Latest News

June 2, 2008 - Good day everyone. Exciting one on the farm. In advance of the upcoming show we will be attending with our alpaca products - www.fiberfrolic.com we got a call to be interviewed for the New England Cable News Network.

4 girls are due Wednesday so we expect to see some new cria soon. The weekend of the 21st, two of our lovely Evander daughters will be available during the Prestige Alpaca Auction. For more information on that, view the alpacas and more, go to www.prestigealpacaauction.com. Let us know if you have any questions in advance of these two upcoming events.

Looks to be an exciting June ahead!

Click here for the video link -

or view it here by clicking on the arrow below

February 4, 2008

Click here for our latest email newsletter and an announcement.

November 16, 2007

Ok, ok...I know, tardiness is not a good trait - any chance you'll cut me some slack on this one? I honestly can't tell you what I have been doing from March 11th till now, but obviously, it wasn't updating this page of the website. But here goes...

April - Pretty good month overall. New cria started coming. North American Show was a good one for us.

May - Shearing at the beginning of the month then shows including AOBA Nationals. Did well there again. Nice placements considering most of what we brought to show were juvieniles.

June - That was busy. Charlie's 5th grade graduation. Back to summer camp. More cria and breedings. I remember the weather was pretty nice.

July - Pretty much the same. Good weather and a great crop of cria.

August - Our family vacation. Relaxing and enjoyable trip to East Coast cities. Some history lessons for the human children along the way. Finished up with camps and summer things. A lot of fishing in Casco Bay.

September - Charlie started Middle school. So far so good. Pete's in second grade. Really enjoys that. Back to shows and breeding and birthing. Open house event after Common Ground.

October - Shows including running NECC here in Maine. More births and breeding. Two open house events this month.

November - Worked on fundraising event for school. Finishing up on births, just one more to go after the one born today. Still have breedings to settle up on before end of season is official.

So that's about it. Events coming up include 2 more OPEN HOUSES and of course our annual sales event, 12 days of savings!

Contact us for a farm visit or send your questions via email. I know the past 2 years, folks were kicking themselves for not inquiring sooner on the alpacas we have listed. We have already begun to list most so check out the webpage for updated information. Also, of course - others are available so check with us on what you are looking for. From starter packages to specific alpacas, we have you covered with quality and great committment.

Short but sweet on this entry I am afraid. Have to go out and check on that new cria I mentioned about just above.

We're here so call or email!!

Cindy

March 11, 2007 - to view our March Newsletter, click here for page one,  here for pages 2-3, pages 4-5 and page 6.

The temp is above freezing so halter training and more has begun. Spring has sprung even though it doesn't say so on the calendar yet. The babies are almost finished being weaned, halters have been on most at least once - with many more times to come.

Thanks to everyone who registered, bid and purchased alpacas during our Select Sale at www.getalpaca.com. While not every alpaca sold, it was a good opportunity to show folks some of our foundation alpacas not normally available for purchase or viewing. We have kept some listed on our sales pages as we still wish to downsize our herd size some this year. Take some time to review them or send us an email or call if you are looking for something in particular as not are listed on this site.

Show season is just around the corner. We look forward to seeing you all this spring season. Safe travels till then! and give us a call or email with any further questions you may have!

Cindy & Tim

February 21, 2007

We had such a lovely December weather wise, January and February came on us and - WOW! Beyond cold. Tim and I have been flipping coins on who is going outside to start chores. He loses mostly since I have to get the humans ready for the bus. Maybe I loose? Hmm...

Anyway...spite the cold temps, our hearts are full with thoughts of the alpacas. We have been lucky to have 2 alpacas consigned to the Futurity Auction coming up in April. We have a lovely, dark silver grey female, Greyetta - sired by GreyBeard of course and a Patagonia dam, PrimaVera. PrimaVera is a 2nd place winning Futurity female herself and Greyetta's full older sister - GreyBeard's Treasure sold at the 2005 Futurity at 9 months for $67,000!

Greyetta is stunning and reminded us so much of what her daddy looked like a birth, hence the name. She is bred to Silver Dollar for a fall 2007 cria. Silver Dollar has produced the Championship winning alpacas, Tava and Tava Rose. We have high hopes for an incredible offspring from this mating.

Our other female consigned is Chase Tavern Olive. Olive is a light fawn, full Peruvian 1/4 Accoyo via Accoyo Royal Fawn line. Her dam is 2Peruvian Ollanta, one of our mainstay production females for years. Ollanta has produced such wonderful offspring as Chase Tavern Nayla Gold (sold at AOBA 2004 for $50,000 at 7 months of age) and Chase Tavern Snowpuff via our then owned male, 6Peruvian Accoyo Powerball. Olive's dad, Timo has produced multiple Champion winners including the recent TXOLAN Brown Champion Male, Zebulon, owned by New West Alpacas of Colorado. Olive sells with a breeding to any of our males when of age. We would recommend CTF/CCNF Tonka Gold. He is a fawn Championship winning Altiplano Gold son. We know that combo works having had the evidence from both dam and sire's side.

Before the April event event however, we are pleased to offer a select group of alpacas during our Select Sale now in progress at www.getalpaca.com. We have hand selected a group of high quality production females - these are the dams that have produced our show winners and auction entries - and more. Included are 2 males, one grey sired by GreyBeard named Calico Jack who has a stunning grey fleece, it's heaven! Another is Assassain, a 3/4 Accoyo fawn male loaded with power Accoyo genetics behind him. We have a handful of suris bred for quality offspring as well as a few younger females of show caliber in the line-up. Take a look. These are great alpacas.

