In the Summer of 2018, I found an add online for someone looking to re-home their two older alpacas. An animal that had been on my wishlist of funny farm creatures, it seemed only fitting that we should meet these gentlemen. With trailer in tow, we made the three hour drive South while my Mom and Dad were out visiting and came home with two alpaca gentlemen, Calvin and Hobbes.
Calvin and Hobbes spent an amazing Summer here on the farm with us. Living their best pasture life out back with the donkey boys. It took time to win them over, but before the Summer had ended we were able to give them hose baths in the heat and sneak a little pet here and there.
The boys were much older than we were originally told. Going into Winter their age was really starting to show, and with sad hearts we said goodbye to Calvin in the beginning of that December. Heartbroken over the loss of his lifelong friend, we searched for a way to help Hobbes through the transition.
Enter Beetle and Bailey.
I had met a local lady who owned an alpaca farm just over an hour away from us when I took the fiber given to us with Calvin and Hobbes to her mill to be spun into yarn. When we lost Calvin I reached out to her to see if she had any stock she was selling so we could get a friend for poor Hobbesy. We headed out once again with the trailer in tow, coming home yet again with two new alpaca friends.
Just before Christmas, Hobbes had started to decline as well, his age catching up to him and I am sure a broken heart from losing his brother. After suffering what we believe to be a stroke, the most humane thing to do was to say goodbye to our old friend. These two alpaca gentlemen will always have a special place here on the farm and are always missed.
Beetle and Bailey have made quick work of winning over the donkeys. They tolerate Hank dog and the ladies with no issues. With a lot of patience and a little work they will now eat treats from our hands and tolerate the slightest pets. This was our second Summer in 2020 of shearing the boys and having their fiber spun and made into our very own yarn. I am so in love with these two and their quiet gentle nature has me thinking I may need to be adding to my herd size in the future!
