Knitting Pattern #4: Convertible Thrummed Mittens

A conversation with my mother-in-law today reminded me that I should publish this pattern, so here it is!  I designed this pattern because my sister is hard to please...she wanted a pair of thrummed mittens for Christmas, but she wanted convertible mittens.  And to make things even more complicated, she wanted half-fingers inside the mittens, rather than just a cuff.  I searched high and low for a pattern, but couldn't find anything close, so I decided to create one myself!

This pattern has not been test-knit, so please let me know if you find any errors!

Now available on Ravelry!

Size: Women’s Medium

Yarn: Knit Picks Wool of the Andes Worsted (2 skeins)

Ashland Bay Merino roving (1 oz)

#4 Double Point needles

Gauge: 5.5-6 sts = 1”

Pattern notes:

• k=knit
• co=cast on
• bo=bind off
• pu=pick up stitch
• k2tog=knit 2 stitches together
• sl=slip a stitch
• psso=pass the slipped stitch over the last worked stitch
• 2x2 rib=*knit 2, purl 2*

Cuff
Cast on 40 sts

Join in the round

Work 2x2 rib for 2.75”

Knit 4 rows

Thrum row (*k3, thrum1*)

To work a thrum: Insert the right needle into the stitch below the next stitch to be worked (on the left needle).  Fold a small piece of roving in half, and place the fold over the right needle.  Pull the roving through to the front of the piece (using the right needle), and leave the roving on the right needle.  Using yarn, knit the next available stitch on the left needle (this is the stitch right above the one with the roving pulled through it).  Pass the roving over the last worked stitch and pull snug.

Thrums as viewed from the inside of the mitten top.

Thrum pattern: Throughout the entire piece (other than the ribbed sections and the half-fingers), use the following pattern:  *knit 4 rows, work thrum row (*k3, thrum1*), knit 4 rows, work alternating thrum row (k1, thrum1, *k3, thrum1*, k2)*.

Start thumb gusset (continue thrum pattern in the thumb gusset)

At beginning of next round purl 1 st, knit 5 sts, purl 1 st, knit to end of round

Work 3 more rows in this pattern

Increase row: p1, m1, knit to next purl st, m1, p1, knit to end of round

Knit 3 rows even

Repeat last 4 rows until 11 sts between purls (ending with the increase row, don't knit the 3 rows even)

Work 5 rows even

At beginning of next round slip first 13 sts to holder.

Using backward loop cast on, CO 11 sts to right needle, join with rest of round and knit to end (44 sts)

Continue knitting in pattern until palm reaches the base of pinky finger

Fingers (don't thrum these!)

Right hand

Rearrange sts so that there are 22 on each needle

1^st finger: k6, co2, k5, m1- work 10 rounds even, bo

2^nd finger: pu2, k6, co2, k6- work 10 rounds even, bo

3^rd finger: pu2, k6, co2, k6- work 10 rounds even, bo

4^th finger: pu3, k9- work 8 rounds even, bo

Left hand

Rearrange sts: knit 11, place next 22 sts on one needle, last 22 sts on another needle

1^st finger: m1, k6, co2, k5- work 10 rounds even, bo

2^nd finger: k6, pu2, k6, co2- work 10 rounds even, bo

3^rd finger: k6, pu2, k6, co2- work 10 rounds even, bo

4^th finger: k5, pu3, k4- work 8 rounds even, bo

Thumb (continue thrum pattern for thumb)

Move 13 sts from holder to needle, pick up 15 sts from around the thumb hole

K2tog, k9, k2tog, k2tog, k1, k2tog, k1, k2tog, k1, k2tog, k1, sl1, k2tog, psso (20 sts)

Work even for 2-2.5”

K2tog until 5 sts remaining- thread yarn through and tie off

Mitten top (continue thrum pattern for mitten top)

Pick up and knit 22 sts on back of hand (between last 2 thrum rows)

Using backward loop, co26 more sts (48 sts)

Work 2x2 rib for 6 rows

Work in thrum pattern until tip of fingers (3.5-4”)

Decrease: *k1, k2tog* across every round until 6 sts left- thread yarn through and tie off

Llama Biography #13: Autumn Hill's Blazing Starr

The problem with me and this blog is that while I have tons of topics to write about, I am always lacking the necessary pictures to successfully illustrate the articles.  That is the situation that I once again find myself in, so I'm writing another biography...

