While we were all very sad about the loss of Lattee it was important that we move on with life and the establishment of NEWAIM Farm. Lattee had been insured and we were expecting the settlement check in the near future. With that in mind I contacted our friends Dawn and John Brooker of Fiber Fields Alpaca Farm and asked them if they would be interested in co-owning a stud with us. By luck they were in the process of looking for a suitable stud and thought that the idea of co-ownership had some possibilities. We decided that if we were going to invest in a stud we would need to develop criteria for judging the animals we were considering. Obviously we needed an animal which was not closely related to any of our current females. We also wanted a male with excellent confirmation and good to excellent fleece characteristics. Since we wanted to use the stud for some outside breeding, to help cover his purchase cost, it was desirable to get a bloodline which was not common in our immediate area. This last criteria caused us to look to the farms on the west coast.

Dawn contacted several of the large farms out west, explained what we were looking for and how much we were willing to pay. Soon we received a call inviting us to come for dinner and watch a video tape which she had received from Julie Skinner of Sno-mass Alpacas. Not being one to pass up a free meal, I immediately accepted her offer. The tape was amazing, I had never seen so many alpaca in one place! A young male by the name of Andean Gem caught our eye. He came from a very limited blood line and his color was beautiful. There were many other excellent animals on the tape but he seemed to stand out of the crowd.

Soon Dawn and John were on a plane heading for the west coast. They had much more experience in evaluating alpaca than Nancy or I, so we decided that we would trust in their judgement. They visited several farms, including Sno-mass, and returned with lots of pictures and a recommendation that we buy Andean Gem. We agreed and initiated the purchasing process.

Now we were beginning to get a little nervous. We had just signed a purchase agreement for a substantial amount of money and we had yet to receive our insurance check. Luck was with us, within a few days of the payment being due, the check arrived in the mail. Much to our relief there was just enough money to cover our half of the purchase price and transportation.

Gem arrived in Maine in December and took up residence at Fiber Fields Alpaca Farm. We were not prepared to house a stud yet since we only had one pasture.

Shortly after Gem arrived I received word that Folsom Farm in New Hampshire had an older stud named Wood's Edge Trillion which they were willing to sell at a very reasonable price. Knowing that we would have two females to breed in the spring, and being unsure if Gem would be mature enough to be up to the task at that time, Nancy and I decided to purchase Trillion to help diversify our blood lines. Peter and Lorrie agreed to keep him until spring when I could establish a new pasture.

Trillion is sort of the elder statesman of our farm. At nearly 10 years of age his fiber is a bit on the coarse side now, but his silver gray color is still beautiful. We will use him for occasional breeding, but his primary task will be that of pregnancy tester. I hope all the frustration isn't too much for him to handle.

This is probably an appropriate place to talk about the unusual behavior of alpaca generally referred to as "Spitting Off". Alpaca breed with the female in a kushed position (lying down). If the female does not kush the male is unable to mount her. An open and receptive female will kush when approached by a male. A female who is pregnant will violently reject the male, usually by spitting directly into his face. Of course with males being, well male, this doesn't necessarily discourage him and the breeder usually needs to intervene. It is good practice to expose your bred females to a male periodically to ensure that they are in fact pregnant. Unfortunately this will be poor old Trill's primary task for his remaining years.