Ruthie is the daughter of farm favorite Pete and sweet Izzy. Izzy and Ruthie were living in Great Falls, Montana when Ruthie was born. Izzy had an easy and quick delivery to a healthy little baby. As we mentioned in Izzy's Meet and Greet, the couple caring for Izzy and Ruthie had an unforeseen medical tragedy that resulted in a sudden death. As a result of this sad reality, Ruthie didn’t have much human contact while she was little, so when she came back to the Alpacas of Montana farm she had never really been handled by people. When she came to the farm she stayed with her mom for three weeks, following her around and getting the lay of the land. After the first three weeks it was the time of year for all of the babies who were born at Alpacas of Montana in the summer of 2021 to be weaned from their moms. James and Sarah decided that Ruthie would be best off if she could become a part of the herd with the other young ones and grow up with them.
Ainslie©2022
James and Sarah were a bit worried that since she was in a new place and didn’t have any tight relationships yet that she wouldn’t handle being separated from her mom very well, but she was a total champ and hasn’t had any issues at all. Between Annie, James and Sarah, they’ve spent a lot of time checking in on Ruthie to make sure she seems happy and is fitting into the group. When she first came to the farm she definitely was a bit shy and out of place, but as the weeks are going on she’s growing closer and closer to the other kids. When the babies get weaned from their moms they’re all put in a pasture together with the moms in an adjacent pasture so they can always approach each other through the fence and check in. Izzy made sure to check on Ruthie every day and ensured she was safe and happy.
Ainslie©2022
Since Ruthie didn’t really have any relationships with the other kids yet, when she was weaned from her mom she clung to the humans around her. James always does this thing when the babies are being weaned where he fills his pockets with their favorite grain, grabs a bucket and sits out in the pasture with them. Once they realize he has food they all come up to him and spend a bunch of time just hanging out together. The babies love to touch noses with him and get all of the hugs and love. Annie also spends a lot of time feeding and loving on them so they begin to realize humans are a safe space for them and that we will always treat them with love and kindness. Ruthie took a particular liking to Annie and ended up being the most friendly of the babies in terms of wanting to be close to her. Ruthie is always the first baby to come say hello and is a little chatterbox. She hums all of the time and is really relaxed and trusting of humans.
Our yearly baby training began a few weeks ago and Ruthie has been the star of the class. She’s acclimated really well and is a fast learner. She’s already happy to go on walks with Annie -- something that usually takes many weeks for the babies to get good at -- and is calm and easy to work with. Because of the way Ruthie was brought up, she really bonded to humans quickly, which is always super fun for us, because it makes it easier to get quality time with her. She also happens to have excellent quality fiber, so we’re thinking about taking her to the 2022 National Show in Cincinnati. Make sure you follow along with us and Ruthie as she grows up!
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