Smiling Moon Alpacas

Smiling Moon Alpacas Alpaca farm nestled in the beautiful hills of Allegany county New York Call and leave us a message for store inquiries or information!

12/10/2024
Thank you for a job well done!
12/07/2024

Thank you for a job well done!

Come and see us at the Holiday Market tomorrow from 9-3.
12/07/2024

Come and see us at the Holiday Market tomorrow from 9-3.

Not the most wonderful time of the year. 😂😉
12/05/2024

Not the most wonderful time of the year. 😂😉

Come see us and all of the other wonderful vendors on Saturday, Dec 7th from 9am til 3 pm at the Cuba First Baptist Chur...
12/05/2024

Come see us and all of the other wonderful vendors on Saturday, Dec 7th from 9am til 3 pm at the Cuba First Baptist Church Holiday Market! Remember, winter has barely begun. We have lots of alpaca hats, scarves, warm socks, etc to help battle this cold, cold weather!

Don't forget to get your alpaca socks to keep those feet warm in this cold weather! Call, DM or email to arrange an app...
12/02/2024

Don't forget to get your alpaca socks to keep those feet warm in this cold weather! Call, DM or email to arrange an appointment to do your shopping for warm socks, gloves, sweaters, etc.

We will also be at the Holiday Market at the Cuba Baptist Church on December 7th from 9-3! Stop by and give your loved ones the gift of warmth!

Don't forget to get your alpaca socks, gloves, scarves, etc. Call, email or message us to set up an appointment or come...
11/29/2024

Don't forget to get your alpaca socks, gloves, scarves, etc. Call, email or message us to set up an appointment or come see us at the Holiday Market at the Cuba Baptist Church on December 7th from 9-3! Keep yourself, your family and your friends warm this winter!

Have a safe and happy family Thanksgiving.
11/28/2024

Have a safe and happy family Thanksgiving.

Call, message or email for your shopping needs!
11/26/2024

Call, message or email for your shopping needs!

Whoops! Pulled a bale down for the girls and splat! Guess we know where the girls have been laying lately. One of t...
11/25/2024

Whoops! Pulled a bale down for the girls and splat! Guess we know where the girls have been laying lately. One of the drawbacks to free ranging/pasture raised......

11/23/2024

Call or email for your shopping needs!

Address

7734 N Branch Road
Friendship, NY
14739

Telephone

(585) 973-2290

Website

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Videos

Mom, I'm hungry!
Mom, I'm hungry!

There is a whole conversation going on between Oopsie and her mom, Mint. I'm sure Oopsie is trying to convince her mom to give up trying to nap and get up so she can nurse.

Not often can one sun themselves on Christmas Day in Western New York.

3 generations with faces deep in the hay box. Mom Flossie on the left, baby Sweetie in the middle and Grandma Smiley on the right.

Madame Mint is demonstrating the fine art of chewing one's cud (for those of you that wondered) 😂. When she stops chewing and swallows, watch for the cud to come back up. (Watch her neck, especially just below her jaw).

She loves her pellets!!

Want to see the cutest thing? (Well, to alpaca owners, anyway). She is chewing her cud! Watch for the motion to bring it up. So cute when they are this tiny and do "normal alpaca things". Yes, there's quite a bit of hay on the floor, but that's ok. When you just barely reach the hay in the box, you're not too fussy about picking some up off the floor.

Tired babies....❤️❤️❤️

2023 Crias

3 weeks old tomorrow. She is eating hay (not just mouthing it, actually eating it) and now she chewing her cud. Sweetie! Alpacas are what is referred to as "modified" ruminants. Their forestomachs are made up of three compartments rather than the "true" ruminants, which have four. (This would include sheep, goats, cattle and deer.) The 3 are C1 (first compartment), C2 (second compartment) and C3 (third compartment). Coarse pieces of food are periodically regurgitated, rechewed and then reswallowed. This process is called rumination or "chewing cud" and this occurs in C1, where food remains for approximately 60 hours, being "processed" through the cud chewing behavior. The additional chewing reduces foodstuffs into digestible nutrients and then are absorbed through C2 and especially C3, which is sometimes called the "true stomach". In newborn crias, only the true stomach (C3) is fully functional. However, as it nurses it's mom, it also begins nibbling plants, and the cria ingests the microbes needed to kick-start C1 function described above. By 8 weeks of age, the first compartment (C1) has reached adult size and by 3 months, their digestive process is essentially functioning as an adult alpaca.

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