Nick and I vaccinated all 50 alpacas by tea break this morning. We now have a really good set up in the barn which allows us to feed the animals through quickly and in small lots. They are quite used to it now and seem quite comfortable and happy to wait their turn for treatment. Of course there is always the odd grumpy one. Bourree (a big black female from our original herd) and Ben the wether are usually quite stroppy but they both behaved as if butter would not melt in their mouths this morning.
The very last alpaca to be vaccinated was Citrine and she decided to object and spat at me, so as Mike confirmed that I was not very nice to know I had to shower and change.
We have given a 28 day prior notice to build a new barn behind the existing one. Because we have sufficient land we are allowed to build a new agricultural building every two years (not that you would want to) but we have to notify the council and they can have some input on the design, colours, siting etc: The present barn is not really fit for purpose as it is long and narrow which means that it is not possible to get farm machinery in without leaving the doors open. The new barn will be the same length but twice as wide
and so should be evenmore useful.
The land is absolutely sodden at the moment and very muddy and slippery in places. The dogs have to be hosed off several times a day if they are allowed to run free. The forecast is for a few days of dry frosty weather so we are hoping that will help.
We have got a very thin female called Tanya. She is absolutely gorgeous but she is very underweight at the moment so we have moved her up to live with the weanlings for a while. They have access to some better grass and we are hoping that she will benefit from it. She has already been wormed, treated for fluke and been dosed with vitamins,so we are running out of ideas. She is eating alright, but we wonder whether she was being bullied off the feed when she was with the main herd, although she appeared to be tucking in . She also seems quite lively. I was expecting her to be upset at being separated from her Mum and the rest of the females but actually far from pacing up and down the fence as they sometimes do when stressed and wanting to return to their friends, she seems very relaxed and has been seen munching away all day without a care in the world. I do hope it is simply that she was unhappy for some reason and that taking her out of that situation will help her gain condition. She is one of my favourites so I do hope she recovers soon.
We have decided to remove buck from does and house him and the wethered male kid in together. To this end Mike and Nick spent this afternoon starting to adapt the old pig ark that is in the kid's paddock. It will be raised up so we can get in to clean it out and the doe kids will go and live with their Mums. They had to measure the Buck's horns to make sure the door is wide enough. They measure 25" tip to tip!! He is a real gentle giant.
The Goathouse where the does and the buck live at the moment is much bigger than the trailer where the kids live so there will be plenty of room for them all when we change them around. When the does are ready to give birth we will move them into the barn so that we can set up the heat lamp if necessary and the kids can stay in the goathouse until their mums return with their new brothers and sisters.
Tuesday, 18 January 2011
Monday, 10 January 2011
All going well
Since the snow has gone we have found everything much easier and although it is still wintery, the odd sunny hour and the fact that we can move around the farm easily makes life a lot more pleasant. The weanlings are only in their own paddock with the shelter when the weather is really bad, the rest of the time they are in one of the bigger paddocks where there is at least some better grass, but they never object to returning to their home paddock in the evenings.
The dogs have been much better behaved in the evenings because they have been out more in the day so are ready to settle and watch their favourite TV programmes.
Dolly, the puppy, now eleven months old, has started to do some agility training and she is doing really well, although she is more interested in the ball on a rope that is her reward than the agility sometimes. Charlie, my other young dog is coming on in leaps and bounds and I am hoping that he will be competing by Easter.
I went on a training day recently and have changed my handling and training of the dogs slightly as a result and it looks like the tweaks are producing the desired results. I passed the information on to Mike and Jake has also improved greatly because of the new ideas. Small changes can make big differences.
Still no eggs from the hens. Lucky for them that they are hobby hens and it is not a commercial enterprise or they would be chicken kiev by now. We have ordered ten more black rock hens for the spring so we will be virtually starting again!!
The dogs have been much better behaved in the evenings because they have been out more in the day so are ready to settle and watch their favourite TV programmes.
