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We are occasionally asked if the alpacas ever escape. Alpacas typically don't challenge their barriers or look for opportunities to escape; so it may take some time before an alpaca realizes there's an open gate, barn door or fence break. Then there are those occasions where no gate or door was left open that leave us wondering, "How did they do that?!"  Ace finds himself outside of the paddock Recently, we discovered little Ace on the outside of the fence eager to return to his herd. We knew that all gates and doors were secure so it was baffling how he managed to get on the other side of the fence. Thankfully, our cameras monitor their activities and captured how this little Houdini performed his mysterious trick. The humorous part is that he had no idea that he did it. Here's what happened: This time of year, while the grass is growing outside of their paddock, the alpacas are eager to reach it to graze and often they are poking their noses through the fence panel to reach those tasty, fresh blades. On this particular day, one of the adult alpacas (Pepper) was leaning against the panel gates that are chained together, pressing the gates outward as she stretched to reach the new grass, and Ace saw an opportunity to reach a patch of grass under the extended gates. As he grazed, he laid down on the ground so that he could extend his neck further under the gates to reach the tasty blades of grass. While he did this, Pepper moved on, taking her body weight off the chained gates causing them to sway back to their normal position. When Ace stood up, he was on the other side of the gates and continued to graze, unaware that he was now outside the fence. The cameras notified us that activity was happening outside, we investigated and quickly acted.  Me walking down the hill to help Ace rejoin the herd  Ace is back inside the paddock and heading over to the herd. I calmly walked into the backyard and started talking to Ace -- if I ran or showed any sign of nervousness, Ace would read my body language and also become nervous.
When Ace saw me and heard my voice, as I opened the gate panels for him, he eagerly came to me and re-entered the paddock to reunite with his herd. He looked at me and hummed as he re-entered the paddock - I think that was a "thank you."
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I am trying not to be too excited over Baxter's first birthday because he doesn't care. But I do. While we have been raising alpacas for nearly ten years now, Baxter is our firstborn, and this month marks a milestone for us: we raised our first alpaca from birth to his first birthday. I documented his first 24 hours of life as any first-time parent would, and I'm so glad I did. As I watched the video again, all the memories and emotions came flooding back from that first experience. If you have not seen that video or would like to revisit it, click on the link below. Since that day, we have watched Baxter as he had his first encounters with his world. - his herd - his home - how much fun running is - learning to eat hay & grain - playing - dust baths - his first shearing - dirt mounds are awesome - more running - snow - wildlife (turtles, raccoons, woodchucks, wild turkeys, the barn cats) Now that he is almost a year old, he's just about equal to the size of his mom, Summer, and has inherited her personality as well: very easygoing and mellow. He seems quite mature as he mingles with his herd day-to-day. In their winter pen, there isn't a lot of stimulation for activities but he and his buddy Ace are already starting to wrestle again. I'm sure that once their coats are off after shearing and the herd is out in the pasture again, there will be more fun runs. |
Concerns / Returns / Exchanges / Refund policy
Concerns
Please contact us by email regarding any concerns. We appreciate the opportunity to correct any errors we made.
Granite State Alpacas is not responsible for any manufacturer's defects.
Exchanges
If you wish to exchange an item, the item must be in its original condition as it was at the time of purchase. Alpaca socks & insoles are not eligible for exchanges if they have been worn or tried on.
Returns & Refunds
You may return a purchased item to us with proof of purchase within 14 days. The item must be in the same condition as when purchased (i.e., new & unused) to qualify for a refund.
Socks & insoles are not eligible for a return/exchange if they have been worn or tried on.
You are responsible for the return shipping costs of the returned item. Once the returned item is received and confirmed to be in its original condition, you will be refunded the purchase price of the item.
Returns after 14 days are not accepted.
Concerns
Please contact us by email regarding any concerns. We appreciate the opportunity to correct any errors we made.
Granite State Alpacas is not responsible for any manufacturer's defects.
Exchanges
If you wish to exchange an item, the item must be in its original condition as it was at the time of purchase. Alpaca socks & insoles are not eligible for exchanges if they have been worn or tried on.
Returns & Refunds
You may return a purchased item to us with proof of purchase within 14 days. The item must be in the same condition as when purchased (i.e., new & unused) to qualify for a refund.
Socks & insoles are not eligible for a return/exchange if they have been worn or tried on.
You are responsible for the return shipping costs of the returned item. Once the returned item is received and confirmed to be in its original condition, you will be refunded the purchase price of the item.
Returns after 14 days are not accepted.
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