Carrageen Suri Alpacas LLC

Serious about Suris

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Winter at Carrageen Alpacas and Alpacas for sale

Here in Maine we are experiencing one of the most brutal winters in a long time. Sub zero mornings make chores slower and not as much fun. However the alpacas are doing well. They are kept out of the wind gusts and have plenty of hay. We are looking forward to spring!
Our store is doing well. Socks seem o be the best selling item though gloves, scarves and hats are going fast also.
For those of you are looking to expand your herd with quality alpacas, please keep us in mind. We h

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Maine Open Farm Day

Many thanks to the many people who attended our Maine Open Farm event held yesterday. We had a great time with talks about the alpaca life style, starting a farm and giving a variety of fiber demonstrations. There were many smiling faces when they saw our animals. The alpacas had a great time showing off for the visitors!

Armando, the newest member of our herd!

Carrageen Alpacas is proud to announce the acquisition of a stunning 16 month old male, SuriPaco's Armando.
This light fawn boy has it all, lock, twist, luster and density! Pictures are soon to follow. We are proud to add his genetics to our growing herd. For more information contact us at [email protected].

A new addition to our herd

We have just added a beautiful white girl to our herd. Her name is SuriPaco's Petra. She has a sweet personality and her fleece is wonderful. Great locking and fineness. You can see her in at MAPACA in Harrisburg, Pennsylvania.
Our goal has always been to improve our herd and fleece quality each year. This we feel we are accomplishing. By combining Snowmass, Sweetbriar and SuriPaco genetics in addition to a variety of colors, we are now able to provide a quality we are very proud of.

Congratulations to our show winners!

Congratulations to our Domingo who took a 4th place at the National and a 1st at the North American Alpaca Show!
Congratulations to Allante who took a 4th place at the National!
Congratulations to Clarita and Isis for each taking a 1st at the North American Alpaca Show!

Making it through the cold winter

No one needs to be reminded that it has been an unusually cold winter here in the northeast. We have had many days of sub-zero and single digit temperatures.
While alpacas generally do well in the cold, precautions need to be taken. Making sure that they have clean dry straw bedding, housing ( a barn or run-in shed) and a ready supply of hay and warm water will help them make it though this tough period.
Also if crias are around, having a warm room for them to spend the night will give

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A new cria at Carrageen!

On September 30, Our Annie delivered a beautiful pattern girl, Elizabeth. Weighing 12.7 lbs. at birth, she has quickly gained weight and is now romping with her other cria friends. What a sweetheart she is, just like her mother!

Fall activities at Carrageen Alpacas

How quickly the Summer went! Now it's time to prepare for the Fall.
We will be having 2 crias soon. Our Gentle Annie and Sojourner Truth are due to deliver within the next month. We are very excited about the prospects of that.
Also we are busy fencing in our new property addition. We have added 10 acres but are only fencing in 2 right now. The rest will be done next Spring and early Summer.
We are also making plans for National Open Farm Days (Sept. 28 and 29). That should be a

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Finally our last summer Cria at Carrageen!

It took 10 days longer than we expected, but our JackeeO finally delivered a healthy 12.7 lb. (today a 13.3 lb.) boy. He is a pattern but has a nice full brown on the blanket. Mom is doing great. She definitely has read the motherhood book! No name yet, but we'll have one soon.

Two more Carrageen crias!

On August 7, 2013 we added 2 more cria to our herd. at 8:52 AM our Chipita gave birth to a beautiful white girl, Ginesa. Her grandfather (the great Crown Royale out of Sweetbriar Farm) was white so we think that his genes have come through in her. She just shines in the sun. Father Roth ( son of Crown Royale) hs done us proud.
At 12;20 our Jasmine gave birth to a stunning medium fawn boy, Allante. This guy weighed in at 20.2 and is a bundle of energy. He also was fathered by Roth and has ma

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Yes....another one for Carrageen!

Our wonderful Tyra gave birth to a beautiful 18.2 lb. light brown girl at 12:22 PM. Her name is Clarita. This is the first time we have ever had 2 crias in the same day. More to follow!

Another Carrageen cria!

We are pleased to announce that our Domino gave birth to a 20lb. dark brown girl this morning. Both are doing well. The little one took a bit longer than usual to stand as she has really long legs! Her name is Felicia.

A new baby at Carrageen Alpacas

At 11AM on July 31st we welcomed a new boy to our herd. He is brown and white. His light brown color covers his blanket area. Mom Ciara is doing great and had a very easy delivery. His name is Julio Fuego. He's really cute!

At Carrageen Alpacas....it's hot!