Dolly, the puppy, now eleven months old, has started to do some agility training and she is doing really well, although she is more interested in the ball on a rope that is her reward than the agility sometimes. Charlie, my other young dog is coming on in leaps and bounds and I am hoping that he will be competing by Easter.
I went on a training day recently and have changed my handling and training of the dogs slightly as a result and it looks like the tweaks are producing the desired results. I passed the information on to Mike and Jake has also improved greatly because of the new ideas. Small changes can make big differences.
Still no eggs from the hens. Lucky for them that they are hobby hens and it is not a commercial enterprise or they would be chicken kiev by now. We have ordered ten more black rock hens for the spring so we will be virtually starting again!!
Wednesday, 5 January 2011
New Year
Rain has taken over from snow but at least that means that the animals can get to the grass now and we are hoping that the ones who lost a bit of weight will make it up over the next few weeks. It is certainly easier getting around the farm.
Nick and I have made a start on trimming toe nails and have done all the small groups - males, weanlings, alpacas at livery and next week will finish off the main herd who are grazing the winter paddocks. With only a couple of exceptions they were all very well behaved and easy to handle. We also took the opportunity to trim topknots as sometimes the fleece on the alpacas' heads (the bonnet) grows too long and interferes with their sight. This can make them easily "spooked" and even make eating more difficult for them. I don't think I will get a job as a hairdresser but at least they look neater.
The annual vaccinations are also coming up soon, and the girls in the winter paddocks will be drenched with Fasinex at the end of March to make sure they have not picked up fluke.
Mike has managed to source a few more small bales of hay so it looks like we will be alright for the rest of winter as long as we don't get another prolonged period of snow covered grass. His new tractor came into its own as he was able to lift the bales into the hay loft with it very quickly. In the past we have either hand balled them or used a manual hoist both of which were quite time consuming.
The chickens are not doing very well at the moment. They have very good appetites but are only laying one or two eggs a day. Definitely a hobby and not an earner!! Still it is nice to see them wandering around and they are very amusing sometimes, especially if we put some bread or something out for them. They all waddle over noisily and at speed.
I put all the 2010 weanlings up for sale on the website this week. Unusually for us we had mostly boys and although a couple are good enough the show, most of them will be sold as pets/fibre producers/guards. One boy with a really lovely fleece has a big black spot right in the middle of his back, which is a real disappointment as otherwise he has a lot going for him.
Nick and I have made a start on trimming toe nails and have done all the small groups - males, weanlings, alpacas at livery and next week will finish off the main herd who are grazing the winter paddocks. With only a couple of exceptions they were all very well behaved and easy to handle. We also took the opportunity to trim topknots as sometimes the fleece on the alpacas' heads (the bonnet) grows too long and interferes with their sight. This can make them easily "spooked" and even make eating more difficult for them. I don't think I will get a job as a hairdresser but at least they look neater.
The annual vaccinations are also coming up soon, and the girls in the winter paddocks will be drenched with Fasinex at the end of March to make sure they have not picked up fluke.
Mike has managed to source a few more small bales of hay so it looks like we will be alright for the rest of winter as long as we don't get another prolonged period of snow covered grass. His new tractor came into its own as he was able to lift the bales into the hay loft with it very quickly. In the past we have either hand balled them or used a manual hoist both of which were quite time consuming.
The chickens are not doing very well at the moment. They have very good appetites but are only laying one or two eggs a day. Definitely a hobby and not an earner!! Still it is nice to see them wandering around and they are very amusing sometimes, especially if we put some bread or something out for them. They all waddle over noisily and at speed.
I put all the 2010 weanlings up for sale on the website this week. Unusually for us we had mostly boys and although a couple are good enough the show, most of them will be sold as pets/fibre producers/guards. One boy with a really lovely fleece has a big black spot right in the middle of his back, which is a real disappointment as otherwise he has a lot going for him.
