Leif was born rather unexpectedly at midday on Saturday 14th April - nearly two weeks early! Quite surprisingly, he was not seriously premature - perhaps something to do with his mum's nutrition and the warmer than average, open winter, culminating in an early Spring. He is a lively little boy, the most uniform brown we have ever seen, his uniformity doubtless from his sire, Rocco, and his colour from mum, Fleur. He is Windsong Valley through and through, with all four grandparents from Windsong. A great and welcome addition to our herd - even if he caught us on the hop! These photos are at 8 days old - averaging almost 200gm per day weight gain!!
Luca caught us on the hop as well!! He was born at 11.30am on Saturday 12th May while we were all away at the National Show. Our experienced "AlpacaSitters" birthed him and looked after him until we returned home late on Sunday. He is a beautifully marked medium grey, full of energy and vigour - he weighed in at 10.2kgs at 48 hours old and is already very pleased to chase Leif around the field. They will doubtless get up to much mischief! mum, Giselle, has so much milk we are certain he will grow on really quickly. His proud dad, Griffin has not yet seen his first offspring at Fowberry, but he should be really proud of him - Luca's fleece is so soft, and almost devoid of primary fibres - well done Griffin!
Lucifer (sire Griffin) was born early at 326 days after some atrocious wet, cold weather and spent his early days inside with his mum, Hermione. He is tiny (6,2kgs) and very, very black. We hope he will catch up soon and be able to retaliate when he is jumped on by half-brother Luca!
Leo (sire Inca Prince) is the first cria born to Inca. Leo has the fat (with fleece) knees and hocks we like to see on newborn cria and his fleece is pulling back into tight ringlets with a wonderful brightness. A very smart little boy who looks just like his father did as a cria.
Lucien (sire Top Account) was 9.4 kilos. He is the first TA cria born in the U.K. out of a Benleigh Bellisimo daughter and we are hoping all the rest are as good as him: tight firm crimpy fleece forming, a beautiful brightness on a good sturdy frame with chunky muscle definition.
Loki (sire Griffin) was 9.4 kilos. Similar to his half brother and cousin, Lucifer, Loki is bigger framed with a blue black fleece of extreme softness and already showing character. We are hoping he follows in the footsteps of his multi-prize winning half sisters (same dam).
Leonie (sire Top Account). Her dam coming good again and giving us her fifth female from six cria born. Lovely bright fleece with fat (with fibre) hocks and knees and coverage right over her toes, with very square upright conformation. Leonie took a little time to master her dam's huge quantities of milk and size of teats, but she's off and running now. Photo at two weeks old.
Lorcan (sire Griffin), 9.3kgs. Lorcan already looks half the size of his mum. He is dark/rose grey, with the same markings as his mother and delighted Swiss visitors on the day of his birth, especially the speed at which he located mum's teats. 1.6kg weight gain in four days. Photo at five days old.
Lia (sire Top Account), 7.3kgs. Lia is our first light fawn and our first cria born while actually raining. She was towelled dry quickly and had two coats on to warm her up and popped in the barn with mum and friends. Lia was dysmature (correct gestation, 358 days, but showing signs of pre-maturity: floppy ears, silky coat, slightly down on pasterns). Maiden mum Ione has abundant milk to feed Lia with.
Laszlo (sire Top Account) 9.6kgs. He had to have a helping hand as he hung out only a very little way for quite a while. It turned out, when he was eventually born, that apart form being a big baby, anyway, he has a hugely deep chest for a cria and mum was obviously having difficulty with the shoulders. Laszlo looks an absolute star, just like his striking half brother Kyros (same dam). When we were putting on his coat, we felt tiny nodules on his flanks, only to find that they weren't little growths, but tight little knots of fleece. We don't mind boys when they are as stunning as Laszlo! Photo of Laszlo at 24 hours old; note depth of chest.
Lyra (sire Inca Prince) 7.8 kgs. It seems only a short time since Juliana, Lyra's dam was a cria herself and here she is with her own little cria and making an excellent job of looking after her. Having looked uncomfortable the previous late evening, Juliana felt she couldn't miss her breakfast and then a fairly quick birth at 9am, five minutes after finishing! She has been very attentive and Lyra has been a text book baby, although not enjoying the constant rain. Doubling up of cria coats has kept her warm and cosy though.
Louisa (sire top Account) 9.6kgs. Dam, Iquita was a highly strung youngster, but has turned into the quietest and most amenable dam to her first cria. Louisa is very approachable because mum is so relaxed; she has the Top Account head and features that all his cria have and a lovely, dazzlingly bright fleece. Louisa is a big girl and is being hugely enjoyed by her maiden mum. She is Francesca's first grand daughter, and the family resemblance is very apparent!
La Luna (sire Top Account) 8.2kgs Not born under the moon as her name suggests, but at 10.45 a.m. Popped out, by the now famous Hazel and a carbon copy of last years cria, Keiko….same uniform mid fawn colour and very promising fleece already. Hazel's third girl in a row and perhaps a contender for Best Fawn Fleece in Show at The Royal 2008, like sister Keiko, 2007. We are delighted that Top Account is allowing some colour, especially of this quality.
Luella (sire Top Account) 7.3 kilos. She is light fawn from a light fawn dam, Honeysuckle. Luella has lovely black skin, which we are hoping will not attract the flies the some as the paler skinned crias have done. Her fleece has extraordinary brightness and she is a forward baby: cushed within three minutes, up within twenty minutes and drinking hard within 60 minutes. We have found this is often the case with the smaller cria, bigger weight babies taking slightly longer to get going.
Linden (sire Viscount) 9.5kilos. We were missing a leg when Linden was being born and when we checked, we found one leg was stuck back in a kneeling position. We 'phoned for the vet and she rearranged the legs, so maiden Mum, India could push him out herself. The vet reminded us that if we ever try to rearrange legs ourselves, ALWAYS cup toe with hand (and cup mouth, if head back) as the toe can tear uterus. Linden is none the worse for being stuck and growing away hard.
Lydia (sire Viscount) 8.7kilos. Mum, Biscuit confounding colour geneticists by giving us a pure white girl last year to Viscount and a beautifully uniform mid fawn girl this year, same sire. Lydia is very like her half brother Jasper (same dam), very quick on her feet, racing about, delighted to be alive and the same uniform colour. Biscuit enjoyed the cooler weather this summer while having her baby, but still had the baby lying down.
Linus (sire Viscount) 9kgs. Maiden Mum Isis may have been upset by the torrential rain and cool temperatures; she dropped Linus (Greek, flaxen haired) outside the barn, where all the herd were sheltering. Linus was soon up and warmed up by a heated 'wicking' cria coat, followed by another cosy coat to maintain his temperature. His first night was spent in a dry, warm barn in a deep bed of straw with his Mummy, next door to newborn Lydia. How do cria ever survive in the AltiPlano without this molly coddling? Answers on a postcard….
Lucinda (sire Top Account) 8.4kgs. Dam, Bonita gave birth mid morning in text book style, as usual, with Lucinda bright and quick on her feet. Lucinda is our last cria of the year and a welcome addition to the herd. Sire, Top Account has predominantly had girls this season with eight girls and three boys (some for clients).