The auction will close on Sunday, March 4, 2007 beginning with Lot # 1 at 6pm Eastern time. This is a great chance to get proven production alpacas, proven genetics and proven quality at what could be - awesome prices! Our continued support and commitment to the alpacas and you, the new owners of course will remain the same!

In summary, I have to write a little something I have been meaning to write for a long time. Thank you. Thank you to everyone who we have met, worked with, mentored from, mentored and especially helped cared for our alpacas along with us these past 14 years. We are continually amazed by this great industry and look forward to continued success in the future - for our customers and our alpacas!

Cindy

January 3, 2007

Happy New Year to everyone! We wish everyone a happy and healthy 2007 and beyond.

Some new news to report so far in 2007:

1. The lower girls 'shed' has been almost fully completely re-constructed to make a full sized barn complete loft and human area. The girls absolutely love it!

2. Bowser passed away in the winter of 2006. His replacement has arrived and begins puppy class soon. His name is Aladar and he is absolutely wonderful in every respect. We are thrilled he is with us. Anna had her lumps removed and has one more surgery for the lump on her elbow next week. Esme and Wally are the same.

3. We had a great holiday vacation in Florida visiting with Tim's parents. Charlie attended a turtle camp - check out - www.mairnelife.org for this great organization's information.

We are re-doing our sales offerings for the new year and I will have that updated information posted soon. The weather has been super warm for a Maine winter so we are getting more done outside than ever!

More updates soon, I promise!

Cindy

October 18, 2006

I'm utterly embarrassed. There is no real reason I can come up with for not updating sooner than this. I am usually much better at this if you know me from past year's but this year...everything is taking more time than usual. Could be age. Could be I just am too busy. Could be the herd of alpacas, 2 kids and husband. Could be a lot of things but any way you look at it, it could be done better.

With that in mind -  here's the quick monthly rundown of what's been happening-

End of July - more cria, more shearing and more prep for the New England Coastal Classic show.

August - hay cometh. Wood cometh. Cria cometh and more prep for the New England Coastal Classic show.

September - school cometh. More hay cometh. More cria cometh. Breedings cometh and more prep for the New England Coastal Classic show.

October - all hits the fan. Everything cometh and cometh at once it seems. Now on the 18th of October can I think ahead to the end of the month and what I have to get done before then.

Goals for November and December - finish everything I had on the lists in January and February. Website thoroughly updated. Laundry all put away and not in piles on top of dressers. We'll see how I do on those items over the next few weeks.

Coming soon however - we have some exciting news. We have 2 wonderful females entered in the upcoming SELECT AUCTION in North Carolina. I'll be posting more information very soon. Our girls are Chase Tavern Sylvia (a lovely true grey with great pedigree)  and yes, Chase Tavern Bubbles. (aka The Bubblette). She's just one big ball of loveable fur!

Dryer beeped. I feel like Pavlov's dog.

Gotta run,

Cindy

July 4, 2006

Does that say May on the last entry date? Oh, my... I have been horrible in updating this spring but soooo much has been happening. New website as you can see - I am still in the process of updating the herdsire and sales list sections so contact us directly with your questions regarding those items. I hope to have it completed soon, but....

Let me see... Since my last entry, we have welcomed 17 new cria at the farm. All doing well. One gave me a bit of a headache for a few days but all shaped up well in the end. Some alpacas in for breeding have already returned home so that's great news. About 20 alpacas should be relocated by the end of summer to their new homes making it nice and comfortable for our fall babies and winter season. Yes, I am already thinking about winter but that's life in Maine!

We did not exhibit at Fiber Frolic this year but I did judge the alpaca and llama fleeces at the show and had a good time. The weather has been less than cooperative with heavy rains this season so it was nice to have a break in the rain for that weekend's events.

Charlie turned 10 in June and is well on his way to learning and growing more with his suri herd. Charlie, my sister and myself just returned from a trip to CA and OR. We attended the Parade of Champions sale last Saturday. Tim and I purchased 2 females and Charlie purchased a bred suri female. She is from a brown sire and is breed to a maroon colored male so we hope for color as that is the next step in his herd development right now.

He had a great time and we were able to visit Monterey Bay Aquarium on our trek out west. What a great organization and aquarium. Charlie participated in the dive program for kids and we took a sailboat out in the afternoon on the Bay for some Ecology studies. The weather was perfect and remained perfect on our drive up the coast to Oregon for the alpaca auction.

We'll that's it for now. Short but to the point. Looks like rain again so I'd better do outside work while I can.

Thanks to everyone! and Happy 4th of July!!

Cindy

May 6, 2006

Does that say March on the last entry date? Oh, my. How did that happen?

Well...let me update you. Shearing is almost done. Just about 20 more or so. Tim's judging in Ohio this weekend and the spring round of shows is almost done.

Don't forget about the upcoming Fleece Skirting and More Clinic with Tim here at the farm on Sunday, June 26th. Please email us for sign-up information.

As well, we are not only attending AOBA Nationals with alpacas this time, in lieu of judging as last year but we have a great, great true black full Peruvian female in the auction, Chase Tavern Rogue. She is awesome! and the 1/2 sister to GreyBeard and many other great alpacas we have produced.

As well, this year we have decided to help AOBA by donating a female alpaca. Who better than an awesome Evander daughter named, Evander's Knock-Out!
Check out their info. Ok, that's about it for now. Out to do chores. Only 3 new cria so far this spring to date but that hopefully will be changing soon!

