from Amazon, but they were written by Marty Bennett who founded Camelidynamics.

While I waited I continued to visit them during the day and evening and give them a little food each time they came into the stall/pen.  They came in readily, sometimes running!  The first couple of nights I felt better to close them in for the night, but by Tuesday I just let them stay out all night and that's what they continued doing for the rest of the week.  There's a motion light and a couple of nights they have triggered it as they did some running around in the pen, but other than that it stays dark and they seem to be happy and safe.  And I continue to try and breathe!  Letting them be alpacas and not trying to treat them like a household pet!

The books arrived on Thursday and I began to read!  By Thursday night I was almost blind and very confused.  I saw that Camelidynamics had a Guild and so I joined on Friday and was able to express my concerns about learning how to handle them on the forum.  Marty Bennett responded not only on the forum but sent me a wonderful, encouraging email and suggested I might want to attend one of the training clinics.  And so, I leave Texas for Oregon on June 14 and spend five glorious days there, four of which will be hands on training for me!  You see their theory is you don't train the alpaca, you train the handler!  And in the meantime I ordered some tools that I think will help me learn from the books how to be a loving, trustworthy handler and the clinic will be the refinement.

So, now there's hope!  With Donna and Laurence and now Marty and the Guild members, I will have the help and encouragement I need to learn how to handle them in a way that will allow them to be alpacas, but, alpacas that can be used in social situations.

Those of you who know me well, know that God is present in every thing in my life and this is no exception.  In my concern and frustration, I prayed so hard over these three guys. I prayed for wisdom to learn how to handle them and for them to find peace and trust in their new home and God has answered with new skills to learn and old and new friends to help me and them along the way.

 My friend Lawsona with a big horse!

Praising God my alpacas are small!

Wednesday I stopped by a friends house that has draft horses.  This is my friend with the zebras and longhorns that I post pictures of so often on Facebook, but I had never been to her house.  I drive by, I take tons of pictures of her animals, we see each other at events and she always tells me to stop in, but I don't. But Wednesday I knew the Lord said turn in to her driveway, she will give you wisdom and she did!  These horses make my alpacas look like puppies, but I knew Lawsona would have encouraging words and her advice was to just relax and spend time with them.  Grab a book and a small chair and sit in the pasture with them.  Study them and stay relaxed.  Just be!

That's how she trained an "untrainable" horse!  She got to know him  and he got to know her and trust was the result.  And so I went home and began to just hang with them and I know they appreciate that I just want to be with them, to get to know them and as my new friend Marty says to let them know that I just may speak alpaca!  Not with words, but with the understanding of what they need, the fears that they have and the desire to not force myself into their space.

Already not grabbing at them this week has paid off.  They come right up to me, sniff me and when I move they don't run.  They may back a step away, but not running away.  They follow me all over the pasture as I do work, staying close enough to watch my every action and seem to be interested in every duty I have.  In the barn with much less room, I try to move away and not at them and they no longer seem to mind my being so close.  I'm trying to stay out of their personal space and I'm surprised to see how often they move up close to me, even if for just a moment. The hardest part is not reaching out to touch them, but I'm learning and they seem to notice the change!

So week two ended on a high note!  One filled with encouragement, peace and hope!  What more can we ask for that!  God is good, ALL the time!

Week One Recap!

First time eating from my hand - having to reach out!

It's been a quiet week on the blog, but an active one in the barn!  We don't have a real barn, but you know what I mean.  We are all trying to get to know each other and I'm learning that trust is not built over night or over a week.

I am learning that they are gentle and I must be gentle with them.  No more tugging at their necks, no more trying to force them to walk with me, but rather learning about them and their personality and gently showing them what I expect from them and what they can expect from me.  This is key!

Coming closer for food!

