National Alpaca Farm Days 2013

Lavender Hill Farm participated in National Alpaca Farm Days on September 28th and 29th.  Visitors enjoyed perfect weather to come to our farm!  

The shop and barn were open from 10 - 4 both days.  The weather was beautiful!

The shop was open, with apparel, yarn and roving, raw fiber, some stained glass,

 felted ornaments, alpaca photos and rag rugs for sale.  Loose lavender, satchets, and lavender bunches were also for sale. You could enjoy a cup of hot cider along with a piece of homemade pumpkin bread.

This is the entrance to the barn.  The males are on the left and the females are on the right.

  We have 11 males and 10 females.

We hang name signs with photos to help identify an alpaca.

This is the inside of our barn with an informational board on alpacas.

This is Champ, a five year old male that was born at Lavender Hill Farm.

Miko enjoyed this weather as much as we did!

These boys enjoyed getting close to the alpacas.

JJ demonstrated how alpacas only have teeth on the bottom

 in front and have a hard palate on top.

 

The chickens are really comfortable around the alpacas.  

This one was catching some sun.

The hens layed eggs as usual during their first National Alpaca Farm Days!

Champ seemed to know where his name sign was and stood right behind it, not once, but twice!

Acura enjoyed a dust bath while her daughter, Rose Petal, relaxed.

Mikey is our youngest male (two years old, on left) who JJ was play fighting with.  JJ is an older male

 that has allowed other younger males to play fight with him also, almost as if he's training them for 

when they're bigger.

Mikey was really trying to fight while JJ just went along with it.  It was fun to watch.

Champ enjoyed some hand fed hay by many visitors this weekend.

Mateo is chasing Miko as Thor looks on.

The alpacas had a long weekend full of fun with visitors.  Kimmy and Ember took

 a nap laying like this!  Thanks to everyone who came by to see us at 

Lavender Hill Farm.  It was a great weekend! 

We Have Chickens!

We now have six Rhode Island Red hens at Lavender Hill Farm!  The alpacas were a little unsure about them at first, but now they exist happily together.  They will be a year old this fall and lay around six brown eggs a day.  These hens are very friendly!  When visiting the farm, you'll be sure to see them.

The hens stay busy all day looking for bugs around the farm.

The alpacas seem to enjoy the company of the chickens!

Shearing Day 2013

Shearing day at Lavender Hill Farm was Friday, May 10, 2013.  We had beautiful weather for the first part of May, but just a few days before shearing, the rain came.  We corralled the alpacas under the overhangs of the barn to keep them as dry as possible for shearing.  By Friday the sun came and and we enjoyed a perfect day!  Rick and Jeremiah, from Twist of Fate Spinnery, were once again our shearers and they got right to work around 8:30.  Here's some pics from throughout the day! 

Adonis is almost finished being shorn.

Ember is having her front legs shorn here.

Miko is having his teeth trimmed.

Mikey is about to have his teeth trimmed also.

A Look Back to October 2012

These are some photos of the alpacas enjoying a nice fall day in October 2012.

Acura and Ambrosia smiling for the camera.

Acura who is the dam of Mateo, Mia and Rose Petal is also grand dam to Mikey, Mia's cria.

Ambrosia is the only grey alpaca at Lavender Hill Farm.  She definitely stands out with her markings.

Sisters, Mia and Rose Petal, enjoying the day.



Mellea was born on Father's Day in 2010 and is now the largest alpaca on the farm!

Acura and Rose Petal (mother and daughter) still keep close to each other.

Miko enjoying some grass.

Champ is one of seven alpacas that have been born at Lavender Hill Farm.

Meet Kitten

Kitten has been a fixture at Lavender Hill Farm since he showed up in 2008.  He was a stray that didn't seem to care that we already had two cats and decided he'd move right in.  These are some photos of Kitten enjoying his time on the farm.

He could be Garfield in a movie, don't you think?

This is Kitten pretending to be an alpaca, drinking from their waterer.  When the alpacas are out of the barn, he'll sneak in to take a couple sips.

Kitten had bad mats in 2012 that had to be shaved off.  He was given a "lion cut".  He wasn't too happy to have it done, but we're sure he felt like a whole new cat afterwards!

This is Kitten's way of telling the alpacas not to look at him.  He loves to be in the barn with whoever is working out there, but if the alpacas get too close or are looking directly at him, he puts on one of these faces.  Tough guy, huh?

Kitten loves when the shop is open and visitors are welcome to the farm.  This is him keeping an eye over the driveway, waiting for visitors to greet.

He also enjoys a nice sunny day spent laying in the sun. 

If you visit Lavender Hill Farm, keep your eyes out for Kitten, you're sure to see him!

Shearing Day is Coming Soon!

It has been confirmed that shearing at Lavender Hill Farm

will take place Friday, May 10th from 8:00-12:00.  Stop by to see the alpacas being shorn!

Shearing is a very important day on any alpaca farm.  This is when we harvest their luxurious fiber so we can later process it to make things like roving and yarn.  It is also necessary to shear the alpacas once a year to protect them from heat stress.  Shearing at Lavender Hill Farm is usually in early May and this year the date is May 10th.  You are welcome to come by the farm to see this unique event!

Jeremiah and Rick shearing Acura.

  

Champ getting shorn.  Our job is to collect all the fiber and put it into bags.

Buddy is about to be shorn.

The girls soaking up the sun after shearing day.  They look so different once all the fiber is shorn off of them!

Spring is Here!

It's spring and it's time to catch up on happenings at Lavender Hill Farm. 

A lot has been going on since the last post!

Alpacas are not equipped to handle high heat and humidity.  They are susceptible to heat stress, so it's necessary to cool them by providing shade, plenty of water, fans and hosing with water.  April of 2012 was very warm and for the alpacas it feels even warmer with their fully grown fiber. Since shearing day was scheduled for early May we provided our alpacas with fans and hosed them to cool them down.  It's fun to see the alpacas enjoying the water, so a hot day in the summer is a good time to stop by and see for yourself!

JJ enjoying the cool water on a hot April day.

Adonis stepping into the stream of water.

Champ is getting his share of the cooling water.