Bianca

Drama this morning when Bianca started to produce two lovely little legs - no head.   Bianca lay there and let me have a good old ferret around with no problems.  She had a lovely big white boy who is the liveliest one to date!  He was born just before 11am and was chasing Zara's cria around the field by 11.30am. 

The only ones who took notice of him were Ohno and Dib Dab who keep themselves to themselves and only play with each other!

I was very glad she gave birth this morni9gn as it would have been a worry to leave her and it could have gone very wrong if we were not there.  He is another quite early one - 11 months last Monday.

Show is now pretty much organised although I am bound to remember something else in the middle of the night.  Hopefully everything will remain safely in the tent ready to be put out in the morning - - but the wind is getting up a bit . . .

And . . . Relax!

Show preparations going like a dream.  Picked the rosettes up from a layby in Dorchester at 5pm this evening - who needs them any earlier than that.  Picked our new alpaca hurdles and took them to Ellingham to try out - they are a little taller than your normal alpaca hurdles - we were asked if we intended showing giraffes - it doesn't hurt to be different.  Six alpacas were not on the results sheets and one needed to move class - a great learning experience getting to grips with formatting cells in Excel at THREE O'CLOCK in the morning.  Put the finishing touches on halter training the two young boys - they do say the dress rehearsal is always worse than the actual event.

To be truthful today has been a bit stressful!  And the source of the problem is Bianca, Sam's alpaca.  This morning I was convinced she was about to produce.

I took some hay to put in the shelter but made the mistake of leaving it by the fence while I went in the shelter and cleaned it out.  By the time I came out of the shelter the hay was everywhere and Bianca was lying in the middle of it.  She bulged a lot, rolled around, lay with her legs in the air - and then went back to eating for a while.  We then had fence chewing and spitting at anyone who got too close.  Bianca is not one for moving much at the best of times but she did a bit of rolling.

I couldn't leave her to go and do the neck label things for the show, or put the catalogues in envelopes - which is why it is now nearly morning and I am writing a blog.  By the time I could put off going for the rosettes no longer she was more normal so I am assuming she was just uncomfortable but I am going up as soon as it gets light to check on her.  No point going to bed now.

Bald noses

Thank you, Jayne and Barbara.  I shall try some of the supplement and review the quantities of Camelibra they are getting.  My alpacas are not very well behaved at feeding time and some get more than others.  When we had fewer alpacas we separated them out at feeding time into smaller pens and they all got fairer shares but now it tends to be a bit of a spit fest over the feed.  I think we are going to have to organise things better so I make sure Zara and Harry get proper rations.  Interestingly, and perhaps this has nothing to do with it, but the coloured ones do get pushed out by the whites.  Not sure what I can do about Zara's black cria and feeding.  I have never had a lot of luck feeding supplement to them when they are youngsters - they just don't seem in the least bit interested!

I have spent the last few days worrying over Ellingham show - it is very stressful!  I shall be a red faced jibbering idiot on the day and I am supposed to be organising the collecting ring.  We now have a show ring set up, PA system sorted, the catalogue is done and I should be collecting the rosettes and neck tag things tomorrow.  Next on the agendas is a shopping list for the judge and stewards lunch.  I wanted to offer everyone a Pimms at lunch time but Viv says that is alcoholic and the afternoon could go down hill - plus they all have to drive home afterwards!

I have no photos today but then it is pouring with rain and all alpacas are filthy - plus Greeves has a very red neck but that is a story for another day!

(no) Camera skills

We really haven't stopped over the last few days.  Shearing is now over (I think), all shearing kit now removed from the Truck and put away - which means the Truck bounces around more not having a generator etc in it.  No more cria to report but Sam's Bianca is 11 months tomorrow and does not look as if she will be too long.  I am afraid I am having a little problem with my blacks and it would be interesting to know if anyone else suffers the same problem - bald noses!  It has happened before and I put Camrosa on it for a few days and the hair grows back.  It is not mites - there is no problem anywhere else and it is only the blacks.  Zara has it and so does Harry and now Zara's baby has a bald nose.  I remember someone writing on their blog about zinc supplements and I am wondering if that might help.  Apart from that everyone is okay.  We were halter training this afternoon and Sam was asked to get photos for the blog but I have just looked at the camera and there are 37 of Prue the Blue Eyed White who is not the one I wanted to feature!

So, courtesy of Sam, here is Dib Dab with half a head.