Adios, Cindy

March 16, 2006

Whew...it's getting busy already! Halter training has begun. Still have a few more late fall cria to be weaned over the next few weeks as well.
Planning now for spring breedings. We are glad to welcome back - 6Peruvian Accoyo The Last Don. (click on his name to see a .pdf file.) He did great last time he was with us and we welcome him back this spring to help us 'criate' more wonderful offspring in a myriad of colors!

New this spring as well in the herdsire department are Tonka Gold, a great fawn Altiplano son. He'll get working soon.

We've got 2 of our great offspring picked out for the upcoming Futurity auction in April - click here to learn more about Floats Like a Butterfly and Zelda!
We welcome your farm visit to meet everyone!

See you all soon!
Tim, Cindy, Charlie & Pete Lavan

February 26, 2006

Well, we just returned from a short week's trip to Florida for vacation. Sunny and in the 80's while we came home to close to zero tonight. Yikes! Oh, well...its winter!
We have made some changes to the website in the form of updates mostly. Check out the packages, they have been updated. We are proud to announce as well, we have a new website to direct alpaca lovers to -

www.alpacajudge.net

Check it out! We hope you all can send along your questions and we can make this site a great educational forum and source of information for many years to come!
Some other new things going on -

Accoyo The Last Don is coming back to stay the spring/early summer breeding season at Chase Tavern Farm. Many of you might remember him from 2 years ago staying with us - well...he's back. Many of the offspring her produced here the last time went onto win Champsionships and ribbons in local and national shows. We expect the same great things this year from him!
Well...gotta bundle up and go out and do chores. I am thinking of all the halter training we must do over the next few weeks. First show is just weeks away!
Stay warm! Cozy up with one of our alpaca blankets! We have some great ones in stock made from our own alpaca!

See you all soon!

Tim, Cindy, Charlie & Pete Lavan
 

January 2, 2006

Have I been neglect or what in attending to this update! Holidays of course take up a bunch of time and we are finishing up weaning, breeding and birthing but still...no real excuse except - farm work!

I want to thank everyone who participated in all levels to make our '12 days of holiday savings' event a great success. We are excited to have new customers and old join us in celebrating alpacas this holiday season. Thanks so much to everyone!

We have seen great growth to the farm in '05 so much so we are beginning to downsize in '06. We have plans to sell some of our top, top producing females as well as males and have selected some top quality '05 cria for auctions this year. Check out our new package offerings. These are our plans so keep checking back with us on updated or feel free to email or call to get details on some of these fine production females in all colors.

We finished up with our last birth in '05 with a female suri. Charlie's suri operation certainly has grown with 8 of the 9 babies he had this year being females! Not a bad start for a soon to be 10 year old alpaca farmer! He has to spilt all with the younger brother (soon to be 6) however. The decision making process is quite unique to watch between these 2 young businessmen.
Tim has already lined up a nice judging schedule for '06. No doubt that leaves me at home to tend to new cria, etc. I don't mind really. That's part of what this lifestyle is all about.
We are very pleased with the production of quality in our '05 cria and look forward to showing them off this spring. Halter training is already on the list of things to do this week.

Our best wishes to everyone for your continued support of our farm and breeding program. We truly appreciate the kind words, enthusiasm and support of our friends, customers and future customers out there this joyous holiday season!

Tim, Cindy, Charlie & Pete Lavan

Charlie with Chase Tavern Tallow at the NY Empire Show, Oct 05

Well, another great day under our belt as I write this latest

entry. Sun is setting (earlier each day) which means earlier mornings to get out and check on everyone. Still 5 more moms to deliver but we are ready and waiting for them.

I have posted a new article that may interest some of you, just finished it Tuesday. Winter Preparations for a Healthy Herd of Alpacas.

I'm going to start to do more writing again. Its been a few years now since our articles have appeared in Alpacas Magazine and other industry publications, but with the kids both in school now, my time is a bit more open to do more during the day, besides the laundry of course.

Good fall show season under our belt. Still after 12 years, we are cranking out blue ribbon winners so we are pleased!

And what a crop of babies this year. I should post photos but I'm not going to give anyone any information on these future show winners till the time is right. (tee hee) Really though, we are pleased.

Tim is in Ohio speaking at the Suri Symposium and judging fleeces at the OABA show after that. After his judging season is over, he will be coaching Charlie's basketball team this winter. That ought to be interesting...hmmm

I have a date for the spring Fiber Skirting and More Clinic with AOBA Fleece, Halter, Performance Judge and Judge Trainer, Tim Lavan....Saturday, June 24, 2006! Mark your calendars now. I'll be posting sign up information soon but here's a link for more info on the class!

Drop an email if you are visiting our site for the first time and let us know what you think. We look forward to helping you learn more about alpacas! Educate...educate!!

Cindy Lavan

~Top

Wally welcoming Esme!

Well we just finished up another great OPEN FARM weekend. Weather was weird. Saturday cold but Sunday, sunny and warm. Was hoping a cria would be born but maybe tomorrow.

Thanks to all who attended. We certainly appreciate your business and interest in our alpacas. Those that didn't make it to the farm, give us a call or email and we can set up a time for your visit to learn more about alpacas!

We just have a handful of females still to deliver this year. Esme starts puppy class tomorrow and just in time. She's trying her best to herd the alpacas.

