About New Moon Alpacas

Just as the new moon signifies the start of the lunar cycle, a 'new beginning' for nature, New Moon Alpacas signifies our new beginning.

2004 - Our First Year

We began operation the end of June 2004 with the purchase of our first alpaca, SCFA Pixie Dust, a pregnant Huacaya female. She delivered her cria (Queen of the Elves) the day after Thanksgiving in November 2004. We were in our late 50s and early 60s, looking forward to eventual retirement and a slower pace of lift.

Within two months of purchasing Pixie Dust, she was joined by two Suri females, Miss Aurora B and Tally Pearl D453 AOA (pictured at right with her cria, Pandora of Saturn). Both Suri dams were accompanied by their 2004 cria - Aurora's Firecracker and Pandora of Saturn respectively. By September 2004 we had three dams, two cria, and a third cria due later that year.

Since we were both working, along with providing care for the last of our four parents, we resided in a city - Santa Clara, California. Meanwhile, our growing alpaca herd were agisted (boarded) within a 45 minute drive from our home. That first year we added two Huacaya maidens (Kinsey or Redwood Ridge and Hannah of Redwood Ridge (pictured at left with her dam)) and four mature Suri, one dam (Charmane), one experienced herdsire (CMR Statesman), and two males. who became geldings

2005 to 2009

In early fall 2005 we moved our growing herd to a larger ranch for agistment (boarding) just south of Sacramento, California. That same fall we took three alpacas north to AlpacaMania 2005, an alpaca show near Medford, Oregon. Our alpacas took one second place ribbon (Aurora's Firecracker), with the two maidens (Queen of the Elves and Pandora of Saturn) taking first place and color champion ribbons in their classes.

The new agistment ranch was nearly 125 miles from our home in the city, yet every weekend we make the 250 mile round trip drive to work with our alpacas, whether halter training in preparation for shows or breedings. We continued to attend alpaca shows, the California Classic in the spring and either the Monterey Pronk or AlpacaMania as time permitted. We were still working and caring for the last of our four parents.

Our herd also continued to grow. We made a couple of herdsire purchases with two Huacaya males, Bartleby, our premier producer of female cria, and Outback Jack, an older yet quality male. We also began producing crias from breedings we had planned.

 

Moving to Western Washington

In November 2009 we purchased a small ranch of just under 10 acreas in Western Washington. Our first physical ranch is just outside of Elma, Washington, approximately 30 miles west of Olympia, the state capital of Washington state. The following month our herd of alpacas arrived from California. In 2010 we were busy with the births of ten cria - six female and four males - along with the work on our new ranch. That activity, along with the death of our last parent that summer, kept us from attending shows.

The herd has continued to grow during 2010, numbering more nearly 50 Huacaya and Suri alpacas once all our registrations are completed.