Hoary day

The snow has gone thanks to  brief spell of rain and some slightly warmer weather.  At least now we do not have to take water round to each paddock, we just have to break the ice so that the water underneath becomes accessable.

We are still feeding the weanlings as we feel that they are most vulnerable.

The fields were white with hoar frost this morning and  it have been misty and cold and damp all day.  Some of the alpacas with particularly hairy ears have bee decorated in white by the frost.

The chick and its mum are going out all day with the other chickens, although at the moment we still put them in a separate hutch at night. The chick is growing quickly but still has its baby yellow feathers.

Snow

We thought we  had got off lightly but when we woke up this morning it had snowed  over night and everywhere was covered. We moved the hay racks nearer to the shelters which has had the desired effect of making the alpacas use the shelters more. Although we don't routinely feed them, we gave everyone some alpacas winter nuts this morning and will continue to do so whilst the snow is with us.  

The dogs seem to enjoy playing in the snow but it gets in between their toes after a while.

It seems that Christmas sales in the shop are fated once again.   In 2008 we had bumper sales in the lead up to Christmas but last year we had to close for long periods due to snow and ice and the same thing is happening this year.  The good news is that online sales seem to be perking up a bit.  Mostly socks!

Skiving

Well it does not seem to be rising above freezing and the wind is really bitter but we have been quite lucky in that we only had a small amount of snow.

I am taking the opportunity to try and improve the Alpacastuff website.  You would have laughed to see me with a polystyrene model head outside in a high wind trying to take photos of snoods in the hope that they will sell better when people can see how they look.  If they are not on a model they just look like a scarf.

We have just received the first of the Aran Sweaters knitted in  our new Champagne colour which is a mixtureof fleece - mostly white but with a dash of fawn.  They really look stunning and I am hoping that they will sell well.

Mike has drawn the short straw in  that he is feeding the goats and kids and breaking up the ice in the water troughs so that I can get up to the office.  It's a tough job but someone has to do it.  To be fair I gave been doing more than my fair share of paddock cleaning to make up for the present treat of workin g indoors.

The hay is going down rapidly and they are eating a lot more than usual at this time of year.  We would have liked to have let the new chick out into the wide world by now but we are worried that it will die of the cold if it gets lost or gets separated from his Mum, so its release is bei g delayed.

The dogs are still sleeping out in  their kennel but Mike has insulated it with rubber mats on the floor and carpet round the walls and Charlie who is quite thin and with the thinnest coat wears a coat in bed just in case he gets too cold.  The cat manages to sneak indoors most nights.

Frosty farming

Snow, ice, frozen drinking troughs, just the job!! I made an unforced error and decided to break the really thick ice which had formed in the drinking troughs with only my rubber gloves on.  It was not too bad at first but very quickly my hands felt as though they were really freezing.  When I got indoors my fingers were white at the ends graduating through various shades to purple and red.  The really good bit is that we will have to do the whole thing over again tomorrow morning.  I think I'll wear ordinary gloves next time.

It was Dolly's first experience of snow and she loved dashing around in it like a hooligan.

The   alpacas,goats and chickens take it all in their  stride and why not they get food delivered so they do not have to worry when the grass is covered over or stiff with frost and some muggins makes sure they have drinks all day.

We see a lot more of the cat when the weather is cold or wet.  In the summer she sometimes disappears for days at a time.  Now she quite often turns up at a door or window demanding to be let in immediately and then expects to take over the best chair or dog bed whilst being waited on  with milk or dinner and lies on her back expecting to have her tummy tickled.

Busy Tuesday

Mike had to go to the hospital this morning for a check on his heart so Nick and I got on with all the animal tasks.   We finished  condition checking the herd and found that the Chardstock 6 and our boys are in just as good condition as the girls.  The only exception really was poor old Bono who seems to be fairly well now but is still very thin.   As a precaution we gave him a wormer.

We checked the weanlings and they are all as fat as butter so it seems that they have not suffered from leaving their Mums so far.   Cordelia, our lovely brown female, is still quite distressed about losing her cria but the other mums have just got on with their lives.

We have lost three chickens over the last few days.  One had a prolapse presumably due to laying over large eggs, one just died but it was one of the ones we rescued from an intensive "free range" farm so it was probably programmed for a shorter life.   The third must have been locked out of the henhouse when the automatic pop holes shut and seems like a fox or other preditor got her. 

One of the kids was limping yesterday and when I checked her front fore I found she had a big lump of dried mud between her toe but also her hooves needed trimming so I  got Mike to sharpen up the toe nail clippers and Nick and I trimmed  all of the kids' hooves. I need to register them with the Angora Goat society before the end of December.   We have the prefix for the herd of Laurels, like the alpacas, and I am trying to think of a theme to use.   The older goats are all named after places apart from Drake the buck.  Nick suggested trees, but Laurels Oak for example does not sound very romantic.  Maybe birds? They will all be girls names as until we have an entire male (as opposed to a gelding) we will not be registering males.

Mike and Nick have nearly completed a shelter for Alario, who sadly spent all last winter in a paddock with out shelter as he is the one who fights the other males.   He now has three pregnant female companions and little house.  The shelter is "temporary" because it is actually just screwed to the fence and the fence forms most of the structure.   Mike  brought some roofing panels from the garage and used them to fill in the sides and  back and because it is so well weathered it looks just like the wooden shelters from a distance and cost about a tenth of the price.

Weanlings

Where's my mum

Today we separated the cria from their dams.   It has to be done but it is always a bit sad.  As soon as they have had time to get used to their new status I will get them halter trained.  It is quite nice having them in the home paddocks and visitors, especially the children like to see them.

The whole place is a mud bath at the moment and every time it starts to dry up a bit the rains come down.

Mike found one of the chicks dead in its run a few days ago.  He thinks the rain blew in and its mother was not protecting it very well.  The fox got a chicken last night.   We think it was shut out when the automatic
pop hole closed.

We condition checked all the females today and were pleasantly surprised that all except one are in excellent condition.  She should start to improve now that her cria has moved out.   As a precaution we gave her a dose of wormer, but I doubt if she has that problem.

The goats and kids continue to do well, as do the dogs and the cat who has decided to become an indoor cat now that the winter is on the way.