They are eating out of my hand, but they are still very frightened of me.  The slightest move and they're at the other end of the pen.  We have kept them in the pen except for walks this week, but I'm going to let them out into their pasture today and hope that they will come back in to the pen when I offer them their special pellets.  The hay is also located in the pen, so with the gates open, I'm hoping that they will now just come and go and we'll only close them in when necessary. We have redone gates, changed configuration of the pen and spent hours on the internet - thank God for all who have shared information and videos on working with alpacas.

Taking Sammy's picture and he just moved right up to the lens!

I've ordered two books to help me learn how to build trust, halter without threatening them and so we're going to relax for a few days and then begin again with a new concept in training.  I need to learn as much as they do and so, we will learn together.  Mostly they need to know that I will never hurt them and that will come, it just isn't going to happen as soon as, or like I thought it would.

Time will make all the difference and so time it will be!  They are so beautiful and really sweet guys, they're just not dogs or even cats when it comes to loving their master!  They are domesticated livestock and are unable to protect themselves except by running, and so it doesn't come natural to trust even those who feed them. I have to earn their trust and I will! Just as you see in the picture of Sammy, they are very inquisitive!  They check out everything and have now started  coming up to me to sniff my jacket even when I don't have food.  I just have to stand still and allow them to approach me!  Not easy for me, but essential for them!

Stay tuned for more pictures to come and updates on our training successes - mine and theirs!  :)

Learning Curve!

Well, day two was not day one!  They love their new home and pasture, but not so sure about we humans or their stall!  Lots of changes for them and for us and so it was a comedy of sorts.

Let me begin with the first night!  I went out and checked on them around 10 before I went to bed and all was fine.  There is a motion light out there and they turned it on a few times, but for the most part they seemed to settle in for the night.  I say in, but they were avoiding their stall and staying out in the pasture.  Sammy lived in a pasture without a barn, so nothing new about this for him.The night started out well!  I raised a window in our bedroom so we could hear them if there were any distress calls and, of course, there were none.  However, the dogs next door began to bark and howl and I decided it must be coyotes and so out the door I flew.  No their motion light wasn't on and they were cushed down and looked at me like I was crazy and of course even the dogs were silent!  I went back to bed.

Really excited about that food!

Day two started off great! They were grazing in the pasture and we went to church!  They were still grazing when we got home and we started doing some things around our yard and theirs.  They watched us with their typical curiosity, but walked away from us any time we headed their way.  We were doing some work on their gates and they even came over, laid down and watched with great interest.  We had been told they would come running to us and the stall when we feed them their grain and that's exactly what they did at the ranch. HOWEVER, that was not their reaction here!  This was their reaction to me when I came out with food!

Not the happiest face!

We wanted to put their halters on and walk them, but they wanted none of that!  We finally put up a temporary fence and making the area smaller and smaller finally got them in their stall.  I wish we had a video of us chasing them, them running and the ultimate herding in!  I laughed and said the neighbors probably do - I should check You Tube, we're probably going viral right now!  Haha  I'm sure at the very least they got some good laughs - we certainly did!

Always ready to pose!

Once in I did have success getting their halters on and the breeder suggested we leave them in the stall, except for a couple of walks a day for several days to get them used to the stall and learn that we're the bosses.  We're not even the boss of our little dog, so I'm praying we can learn to be in control of these three boys!  I'm going to go get some apples and carrots and see if I can bribe them with treats!

They, of course, were not happy to be contained, but you see they will still get in a line and pose for a picture!  We went out to eat and when we came back they had eaten their food and were down for the evening.  There is a lot of humming going on, but that can mean happy or unhappy, content or discontent, or nothing at all, so not the greatest clue about their real attitude!  I'm voting yesterday it was not the sound of happiness! They have their hay rack and water in the stall and room to move around, so they will be fine.  AND, I slept all night!  No trips out side, just a quick look outside, but nothing to see and so right back to sleep!  Oh, by the way we (Bill & I) both took several Advil before bed.  This morning I have sore arms and back, partly from them and partly from weed eating for hours - today will be good!

In jail!  Wish we had just come for food!