Tim has been here and there these past few weeks judging alpaca shows. Just a few more to go this season and he'll have finished another year as a top judge and judge trainer for the industry.

Charlie's 4th grade class came out last Friday. It was a blast to see Charlie in his blazer talking with his friends about his 'life on the farm' and his growing herd of suri alpacas.

Looks like a great week ahead of fun alpaca related activities. Getting ready for winter in our minds and finishing up on some breedings, confirming some girls to move back to their farms and making sure we have all the needs for a Maine winter which is forthcoming whether we want it or not.

I'll be updating the website soon so keep posted but if you have any questions at all, feel free to call or email.

Thanks again,

Cindy Lavan

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Charlie & Pete's first day of school, Kindergarten for Pete

Another month has flown by. Some spots the leaves are starting to think about turning.

We had new extensions built on the boys barn this summer more than doubling the accessible space for these lucky guys. Tim call's the barn, "The Comfort Inn" now. I think the boys are pretty pleased.

School has begun and that's exciting new as Pete has begun Kindergarten. He's having a great time and Charlie is in the 4th grade now. Our days are totally consumed by the alpacas now and then we spend the evenings doing homework, reading and enjoying the boys. That's what this lifestyle is supposed to be all about!

We had another great Skirting Clinic at the end of August with attendees from NY and PA! Thanks for coming folks! We hope everyone enjoyed the great weather and the great day!

We'll get started in a few weeks (after NECC) planning for the spring/summer speakers for next year.

Speaking of NECC (New England Coast Classic) plans are coming along well. That show his here in ME, October 15-16th this year.

We have updated our saleslist so take a gander. We are hoping to reduce the herd for winter so are accepting reasonable offers!

Take a peak and see what you see!

Cindy

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So much for me keeping up on the What's New in July...sorry about that folks. It's been a busy summer per usual!

New babies, great new babies I should write. Cute, cuddly, crimpy and then some shinny no crimpy Suris as well. What fun to see them all romp in the pastures. That's what's it all about.

A busy July. Besides the new cria we had Dr. Evans out for a great seminar. What great new and updated information! Even after 12 years of raising and breeding alpacas, there is always more we can learn!

As I type, they are working on building the extensions to the boys barn. They will be living the high life soon those lucky studs and junior boys!

We've added a new creature to the inside menagerie. A sweet little Corgi pup, named Esme Squalor "Bubbles" Lavan. See photo to right. Puppy class starts in the Fall. I think I'll have Tim do that.

Well gotta run and check for new babies. Seems an hourly task this time of the year but sunny and warm out so I hope I get to see a new face in the pasture!

All the best till the next time,

Cindy

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Two entries in less than a week...this is great!

We had a great turn out and great fun at the Fiber Skirting and More Clinic held this past Saturday at the farm. Spite the hottest day of the year so far, everyone had a good time and learned more about AOBA fleece judging and skirting. With the slight breeze blowing, it was a fun day for all.

Due to demand, we are planning another clinic on Sunday, August 28th. See the calendar of events for more information or click here for photos and some general info on this specific course.

Thanks so much to everyone! Summer is here is full force!

Cindy Lavan

Charlie with Chase Tavern Tallow at the NY Empire Show, Oct 05

Oh, just preparing for the upcoming clinic this weekend. Makes me clean things up which is always a good thing.

Sorted some fleeces yesterday. I think that's a harder job than the actual shearing!

IT'S OFFICIAL - Tim is a JUDGE TRAINER in Halter, Fleece and Performance. Any future judges out there? I'll post his fall shows soon so you can see if you might be able to apprentice sometime in the upcoming fall season.

We'll gotta go back out and sort more. The cria are coming!! And then breeding....

Cindy Lavan

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Back from nationals in Utah! Long way but well worth it. CTF/FMA's GreyBeard's The Black Pearl did well bringing $33,000 at auction. She is now in Colorado at a great farm where she will do very well we are sure! Thanks to High Peak Alpacas and Desert Sun Alpacas for their purchase of Pearl.

I helped Tim while he was judging the fleeces. Wow, some nice ones and some ones that weren't as nice. Its amazing how a bit of skirting and preparation will enhance the score greatly. Some more education in skirting would be highly recommended.

We are featuring a course at the farm on Saturday, June 25th to address just this. I highly recommend if you are planning on entering fleeces in fall shows or just want to learn more about fiber...attend!

I found all sorts of nasty things including a needle shaped piece of wood, staples, mud and of course dung in the fleeces. Quite a great learning experience where even I gained some serious knowledge.

Charlie and I will be attending the Maine Fiber Frolic this weekend. If in the area, do stop by and say "Hi!"

Cindy Lavan

hat a wonderful past few days! No, nothing super exciting to report in the line of new cria (still waiting on about 8 that are due) but good news on the mental front as we were able to steal a few days away together as a family for a great Walt Disney World vacation. Boys, mom and dad had fun with the Grands and Auntie but back to reality and the farm life we love as well.

We had a great time at the Futurity. Not only did GreyBeard's Treasure sell for $67,000 - she also took a BLUE RIBBON in her class! Not only did Chase Tavern Lenox Lewis sell for $46,000 to Snowmass Alpacas as a future herdsire on their ranch, he took second in his class and then went on to win Reserve Champion Brown Male from the back row. He's pretty special and that accomplishment proves it!

Chase Tavern Smoochems was the buy of the sale at $15,000. She was an early lot and that's a hard place to be sometimes but her new owners are very, very pleased and we will be able to visit her on family trips to CO! Chickadee Ridge Alpacas, owner Charlie Lavan is pleased with his first official auction sale.

