Spring Chicks Coming to Art Farm

Carlsbad Art Farm has placed it's spring chick order for summer camp. Arriving May 17 are 31 day-old chicks: Silver Polish (pictured here); Golden Polish; Buff Laced Polish; Barred Rocks; White Crested Polish; Black Polish; and Light Brahmans.

Our daughter, Emerson, 11, is the resident chicken expert at Art Farm. She did all the ordering at McMurray Hatchery, assuring us that kids will especially love the Polish hens for their fabulous feathers.

The chicks, believe it or not, arrive care of our local post office. After pick-up, they are placed in brooders to keep them warm and safe until they are ready for the outdoors.

The polish variety are known for their wonderful feathered heads. Students will learn how to hold baby chicks and wash their hands after handling birds. Older students may enjoy learning how to bathe and blow dry a chicken for show.

Chickens at Art Farm are free-range during the day. They enjoy roaming our 10-acres woodland habitat for bugs, worms, and weeds. Students are delighted when the chickens cruise by during art classes. While doing so, they help fertilize and turn-over our soil. At night time, they all voluntarily return to their coop to roost. All of our birds are inoculated against disease.

Weekly camp sessions begin June 14 and continue through Mid-August. We offer two sessions daily to accommodate busy families. Students must be entering Grades 2 through 8 in Fall 2010 to attend. All classes are small and grouped according to age. Art projects are geared toward the age level of each student group.

We are located off El Camino Real and College Blvd. very near the Village of Carlsbad and Palomar Airport. Students come to Art Farm from all over north San Diego County. For more information visit our website and click on the "Camp" tab. Registration forms are available for easy download under the Camp Tab. You may contact us directly at director@carlsbadartfarm.com.

Art Farm Now Enrolling for Summer Camp 2010

Carlsbad Art Farm is now enrolling students for Summer Camp 2010. Enrollment is on a first-come, first-serve basis.

New this year, we are now offering two sessions daily to accommodate more students while keeping our class sizes small. All information, schedules, and registration materials are available for download on our website.

Also new are Saturday morning classes at Art Farm for students currently enrolled in grades 2 through 8. Information about all programs are listed under our website "Programs" tab.

For an invitation to our upcoming BBQ open-house you must be on our e-mail sign-up list, also available on our website. Don't get left standing in the barn: sign-up now.

We are looking very forward to another busy camp season this summer thanks to the overwhelmingly positive response from families to our program during the previous several summers. If you have never heard of Art Farm, that's because we mostly advertise word-of-mouth. If you have an art and animal-loving nature enthusiast in your home, it's hard to beat Art Farm for a unique summer camp experience.

Alpacas Have Arrived at Art Farm

Alpacas have arrived at Carlsbad Art Farm just in time for the summer camp season. They are pictured here with my daughter, Emerson. They are unbelievably cute, like giant stuffed animals. The lighter colored alpaca is six months old. His name is Harry Potter because he has a zig-zagging spot of color on his forehead. The brown alpaca is one-year old. His name is Mr. Weasley.

The natural habitat of an alpaca is the high Andes of South America, but since 1984 they have flourished on farms throughout the United States. They are shorn twice a year. Alpaca hair is very fine and silky, and unlike wool it doesn't itch.

These are huacaya alpacas, which are known for their fine fiber and wooly coats. (There are also suri alpacas with tightly-wound fiber that looks like dreadlocks). A baby alpaca (birth to five months) is called a "cria". Harry Potter will be a "weanling" until his first birthday. Mr. Weasley will be a "yearling" until his second birthday.

Adult alpacas live up to 25 years. Their average height is 36-inches at the whithers. They can weight up to 175 pounds. Alpacas are camelids and are related to llamas and camels. They are much smaller than llamas and are a distinct breed apart. Alpacas are believed to be descended from vicunas, a wild camelid from South America.

Our alpacas will be serving as models for young artists coming to Carlsbad Art Farm this summer. And to answer a question that keeps coming up: No, Alpacas don't spit at people.