Baby season is HERE!
Stay tuned for all of the updates as our babies are born we will be adding photos and updates throughout the summer!
Clover: Born April 4, 2023Mom: Holly
Dad: Bridger
Holly was found as a "wild" alpaca in the National Forest near Waterloo, MT. No one in town knew how the herd of llamas got there but they knew they needed help. Enter James and Sarah to save the day! This herd was very skittish but James and Sarah were able to catch them and bring them home to Alpacas of Montana. Holly was familiar with haltering so we knew she had seen a halter before but none of them had been shorn in years so they were as wide as they were long! Their fleece was totally felted and had tons of debris stuck in it (rocks, wire, sticks, etc) so once they were shorn they didn’t recognize each other! It actually took a few weeks for them to get close enough to smell each other and realize who they all were. We have trained them to be more socialized and comfortable with us but have chosen not to handle them too much and let them do their own thing. Montana Llama Guides is a professional llama packing business here in town owned by Dennis Dueñas. We took Holly over to Dennis’ farm to breed with one of his males, Bridger because our llamas are getting a bit older so we want to breed a new generation to continue protecting our alpacas. We’ve never had a llama baby and we are so excited about Clover joining our AOM family and watching her learn and grow up!
Bubba: Born May 28, 2023
Mom: Zuma
Dad: Argus
You may be thinking, Argus was busy last year (yes, he was)! We like to breed Argus because he is genetically sound, and always produces very mild manner, sweet babies with high quality fiber that we can then use to make into yarn for our Made in Montana products! Zuma hasn't had a baby in quite some time and she was born on our farm too so we are so excited to welcome another mini Zuma into our herd!
Asher: Born May 29, 2023
Mom: Celestina
Dad: Argus
Asher was waiting for the perfect sunny day as he was 8 days late! We have a feeling he is going to like being the center of attention and was born right when one of our summer farm tours started! The visiting family was so excited and got to help deliver him and clean him off! Celestina has had a few babies in the past and because of her color, a neutral light fawn, her babies generally take on the color of the dads while having good consistent quality fiber. Asher is a mischievous little boy and is besties with Bubba, the two of them love to roughhouse and get themselves into trouble!
Hamlet: Born June 12, 2023
Mom: Lulu
Dad: Shakespeare
Lulu is an older alpaca and we suspect after yesterday, that she is a first time mom. Hamlet's birth was a little tougher due to her being a first time mom at an older age, her body didn't know how to prepare or what to expect from a birth so James had to assist a bit more than usual! After she gave birth, we monitored Lulu to make sure she and her baby were both safe and healthy and within the hour little Hamlet was up and walking! He definitely has his dads face and we are in love with his adorable facial markings!
Poppy: Born June 13, 2023
Mom: Petunia
Dad: Shakespeare
Funny enough, we didn't have Petunia on our breeding calendar so baby Poppy was a surprise to us all! Petunia spent last summer at a neighboring farm so we weren't monitoring her during our breeding process, but it is a welcome wonderful surprise! We keep all of our new moms and soon to be moms in our front pasture so we can easily see and check on them everyday so we know when a baby is coming. Well, on this day we walked to the back pasture and saw a baby rustling around in the grass! We had to do a double take and recount all of our babies thinking Bubba had snuck out to the back pasture somehow. But sure enough, we had an addition from mom, Petunia! Poppy is already so strong and was bigger that usual at about 20 lbs when she was born, two hours later she was running around the pasture ready to explore and make new friends!
Papa D: Born June 18, 2023
Mom: Chica Sabrina
Dad: Pete
Born on Father's Day this year, we had to go with Papa D! Chica Sabrina is the daughter of Jack Sparrow and granddaughter of Nakoda and Rainier Grey who, back in the day, was the most bred male in the country! We bred Chica Sabrina twice to two separate males because during breeding, it can be hard to tell if the breeding took and was successful. The females will sit down and allow the males to mount them and usually if a female is pregnant, they will spit at the male if he tries to mount her. In this case, Chica Sabrina didn't spit during the second breeding so she may not have been pregnant. Luckily, Argus and Pete are opposite colors so when Chica's baby is born we should have a pretty good idea who dad is!
Ophelia: Born June 26, 2023
Mom: Valentine
Dad: Shakespeare
Little Ophelia was born Monday afternoon, and in Shakespearean fashion, she waited until we had the biggest crowd of the day to make her appearance! We weren't expecting Valentine to give birth today but luckily one of our farm tour guests was on the lookout and actually spotted Ophelia's little nose coming out! With her mom being Valentine, and her dad Shakespeare, we decided that the name Ophelia (which so many of you amazingly recommended as well!!) was only fitting! She is a strong baby and was standing at about 25 minutes after birth.
Persephone: Born July 1, 2023
Mom: Luna
Dad: Pete
We had the shock of the summer with miss Persephone! Luna had a due date of July 9th, and with babies usuallybeing born between 10am-2pm we were not expecting a baby to be born at 5pm that evening. We had some family members over that night and when one of them shouted "there's a baby being born!" we definitely had to do a double take while rushing outside. That day was very stormy and windy and baby came very suddenly and quickly so we think the storm made mom hold off for a few hours! Luna and Persephone are doing great and she is already making friends!
Sisu: Born July 2, 2023
Mom: Margo
Dad: Out Of Sight
Meet Sisu, Sisu is a Finnish word meaning strength, perseverance, and bravery which suits him perfectly after his birth! We had two large farm tours and all of a sudden we saw two legs and a nose coming out of Margo! Sisu was so still we were worried about his health. For the following hour, he was very lethargic, and had a low temperature so we continued working with him, keeping him warm and alert until he bounced back and gained some strength. After a little over an hour he was finally nursing and bonding with his mom. Now a few weeks later he is running around happy and healthy!
Ursula: Born July 2, 2023
Mom: Ariel
Dad: Shakespeare
Ursula was the last baby to wrap up a wild 24 hours of baby after baby! We were working in the back pasture when all of a sudden, our herd took off running towards Ariel and huddled up all around her. We went to check out what was going on and were greeted by this sweet little baby girl. She had her baby so fast as we had just checked on her about 10 minutes prior.
Malcolm, Born July 25, 2023
Mom: Ripley
Dad: Shakespeare
Malcolm was born on a sunny Tuesday morning! Ripley was about a week early but since she was our last mama of the summer we were keeping an extra close eye on her. Malcolm was born very quickly and was super strong right when he came into the world! While still not ask quick as Asher, he was standing within 20-25 minutes and is quickly making friends with all of our other babies! He is a mama's boy (just like his brother Newt who is now 1 years old). We think this is because Ripley is such a sweet, attentive mom so she always keeps her babies close up until it is time for their weaning.