Llama #13 in our herd was quite the interesting character...  Autumn Hill's Blazing Starr (aka Blaze) was born in September 2003, 2 weeks early!  He was the first cria for his dam, Little May Flowers (who was also the first cria ever born on our farm!).  Blaze came out a little "undercooked" (premature), and along with May being a first time mom, she really didn't want a whole lot to do with him.  Luckily he was a fighter, and my mom was also determined to keep him alive!  May and Blaze had to be locked in the barn for about 3 days after he was born, during which my mom bottle fed Blaze fairly regularly.  After 3 days, May seemed to catch on that Blaze was her responsibility and decided to let him nurse.  It was a long 3 days for my mom, but Blaze was definitely worth it!

Blaze at about a month of age.  Look at the presence!

May, while she was pregnant with Blaze.

Blaze's sire was SHAG Guido, a beautiful white suri-type male.  I was never a huge fan of Guido, but we sent 3 females to Shagbark Ridge Llamas to be bred in the fall of 2002, and he seemed to be a good fit for May.  Luckily it was a great cross!

Guido, Blaze's sire.

Blaze was definitely one of the nicest crias we had ever had born on the farm.  He had the most gorgeous suri-type fiber, and great conformation.  Unfortunately he got his mom's tiny ears, but that was just about the only bad thing about him!

Blaze at about 4 months of age.

Blaze's fabulous fiber.

In the spring of 2004, I knew Blaze had to be in my show string.  Along with his 2 "friends" (female crias born the same time as Blaze), he headed to the Western Ohio Triple Crown for his first show.  Blaze was shown in the Heavy Wool Juvenile Male class.  It was a pretty big class, but Blaze behaved respectably well.  I really wanted Blaze to place in the class, but was shocked when the judge pulled him out for 1st place!  We then went back for the Grand & Reserve class, but by that time Blaze had had enough of standing still so he didn't stand a chance.  While at the show, Blaze and another of our crias, Faith, caught the attention of a large alpaca breeder from Ohio.  Before the show was over Blaze and Faith had been sold, and they would move to their new farm after they were completely weaned in a few months.

Autumn Hill's Faith.

While I was sad that Blaze's show career was over, he ended up having a great home.  When he was older, he sired one cria (out of another of our animals, Autumn Hill's Charity who was sold to the same farm later on), Blaze of Glory.  Blaze was then gelded and sold to be an alpaca companion.

Blaze of Glory, Blaze's son.

Hopefully I'll have something more interesting to talk about soon!

Caring for the Elderly Llama (or Alpaca)

I'd been struggling the past week or so with what I should write about for my next blog post.  Then as I was outside this morning feeding April, I got my inspiration!  I've already written a post about cold-weather care, but nothing about caring for an older llama or alpaca.

Duque!

At the 2013 GALA Conference back in November, one of the vets mentioned that she likes to start "senior" care for lamas when they hit about 10 years old.  The average lifespan of a lama is 15-25 years, so that makes sense.  I've been doing "senior care" for two of my llamas for the past 8 years or so.  April is going to be 20 in the spring, and Duque will be 17.  I will give a disclaimer that caring for senior lamas can be very time consuming and expensive, but for me it is worth it!

I'm going to break the topic down into a few categories, to make it easier to follow...

Arthritis

Arthritis (or other physical/conformational issues) is fairly common in older lamas.  Just like humans, they get to the point where they are stiffer in the cold, and they are slower to get up and walk around. Dropped pasterns are also a big issue, especially for geldings (neutered males) or overweight animals.    (The lower amounts of testosterone in gelded males is thought to contribute to the breakdown of the pastern tendons.)  Unfortunately neither dropped pasterns nor arthritis can be treated, but they can be managed.

Duque's dropped front pasterns.

For dropped pasterns (and other tendon issues), there are a number of supplements that can be given.  There is an herbal supplement designed for llamas that is supposed to somewhat reverse the effects of dropped pasterns, but it didn't really work for Duque.  Plus it is a fine powder, which was impossible to get him to eat!  In regards to supplements, I have started using those formulated for horses, and giving 1/3-1/2 of the horse dose for a llama (roughly 300-350 lbs).  There are several tendon supplements for horses as well, and some come in pelleted form.

For arthritis, the common supplements are glucosamine and chondroitin (also commonly taken by humans and given to dogs).  There are also lots of joint supplements available for horses, as well as an arthritis supplement for llamas.  In severe cases, injections of glucosamine/chondroitin can be given, as well as pain meds (banamine or bute).

