[AlpacaTalk] Re: Wooded lots
The first year we had alpacas their security fenced area included a hillside covered with Cedars (hence the farm name). My guys loved it and were in there all the time! It was shady and cool and Kansas is typically pretty hot. Even into the fall and winter they spent lots of time in there rubbing themselves on the cedar branches. That year I had a young yearling male I wanted to show with exceptionally dense fiber and an exceptionally long staple length. When I took him into the ring the judge said gently that he looked brushed. Well, yes, brushed alot, by cedar branches! I went home and cut off all the lower branches and wrapped the trunks with chicken wire so the alpacas couldn't disrupt the bark. They still love the hillside but the brush/brushed problem was solved.
Concerning the pasture turning into a dry lot... I also found out that if you don't provide your alpacas with a dry lot they will make their own! This may not be true in very wet parts of the country but, here, no pasture can withstand the feeding pressure of alpacas if they are given unlimited access. I remember telling Steve Knoblock that I couldn't get my alpacas to come in for supplement and he said they'd eventually have to come in for water! I told him I had a tank in the pasture and he told me to get that out of there! That first year they decimated the pasture until I made them a paddock area with horse panels around the shed. Problem solved. They have limited access to a lush pasture and cool hillside. We did have to remove a lot of Crown of Thorn Locusts but that's Kansas!
Robyn Grauer
Cedar Breaks Farm
Manhattan, KS
785-776-6240
www.alpacanation.
--- In AlpacaTalk@yahoogro
>
> That was my thought, too, a skirting nightmare. Other than that, I
> see no problem with alpacas being under trees.
>
> Although I know of one person who co-owned a champion male, and who
> has a very wooded pasture. The year he spent at that farm,
> apparently, his fleece length was shorter than it had been the
> previous years. Now, I don't know for certain that lack of direct
> sunlight will make the fleece grow slower, but his other owner was
> very upset and was certain that was the reason. :)
>
>
> Heather
>
> Heather Zeleny
> White Lotus Alpacas
> Oregon
>
> Holistic Farm and Elite Fleece
> http://www.whitelot
> http://whitelotus.
>
> On Apr 3, 2010, at 4:37 AM, Judith Korff/Ladysong Farm wrote:
>
> >
> > My farm is what's called a "sun trap" which means it's open to the
> > east and hugged on the north, west and south by timbered land. I
> > only own about 30 feet into the woods, and there is no fencing
> > between parts of the pasture and the woods. The alps will only go
> > in about 20 feet or so. They do enjoy lying in the wooded areas
> > when it's very hot in the summer, but also don't appear comfortable
> > getting out of sight of the open land. The only time they venture
> > any farther into the timbered area is if the boys get fighting and
> > someone gets chased farther in. However, they don't stay any
> > longer than they have to, and never go in the woods after dark. I
> > suppose it also helps that there is a steep hill about 50 feet in
> > that would be hard to traverse.
> >
> > The worst thing about their going in/near the woods is that
> > woodlands tend to "creep" toward your pastures, so there's lots of
> > scrub, brambles and burdocks bordering the woods which can make for
> > a shearing and skirting nightmare. I'm hoping to get someone with
> > a brush hog out this year to clean up the edges, and then pour a
> > salt channel and lay PermaNet fencing to block off the woodlands.
> > It's not that I think they'll wander, but rather to prevent
> > wildlife and dogs from coming up to the farm through the woods and
> > accessing my pastures from the unprotected areas.
> >
> > Judith Korff
> > LadySong Farm
> > Music to Your Wallet
> > Randolph, New York 14772
> > Cell: (716) 499-0383
> > www.alpacanation.
> >
> >
> >
> > From: Ken <bushwacker37@
> > To: AlpacaTalk@yahoogro
> > Sent: Fri, April 2, 2010 11:44:59 PM
> > Subject: [AlpacaTalk] Wooded lots
> >
> >
> > Everything I have read or heard states that alpaca do well on dry
> > lots or pastures/fields but what about wooded areas ? I have mine
> > on a acre lot that is mostly wooded. They seem to enjoy it. When
> > they get the run of the "front yard", 5 plus acres, they really
> > enjoy the open space and fresh greens. But there is another 10
> > acres they have never attempted into explore in the woods. I am
> > kind of happy because as soon as I can't see them I go out looking
> > for them but still I wonder. Any ideas ?
> >
> > Ken Hoh
> > Alpaca Hoh Ranch
> > Owneton, Ky
> >
> >
> >
> >
>
posted by Chaddo at 3:52 PM
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