GKR March newsletter: Shearing, Fiber, Drones, and more...

Shearing Season

Getting Ready for Shearing: After a busy Fall of brithing and caring for cria, it is time to begin the process of harvesting fiber. This year we have decided to bring in a team of professional shearers that travel the country shearing alpacas. As our herd continues to grow, the investment in professionals saves us valuable time and energy. The team will come in and shear, trim teeth, cut toenails and allow us to give shots as needed. Don't get me wrong, we will be heavily involved in the process. We will be moving and restraining animals, collecting/sorting/labeling/bagging fiber and ensuring the animals are well cared for. What these professionals do in a day normally takes us weeks of work a few animals at a time. Harvesting fiber is highly physical and we are happy to take some of that work off our shoulders.

We still plan to have an Open House for Shearing as we always do. We will save three animals that we will shear while we explain the process and answer questions to visitors. Be on the lookout for a separate email with a date and time for Shearing Day Open House that will take place in April.

Looking forward to Spring: Spring is just about here and we are expecting 2 cria in April. Both cria will be sired by Snowmass Lover's Legend who is the sire to all 5 of our beautifully fleeced Fall cria. We are eager to see the new arrivals.

A View From Above

Close encounters with a drone: We had the unique opportunity to work with our friends at Littlebirds View to capture a sneak peak of our farm for potential visitors.

What a fun experience. I have no drone experience and couldn't believe how the drones they use could capture such great angles and take such amazing footage. The editing and the music really make the video complete.

Click on the picture or this link to view the video. Clearly the alpacas were curious about the drone. Parker, our livestock guard dog, on the other hand was not as happy. See if you can find him. Enjoy the video!

Thank you to Littlebirds View.

Fiber

What do you do with your fiber?: This is one of the most asked questions from visitors. We do a few different things with our fiber. We are members of a fiber co-op in Maine. We send large amounts of fiber to them and they process alpaca fiber into finished goods that we sell in The Farm Store. We also sell our fiber to Echoview Fiber Mill in Weaverville, NC. They will be producing items made from alpaca soon as well. We also sell fiber to local spinners from the Piedmont Fiber Guild.

Love The Birds

Spoil your feathered visitors: It's time to start preparing for your Spring birds. Put out a Nesting Ball and enjoy watching the birds pull fiber from the grapevine ball and fly away to build their nests. The fiber will last well over a year. It is okay for the Nesting Ball to be placed out in the elements. The alpaca fiber will dry very quickly after being wet. Shop online at The Farm Store.

Prepare your Beds

Black gold: This is an actual picture of our alpaca manure after the worms work their magic. The days are getting warmer and it is time to prepare your garden beds.We sell this soil additive on a donation basis. Come by the farm to get a bag or a pick up truck full. You will not regret it! It is not hot and can be put directly in your flower or veggie beds. It's the only thing in my veggie beds. Give a call to schedule a time. 704-649-5849

Some T's Left

Show your GKR spirit: We have a few T's left. Sizes, colors, long sleeve, short sleeve, and women's cut options are on our website. Don't see what you need? Let us know. We will be ordering more soon. Shop online at The Farm Store.