Day three is going to be cleaning out the stall, attaching the leads (halters already on) and taking them for a walk and back in to the stall!  This will all be included in the next update tonight or tomorrow and I'm sure will include some more about our learning curve - theirs and mine! I know I'm on my own as Bill happily returned to work this morning and leaves for Mobile in the morning!  Advil will probably be my friend all week and thank God for Laurence and Donna!  They are the best ever! Emails flew fast and furious yesterday and I'm sure will continue for awhile!

Jack just barked that this blog is about him, too and he wants it known that he's not happy about these three intruders!  He wants to be out there with them, but he chases them and they could kick him, so he's in his yard and he barks, and barks and barks - so most of his day was spent in the house!  Don't feel to bad for him, we played ball with him and he did get to sleep in the house!

Later, it's almost daylight - got to get to work!

They're Here! Home Sweet Home

It's official - they're here - February 16, 2013!  It was so exciting to see Laurence and Donna Binder, Bluebonnet Hills Alpaca Ranch,  pulling in with the trailer in back!  All three boys were cushing (lying down with all four legs under them) when I first peeked in and looked quite comfortable.  Pancho and Lefty stood up as soon as I poked the camera in, but as you can see Sammy was content to stay down.

Fortunately we had put the new locks on the gates ( easy open ) and filled the  hay rack, so we were ready for them.  They got out of the trailer with their halters on and so we added a lead and off they walked into their new home.  Laurence showed us how to trim their nails and we petted and hugged on them.  Fortunately that doesn't have to be done often and I plan on walking them down the driveway, so that will help keep them filed down.  They have soft pads, not hooves, so they're very easy on the land. I practiced putting the halter on and then we took them off and let them take off to explore their space on their own.

Last weekend when I was on the couch, Bill got the lights put up around the stall and in the feed/storage room.  We put a soft floor in their stall, it could have been the floor of many colors, but decided on the grey side.  I don't think they would care one way or the other, but grey it is.  The rack is in and when the side gate is open, they will have access from inside and out.  The auto-water bowl is the covered area as is the hay rack.  Bill has worked very hard to have everything ready for them, including picking up hay this morning. We have the stall gated so when we give them their food in the mornings they will come in and we can catch them to put their halters on.  The more I work with them the more they will grow used to me and hopefully will not always run the other way.  As long as they're on their leads, they are sweet and nuzzle us, but once they're free they want to stay that way!  You walk toward them and they walk away!  They are not dogs!!!!

Laurence looked at some patches of grass that I was questioning and so I dug some up once they left and it was just Bill and I and the boys.  Oh, that reminds me we do have another boy, Jack, and he was in his yard when the boys arrived.  He can see them and he barked and barked, so I let him come back to their area.  The plan was for him to stop at the gate, like he did last week, but the boys weren't there last week, so he jumped right through and headed right for them.  They got scared and began to walk away at a pretty fast pace and of course he loves to run and chase, so this looked like a game to him and before we knew it there was a chase on in the yard around us.  We caught Jack and the other three just went back to eating as though nothing had happened.  Needless to say we have some work to do on their relationship!

Back to the grass issue, I needed to weed eat and I did and they just wandered around as though I wasn't doing anything.  They would stop and look at me and go back to their business.  They really seemed to enjoy looking around and oh my goodness they seemed to really enjoy our grass!  Honestly this is even more exciting than I thought it would be, but at the same time it was comfortable!  Like they were supposed to be here - we are happy - hope they are!

The hard part for me is leaving them alone  tonight, and that's where we are now, night time.  There's a small light on and there's a motion light which has gone on a couple of times, but then it got dark and I just had to go check on them.  They were cushing and I guess trying to sleep after a long and very exciting day.  Lefty stood up and looked at me, like what the heck?  Are you going to bother us all night? So I said my good nights, reminded them where their water is and came in!  It has been dark out there ever since, so I guess they're down for the night.  I have never even had an outside dog, so this is really hard for me, but I will get used to it and they will be fine and tomorrow is another day!