Duque has had dropped pasterns for several years.  He comes from a bloodline where this is common,  is a gelding (has lower testosterone than intact males), and has been overweight for most of his life.  His pasterns started dropping when he was only 5-6 years old, and thus had to be retired early from the show ring.  Now that he is almost 17 years old, he doesn't like to stand for long periods of time and he walks rather slow.  There are days that I really worry about him, but the next day he will run around the pasture with the young animals so I have to make myself stop worrying!  Duque has been on glucosamine and chondroitin supplements for horses for years.  I currently have him on a 1/2 dose of SmartFlex III Resilience Pellets.  It is hard for me to tell whether or not they are working, but I'm afraid to take him off them completely so I'm just going to keep feeding them!  The nice thing about the pellets is that they are very easy to get him to eat.

Miraculously, at the ripe old age of 20, April has still yet to show any signs of arthritis.  I'm amazed, and will consider to count my blessings in this regard!

Obesity/Overweight

It may sound a bit counter-intuitive, but obesity can be a big issue in older llamas.  They don't move around as much, they tend to get babied more (aka extra/better feed!), and the weight just packs on.  Being overweight can be just as detrimental to their health as being underweight, and it is a lot harder to fix!

The best way to get weight off a lama is exercise!  Take them for hikes if you can (gradually building up time and distance), or put them in a big pasture.  One great tip I heard was to put their hay and water at the opposite end of the pasture as the shelter, so that they had to walk back and forth frequently.

Duque going for a hike!

If exercise isn't a viable option (such as an old llama with bad pasterns or arthritis), you will have to cut their feed.  A normal lama needs 2-3% of its body weight in roughage (grass/hay) daily, but if you have an overweight animal they can survive on 1-1.5%.  Personally I think the key is to reduce both the amount and the quality of the hay they are given.  I prefer to give 1.5-2% of their body weight in a first cut, stemmy hay (with low protein- under 10%).  Eliminate grain, just offer free choice minerals and fresh water.  Make them clean up all their hay before you feed more.  Obviously this is a lot easier to do in the winter when they aren't on pasture, but it can also be done during warm weather.  You can dry-lot the obese animal (put on a pasture with little to no grass), or lock them in a stall and only give them a few hours outside to graze.  It may sound mean, but getting the weight off is imperative to their health!

Duque (and several of my younger llamas) has battled obesity for most of his life.  My mom really liked to feed the lamas grain every day, whether they needed it or not.  At his worst, Duque got up to about 400lbs.  After moving to the new farm in August, he has since lost about 20 pounds by limiting his grazing and feeding low-protein hay.  Now at a slim 330 lbs, he is where he should be!  I'm back to feeding him a bit of grain every day so that he doesn't lose more weight.

Duque during his "fat" years.

Underweight

After having April on my farm for almost 14 years now, I feel like I'm an expert when it comes to feeding underweight lamas!  April has always been really thin (I think she just has a really quick metabolism), and it has been a challenge to keep her at a good weight, especially now that she is quite old.

The only way to put weight on a thin lama is feed, feed, FEED!  And you also need to look at how you are feeding: a lot of thin lamas are at the bottom of the pecking order within the herd, so they are often the last to eat.  It is imperative to separate any thin lama while they eat, so that they aren't bullied.

April eating in her pen.

There are a ton of different feeds that you can give a thin lama to encourage weight gain.  The foundation of your feeding program for an underweight animal is a high quality hay, preferably with a bit of alfalfa.  I would aim for something with at least 14% protein if you can.  Feed this high quality hay free-choice, so that they can eat as much as they wish.  The second most important feed to give is a good llama/alpaca supplement (also referred to as grain or pellets).  Again you want something with high protein.  Follow the feeding guidelines for the supplement, but you could feed an extra 0.5-1.5lbs of the supplement daily.

Next comes the long list of add-ins...  My favorite is Calf-Manna, a high protein supplement designed for a variety of livestock.  Our old vet said we could safely feed 2lbs of Calf-Manna daily without having to worry about copper toxicity.  April has been on at least 1lb daily for the past 10 or so years, and she seems just fine!  Something new that my new vet recommended was rice or wheat bran.  It is high in protein and fat.  It comes in many forms, commonly oil and pellets.  I chose to give April the pellets (manufactured by Manna Pro), since I didn't think she would eat the oil.  I'm giving her 1/3 of the horse dose.  After doing a bit more research this fall, I decided to start April on alfalfa pellets and beet pulp.  Both are supposed to be great for weight gain.  Due to a recent choking episode, I chose to soak the pellet mixture in water to re-hydrate them before feeding.  It took a few days, but she eventually learned to eat them.  And now that it is cold I soak them in boiling water to make a warm mash.  It is hard to measure the pellets since they expand after soaking, but I figure she gets about 1/2lb of a 50:50 mix daily.  I also recently decided to try adding a little bit of oil to the mash mixture...I had recommendations for corn, soybean, and canola oil.  I've read that you can feed up to 1/4c daily, but work up to that amount slowly.  April got 1T today (day 1 of adding it in).

