Another birth

Nick and I checked the kids' eartags this morning to make sure that none were infected as we feared might happen in the hot weather.  All were nice and loose and healthy looking.  They are all putting on weight very quickly and seem to weigh a ton and can run and jump very fast when you try to catch them.

We were planning to carry out some alpaca husbandry but rain stopped play.  We did manage to trim the toe nails of the two newcomers, Chris and Caesar, as one of them was limping.   They were very easy to handle and looked much more comfortable after their pedicure.   I have left a message for Colin the shearer asking him to come as soon as possible as they are huge with overgrown fleece.

See our Picture Gallery and Cria Gallery on the website for latest photos.

Mike is having the area at the back of the barn dug out to enable him to put in drainage to stop the winter flooding of the barn. This will make it a lot easier if we have to have the alpacas inside and save the straw from getting soggy.

Nick checked the hen who is sitting on eggs and found two dead chicks which he put down to the shells being too hard for them to escape.   He soaked the rest of the eggs in warm water to soften them and now two more chicks (alive) have emerged.   Apparently it is unlikely that the hen will continue sitting on the eggs once the chicks are up and running, so we dont know how many we will get in all yet.  We will be checking them regularly to make sure all are OK.

Whilst all this was going on, Saphire gave birth to a very pretty little female cria.