Pancho, Lefty, Sammy - Official Arrival Day Photo!

I hope Bill can get some pictures tomorrow as I catch and halter them for the first time all by myself!  He might have to be helping me rather than being the photographer, but we'll see.  I've quit looking out the window every few minutes and actually plan on heading off to bed as soon as I hit publish - so good night from Jack and the alpacas!

Walking the Boys!

Last time I posted, I said I would be going to the ranch to visit with the boys and see if they would walk for me!  Oh, my goodness, what a difference a couple of weeks made.  They walked right along with me as though they had always been doing it.  They are such quick studies!!!!

Snack!

All legs!  

But, before I get to them I have to tell you about the surprise I got upon arrival.  As I pulled in Laurence was walking out the door.  He said, "Come join me - I'm headed out to check on the new baby!"  Yes, the first cria of the year was born last Thursday morning and he was adorable.  I had never seen a cria and this one was just around seven hours old. Lauarence was a little concerned as the momma was a little over due; however, he only weighed 12.5 lbs. so it was a good thing she held on as long as she did  He was small, as they hope they will weigh at least 15 pounds, but oh what a cutie!

Mommas watchful eye1

He was lying down when we got up to them, but Laurence gave him a little lift and up he got.  He has the skinniest little legs, but he was moving all around.  Laurence said they're usually walking around within five hours of birth.  Sure glad our babies aren't doing that!

He tried to run and I wish I had gotten a video, those legs flying every which way.  Cute, cute, cute.

Nose to nose!  Sweet boys.

After, enjoying the miracle of this little guy, we moved on to our yearlings, Lefty and Pancho.  Laurence put out a little food into the feeder and all of the yearlings came running.  He separated our our two and put their harnesses on and we led them out of the group.  Pancho was a little hesitant to go out the door, which required stepping over a six inch board.  I had read that sometimes even a 2 x 4 would cause them to stop, and I saw it in action.  He literally jumped over the board.  We worked with him, taking him in and out and he finally got where he stepped over with just a tiny little hop.  Lefty just walked out like he'd always been doing it!  Who knows why Pancho disliked that board so much.  Anyway we walked up and down the pastures, visited with the new baby and got to know each other.  Alpacas are very curious and so they loved seeing new alpacas and especially the baby. Momma was a little leery, but she let Laurence hold him and me pet him. The day gave me peace as I found I was able to keep them inline when they got a little frisky. At one, they do get frisky. At two, they get frisky, so I will be working with them regularly so that they can be used to educate children and others about these sweet animals.  I'm looking forward to some home school field trips in the near future.

After an hour or so with those two, Laurence went to a separate pen and got Sammy!  What a hoot he is.  He had been halter/lead trained last year and hadn't been on a lead since shearing time last April  He walked along with us like it had been yesterday.  Something to remember, once they learn a behavior, they don't forget it, so teach them the right way from the beginning.  It was, also, the first time Sammy was around the other two.  He just turned two, so he's with the two year old alpacas and the good news is that they all seemed to like each other.  They will be kept together for a few days before they come to our house to be sure they've bonded.

I left the boys behind and came back home knowing that they will be joining us soon.  I believe we've decided on the 16th of February and so I won't see them again until they arrive at our house.  Which means we now have a deadline!  We need to finish up fencing, gates, their
stall floor, automatic waterer,  and get the hay feeder in place and I'm sure a hundred other things we haven't thought of yet.  To complicate all of this, I came down with the flu (boo hiss) on Thursday night so Bill has had his hands full!  On the other hand, with my voice nothing but a squeak for three days, it has made for a quiet house for him and our sweet puppy.  Just hoping I get well fast so I can mow again  and try to rid the yard of all of the dangerous grasses and weeds.

 Things should be quiet on this blog for the next 10 days or so and then I'll be back with pictures of the arrival.