Thanks to all of you who didn't get these alpacas but helped out with the bidding. Mucho appreciato to all!

and we do have more great alpacas on the farm!!!

When Tim returns from judging at MAPACA, I'll be sure to put him right to work!

Cindy Lavan

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First of all, my apologies for not updating in February. Sorry, but had to go on a vacation to Florida and leave the Internet world behind for a bit. But, we are back are revved up for a great spring season!

We just returned from a family/working vacation in at the Houston Livestock and Rodeo. Tim was invited back again this year to judge and after all the raving he did about the show last year, we all hopped the plane with him. WOW! If you ever have the chance to go and spend some time learning about livestock and the rodeo trade...this is the place to do it! Great fun for the kids and a growing educational experience (and wallet lightening one I have to admit) but incredible fun time! If anyone reading this is from that show, if you want Tim back to judge again next year, not a problem on this end!

Down to business and updates on the farm. Our 3 entries in the upcoming All American Futurity Auction in Indy, IN on April 16th of this year are truly AMAZING!! We are very pleased to be presenting such fine quality in this group and know if you are seriously looking at adding great stuff to your program, we highly encourage you to check out and inquire more on Chase Tavern Smoochems (white suri Ace's Up daughter), GreyBeard's Treasure (taupe fawn daughter of the great GreyBeard) and our male entry, Chase Tavern Lennox Lewis (amazing Evander son with incredibly fine and dense fleece!)

Tim is planning on showing at least 18 of our finest 2004 cria at the upcoming North American Alpaca Show. We are also helping research by donating a breeding to GreyBeard to be auctioned off live during the Saturday pm dinner festivities. DON"T MISS THAT!!

As I write this note, I am looking outside at the 2 plus feet of snow on the ground hoping it doesn't melt too quick but quick enough to get spring moving forward. It's been a long cold winter in Maine this season but it's been worse.

We are eager for the spring show season to begin and look forward to seeing old faces and meeting new ones soon!

All our best till then,

Cindy & Tim

Well, Happy New Year! Thanks to everyone who helped make 2004 a great, fun and successful year at Chase Tavern Farm. Your continued support and business is greatly appreciated it.

We'd like to introduce to another new venture for part of our family in 2005 - Chickadee Ridge Alpacas. Charlie is venturing out on his own- well, kinda. Check out his new website. It's a work in progress. He is very excited to be taking this step and we are excited for him.

We'll be better at updating you all in 2005. The barn is done and I have my very own new office, my little 12x14 of the world. This SHOULD allow me more private time to handle email and web matters : )

We'll be celebrating our 12th year breeding alpacas in 2005...WOW... how did that happen? It's true! That's alot of poop to pick up and a lot of babies being born!

Our best to all of you and your family. During these times of global tragedy, we are lucky to be living in Maine and living the great alpaca lifestyle!

Cindy Lavan

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Wow! Its already December and I still have to get the vegetables out of the garden! Just kidding...thanks to helpers at the farm, it is done and the garden is all ready for next year.

The new barn is done as well and we have a wonderful set up complete for our moms and babies. Its stunning! Thanks to everyone who helped us work on it this summer. It was truly a group effort where I get to enjoy most of the rewards!

What a load of wonderful cria this fall season to report. Tim has begun his list of show cria for next spring and I am trying to keep the list under 20. It's going to be hard to do I have to admit. They are stunning!

We wanted to thank everyone for their support of Tim this past year. He has had an absolutely wonderful time working as an AOBA Certified Halter, Fleece and Performance Judge and looks forward to next year's show season in earnest.

We are already making plans for the continuing education courses to take place again this year at the farm. Join our mailing list to make sure you get the updated information about education courses such as fiber, health and reproduction.

Gotta go and check on the critters. We finally had our last baby of the season the other day and she is as stunning as the first!

Our sincerest thanks to everyone for a great 2004 and many safe and happy wishes for the year ahead from our family to yours,

Cindy, Tim, Charlie & Petey Lavan

Don't forget OPEN FARM HALLOWEEN THIS SUNDAY

Well...running the New England Coastal Classic Alpaca show again this year consumed a lot of our time, but we think and hopefully everyone who attended - feel it was well worth the effort.
We had visitors from as far away as NY and VA come see some of our alpacas win blue ribbons in the show ring. In fact, everyone we took in rib boned with a blue, red or white (3rd). Tonka Gold even took home Reserve Championship Fawn male awards!

Make plans if you can to attend this Sunday's OPEN HOUSE during Halloween! Charlie has tricks and treats planned for the kids and mom and dad will show the other moms and dads the 20+ new cria and other alpacas on the farm.

Speaking of cria, GreyBeard's new cria are amazing! We are very very excited to show them off next spring season and we will even part with a few for sale! Our Accoyo Ace son, Ace's Up has produced some superior suri offspring as well. We are eager to show them to the growing suri community of Maine and New England. And dont' forget about Pinnacle - stunning new cria with mounds of future babies of superior quality.

Guess what...the barn we were building ourselves over the summer is 92% done. Yes, still a few more doors to add for winter and my new office will get done before New Year's I am told. This from Tim the alpaca judge who has been judging shows in IN, CO, Iowa and other places this past fall season. I don't dare hold my breath for obvious reasons...

New herdsires are working - We think we have Caesar, an Atocha's Gold son working so we'll keep you posted!