Tuesday, 28 December 2010
After Christmas
Christmas went really well. We managed to get out of the farm easily and had a lovely time with David and Jane and the children. We did not stay too long just in case but it was like being let out of jail freefor a few hours!!
The weather has changed, the snow has gone and Nick and I made up for the last few weeks by trimming the kids' hooves, drenching the herd with a mineral and vitamin mixture and condition checking. As it has been several weeks since they have been able to even see grass, we were not surprised to find one or two a little under weight so we have decided to change from hay to haylage for a few weeks to try and give them a boost. Most of the half a dozen who are a little out of condition are youngsters and it might be that their teeth are changing and making eating slower - also they are a bit timid and being pushed to the back of the queue by the older more dominant females.
The weather is expected to be mild into the new year now so we should be able to catch up with a lot of jobs.
The weather has changed, the snow has gone and Nick and I made up for the last few weeks by trimming the kids' hooves, drenching the herd with a mineral and vitamin mixture and condition checking. As it has been several weeks since they have been able to even see grass, we were not surprised to find one or two a little under weight so we have decided to change from hay to haylage for a few weeks to try and give them a boost. Most of the half a dozen who are a little out of condition are youngsters and it might be that their teeth are changing and making eating slower - also they are a bit timid and being pushed to the back of the queue by the older more dominant females.
The weather is expected to be mild into the new year now so we should be able to catch up with a lot of jobs.
Wednesday, 22 December 2010
Getting through
At least now we are both feeling a bit better and hoping that by Christmas we will be full of the Christmas Spirit. Two of our neighbours have kindly invited us to spend Christmas day with them if we cannot get off the farm to go to David and Jane's for our Festivities. As long as we can get out of the drive we will be fine but as we have to take all seven dogs with us we will have to use the van which does not have 4 wheel drive. We cannot risk leaving them at home as it is too long and if we got stuck they would be hungry and thirsty and cold on Christmas Day which would be sad even though they don't know it is Christmas.
Mike has gone up to the garage today and has taken the pressies round so that at least the children will get them even if we do get snowed in. The forecast is quite good so we are keeping our fingers crossed.
The animals are all coping well although I expect they are fed up with living on hay. We are lucky that we have plenty of shelters and they are certainly making use of them at the moment. When we look out of the window in the mornings it is like the Marie Celeste - not asign of life on the place apart from the good ole cockerell who continues to crow despite it all!!
The tough outdoors cat who disappears for days at a time in the summer has become a permanent fixture indoors and has to be thrown out occasionally when we realise she has been in for too many hours. She favours Mike's chair but when all else fails will deign to use the cat basket.
The goats and kids stay indoors all the time at the moment although we do let the kids out as their trailer is a bit small for 24 hour occupation. Mike and Nick have yet to complete their shelter. Actually they havenot started it yet.
Mike just phoned to get me to order some gas cylinders - we cook and heat the log cabin by propane gas. Apparently there is now a shortage and it was broadcast on TV at lunch time so I have reserved two cylinders for collection tomorrow so we don't run out.
Wednesday, 15 December 2010
Man flu
Mike and I have both had colds but I definitely had man flu - I lost my voice and had a really bad cough which made by bronchial tubes sore. Unusually I just could not drag myself around the farm and poor Mike has had to do all the farm work himself for a couple of days.
This afternoon I suddenly felt much better, although I still get fits of coughing when I go out into the cold.
We have started to drench (give orally) some minerals and vitamins to the herd but I had to give up after administering to the females and the males. Now that I am feeling better we will be able to treat the weanlings and the Chardstock 6. We are feeding hard feed as well as hay at the moment as some of the herd seem to be getting a little out of condition. Probably because they had about a week with the grass being covered in snow.
Chale who was scouring seems to be OK now so the treatment has worked. Don't know what caused it - perhaps just eating frozen grass or eating something out of the hedgerow that disagreed with him.
