As winter begins its doggedness, we know that this year is almost gone. As we look back on 2011 many Racheal Farm memories come to mind. In January of this year we saw the birth of our very last winter cria. After rushing to scoop up a shivering cria from the south pasture, drying her off and getting Mom and cria into a warmed (kind of) barn, we cushioned the stall with bales of straw. We tried to keep the baby warm; we were sure we wouldn’t do this again. Since her body temperature was too low, we found ourselves sitting in the cab of the warm diesel truck for hours that night keeping her warm. For weeks, we trudged to the barn in feet of snow to bottle feed a tiny cria with a belligerent Mother. Never again, we swore, breeding season closes in October!
March brought torrents of rain and washed away the pastures, April saw a still born cria and by May, we were ready for the show season. Traveling, showing and just being with all our friends is a great time of year. By August we were spraying water for the girls to play in as the temperature hit 101. Aren’t the four seasons lovely? But by September, the leaves were gold and the cool fall breezes let us know autumn was here.
It was time for Alpaca Farm Days. The event is always a lot of work but it is a great time for our neighbors, friends and anyone interested in alpacas to stop by and visit. This year we had over 100 people at the farm to enjoy hotdogs and chips on the deck where they could watch the alpacas graze in peaceful pastures. They toured the barn, played with the alpacas and learned how a working alpaca farm works. It was a beautiful fall day and I enjoyed watching grandparents sitting near the pastures, young families strolling near the fence line, children getting their faces painted and lots of people buying Christmas gifts in the Country Store.
Alpaca Farm Days are always the third weekend of September. Fred and I would love to have you stop by and join us.
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RFI Thunder Rose (Rosie) is only 19 days old in these pictures and already, she is a star. No wonder… her genetics are unmatched.
Her Dam is MFI Thunder Rose, color reserve champion and the daughter of Lethal Weapon with Titan and Black Mesquite in her lineage.
Her sire, MFI Peruvian Formula 1, an All American Futurity Champion out of Jericho and Fruition has passed on his genetics again Rosie has her mothers grace and stature and her fathers fleece is already showing.
RFI Fantasia wins second place at MAPACAAs a juvenile, Fantasia was a winner at the level 5 MAPACA show in Harrisburg on April 25th. It was a highly competitive show with over 1000 top notch alpacas arriving for the event.
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Recently, I had the opportunity to attend the Snowmass auction in Phoenix. It was an awesome experience and I had three days to talk about alpacas with farm owners from places like Wisconsin, Idaho, Michigan and Australia. We spent hours and hours exploring pens filled with some of the most beautiful animals. The crowning event however, was the sale of Snowmass Matrix for the unsurpassed price of $675,000. Since this was the highest price ever achieved for an alpaca, it solidified the future of the industry.
I am very proud to announce that Rainbow Joy, bred to Snowmass Matrix arrived at our farm last week. She is a beautiful, elegant Dark Rose Grey girl who has already produced offspring who sit at the top of the Snowmass show string. Besides her first place at the Futurity, Rainbow’s genetics include Andean Bronze, and 4Peruvian Legacy.
The cria of Rainbow and Matrix will arrive this fall. Please come by and welcome her to Pennsylvania.
OABA AWARDEveryone fell in love with Accoyo Silence at the 2009 OABA ALPACAFEST. The show held in Columbus Ohio put Silence up against some of the best in the business. At just 14 months of age, she won the blue ribbon in a class of 16. Silence is a full Accoyo beauty with extremely dense fleece and consistent coverage well under the belly. Her elegant presence and confirmation, beautiful head and fine handle come from distinctive genetics. Her heritage includes Peruvian Accoyo White Gold as her sire and MFI Accoyo Peru. Southern Bell as her dam. She is a blending of pure Accoyo bloodlines. Her grand dam, Miss Sunbeam is a gorgeous full Accoyo Color Champion and her pedigree includes such names as Camillio,Polaris and Endurance.
Divinity is a beautiful fawn female with gorgeous fleece. The consistent high quality color and soft hand is produced from her champion family tree. Genetics which include Jericho, Donovan, Matador and Quetzal can bring consistent style and
fleece to your herd. She is currently bred to the phenomenal color champion Running Late.
Zathura is a lovely brown female with crimpy, bright fleece. Her soft fleece presents with advanced crimp and density so typical of a Quetzal offspring. Her pedigree is expected to produce outstanding color for any breeding program. She is being bred to the phenomenal champion sire, Formula 1.
If you breed for silver grey, rose grey, black or even brown, Dona Flavia is a champion-producing female. Her rose grey daughters include multiple champion, MFI Peruvian Falzah and multiple ribbon winner, Peruvian Flavita. Falzah’s gorgeous black daughter, Faboulista sold for $45,000. Her son, MFI Peruvian Front Page currently stands on Magical Farms herd sire row.
A full Accoyo beauty, Silence is a blending of pure Accoyo bloodlines. Her show career began this year with a blue ribbon. Her grand dam, Miss Sunbeam is a gorgeous full Accoyo Color Champion and her pedigree includes such names as Camillio, Polaris and Endurance. From her stunning head to her phenomenal fleece, she is a must for any Accoyo breeding program
Vavoom is a lovely grey female. Her sire, MFI Pistol is one of Peruvian Dakotia’s incredible sons. His paternal brother Jericho has produced 82 champions. Her bloodlines come through in her excellent confirmation, dense and crimpy fleece and lovely head. MFI Vavoom is currently bred to the awesome black herdsire, My Obsydian and would be a valuable addition to any color breeding program.