Alfalfa pellet/beet pulp mix, before re-hydrating.

There are still more things that you can feed underweight lamas!  Some people swear by corn or oats, but I don't like that they appear to pass undigested.  I've heard recommendations for Equine Senior (a horse feed), but it has much higher copper than Calf-Manna.  I've also heard a lot about Chaffaye (sp?), which I believe is shredded hay with molasses.  I just can't find any local!

Cold/Heat

A lot of older lamas have issues with the cold and heat.  Luckily my 2 do fine in the heat, but they both get very cold in the winter.  Now they both have insulated coats to wear, and I put them on at the first sign of shivering.  April will end up wearing hers most of the winter, while Duque can tolerate a bit more cold.

April in her awesome coat!

When it comes to heat intolerance, there are a few simple tricks to keep them cool.  Shearing is a must, as is fresh cold water.  Fans and shade are also important.  If it gets really hot I like to hose their bellies off to cool them down.

There are also a few tricks for cold intolerance.  Lots of good food (hay generates more body heat as it digests than pellet/grain supplements), shelter from the wind, deep hay/straw bedding to lay on, fresh warm water, and blanketing if necessary are just a few suggestions.  For more in-depth explanations, see my previous post.

Duque in his less than awesome coat (but it still keeps him warmer than without it!).

Teeth

Just like horses (and any animal really), a lama's teeth can decline rapidly with old age, and us owners usually have no idea!  I only recently discovered that April has no front teeth, so I can only imagine what her molars look like!  I've definitely started to realize the importance of having a vet (or doing it yourself, if your lama will allow it!) check out the lama's teeth every year or so.  Uneven chewing can cause sharp points, which can be easily filed down.  Weight loss in older lamas is often caused by bad teeth.  If you've ever seen small piles of half-chewed hay around your feeders, you most definitely have an animal with teeth issues.  The front teeth can also get too long, interfering with grazing.

Duque and his long teeth.  Luckily they aren't quite long enough to warrant trimming.

Parasites

Older animals are more susceptible to parasite infections than younger animals, and it will usually take them longer to recover after treatment.  I would pay special attention to doing regular fecals on older lamas, and would probably treat if they had a lower level than a young adult did.  I'm also starting to think that regular probiotic supplementation would be a good idea, to support the good bacteria in the gut.

View through the microscope of a fecal exam.  In the center (grey spot) is a nematodirus egg.

Conclusions

As I mentioned before, feeding and caring for an older lama is neither cheap nor easy.  I spend longer waiting for April to eat her food (in a separate pen) than it takes me to clean the entire barn and pasture each day.  I spend more on Duque's tendon/arthritis meds and 5 different types of feed for April than I do buying hay and grain for the entire group of 5 lamas!  But they have given me a lot of pleasure and joy over the years, so I feel like it is the least I can do for them.  I am realistic though, and if either one gets to the point where they are suffering, I will do the humane thing and let them go.  As much as I hate to think about it, Duque will certainly go lame in the next few years, so I know that hard decision is waiting for me.  Luckily I think April will be around for a good long while!

April!

Llama Biography #12: AAL Navarro

As I sat down to write this post, I realized that I'm to the point where I can't remember who came next in our herd!  I'm pretty sure AAL Navarro is next, or at least close enough!

Navarro, Spring 2003, after shearing.

In the fall of 2002, I started to realize that we needed our own breeding male if we were going to really get into the breeding end of having llamas.  For a few weeks I emailed various farms in the Midwest, looking for that perfect male.  And then like most people I got impatient, and decided to visit the farm with the best prospect over October Break from school.  That farm happened to be Animal Acres Llamas in Wisconsin, so my dad and I hooked up the trailer and had a very long day...

Spring 2002...the picture that sold me on him!

