2007 classes and events
January 27 Let's start the year with the basics. Halter fit is very important and will have much to do with success in handling. You should be able to take an alpaca for a walk at the end of this class.
February 17 NOTE CHANGE OF DATE!!! Cria comparison class. We have many wonderful crias and weanlings in the barn now. Lets look at them with a critical eye and see how they are different from each other . This will be a good chance to start handling of the young ones too. class full
March 31 Today we'll give worming shots to the herd. Giving shots is not hard if you use the right method...so I'll show you how! Beginners can practice on a piece of chicken. Please bring your OWN piece of chicken with skin on if you want to do this. I will supply needles and syringes.
April 21 Spinning class today! If you have a wheel , bring it along, we will also have a teacher help us learn to spin on a drop spindle. Reservations required. email Linda Class will be from 1:00 to 3:00
April 28 Alpaca buyers class What to look for when purchasing an alpaca? Why are some priced higher and others lower? How to evaluate conformation and fleece. Reservations requested for this class. email Linda if you'd like to come!
May 26 It's my favorite time of year again! Crias will be arriving from now until September. Learn how to recognize signs of labor, where to look for crias kicking. How to watch for a normal birth and when to know if you need to assist.
June 2 SHEARING DAY!!! We have a few spaces open for alpacas, please make your reservations soon if you want to bring a few animals here for Eddie Dunham to shear them. Helpers needed too. Email Linda if you are available.
June 30 Lots of simple tasks to be covered today. Toenail trimming done single handedly. For years I needed a helper but have finally figured out how to do it alone...I'll share my secret! We'll also get blood from a tail vein - useful for registering crias and getting progesterone for pregnancy tests.
July 28 Bring a fleece you want to show. We'll skirt and prepare as many as possible for showing. If you dont have a fleece come any way to learn! We'll also talk about how to prepare a fleece for processing if it's not going to a show.
August 25 Herd observation day.. This almost sounds like too much fun to be really important, but watching your herd closely is one of the best ways to keep them healthy. Come and sit as we quietly observe the herd and we'll talk about subtle behaviors and how to know if all is well in the pasture.
Sept 8 Fabulous Felted Hat Class!!! Dont miss this once in a life time opportunity! Gail Scherer from Georgia is coming to Utah and will be teaching us how to make fabulous felted hats from alpaca fiber. Please reserve your class space early. Class cost: $45 start at 10am finish by 3..ish? A yummy lunch will be included!! Material list available soon. If you do not have alpaca fiber it can be purchased here. Fill out registration HERE Class size limited and is filling up fast. Please reserve your spot by Aug 10. See photos of our class
Sept 29 Third annual Fall Open Barn day at Blue Moon Ranch. Enjoy a stroll in the pastures watching our beautiful animals and then see the finished items made from our alpacas. Get a start on your Christmas shopping with some unique gifts! click here for more information
October 27 Alpaca Movement. This is a fun class. Learn how to move your alpaca anywhere using your body positioning. Some basic tips on herding, and how to position yourself to get your animals to go where you want them to. Also a brief discussion about facility set up to allow you to do this even more efficiently.
November 24 Date Change to Dec 1 Business class. How to run your alpaca farm as a business. We'll talk about web site development, marketing promotions and how to get your farm known.
December 15 Sick of the Mall and shopping? Take a break from Holiday Hassles and just come and sit in the barn and enjoy one of the best parts of the alpaca lifestyle. We'll talk about what you can learn from just watching, and have cookies and hot chocolate while the pacas get some special holiday treats too! (please RSVP if you plan to join us.).
2006 classes
January 28 Halter fit and weighing today. We will bring the males over from the bachelor pad today and do weights and body scores. If we have enough help, we will also give them worming shots today. start at 10:00 a.m.
February 25 Being able to move an alpaca by where you place yourself is a subtle but important skill. We will practice this today and then you can halter your favorite animal and take them for a walk. 10:00 a.m.
March 25 Even though we do not take our animals to shows, we will have a mock show at BMR today for those who enjoy that part of the business! How to show a bite, walk into the ring, and present your best to the judge.
April 22 The alpaca are in full fleece now so it's a good time to examine fleeces and do some body scoring. It is really hard to assess body size under all the fiber so we will learn a body scoring technique. We'll also check toenails and trim any as necessary.
May 20 It's that time of year again! Crias will be arriving from now until September. Learn how to recognize signs of labor, where to look for crias kicking. How to watch for a normal birth and when to know if you need to assist. Please let me know early if you will be attending this class. We might be moving this weekend and the time of the class will depend on that schedule.
