This weekend I'm off to Mountaineer Race Track in Chester, WV for the
Extreme Progeny Alpaca Auction. Getting ready for an auction is a multi-step process which involves early selection of the sale animals months ahead of time (based on pedigree, curb appeal, show record, fiber-we always choose some of our best!), submitting photos and information, getting prepurchase vet and travel exams done, paying consignment fees, and additional advertising (double-click on our ad below to enlarge, the links won't work in this version but you can find the info at the website link above).
Then it's a matter of having the animals ready (one of our girls has some small "stick-tight" burrs that we've been picking off her legs for weeks- ARGGHH, and we need to complete that job, like... today!). I need to prepare their stall books for people at the auction to read about the finer details of each animal. At this time of year when the animals have only about 1-2 inches of fiber re-growth since shearing, we need to display the fleeces which in some cases involves "skirting" the fiber to remove vegetation and putting it into a nice display basket or bag. Both Runalong and Trina have WOW fleeces that will look great no matter what!
Being gone from the farm, especially with our farm manager coming along, entails some planning and extra work as well. Today we're completing the worming process for the remainder of our herd, as well as lining everything up for Paul and the kids to handle while we're gone. I also need to finish packing, oh yeah, my SELF and clothes, food, etc (we'll be taking our motor home and stock trailer, gotta make sure that's ready, too!). Making sure the kids (and Paul) have what they need while I'm gone is another important detail!
Will I get it all done? Somehow, we always do... now the preparations are over and all we need is for buyers to notice what awesome animals we have to offer! (Oh yeah, we need to remember to have FUN as we always do when around our alpaca friends, and a bit or horse racing won't hurt a bit either!)
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This weekend I'm off to Mountaineer Race Track in Chester, WV for the Extreme Progeny Alpaca Auction. Getting ready for an auction is a multi-step process which involves early selection of the sale animals months ahead of time (based on pedigree, curb appeal, show record, fiber-we always choose some of our best!), submitting photos and information, getting prepurchase vet and travel exams done, paying consignment fees, and additional advertising (double-click on our ad below to enlarge, the links won't work in this version but you can find the info at the website link above).
Then it's a matter of having the animals ready (one of our girls has some small "stick-tight" burrs that we've been picking off her legs for weeks- ARGGHH, and we need to complete that job, like... today!). I need to prepare their stall books for people at the auction to read about the finer details of each animal. At this time of year when the animals have only about 1-2 inches of fiber re-growth since shearing, we need to display the fleeces which in some cases involves "skirting" the fiber to remove vegetation and putting it into a nice display basket or bag. Both Runalong and Trina have WOW fleeces that will look great no matter what!
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