Navarro was truly a gorgeous male.  He was born in September 2001, but was shown extensively in spring and summer 2002, so he hadn't been shorn when we saw him in October 2002.  His red fleece was absolutely gorgeous, and he had a beautiful face.  He was a bit of a handful, but was 4-H trained so I felt he would be easy enough.  After spending a few hours with him at the farm, we bought him and headed home.

Chrys, Navarro's dam.  Chilean lines.

Nuevo Laredo, Navarro's sire.

Baby Navarro!

Luckily we already had 2 pastures at the old farm, so Navarro got to live with Duque (most importantly, not with the girls!).  Navarro was pretty young so he and Duque got along fine.

Fuzzy face!

Shortly after coming to the farm, fall 2002.

The next spring I started showing Navarro, and continued until fall 2004.  He was by far the best halter llama I'd shown yet, and really helped me improve my showmanship placings.  Navarro placed very well, finishing off his ALSA Recognition of Merit in halter, and peaking with a Grand Champion in Medium Wool Male at the 2003 NAILE.

His first show with me, the 2003 Western Ohio Triple Crown.

The 2003 Indiana State Fair.

3rd at the 2003 Great Lakes Regionals.

Grand Champion Medium Wool Male at the 2003 NAILE.

3rd at the 2004 Western Ohio Triple Crown.

Grand Champion Medium Wool Male at the 2004 Southwest Llama Show.

3rd at the 2004 Great Lakes Regionals.

We started trying to breed Navarro in the fall of 2003, but he wanted nothing to do with the girls!  Thinking it would just take him a bit longer to mature, we let him off the hook and instead used an outside breeding for the one female we chose to breed.  He finally got the hang of things in the spring of 2004, and bred 2 females, Casa Loma's Little Sheba (our herd) and Little Cattessa (back for an outside breeding).  Unfortunately Cattessa's cria died during delivery, and Sheba's cria died at only a few days old (very unrelated issues), but they were both beautiful.

Autumn Hill's Snowflake Obsidian, Sheba and Navarro's cria.

By the fall of 2004 we had acquired a second breeding male, and we chose to use him to breed our females that year.  But in the fall of 2005 Navarro got his chance again.  We bred him to 2 of our best breeding females, SHAG Cattera and Little May Flowers.  Both had gorgeous female crias, Autumn Hill's Cataleya and Autumn Hill's Camissia.  The red genes were obviously very strong in Navarro, as neither dam had thrown any red crias.

Autumn Hill's Cataleya, Cattera and Navarro's cria.

Autumn Hill's Camissia, May and Navarro's cria.

After Cataleya and Camissia were born, we decided that we only needed 1 breeding male after all, and unfortunately Navarro wasn't the best that we had on the farm.  So Navarro was gelded and sold to a fiber farm.  I'm so glad he found a loving home where his beautiful fiber is still appreciated!

While Navarro didn't have a huge impact on our breeding program, he had a wonderful impact on my show career for a year.  He was fun to have around, even if he was a bit of a pain!

Navarro with my sister.  He has the distinction of being the only llama we ever took to the second floor of our house...he was very willing to go up, but did not want to come down!

Winter Weather Prep

After spending a few harrowing days in the past few weeks worrying about how the lamas would deal with the cold, I decided that I would write up some of what I learned.  So here goes…

Duque in his coat.

Back in Indiana, we never seriously worried about the cold.  We did the usual preparations: rubber mats over the cement floors, heated water buckets, extra hay and grain, and coats for those who needed them (mostly April and crias).  It never got terribly cold for more than a day or two, so we didn't have to worry about it too much.

A cold snowy day in Indiana.

Now that the animals are in New York, it is a WHOLE different ball game!  It is only the first week of December, and already it has gotten below 20*F more than 10 nights.  It even got down to 1*F last week!  I was pretty panicked the first few nights it got really cold, but I've since done a lot of research, tweaked a few things about our barn and feeding practices, and now feel much more prepared for the inevitable cold weather.  To make things a bit easier to follow, I will break down the suggestions that I found into a few categories.

Our first big snowfall in New York.

Barn

As I mentioned before, there are a few basic things that we already were doing in our barn.  We always have rubbed mats down in our barn, and they do a great job to insulate the animals from the cold concrete.  Heated water buckets are also a must in the winter, even if the weather gets just below freezing.

Heated water bucket.

The first really easy thing to adjust for extreme cold is adding a layer of bedding (straw is preferable, but hay works in areas like ours where straw is really hard to find).  I always hated putting bedding down on the barn floor because it makes a huge mess, but honestly that is inevitable in the winter!  My geldings insist on potty-ing in the barn when it gets cold, but they have been limiting that to one half of the barn, so I spread some stemmy hay on the OTHER half of the barn (where I assume that they are sleeping).  That way I don't have to clean up yucky hay, and I don't waste as much.