May 28 SHEARING DAY AT BLUE MOON RANCH! Eddie Dunham, our Aussie shearer is returning again to Blue Moon Ranch. We get started by 8:00 a.m. and keep working until we are done. Helpers needed! If you want to come and watch, you will be asked to help. :)
June 24 Bring a fleece from shearing, or I'll loan you one and let's do some skirting. We will remove any seconds cuts and vegetation and then wash as many fleeces as we have time for. A good time to learn more about fiber characteristics too. I bet we'll have some cute crias to watch by now too!
July 29 Today we will begin training some of the new crias. They will be in a pen with their moms and will have a very gentle lesson on handling. If you have a cria who lives here, or who will be born here, please try to make this class. :)
Aug 26 Spinning class or knitting class? Learn to use the wonderful fleece your alpaca gives you every year! Reservations required for this class. Let me know your area of interest....spinning or knitting.
Sept 30 Second Annual Blue Moon Ranch Open Barn Day. See all the new babies - and the wonderful fiber from the herd. We will have lots of finished items for sale. 10 a.m.- 4 p.m. Bring your friends and family!
Oct 28 Blue Moon Ranch Customer Appreciation Open house. 1pm -5pm Are You a BMR customer ? Then come and join in the fun. Light snacks and beverages, drop in say Hi, see the new house and visit the animals too. This is just a small way to thank the many customers who have made our business successful.
November 25 Halter fitting, weighing and worming today. We will talk about parasite issues and how to know when you need to use wormers. If we have some that need nails trimmed we'll do that as well. We will also have the store open for business today with special discounts for alpaca owners who want to get a good start on holiday shopping!
December 16 Herd observation day. Come escape the holiday madness and just watch the alpacas chew. Nothing will relax you more. :) You might even find a last minute gift item in the store.
2005 events
January 29 10:00 am Basic halter work today. A properly fitted halter is so important! Come and see how to be sure your halters fit your alpacas. followed by a herd weigh-in.
February 26 CDT vaccinations & worming shots today. Come and see how easy it is to give shots using the Marty-McGee Bennet method! We will start weigh in at 10:00 am and keep working until all alpacas are vaccinated. This will be a long day!
March 26 After weighing the herd we will trim alpaca toe nails today. This is one maintenance item that all alpacas owners should know how to do. We'll get started with weighing at 10:00 am, and then do our trimming. we might possibly need to reschedule this day...please email or cal if you need the toenail trimming lesson.
April 23 NEW! Alpaca buyers class. What to look for when purchasing an alpaca? Why are some priced higher and others lower? How to evaluate conformation and fleece. Reservations requested for this class. email Linda if you'd like to come!
May 21 My favorite! Cria time is here! What to watch for. How to know when you need help. And what to do for the newborn. We might have a few new ones to look at today. Weigh in at 10:00. then our birthing discussion.
May 28 Shearing day at Blue Moon Ranch. Eddie Dunham , our shearer from Australia will return to BMR to get the herd ready for summer. Fleeces available for sale! We need helpers! Let us know if you can help! email linda@bluemoonranch.net
June 1-4 AOBA National conference at the South Town Center in Sandy Utah
July 2 A wedding celebration at Blue Moon Ranch!
July 30 After a weigh-in we'll look at breeding issues. Hear the secrets of Lunar Breeding! Starting at 10:00 am If it's too warm, we'll start breeding earlier. Correction! It is not a waxing moon, so we wont be breeding. Instead we will take blood tests from the tail vein to get progesterone tests and maybe get samples from a few crias for DNA tests. (same vein)
Sept 24 Blue Moon Ranch Fall Open House. An opportunity for Blue Moon Ranch to display our wonderful fiber, products and animals to the community! 10 am til 3 pm. Great for early holiday shoppers!
October 29 Herd observation day. This is one of the most important skills an alpaca owner will develop. We will sit and watch and watch and watch as I point out subtleties of behavior that give clues to the health of a herd.
Cria halter training classes can be arranged when ever one or more owner would like to work with their cria. Just let me know, and we will post it here, and try to get other owners to come and work with us too.
November 19 cria halter training class 10:00 am ( for owners of cria boarded at Blue Moon Ranch)
November 26 Alpaca buyers class. For new buyers or those who just want to hear what they wish they had known before a purchase! We will evaluate fleece, conformation and explain alpaca pricing. reservations required email Linda to reserve your spot
December 3 cria halter training class at 10:00 a.m.
December 24 Merry Christmas. No class today We will have our "holiday" open house in the spring once we are finished with the construction of our home! :)
This is what we did in 2004......
January 24 10:00 am Basic halter work today. A properly fitted halter is so important! Come and see how to be sure your halters fit your alpacas. followed by a herd weigh-in.
