Introductions. Part 4.

So to the third and last of our intitial 'foundation girls', Bobby, resident spit fountain. Queen of the grumpy hair trigger line.

Incidentally our 'foundation girls', Bobby, Priscilla and Bannock were selected using the following criteria; We wanted some alpacas. We could only afford three, they were fluffy and in front of us and could be ours! That was it. There was a little bit of talk about fleece and conformation but I don't think I was listening I just wanted to take them home and look at them.

Anyway, Bobby, was the youngest and the most expensive of the three. She was a Wessex Mateus daughter and we were also buying her mother, Priscilla, she of the chinny chin chin.
She was soooooooo fluffy!

Bobby was pregnant on arrival, who to, I have no idea, I just can't remember. Sadly, she aborted twins at about 6 months. Still that meant we could choose the next sire and as we were looking for some brown in the herd we went for ATA Cambridge Centurion, a black super stud.

Sure enough Centurion and Bobby did their stuff and in June 2007 along came the whirling stress monkey that is Poppy. Poppy was born at 315 days and was very weak. We had 24 hours of round the clock milking and feeding to get her sorted out. Milking Bobby is not something Sue and I would like to repeat! Bobby switched to fully automatic mode and the air was green, every three hours!
It was all worth it though and Poppy turned out to be a little cracker. She went on to pick up rosettes for us at some really big alpaca shows. Here she is pictured with some egg head picking up a first place at the Royal Bath and West Show. A very proud day at Patou! Poppy also went on to win second place rosettes at the SWAG Spring Show and the British Alpaca Futurity.
Pops is now pregnant herself to Lillyfield Jack of Spades of Inca and we are looking forward to her being a mum in June. Serious potential for a stunning cria there!

We struggled to get Bobby pregnant in 2007, it was either the foot and mouth outbreak or the arrival of Blue tongue that prevented us from having enough 'stud time' and as such Bobby went through the winter empty. We were keen to get started with her in 2008 and as luck would have it all she needed was one mating from Canchones Witness of Inca and she was pregnant.

Subsequently in March last year Bobby gave birth to another feisty hair trigger stress monkey, Penny. Born in a lovely warm Spring Penny grew at a phenomenal weight, doubling her 10kg birth weight in less than a month!
Penny has also been successful in the show ring and is pictured below, with the same idiot as before, picking up a third place at this years Futurity. She was soaking wet I must point out and I reckon she could have done better if she had been in show condition. Well I would say that wouldn't I?


Bobby is now also pregnant to the imperious Jack of Spades and is 310 days down the line today. She is as wide as a house and at her spittiest, frequently giving either Sue or myself a quick sideways blast for no apparent reason at feeding times.
Still, she has been the provider of two lovely girls who will no doubt go on to form the basis of a world beating line of brown alpacas! For that we can forgive her the odd broadside!