Hens Enjoying the Sun

The alpacas have all been shorn, the bird flue scare is over and the hens can free range again, the weather is lovely so it is a real day to enjoy.  The hens love sunbathing in a dust bath and so do the alpacas.

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Toe Nails

Today was nice and sunny and we took the opportunity for a much need pedicure for the boys.   We also tried out a new handling arrangement. 

Most of the time I can treat the alpacas without help.   Worming, administration of ADE paste to keep up their vitamin levels, and all vaccinations presnt no problems, but I have not been able to master cutting toe nails on my own. 

We have now adapted our handling corral so that one alpaca at a time can be contained and with Mike just holding their heads I was able to quickly and efficiently trim the offending nails.
In the past we have had a slightly bigger handling area which meant that the "holder"sometimes had to dance around if an alpaca decided he did not want to co-operate.

Since Mike's recent health problems and his long term arthritis he has found that sudden unexpected movements can be quite painful, so the new system works well for both of us.

I have painted the floor of our chalet shop and moved all the stock back in so that it looks really smart again.   We are holding a coffee drop in on the 22nd April to introduce people to our latest products and give them a pre-view for the year ahead when they are looking for birthday presents etc:

Freddie and co will will available to meet the public.

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Meet Freddie

Freddie is ten months old and a little small but perfectly formed!!  His Mum and Dad were both quite compct alpacas and he has taken after them it seems.

He is so friendly (and has been since he was really young).  He is always the first to approach if I go into their paddock and if I have food he starts to nuzzle  as soon as he sees the bowl.    He is very brave and will always be the first to investigate any new events or visitors.

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Hen Talk

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Our hens are still confined to barracks because of Avian flu prevention rules.  Whilst I was cleaning them out today I noticed that one had an old leg ring which had become distorted and was digging into her leg.  I caught her (after a buit of a chase) and managed to remove the ring.  Unfortunately it was badly embedded and had cut into her flesh.

I cleaned the wound and sprayed with a biocide spray and she seemed fine although there was some bleeding.  Ilove my chickens but they can be horrid.   When I went back to check on her, the other hens had been pecking at her and made it bleed quite badly.

She is now in a box with some straw, water and feed and I hope by tomorrow she will be able to return to the flock.

I never use leg rings now but she must be one of the older  birds. 

Grazing Rights

We have moved our small herd of twelve  male alpacas into a paddock behind the house.  They make effective lawn mowers and it saves wasting the grass.   They will be going back into their normal field in a few days when they have done their job.
 
We have five young males  and they are just being halter trained and we will take the opportunity to bring the adults up to date and remind them how to behave on a halter too.

The girls are down in the lower fields at the moment but when they come to term we will bring them up nearer the house to keep an eye on them in the  later stages of their pregnancy and so we can look after them as they give birth.   We are hoping for eight births but will be haoppy whatever the number as they are now mainly pets and lawmowers.

Mike is quite well now that he has got over his heart surgery and some other scary events.  He still has trouble in pacing himself but he is stopping earlier.  Currently he is working on finishing off the domestic areas of the farm such as the front and rear patios and the pathways to the exit.

He is also finding some time to indulge his hobby of classic cars and has made some new friends in a local car club.

Although having fewer alpacas helps to make the work load lighter, many of the fences around the farm have rotted and need replacing, so Mike and Nick (our once a week farm worker) are fully engaged on this project at the moment.  Where possible we are doing away with fences altogether but obviusly there are some areas that defiitely need to be fenced securely.

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Change of Direction

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After several years of breeding and selling alpacas we have reduced the size of our herd and now keep them as pets who contribute to their upkeep by grazing the land and producing lovely fleece at their annual shearing.

We used to have our own fleece spun into yarn but with reduced numbers we now sell the fleece to a spinning mill and buy back yarn for our hand knitting enterprise.

Our friend and neighbour, Pam White does nearly all the hand knitting and I knit scarves and other simple items on a hand operated (as opposed to electric) knitting machine.  We also sell 100% alpaca yarn in the natural colours of the alpaca and dyed wool which is 70% alpaca and 30% Merino wool and comes in many colours.

We still have our chickens and of course they are being kept in at least until the end of February when we hope the ban (due to avian flu in the wild bird population) will be over and they can be allowed to free range once again.

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 Welcome Back Pedro and Amaru

Well, it might not be exciting to you, but this is the first time ages that the weather on the farm (and probably the whole South West) has been good enough to hang out the washing.  I know you can get a tumble drier, but I am old school and love to see the washing blowing in the wind and getting a  blast of good country air.  Never mind the frost bitten fingers!!

Pedro and Amaru were sold just over a year ago but recently their owners had to move and could not take them with them, so they have come back to live with us.   They are in quarantine at the moment but will soon be re-introduced to the rest of the herd.


As you can see, they have settled in very well and I think they are quite enjoying having their own paddock and room service.