February 28 Rescheduled for March 6 CDT vaccinations today. Come and see how easy it is to give shots using the Marty-McGee Bennet method! We will start weigh in at 10:00 am and keep working until all alpacas are vaccinated.
March 27 After weighing the herd we will trim alpaca toe nails today. This is one maintenance item that all alpacas owners should know how to do. We'll get started with weighing at 10:00 am, and then do our trimming.
April 24 Nutrition discussion today after the weigh-in. What kind of hay is best? What about supplements? Minerals? Treats? We'll start at 10:00 am and have handouts available.
May 17 Shearing day At Blue Moon Ranch. Eddie Dunham , our shearer from Australia will return to BMR to get the herd ready for summer. Fleeces available for sale! Let us know if you plan to come to help! email linda@bluemoonranch.net
May 29 My favorite! Cria time is here! What to watch for. How to know when you need help. And what to do for the newborn. We might have a few new ones to look at today. Weigh in at 10:00. then our birthing discussion.
June 12 Drop spindle class with Jill Dahle. Class begins at 10:00 am Learn to spin fiber the way they do in South America. $10. class fee. Limit of 10. Please reserve early. (class filled)
June 26 After herd weigh - in we'll look at breeding issues, and probably try a few pairs today. Hear the secrets of Lunar Breeding! Starting at 10:00 am If it's too warm, we'll start breeding earlier.
July 31 Tooth trimming after weigh in, starting at 10:00 am. Some alpacas never need their teeth trimmed, but for those who do, it's a good skill to learn. We'll also look at the boys fighting teeth and trim any that need it.
August 28 What to do with the fleeces from your alpacas? Come see some of the wonderful things we make, and learn about different ways to process your fiber.
Sept 11-12, 2004 A Marty McGee Bennet Camelid training clinic will be held at Blue Moon Ranch! read about Marty and her clinics here Send me an email if you are interested in this clinic
October 23 How to body score an alpaca and what to do if you see a weight loss. Weigh in at 10 am, and then we'll show how to give paste probiotics. This is also how you administer paste wormers.
November 27 Alpaca movement without a halter. Some basic tips on herding, and how to position yourself to get your animals to go where you want them to. Weigh in at 10 am (11-04 update Our scale is in for repair...email first to see what we will be doing today)
December 18 Take a break from Holiday Hassles and just come and sit in the barn and enjoy one of the best parts of the alpaca lifestyle. We'll talk about what you can learn from just watching, and have cookies and hot chocolate while the pacas get some special holiday treats too! (please RSVP if you plan to join us.)
This is what our schedule for 2003 looked like........
January 25, 2003 Weigh - in at 10:00 am followed by a tooth trimming party! We will give Rescue Remedy or Calmes Forte to relax the animals who need a little teeth work today.
February 22,2003 DATE CHANGE to March 1 ( meeting conflict) Weigh in at 10:00 am. then we will give annual vaccinations to the herd. We use a technique that Marty McGee Bennett teaches, and it is easy on humans and alpacas alike.
March 22, 2003 Weigh in at 10:00 am, then halter work with any animal going to the shows this season.
April 19, 2003 Weigh in at 10:00 am followed by more halter work. Today we will run through a practice show, and talk about how to enjoy the shows with your animals.
April 25-27 Wild West Alpaca Show in Vernal, Utah
May 18 Shearing Day At Blue Moon Ranch! Eddie Dunham will be sharing our herd again this year. More than 60 alpacas will be here for his services. If you want to come and help or watch, please email soon.
May 24, 2003 Weigh- in at 10:00 am, then a discussion of birthing issues , problems and concerns. 90% of all births are uneventful, but it's good to have a plan for the ones that are not!
June 28, 2003 Weigh-in at 10:00 am, then a discussion of cria care - when to vaccinate, halter train, etc. We should have some new crias to work with today.
July 26, 2003 Weigh-in at 10:00 am, followed by a discussion on nutrition. How do you know what they need and what is in the hay that you feed? Supplements & treats will be covered.
Sept 19-21, 2003 The Back of the Wasatch Fiber Festival will be a combined event this year with the Mountain Spirit Heritage Festival. Check back for details soon. visit www.mtnspirit.org
November 15, 2003 Weigh the herd starting at 10:00 am. This will be a new experience as we gather the boys from their pasture and bring them into the barn for the first time. We will do a body score on each animal, and check nails that might need trimming. Basic instruction on halter placement and how to body score today.
December 13, 2003 Weigh in at 10 am. Followed by demonstrations on how to get an alpaca to move without a halter, Basic herding techniques and a fun lesson for all involved!