New life on the hill
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Spring finally seems to have arrived and with if new life on the farm is
beginning to arrive.
I decided not to tup our sheep last year as we never send ou...
8 years ago
Thursday, 14 November 2013
Rascal
For Judi, a photo of Rascal this afternoon! She has that, "If I can think of something naughty to do, I will do it" look about her
Not the best angle but she will get too close to the camera,
And here are Gloria who has just started investigating hard feed, Cassie and Wonky behind her (Wonky is no longer Wonky but the name has stuck). Flem and Maria are right at the back of the photo.
Wednesday, 13 November 2013
Sun making an appearance in Dorset
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The sun is out today which has allowed me to get on with a bit of overdue paddock tidying, accomplished with the help of little Rascal, Trouble's baby and the most curious cria ever!
Saturday, 9 November 2013
Dirty Picture
Totally given up on trying for clean pictures of alpacas so here is a dirty one!
The sheep, on the other hand, all look remarkably clean and sparkly. The ram has arrived and has covered some but I followed the advise in my book and started with a yellow crayon which may not be quite such a good idea as you have to get very close to see who has been marked.
And here are Angelina and friendly Scottie.
I am currently knitting like a demon as I now have my new yarn back from Two Rivers Mill - and lovely stuff it is - so smooth it feels like knitting with butter (if you see what I mean). Second pair of gloves almost complete and scarf underway in the village. We are taking knitting to the SWAG show next Saturday so I am trying to finish off bits and pieces. Sadly, I don't think my teddy will have reached completion as it is suffering one or two set backs in the stuffing department. At the moment it looks sadly deformed and slightly unstable.
The sheep, on the other hand, all look remarkably clean and sparkly. The ram has arrived and has covered some but I followed the advise in my book and started with a yellow crayon which may not be quite such a good idea as you have to get very close to see who has been marked.
And here are Angelina and friendly Scottie.
I am currently knitting like a demon as I now have my new yarn back from Two Rivers Mill - and lovely stuff it is - so smooth it feels like knitting with butter (if you see what I mean). Second pair of gloves almost complete and scarf underway in the village. We are taking knitting to the SWAG show next Saturday so I am trying to finish off bits and pieces. Sadly, I don't think my teddy will have reached completion as it is suffering one or two set backs in the stuffing department. At the moment it looks sadly deformed and slightly unstable.
Tuesday, 5 November 2013
Bert
I have now just about recovered from a significant trauma and am sufficiently composed to blog again. You may know that my favourite alpaca is Bert (short for Roberta) and the dearest, most beautiful alpaca in the whole world (in my eyes).
Bert and I have a special relationship as I have to feed all her cria as she produces no milk whatsoever. When in the mood she enjoys a cuddle and loves having her eyes rubbed - when in a bad mood she can spit and grumble better than most. One day last week I checked everyone and then went up to third field to remove the electric fencing as the sheep had been moved. This took a couple of hours to wind up all the wire and remove posts, and I was very ready for a coffee after that, but as I came back through first field gateway I could hear a very odd noise - a rasping sound which was audible even above the noise of the mule. At first I couldn't make out where it was coming from and it wasn't until I got to the barn that I noticed Bert lying down, neck out and not looking right. I dashed over and realised the noise was coming from her. She was really struggling to breathe and making this ghastly noise. I had to virtually lift her to get her to stand up and when she did she was shaking like a leaf and was back down in seconds. I couldn't think what was wrong with her and there didn't appear to be anything stuck in her mouth or throat but I gave her neck a big rub in case. The vet was phoned but he was going to be an hour or so which meant I gave her the only thing I could think of which was a Penstrep and then dashed home for a hot water bottle (more for something to do than anything else). I left her with her eyes closing, a sound that could be heard from the field gate, shaking and generally on her way out.
10 minutes and I was back and unlocking the field gate. I couldn't see Bert over the rise in the hill . . and I couldn't hear anything. I knew she was going to have died and I was crying my eyes out a I stumbled down hill with a pointless water bottle . . . only to find her up and grazing, perfectly normal and in a VERY bad mood. I rushed to set up a pen to get her in to investigate further and was about to phone the vet when he arrived having rushed to get there. I was so embarrassed - no rise in temperature, no lung problems to be heard - one very healthy, wanting to spit, Bert!
Now the only thing we can think it could have been is that there where two big branches down in their paddock and maybe she had a piece of bark stuck in her throat. Apparently, the gland bits at the side can swell up if there is an obstruction (I think that is what Yohav said - something like that anyway). I had a steroid injection to give to Bert if it came on again - but it didn't. She is fine!
Bert and I have a special relationship as I have to feed all her cria as she produces no milk whatsoever. When in the mood she enjoys a cuddle and loves having her eyes rubbed - when in a bad mood she can spit and grumble better than most. One day last week I checked everyone and then went up to third field to remove the electric fencing as the sheep had been moved. This took a couple of hours to wind up all the wire and remove posts, and I was very ready for a coffee after that, but as I came back through first field gateway I could hear a very odd noise - a rasping sound which was audible even above the noise of the mule. At first I couldn't make out where it was coming from and it wasn't until I got to the barn that I noticed Bert lying down, neck out and not looking right. I dashed over and realised the noise was coming from her. She was really struggling to breathe and making this ghastly noise. I had to virtually lift her to get her to stand up and when she did she was shaking like a leaf and was back down in seconds. I couldn't think what was wrong with her and there didn't appear to be anything stuck in her mouth or throat but I gave her neck a big rub in case. The vet was phoned but he was going to be an hour or so which meant I gave her the only thing I could think of which was a Penstrep and then dashed home for a hot water bottle (more for something to do than anything else). I left her with her eyes closing, a sound that could be heard from the field gate, shaking and generally on her way out.
10 minutes and I was back and unlocking the field gate. I couldn't see Bert over the rise in the hill . . and I couldn't hear anything. I knew she was going to have died and I was crying my eyes out a I stumbled down hill with a pointless water bottle . . . only to find her up and grazing, perfectly normal and in a VERY bad mood. I rushed to set up a pen to get her in to investigate further and was about to phone the vet when he arrived having rushed to get there. I was so embarrassed - no rise in temperature, no lung problems to be heard - one very healthy, wanting to spit, Bert!
Now the only thing we can think it could have been is that there where two big branches down in their paddock and maybe she had a piece of bark stuck in her throat. Apparently, the gland bits at the side can swell up if there is an obstruction (I think that is what Yohav said - something like that anyway). I had a steroid injection to give to Bert if it came on again - but it didn't. She is fine!
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