Stemmy hay on the floor of the barn.

Another thing that we did back in Indiana (though for a very different reason) was putting a tarp up over the huge door opening.  Our old barn had a very tall door (at least 12-15' tall), so my dad rigged a tarp that covered most of it (it came down to about 6' high).  It was mostly to keep birds out of the barn, but it did help with the wind.  In our new barn, the door is only 8' tall, and is luckily located on the south end of the barn, but some days we were still getting a lot of wind coming in the barn.  So I set up a smaller version of the tarp door, to cover the top 4' of the door.  I folded a 6'x8' tarp in half so it was 4'x6'.  Using screws and large washers, I screwed through the metal rings on the tarp to attach it to the top of the door frame.  I then used bungee cords to keep the bottom corners of the tarp from flapping (I used the bungee cords to attach the tarp to various parts of the barn door), and threw a couple scrap pieces of wood in the fold of the tarp to weigh it down.  It gets a bit annoying to duck every time I walk out the door, but it does seem to help with the wind.

Tarp door.

I've read that a lot of people simply lock their animals inside the barn when it gets cold.  I've really tried to avoid that so far (and will continue to do so), but it is certainly a good option in some circumstances. If it ever gets below 0*F, or if one of the animals is shivering despite my attempts to get them warm, I would definitely lock them in the barn.

Feeding

Feeding practices can also really help animals deal with the cold.  Since I don't have any breeding animals currently, only April gets a grain supplement on a daily basis.  However, I've decided that whenever the forecast says it will get below 25*F at night, I'm going to feed everyone 1c of llama pellets that afternoon/evening.  If it is going to get below 15*F, I will add 1c beet pulp.  I've also added beet pulp (as much as she will eat) to April's daily ration for the winter.  (Note: Beet pulp should be soaked thoroughly in water to allow for expansion before feeding.)  For really cold nights (below 15*F), I've also been mixing in a bit of alfalfa hay with the regular grass hay.  April won't eat it (I got it to put weight on her), so everyone else might as well benefit!

Beet pulp (brown) and alfalfa pellets (green) before soaking.

Beet pulp and alfalfa pellets after soaking.  I also mixed in a little calf manna to entice April.

A lot of people suggest feeding cracked corn during cold temperatures, but I personally hate feeding corn to my lamas!  I used to feed it as part of a weight gain mixture, but the animals never seemed to digest it, so I stopped.  From what I've heard beet pulp is also good to raise their internal body temperature (as it is digested).

Of course I always stuff the hay feeders whenever it gets cold.  We have one big hay feeder outside and one big one inside, but I've started leaving the big bucket feeders in the barn on cold nights.  I think having more feeders with hay will encourage more of the lamas to stay in the barn, which should keep them warmer.  For 5 lamas, I end up with 4 feeders inside the barn and 1 outside.  When it gets nice during the day I move the bucket feeders outside to encourage them to get some fresh air!

April and one of the bucket feeders.

Coats

For some animals (like April), coats are a necessity for getting through any winter.  I've discovered that April starts shivering when it hits about 25*F, so that is my threshold for putting her coat on.  Her coat came from Llama Hardware- it is by far the best one I've ever purchased!  Duque gets his coat when it hits about 20*F- his came from Useful Lama Items.  It isn't nearly as nice (it slides around as he wears it), but it works.  Since moving Ralph has become the next one to shiver, so he got to wear a yearling llama coat (also from Useful Lama Items) one night last week.  He looked so cute!  I know a lot of alpaca people use human vests as coats.  Horse/foal blankets can also work, but they don't fit as well in my opinion.

Ralph and April in their coats.

April in her first coat, a foal blanket.  It didn't fit very well...

It is important to remember that you should never coat a wet llama (dry them first!), and not to leave coats on if it gets too warm (this will also vary by lama).  I also like to take them off if rain is in the forecast, as most are not really waterproof.

For the recent extreme cold temperatures, I went out and bought old wool sweaters at a local thrift shop.  I cut them up and sewed them back together to make coat liners.  Wool blankets (or even fleece blankets) would also work great!

Patchwork wool coat liner.

So there you have it…a few ideas on how to keep your lamas warm this winter!  If you have any other tips that I didn't mention please share them!