This weekend was the first of our first birthdays this year. We had 3 male cria arrive with their mothers last October, and they will all be a year old by the end of the summer.
Zinc is the first to have turned 1 this weekend, and of the 3 boys in that group he is definitely the biggest. For that reason probably, he seems to have taken on the role of leader of the pack, with his head held that bit higher than the others.
He is a light fawn, coming from his fawn dam and white sire. His dam Gretal is here at Meadow Valley Farm, and is truly a very pretty alpaca with a lovely fawn colouring. Zinc's sire, Melford Green's Manitou, is a favourite at Melford Green for his silky fleece and Snowmass genetics.
Zinc has been in halter training recently and underwent his first shearing experience. He certainly looked wonderful with his full fleece, but is now better off without it in this heat. He has also quickly established his guarding qualities that alpacas can possess, as shown by guarding his field friends. He is always near them keep an eye out, whist not necessarily joining in with them.
A big Happy 1st Birthday to Zinc, and now we watch him flourish into a lovely adult.
