A Day of Beauty

So yesterday we had what we like to call our  "Day of Beauty" in the barn. The alpacas probably think of it as the "Day of Terror," right up there with shearing day and shots day. The "Day of Beauty" is the day we do topknots and toenails and then weigh them before winter sets in and they're full fleece. Its hard to tell in February if your alpaca has lost weight. Their fleece really can be deceiving and if you have a female who's making a baby and nursing one as well, then the weight loss can be dangerous. As for the topknots some of them get to looking alittle sloppy and some just plain get in the way. Two of our boys, Skye and Concord, are nearly blinded by the fleece just flopping over their eyes. Poor boys. You can walk right up to them and they act so surprised when they finally realize it's you and not another alpaca!! Aren't they just fun? The last thing is the clipping of the toenails. In case you didn't know, alpacas have 2 toenails on each foot. They curve just alittle. If they get too long they curve too much. Have you ever seen one of those women who have fingernails that are many inches long and they curve alot? Its sort of like that! Of course we don't let it get that bad. Even when it's just alittle long it gets uncomfortable for them to walk. We had a successful day until it came to my crankee yankee Mikey. He just plain doesn't want to be bothered so we didn't bother him! His topknot is actually good and his toenails are good. Probably from running from us or running after Concord!