What a summer this has been so far. From days of torrential rain in June to dealing with the string of 90 degree days this past week has made life here on the farm interesting to say the least.
The rainy days meant more challenging mornings with clean up...in other words more poop in the barn. Also dealing pastures that looked like ponds was not any fun.
However now we are enduring a severe stretch of very hot days and are being vigilant in watching our animals for signs of stress.

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Carrageen's Domingo!

On Sunday, June 16, our Glynis gave birth to a beautiful dark brown boy! His name is Domingo. He has great coverage and density with a nice greasy feel. He is now happily running, (he figured this out on Tuesday) in the pasture. His IgG is 2936. We are very happy with that. Glynis is doing well and is a wonderful mother!

Cria watch!

Carrageen Alpacas is on cria watch. The first of our 10 mothers to be is due to deliver any day now.
Our Glynis is showing no signs as of yet, but the calendar says to get things ready!
We'll keep you posted!

Alpacas on green grass, finally!

What a sight to see as our herd runs from the barn to fresh green pasture grass! To see them pronking, rolling and just having fun makes all the hard work we have put in for the last weeks worthwhile.
We are letting them out for no longer than a couple of hours right now to let their digestive systems adapt. Soon we will let them out for longer periods and then the whole day.
We at Carrageen Alpacas pride ourselves on making our pastures as good as we can and to improve them each year

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Alpacas in the Winter....looking toward Spring!

Here in Gray Maine we are in the midst of one of the harshest winters we have had in a while. Snowstorms of up to 30'' and cold nights have made caring for alpacas a challenge.
Also because of the constant snow, the animals are not able to exercise as much as we would like. To at least give them some space to stretch their legs, we have made very creative walking paths with the snow blowers. Ah... such fun.
But with March also comes the realization that April is close at hand! The th

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The Carrageen Alpaca barn

It seems like only yesterday when we were planning our barn construction. After 2 years of working in it we are very happy with how it works for us.
We have 4 areas within the main barn space. Boys occupy two areas on the east side, while girls and crias are on the west. There is an isle between them.
We also have a quarantine stall (room) for new animals. In addition we have a heated room for winter use and for rehabilitation purposes.
Outside we have plenty of space under ov

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Our alpaca herd has a variety of colors!

Here at Carrageen Suri Alpacas, we believe in breeding for a wide range of color. We are striving to bring a variety of high quality alpacas that will give the customer great choices.
Right now we have pure white, light fawn, light brown, medium brown, dark brown, rose grey and pure black. We are very proud of what we a creating and are working hard to improve our quality every year.

Carrageen Alpacas is growing!

Our Roth has been very busy. After ultrasounds on Sept. 22, we have 6 confirmed pregnancies! Our Jasmine, Ciara, Chipita, Domino, Tyra and Jackee-O are all due to deliver next August or September. Roth is an excellent herdsire and we hope to carry on the Crown Royale tradition of excellence.

We're breeding at Carrageen Alpacas!

Well we're finally able to do breeding here at Carrageen. What with the breedings, field tests and ultrasounds we are pretty busy. But what an exciting time it is.
We have Bred our herdsire Roth to our Tyra, JackeeO, Jasmine, Ciara, Jungle Rose, Lily Rose, Chipeta and Domino.
Roth was sired by the great Sweetbriar Farm's Crown Royale. Crown Royale was one of the great show winners, a stunning alpaca with great presence and personality. These traits have certainly come through in Roth.

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All of the hay is in the barn!

What a relief to know that we have plenty of hay for our alpacas. The final 200 bales of our hay arrived yesterday! In an hour it was up in the loft. It was a hot day, hot work, but well worth the effort. We are mixing it with what we have left over from last year so that the alpacas can gradually get used to it.We feel very fortunate to have such good hay already.

Hay in the Barn!

It's always exciting around this time of year at Carrageen Alpacas. We like to have our hay in the barn and not have to worry about that aspect of our life. However the dealer we used last year was not available!
So...to the internet I went and located a dealer a half hour away. Last week over half the order arrived...230 bales. Depending on the weather we'll be getting the remaining 200 soon.
We feel much better now! Good for another year....

A rainy night at Carrageen Alpacas

Wow....did it rain last night! Out of a deep sleep at 2AM to hear thunder, see lighting and listen to rain POUNDING on the roof. Needless to say sections of our pasture look like ponds. Thankfully...no poop in the barn! The alpacas looked a bit sleepier than normal during chores this morning.