If you are serious about breeding quality alpacas, we know we will see you at the farm very soon!

Cindy Lavan

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WOW!...What a conference. Thanks to everyone for making the AOBA Auction and Conference a huge success for our farm and our breeding program. Special thanks to those who purchased alpacas from us during the event.

Skyline Alpacas purchased Lot # 45 - Chase Tavern Nayla Gold - for $50,000!!!

The bidding was rigorous and thanks to all who showed interest in this beautiful young female.

Tierra Prometida Alpacas for the purchase of Chase Tavern Atlantic City and Chase Tavern Rosevelt

We are so glad to have sold these alpacas to such great homes and look forward to a wonderful relationship with our old and new friends!

Our showring results were pretty good as well. Blue ribbon for Silver Scorpion now owned by Wool and Gray Alpacas plus some other reds, whites and strong placements from other alpacas we took, mostly younger ones who will no doubt continue to grow and show with great success in the fall shows.

One more spring show to go and then major farm improvements begin - some new fencing and a new barn for our pregnant females! Come by and see us when you have a chance! We'll be hammering away this summer!

Oh, how could I forget...GreyBeard's first cria has arrived...a lovely taupe fawn female named Chase Tavern GreyBeard's Treasure!

Cindy & Tim Lavan

Well...we are about 5/8 of the way thru shearing the herd. Since we do it ourselves, it allows for flexibility, but can take awhile with a herd size of about 150 right now. The breeding males are done so breeding and birthing has begun to hit hard on the farm.

Also, plans on underway to take down the 'red barn' and put up a brand new one. That will be our summer project! Besides the birthing and breeding, etc. which comes with the territory. Plans are underway for a huge barn raising in June so keep posted if you want to come - bring your own hammer!!

Show season is in full force and if Tim isn't judging he's an exhibitor. Good ribbons coming in so far this year per usual so we are excited. We eagerly await GreyBeard's first cria coming very very soon. We have him on a tight leash regarding outside breedings and his dance card is filling up so check with us soon for all spring stud services so we can work your girls into rotations.

Tim and the boys are outside collecting frogs now so its my time to update the website.

Check out Chase Tavern Nayla Gold, an amazing Altiplano daughter we have in the upcoming AOBA Auction. She is super stunning!

We want to thank those who have purchased from us so far this year:

Edgewood Alpacas, NY
Fairhope Alpacas, AL
Skyline Alpacas, OR
Kilblaan Farm, NH
Emery Farm, ME
Maple View Farm, VT
Flying Pony Alpacas, PA
Hidden Hill Farm, NH
Wool & Gray Alpacas, NJ
Dean Lucas, NY
Black Woods Farm, ME
Calidad Alpacas, NY
Spudland Alpacas, ME
The Wyman Family, ME
The Kirkpatrick Family, ME
(your name here) : )

Seriously though, we want to thank everyone very much and look forward to wonderful working relationships in the future!

We want to thank the farms we have purchased some great alpacas from this year as well. Always building!!

See everyone at AOBA!

Cindy & Tim Lavan

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I'm exhausted and I didn't even go to the NAAS this past weekend like Tim did, with a few alpacas in tow.

A good showing with all but 1 alpaca not placing so we'll take that with over 850 alpacas entered!

Some blues, some reds and some other colors along the way. Again, we'll take it any day of the week. The conditions were absolutely miserable with rain/snow and many of the alpaca's fleece 'de-poofed' quite a bit but its only the first big show of the season and we have a long way to go still... : )

Been working on updating the pages - new packages are listed for your consideration so check them out.

Don't forget to check out the auction entries as well. You'll see them on the home page of our website. Chase Tavern Silver Lupine, Lolita and Luna eagerly await you getting to know them better.

Just a note of 'Thanks' to everyone who has been so supportive of Tim in his efforts. He truly appreciates all the support and kind words of encouragement.

Cindy Lavan

Ok, I'm getting nervous. Show season begins for us in a few days and these little ones are being soooo stubborn on the halter its driving me crazy. Meanwhile...Tim says "Oh, they will be fine." It's sometimes better he does the halter training than I.

Spring has sprung. We are cleaning up from the winter and plans on in the works for a new home and farm improvements. Maybe even a new barn...we are currently in discussion on that topic. It's either re-do or new. Tim and time will tell.

We eagerly await the arrival of our first due in April. Katasha, Hera and Mica to begin things off. Katasha is bred to a Royal Fawn son born her a few years ago, Royal Thunder. Hera is now sold but staying to be birthed out and Mica is Frieda's older 1/2 sister and due to Evander.

Even after 11 years of doing this alpaca thing, we still get sooo excited with each new baby. It takes a year to see what our breedings are producing and we love it when we do good. (which luckily is a fair % of the time!)

Cindy & Tim

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Well howdy out there in alpaca land! Tim returned from judging at the Houston show so we here on the farm are all talking and walking Texan like...

Back to reality. It's officially mud season. Fun begins for spring clean-up and halter training for the little tots who have recently been weaned from mom to go out into the show rings this spring. The countdown begins for the first show in April.

Two entrants for this year's Celebrity Sale -

Chase Tavern Frieda

Chase Tavern Silver Lupine

Check them out in the sales page. Also going up for auction at the MAPACA show is

Chase Tavern Luna

Check her out as well!

That's it for now. Gotta go out and wrangle us up some cria to halter train! Yippee!

Cindy & Tim

Hello to all alpaca lovers out there!

Lots happening here even though its heavy into winter here in Maine.