I had a card from my old friend Allanah this week and she said she liked the blog so I am hoping she reads this so she can confirm that she receives my Christmas card every year as the address I have got is quite old.
This afternoon I suddenly felt much better, although I still get fits of coughing when I go out into the cold.
We have started to drench (give orally) some minerals and vitamins to the herd but I had to give up after administering to the females and the males. Now that I am feeling better we will be able to treat the weanlings and the Chardstock 6. We are feeding hard feed as well as hay at the moment as some of the herd seem to be getting a little out of condition. Probably because they had about a week with the grass being covered in snow.
Chale who was scouring seems to be OK now so the treatment has worked. Don't know what caused it - perhaps just eating frozen grass or eating something out of the hedgerow that disagreed with him.
I had a card from my old friend Allanah this week and she said she liked the blog so I am hoping she reads this so she can confirm that she receives my Christmas card every year as the address I have got is quite old.
Saturday, 11 December 2010
Lie In
We had a bit of a lie in this morning. Mike has had quite a traumatic few days in that he went into hospital for a routine angiogram but had an allergic reaction to the contrast die that they put in to view his arteries. Instead of a three hour visit he had to stay in overnight. We shut the dogs in at 11 a.m. and Mike was still waiting for his procedure at 3.30p.m. It was decided that I would go home (40 minute journey) to let them out and feed them and return to the hospital to pick him up. Just as I was about to leave home they rang to tell me about his problem so I quickly packed his toothbrush etc: and took them with some reading material back in to the hospital. I finally brought him home at about 11.15 yesterday morning. He is still a bit under the weather but becoming more himself as time goes by.In fact we went over the road to our neighbours for dinner last night and he managed to last until about10.30 p.m. before finally giving in. I think the combination of his scare plus all the toing and froing and some socialising just about finished us off and we became unconscious as soon as we hit the pillow and did not wake up until 8.10 a.m. which is really late for us.
The good news is that they did not find anything of great concern. He has had a faulty mitral valve for years (maybe since birth) and has now developed a faulty aortic valve but neither is serious at the moment and just requires regular checks. They still cannot find a cause for his occasional breathlessness but at least it is not his heart apparently.
It was really lovely to wake up to green fields this morning. The frosty ground is now very muddy of course, but at least the animals can graze again and although there is not much nourishment in the grass at the moment it will bulk them up and save some hay which is all they have been eating whilst there was snow on the ground.
Chale, one of our working males, is scouring (has the runs) so we wormed him and started to dose him with Pro Rumen which is a complimentary feeding stuff used to assist in the establishment of bacteria in the rumen.
I thought it would be a good idea to give him some anti-biotic also so I phoned the vet to find out which of the two I had in stock would be the best to use. Of course neither was ideal so they put up three syringes of another type which he has now had. He was very good - even though Mike could not help me for the last two days of treatment I was able to inject him and drench him with the Pro Rumen on my own.
All the weanlings are well established now so this week they will be going on the website for sale.
The good news is that they did not find anything of great concern. He has had a faulty mitral valve for years (maybe since birth) and has now developed a faulty aortic valve but neither is serious at the moment and just requires regular checks. They still cannot find a cause for his occasional breathlessness but at least it is not his heart apparently.
It was really lovely to wake up to green fields this morning. The frosty ground is now very muddy of course, but at least the animals can graze again and although there is not much nourishment in the grass at the moment it will bulk them up and save some hay which is all they have been eating whilst there was snow on the ground.
Chale, one of our working males, is scouring (has the runs) so we wormed him and started to dose him with Pro Rumen which is a complimentary feeding stuff used to assist in the establishment of bacteria in the rumen.
I thought it would be a good idea to give him some anti-biotic also so I phoned the vet to find out which of the two I had in stock would be the best to use. Of course neither was ideal so they put up three syringes of another type which he has now had. He was very good - even though Mike could not help me for the last two days of treatment I was able to inject him and drench him with the Pro Rumen on my own.
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