Dutch Hollow Acres

Come say hi to some of our alpacas and cool off with some ice cream!  We will be at the Twist and Shake in Olean, NY tomorrow afternoon from 1-3pm! 

It was apparent that with pregnant females due soon and me having a full time job I would need camera’s in the barn so I could keep an eye on them while I was in the office.  That way if I see someone in labor I could quick pack up and drive home to assist if need be. 

The biggest problem with cameras is they are expensive!  A system can run you easily $1-4,000!  Yeah, ok this is a working farm and every dollar spent is a dollar of profit lost.  Keep in mind that the IRS frowns upon hobby farms...........Click Here for Full Post

My prego girl Bella protecting her kiddie pool even from me. If I got to close to it this morning she’d prance up and down the fence and make gastly noises at me. Thankfully she didn’t spit.

We don't always keep this blog up to date.  To see more about our farm, fiber projects, or FYI about alpacas visit http://www.AlpacaBytes.com

It's Monday and that means our virtual fiber market is now open!  Come post your links to your local harvest store, farms store, etsy etc. Connect with fiber shoppers!

To buy or sell fiber products please go to http://www.alpacabytes.com/?p=318

FMM is back!  Get more visitors to your local harvest fiber store by listing it for free at Fiber Market Monday's. 

Just dye a new batch of roving or yarn?  Show it off! 

Proud of your fiber animal and want to show them off?  Post them too!

To enter your link and view others Visit AlpacaBytes.com

I accidentally found a way to prevent algae growth in my water buckets.  Usually with warm summer weather I’m forced to dump and scrub 5-15 gallon buckets every day or every other day because black or green algae starts to grow in the bucket.  Yuck!  If I’m not willing to drink out of a bucket I don’t expect my livestock to.  Con't
To read the full Article Click Here.

What does a share of Alpaca Fiber CSA get you?

- CSA share holder’s certificate
- Monthly Farm Newsletter
- Finished Alpaca Yarn!
- Quarter share = minimum of 10oz of finished yarn
- Half share = minimum of 1.25 lbs of finished yarn
- Full share = minimum of 2.5 lbs of finished yarn
- Our alpaca fiber is blended with other natural fibers like Tencel
so that your finished products are machine washable!

What do we spend shareholder fees on?

- Feed/Hay/Minerals
- Veterinary fees
- Fencing and other barn maintenance
- Shearing fees
- Fiber processing fees
- Shipping/handling

Yarn will be mailed out to you as soon as we receive the processed yarn from the mill. Milling times do vary and we will keep you updated in our newsletters as to when we expect shipment from the mill. CSA shares cost $200 for a full share, $100 for a half share, $55 for a quarter share. You’re welcome to purchase more than one share to double, triple, etc your take of the harvest. We limit the number of shares sold to insure everyone gets a fair amount yarn. The amounds per share are listed as minimums because if we have a good shearing with little VM or short cuts waste we may have a higher yeild which would give you more skeins!

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UPDATE 7/21/09!
Shares will be ready by Sept/Oct
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We have black roving and raw fiber
for our hand spinners
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Share holders are encouraged to visit our farm and see what we’re all about. Please contact us to set up a farm visit!

To Purchase a CSA Share Click Here - You will be taken to our Etsy Store.

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Alpaca Fiber CSA giveaway!

If you purchase a full, half, or Quarter share by August 31st you are entered to win even more yarn!

Names will be drawn totally at random and no preference is given to those who purchase full vs. half shares. The more shares you purchase the more times your name is in the pot!

If you purchased a full share you will win a half share of yarn that you can either keep for yourself or use as a gift for someone else.

If you purchased a half share you will win a quarter share of yarn that you can either keep for yourself or use as a gift for someone else.

If you purchased a quarter share you will win 2 extra skeins of yarn in your CSA share.

There will be 1 winner and the name will be drawn on September 1st. The winner will have 1 calendar week to respond to the winning email I will send. If there is no response another winner will be drawn in their place.

I just got my genetics kit in the mail for Cornell University's horse size study. If you'd like to participate email equinegenetics@cornell.edu

You'll be asked to take hair samples of your horse and to make 35 different measurements on your horse.  They provide a return envelope, detailed directions and even the tape measure to use!  They need 1000 horses for this study.  They'd live everything from minatures to shires as they try to figure out what genes are responsible for size of a horse.

Felting soap is a great activity for both adults and kids.  For detailed instructions and photos on how to felt soap please visit our blog at

http://www.alpacabytes.com/?p=205

We have many other fiber projects there too!

Our virtual fiber farmer's market is now open!  Let's see your link to your LocalHarvest store, Etsy.com store, farm store, herd sires, favorite fiber animal or anything fiber related! 

http://www.alpacabytes.com/?p=194