Plans are underway now for expansion and improvements in the old red barn. We are planning upcoming show for the spring season. Look for our alpacas at North American Alpaca Show, All American Futurity, MAPACA and of course, AOBA Nationals.

Tim, our resident AOBA Judge, will be judging at a few shows this spring as well. Feel free to say 'Hello' if you see him. (after the judging has ended of course.)

Some changes to our herdsire line up in 2004. We have some new great bloodlines coming in (Accoyo Grand Master, Atocha's Gold) and a few old-timers are leaving to do work elsewhere across the U.S. We'll miss them! They certainly have been good to us over the years!

Send us an email or call with your questions!

We look forward to meeting you at the farm very soon!

Cindy & Tim

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WoW! What a year! Thank you to all who have purchased or used our stud service in 2003! And...wow again to the number of Champions produced from our breeding program in 2003.

Many 2002 cria won again in 2003 but in 2003 we had 2 national AOBA Champ wins from our breeding program and countless other regional Champ and blue ribbon honors!

We are very very proud of what our herdsires are producing and have some great cria from 2003 ready for the spring 2004 show season!

Some other good news from the farm:

Tim is now an AOBA Certified Alpaca Judge for Halter, Fleece and Showmanship. Look for him in the showring doing his thing in 2004. After breeding for 10 years, judging was the next step and he is ready, willing and now able to take it. We are very proud of him!

Charlie and Petey are taking on more duties at the farm. Look for their active participation in many shows this year.

Cindy will continue to knit, spin, knit, spin and run the farm and marketing division of the business. Tim maintains many of the husbandry duties and breeding plans along with full family input.

We lost a dear family member in 2003, Simon, our 10 year old black Lab so will no doubt add another pup to the family soon. Recently we installed a new saltwater tank (110 gallons) which will keep us busy in our off-farm hours (if there are any).

Thanks for checking in on our site. We promise to update- update- update in 2004 and keep you abreast of all the wonderful happenings on the farm!

Let us know if you have any questions on alpacas - husbandry, marketing, business. We are in our 11th year now and love every minute of it!!!

Cindy & Tim

We've just updated the sales pages for huacaya females so check those out. We have added new cria and updated the breedings and listed new females due in the spring so be sure to take a look.

We just as well finished updating our show record for fall shows in 2003. We did very very well and placed in all classes with many blues, champ wins, and other placements. We are proud of our boys and girls and their success. As well, we had many clients win champs and blue ribbons and congrats go to them as well!

Finishing up on fall breedings on some maidens and just a few more moms still due for the end of 2003.

Tim is finishing up his judging apprenticeship and goes back for approval as an AOBA certified judge in early December.

We want to thank everyone for their support this year and our best to everyone over the holiday season!

Cindy & Tim

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First day at BigE 2003 -

Amazing show winning results. Click on our show record page to learn more.

Wow! What a spring season we had. Multiple show wins for us and our client purchased alpacas at AOBA Nationals -

• Maple Butter, purchased in-utero via Delilah and Accoyo Powerball - now owned by Sue Watts, Calidad Alpacas - not only won first in her class but FAWN CHAMPION FEMALE - all at the tender age of 6 months 2 weeks with her first time in the showring ever!
  
• SilverCloud Farm of PA purchased an in-utero cria sired by El Segundo and Mulowe - that has won Reserve Championships - but won LIGHT FEMALE CHAMPIONSHIP at AOBA. Miss Clarice is now owned by Maple Lane Alpacas of NY.

We did alright in the show ring as well with many blues so quite a great event for us and our clients at AOBA 2003!

Congratulations as well to High Meadow Alpacas for their purchase of CTF/CCNF Rosie Gold and to Nan's Alpaca Ranch by the Gulf for their purchase of Peruvian Jovi during the 2003 AOBA Auction!

Our www.getalpaca.com online alpaca auction was a tremendous success as well! We would like to thank all the bidders and consignors for making it a great success! Congrats to the high bidder and winner of some superior alpacas from our breeding program - CT Tava Rose, Frieda, Gustav, Blackstar and the bonus lot of Carajia and Pink. What a top quality insta-herd successfully won by Choice View Farm of Maine.

Congrats as well to Spruce Ridge Farm for the pick of the auction with the best value purchase of Riddick. Look for him to amaze you in the show ring this fall.

Congrats as well to recent purchasers of our bloodlines and alpacas -

• Colonial Thyme Alpacas - The Eaton Family - of ME for the purchase of Ruby Gold
  
• Michelle Bracher - Cummings of MA for her purchase of Satene
  
• Lora and Shawn Malloy for the purchases of Jewel, Hecate, Shania and Sunday

What a great crop of cria coming in 2003! So far many great colors (beige, black, 4 rose grey, 2 silver grey, 1 maroon) and more on the way!

We welcome your farm visit and a chance to show our cria and breeding stock!

We look forward to meeting you at the farm soon,

Cindy & Tim

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So much to tell you about in the last few weeks. Great show results to date. Evander's first cria are cleaning up in the show ring.

Frieda, Riddick and Gustav are winning blue and red everywhere they go. GreyBeard continues his winning streak of Championships with a win at NAAS 2003.

Tim is apprenticing to be an AOBA judge. That's keeping him busy and Cindy busy at the farm holding down the fort with new cria arriving and new babies coming very soon!