Gloria

And Forgie - looking in the wrong direction.

Now if I had asked Sam to take a photo of his new vehicle it would have been a very different matter!

Cabbage Patch Kid

Hot again and I am wilting!

We have had a good bit of rain and that has filled up all the water tanks so I am no longer struggling for water.  No more attack incidents and all animals are fine.  Today the babies were very lively despite the heat.  Little black boy, tentatively named Forgie (Blackfolds Forgie) discovered he can crawl though the hole on one side of the field shelter but no one else can.  This makes a great game as the other cria seem to think  he has disappeared

and then jump around in surprise when he charges round the back and in again at the front!  Rupert, Emily's baby, scared himself when he got a large leaf stuck on his head in the manner of a cabbage patch doll.

Sherbet's cria also has a name - Dib Dab!

We also collected six of last years lambs who we had sold to Hope Nature Centre - we swap them each year so they have young lambs for the visitors.  One of them is Shovel who regular readers may remember is Grace's baby from last year.  Grace is a tiny Southdown sheep and I really struggled with getting Shovel out.  In the end, with Sam's help and a couple of bit s of bailer twine, we got him out but thought he was dead.  He wasn't but Grace rejected him for over a week before she decided  she liked him after all.  He is back now and he really does remember me which I find really exciting.  He is the most gorgeous cuddly sheep.  Here he is now.

And here he is when he was a lamb - smaller but still the same!

Snakes Alive!

Today started on a very positive note (thank you GHN, Mother, The Aunt and The Chippendales!) but it has gone rapidly downhill!

Took Mother to Stur this morning and heard about yesterday's adventure.  She had gone through the hall and see a very large snake scooting towards the shoe rack.  This would have been enough to send me screaming down the road never to return!  Mother, however, is made of sterner stuff and, arming herself with a large broom and a bucket, she managed to capture the snake and headed off up the hill with it.  This proved trickier than expected as the snake insisted in trying to writhe its way out of the bucket.  It was returned to the undergrowth eventually but I shall be keeping my eyes open as I do not want to encounter it or it's friends!

I then made my way back to fleece sort as I have a buyer for some fawn and to check the animals.  All alpacas were fine but I found a horrid sight in the field with the sheep.  Yesterday morning all the sheep were in for ear tag and feet checking and everyone was fine.  Last night Sam checked them in the evening and they were still fine.  This morning I did the water and I am pretty sure everyone was fine - but I cannot swear I did not miss one so the incident could have occurred in the night.  In the top corner of second I found a very dead Number 31.  She had been attacked and the whole of her back end eaten away - even the hip bone had been ripped out.  I did find the bone hanging by some ligaments to the top of the stock fence in third field and it looked like something had jumped the fence carrying it and it had got caught.  I really do not think a fox could have brought her down as she was a big sheep who had twins the last two years.  It might have been a dog but I don't think she was mauled in the right way for that.  You may think me silly but I would not rule out a big black cat and there have been reports of them around the hill.  I am looking for tracks this evening but the ground is so dry it is unlikely I will find anything.  I am very sad about this sheep as she was one of my favourites.  I could give you a picture at this point but it would be very gruesome.

Hay without a hitch!

I am having a bit of a sit down now having completed a vigorous rain dance as we are scraping the bottom of the barrel for water.  We have managed to achieve quite a bit in the last few day.  We cut hay on Friday evening and had it baled and in the barn by Sunday night with no haymaking dramas whatsoever.  We were very lucky to have the help of Sam and the Dairyman to get it in.  Bit of a pep talk going on before it was all hands to the pumps!

 

Sam and I had sorted the barn out before we started so stacking was easier than usual and the Mule had very little carting to do this year as we used the big trailer.

 

 

 

Carl also managed to fit in sharing 20 alpacas on the Saturday so it was all go.  Monday was all alpacas checked over, feet done and remedial halter training.  I hesitate to show you the halter training photos as I am the only human featured - this is the best one of String having her halter put on (she is very good and was halter trained last year) but just look at the vast expanse of shorts - a small battalion could camp in them!

Yesterday we delivered a group of lambs and went to deliver fleece for processing in the afternoon.  Today Viv and I have sorted the catalogue for Ellingham show, Sam and I have retagged a sheep with a lost eartag - - and come to the conclusion that Little Star is not going to make the halter training grade!  She has no fear of a halter on but just does what she wants and not what we want.  She is also far more interested in boys than anything else!