Jim Barker

It is with sadness that I write about the passing of a friend. To those of you who knew Jim, you know what kind of person he was. For those of you who didn't you should try to learn more. You can go to www.Brown-Forward.com and read a wonderful obituary about him.
Our foundation herd here at Carrageen Alpacas is built on Jim's animals. We have purchased 6 animals from Sweetbriar Farm and have had 5 offspring from them. The Crown Royale line that he produced is one of the finest in the coun

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Keeping the barn area clean and fresh

Sanitation around and in the barn is very important. Regular cleaning of animal waste and dirt not only helps keep the alpacas healthy, but it also shows visitors that you care and take pride in your operation.
At Carrageen Alpacas we do a complete poop cleaning ( barn and pasture) at least 3 times a day.
For in barn clean up (which we hope does not happen, but inclement weather can force the animals into the barn and....well...accidents happen) we pick up the poop, sweep the floor an

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Daily observation can prevent future problems

After the morning chores are completed, we at Carrageen Alpacas spend the next hour or so just watching our herd. We study each animal to make sure that there are no problems. We watch to make sure that their gait is normal, that there are no wounds or abcesses, and that they are eating as they should.
Crias are checked to make sure that they are nursing well and that they are in good spirits.
Sometimes all the above are ok but there is something about a particular animal that doesn't

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Touch Your Alpacas

Alpacas are naturally flight animals. Some of your alpacas will be less likely to move away when you approach them while others will run if you make even the slightest movement toward them.
If you want to be able to handle your alpacas well you need to touch them every day.This can be a stroke on the neck, a pat on the butt or simply putting out a hand and have them approach you.
Developing trust of humans can be difficult for some alpacas. Patience and regular attention on yo

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Alpaca Health- Weight and Body Scoring

Alpacas need to be evaluated on a regular basis. Because they have such wonderful fleece, health problems can be masked.
Here at Carrageen Suri Alpacas in Maine, we designate the first weekend of every month to herd health. Each animal is weighed and body scored. For those of you not familiar with body scoring, the thumb and index finger are placed against the animal about 6 inches behind the withers. We use a 1 to 5 system, 1 being too thin, 5 being too fat. Our goal is a sco

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It's a hot day....keep your Alpacas cool!

One of the first alpaca questions that people from out of state ask is "How do they do they stay warm in the winter"? While this is an issue here in Maine, a bigger issue is dealing with heat. Yes there are many warm days here in the summer!
Alpacas are very susceptible to heat problems. One must always be observant that they are not showing signs of lethargy, labored breathing or of being unsteady on their feet. All of these are signs that the animal is in trouble.
Make

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Lots of excitement here at Carrageen Suri Alpacas!

It's been a while since I have updated this blog. That's because things have been really busy here.
We had a very successful shearing on May 19th. Lots of people showed up to help and things went very smoothly. I'd like to thank Tom Monroe for being there when we needed him. Also I would like to thank my music students Dilyse, Maureen and Elizabeth from South Portland, Maine. They did a great job bagging!
On May 21 our Sweet Suri Ciara gave birth to a beautiful light fa

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Farm History

As we sit waiting for the pastures to dry out, we thought you might like to know how we got started in the Alpaca business.
Our interest in alpacas began in 2008 when we went to the New England Coastal Classic Show in New Gloucester, Maine, Having bred Irish Setters for many years and attending shows, we thought this might be a fun thing to do on a Saturday. Little did we know how much fun it was going to be!
At this show we were lucky to meet someone who would eventually men

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Alpaca Welcome, Herd Health, Wet Pasture and Shed

One of the most pleasant parts of the day at Carrageen Suri Alpacas is going out to the barn and being welcomed by our alpacas. They see us approaching and all gather in eager anticipation of surrounding us as we do the chores. It's really a lot of fun.
Tomorrow is monthly herd health day. We weigh and body score them. They seem to all be in great health!
We're also going to be haltering them and posing them for pictures for the website. That should be interesting.
The weather h

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Pasture!

For us here at Carrageen Suri Alpacas, one of the most exciting times of the year is seeing our alpacas finally escape the confines of the dry lot and experience fresh pasture. Nothing can top the sight of alpacas running, rolling and eating on fresh spring grass. They are so happy!
It's especially great to see our youngest on pasture for the first time in their lives. Their world has suddenly become much larger! To see them running at full speed is quite a sight.
Of course we need t

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Roth is here!

I returned last Thursday from Ohio. I brought back Roth from Sweetbriar Alpaca Farm in Ohio. Jim Barker and I ( and my wife Carol) are owners of him. He is beautiful! If you are looking for Crown Royale genetics in your line, Roth is the one. Look on the Sweetbriar for a picture of him. You will be amazed. He will be here at Carrageen Suri Alpacas in Gray, Maine for the summer and be available for breeding in 2 weeks. Please give us a call to discuss price and schedule.

Proud Member of

Suri Network Maine Alpaca Association