Some things to take note on:

1. Accoyo The Last Don is here and will be standing stud till mid-July. Learn more about him at his page, The Last Don.

2. Two of our top alpacas are consigned in the upcoming AOBA Alpaca Auction to be held May 30, 2003 during the AOBA National Convention. Learn more about Rosie Gold and Peruvian Jovi by clicking here.

3. We are planning for our upcoming on-line alpaca auction at www.getalpaca.com. For more information, click on the logo below.

4. We are helping to co-ordinate an alpaca show in Portland, Maine this Fall.

To learn more about the event, keep check the webpages of www.necoastalclassic.com

Well, that's it for now. We welcome your questions and of course farm visit as soon as you can!

Till then,

Cindy & Tim Lavan

HAPPY NEW YEAR!

Wow! What a year in 2002! Great sales, great new babies and great new friends made for our family because of one thing - alpacas!

We would like to thank everyone who visited the farm, met us a shows, visited with our alpacas an especially those who purchased from us.

Many improvements in 2002 - new barn, new fencing...can't let Uncle Sam have all the fun!

New ventures in 2002 - www.getalpaca.com! What a great addition to our marketing program and thanks to all who have purchased from us and our fellow consigners in 2002.

Look for bigger and better things in 2003!

What's ahead...

• new cria to venture into the showring
• more getalpaca.com auctions
• more outstanding cria being produced
• new sales catalog and database system for the website

just to name a few of the things we are working on here at the farm!

Of course, a visit in person is well worth your time and travel and we encourage to see first hand what breeding excellence looks like.

Until then,

Cindy & Tim Lavan

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What a crazy couple of days! New cria, finished our first on-line auction with www.getalpaca.com to a great success of alpacas sold! We are gearing up for another auction in a few weeks. Keep checking the pages for updates and the listings will be posted soon!

New products from the farm to tell you about. They include hay feeders, wall feeders, chutes and scales. Click here for more info.

Great show in Syracuse - 1 Championship and 2 Reserves plus numerous blues and reds. Click here to see the results. Charlie showed for the first time and did great! Where did the last 6 years go?

Our new farm store is open and we'll be posting dates soon for holiday shopping! (and photos of the new store all decorated for the season!!).

That's it for now. We'll write again soon!

Thanks to all those that attended our 9th annual Fall Foliage Festival and shopped our newly designed and up and running - Fiber Nook! (Don't worry those that didn't make it - we'll be open again for holiday shopping - check back for updates within about 2 weeks for the times of the store).

Special thanks to those folks who stayed for both days of lectures! Your commitment to learning is great and we appreciate your time with us.

Remember that new project I mentioned in September - here it is...GETALPACA.COM. New website designed to offer high quality alpacas throughout the year via on-line auction site.

Inaugural On-line auction bidding closes soon. Final bids taken beginning at 6pm - Saturday, October 26th, check out the offerings at www.getalpaca.com.

Needless to say, we are very excited with the quality of alpacas being offered and look for them to go to great homes! We welcome your questions or visit to the farm to meet them in person. We'd be willing to send any info, photos fiber samples, etc. just call or email. Travel reimbursements if you are the wining bidder and free transport for the alpacas anywhere in continental U.S. are included in your final bid!

We can't wait to see you at the farm this fall. Until then,

Cindy & Tim Lavan

Ok, where did the summer go? Hot in July and still hot in August, its finally starting to feel like fall, a bit anyway.

New additions to the farm in the form of a new barn for the yearling females and new fencing (only took 9 years to get all that done!). New fiber store and nook coming soon as well - all of which will be finished for our...

9th Annual Fall Foliage Festival, October 12-13, 2002! Guest speakers including well known vet and specifics on marketing to the New England community and husbandry needs for New England alpacas.

We can't believe we have been breeding and raising alpacas going on our 10th year in the business!

Lots and lots of new cria. About 20 so far with another 15 or so due before the end of the year. Tava, our multiple championship winning grey female from Silver Dollar, has a new full sister, rose grey in color - so we named her Tava Rose.

Evander's first cria have hit the ground and WOW!! Spectacular! So dense and crimpy right from the start. Lucian Gold (award winning son of Altiplano Gold) who is now in Washington State as stud, had a female cria born to him who is beautiful!

Captain Nemo, our Accoyo Caligula son is expecting his first this year as well and we are proud to welcome a new guy on the block, Vaccoyo's Triumph. He comes from western Canada and has ribonned and gained championship accolades, we expect great things from this new guy. He is an Accoyo Victor son.

We are very, very excited for the show season this Fall. It all begins with the Common Ground Fair here in Maine, followed by the Big E, New England Coastal Classic (in PORTLAND, MAINE), Empire Alpaca Extravaganza and Tim will take some alpacas to a new show in Ohio in late November.

That's our September update for now. We are working on a new project that you will all see and know about soon!!

Summer is almost here! Where did winter go?

Busy show season. May alone found us at our Customer Appreciation Production Sale, shearing, the Maine Fiber and Fabric Festival in Portland, Maine and nationals in Kentucky.

We had a great time in PA at MAPACA. Check out our winnings! At nationals we did well - blues, reds and other ribbons. Tava won Reserve Champion in the grey female class which was very nice. Eggo Gold took first, Tre second, Arwen second, Marle third and Pinnacle 5th in the super tough white yearling male class!

We've been busy welcoming new babies. New one just born a few minutes ago from Tori and Altiplano Gold. Little reddish brown female. Very cute!

Thanks for stopping by our website. Again, we welcome you and your family to the farm to meet our family as soon as you can!!

Cindy, Tim, Charlie & Petey Lavan

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