Sweet Harmony Farm

There are several horse farms and horse owners here in our town.  In fact there are at least 6 horse farms/owners here on our street, plus the vet.  Our farm is also within 7 miles +/- of three different feed stores, each selling 1 of the 3 major brands of alpaca grain/pellets (Poulin, Blue Seal, and Mazuri), all which also sell hay, so our alpacas will never go hungry.  Because the overwhelming majority of livestock in our area is horses, the hay is usually 1^st cut Timothy hay.  There is certainly nothing wrong with 1^st cut, especially when it’s still very green, but it does tend to be coarser and ‘stemmy.’  Alpacas will usually pull out the stems and not eat it, leading to quite a large amount of waste.  Alpacas’ digestive systems requires a  higher protein value than horses or cattle, so the hunt for green, grassy, 2^nd cut hay for the fall and winter is on.

We purchased some 1^st cut hay from our neighbor when our alpacas first came home.  It was pretty green.  The alpacas seemed to like it although they have definitely been pulling out the stems, and as a bonus they also seemed to enjoy grazing on what little grass we have growing in the pastures.  Next spring we will have our soil tested so that we can fertilize the pastures properly.  But right now it’s autumn and it’s getting cold outside, and our vet would prefer they put on some weight before winter.  It will be easier to maintain their weight from then on, rather than trying to have them put some on during the cold weather.

We went over to a friend’s house yesterday to pick up a couple dozen bales of 2^nd cut hay from his fields.  Beautifully green, fabulous ‘just cut’ smell, and much softer to the touch!   I pulled out the other hay from the feeder and re-filled it with the new hay.  When the alpacas see me, they generally all come running (yes, it’s a nice feeling!) and run they did!  They took a few good sniffs of the new hay, a few bites, then turned around and walked back out to the pasture.  Silly, silly boys!!  All except our littlest guy, Arlo, who happily eats hay from my hand.  I’m guessing that because we’ve had some light rain occasionally the past few weeks, there must be new growth on the field that they like.  Right now as I type, they’ve just come back from the pasture and are chowing hay!  I guess they like it after all.