tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-12321989031827444662024-03-21T16:14:55.460+00:00alpaca.farmerthe life and times of an alpaca farmer
TEIFI MAGIC -HerdsireSuzanne@ Panteg Alpacashttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07719171147478819016noreply@blogger.comBlogger261125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1232198903182744466.post-70678473462138179392016-01-05T20:16:00.000+00:002016-01-05T20:16:37.002+00:00Noah had the right idea ! Well yes I know , we're all in the same boat ! But wow has it rained !<br />
Beginning to get just a little sick of all this water - on the plus side I don't have to worry about water pressure in the house , and I promise not to moan in May when we have run out .<br />
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The alpacas are looking a little soggy ( understatement) but are happy to come in at dusk to some lovely hard standing , warm stables and full hay racks ! The chickens are enjoying the extra protection of all those lovely flock guards as well.<br />
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Yesterday I noticed a swelling on Cerys , close to an injection site I think , undoubtedly an abscess , so I have anti biotics ready to go , and am hoping that it will burst all by itself. Cerys is tricky to deal with on a good day , have a very good line in sharp kicks - mostly I expect them , so she hasn't managed to do any harm yet , but it does make the idea of rinsing out a draining abscess just a little less positive ! Fingers crossed that it bursts very shortly , my limited experience ( thank god ! Only 2 in 10 years ) and much reading suggest that they will do better if allowed to find a natural pathway out rather than being lanced..<br />
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Laying is beginning to get established for a few hens , and gradually most of the girls will come back on line and we will be swamped with eggs again! <br />
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The mild weather has confused the wild flowers , and already the snowdrops are coming through and the daffodils are not far behind . We will have to start thinking about planting a couple of trees soon , I know it's the wrong time of year , but sadly our 18 year old cat died yesterday and the boys would like to bury her under a willow tree , since Willow was her name . I think that's rather lovely so wrong time of year or not , we will be planting a commerative tree to help remember her by .<img src="webkit-fake-url://c4e5fb6d-f181-453a-ada5-fbcd92571df4/imagejpeg" />Suzanne@ Panteg Alpacashttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07719171147478819016noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1232198903182744466.post-68980552366001780452015-12-27T13:28:00.001+00:002015-12-27T13:28:26.945+00:00Back again ! <br />
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<span style="background-color: white;"></span><br /><span style="background-color: white; text-align: center;">It has been a long time since my last blog ! a couple of years actually - unsurprisingly many things have changed ; we have had loses as well as gains , but many things also stay the same .</span></div>
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<span style="background-color: white;">My core herd is still flourishing , Bijou continues in the role of matriarch , many familiar faces are still with me . Sadly we have lost one or two along the way , others have gone to new homes to provide joy for their new owners .</span><br />
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<span style="background-color: white;">2015 saw 3 new arrivals , 2 boys and a girl - Hercules , Hiccup and Hepzibar </span><br />
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Hercules</td></tr>
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<span style="background-color: white;">All are doing well , Hepzibars unusual colouring causes me some interest , how do I register her ? Can we reproduce her again next year ?</span><br />
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<span style="background-color: white;">The winter has been very mild , somewhat wetter the last few weeks , but the grass keeps on growing . I have found a new supplier of hay just down the road , and the alpacas seem to enjoy it . Wind and rain at night has encouraged the animals into shelters at night , the girls into stables , which now have a beautiful concrete area in front to keep their feet drier , and the boys into a new shelter constructed last year entirely from recycled materials - everyone is happy and dry !</span><br />
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<span style="background-color: white;">The chickens are doing well , they have just started laying yesterday after a break whilst they all changed their clothes ( feathers) and now hopefully full steam ahead - supermarket eggs just don't cut it in this house anymore .</span><br />
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<span style="background-color: white;">Happy 2016!</span>Suzanne@ Panteg Alpacashttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07719171147478819016noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1232198903182744466.post-85623454966326469162013-07-22T10:10:00.001+01:002013-07-22T10:38:42.168+01:00Getting there !Little faerie seems to be doing ok ! We have had a few scary days where she has seemed listless and uninterested , won't feed ..... But for the last 2 days she has perked up and is feeding from mum . <div><br><div>Fleur is doing really well , still taking some from mum and some from a bottle , but full of beans and joyful.</div></div><div><br></div><div>We have also had a couple of new arrivals ! First up was Frodo , from Bijou. He is a super blue black boy , and in the tradition of Boz Bijou he is enormous . I don't know how she does it but her cria are always the largest ! </div><div>Followed very closely by the long awaited cria , who I think will be the only progeny of Czars Aberlour who sadly died in January. Boz Hermione produced a beautiful female cria last Tuesday, she is cream by my estimation , very lively and well conformed , and equally as large as Frodo! The pair of them , although only just a week old dwarf the other two. </div><br><div class="separator" style="clear: both;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhS31ExDiwr6orRjJwaGnPVGuzy2zq3YpStDWsCM7U6NxhWrmN9knMPeQoO4R6a6-FY7-4M9jEBOuQa7WfaozBZmYTm9RWL5t_Nx8bW9M0LKrjViIOiWQBZlmvqex4IqzcRCiCroY5AzWU/s640/blogger-image-741883563.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhS31ExDiwr6orRjJwaGnPVGuzy2zq3YpStDWsCM7U6NxhWrmN9knMPeQoO4R6a6-FY7-4M9jEBOuQa7WfaozBZmYTm9RWL5t_Nx8bW9M0LKrjViIOiWQBZlmvqex4IqzcRCiCroY5AzWU/s640/blogger-image-741883563.jpg"></a>Fleur</div><br><div class="separator" style="clear: both;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEioYBFcWRdZYb7-TelRYkUE2VoQjwSzDCzzZJ7p-p7jdXwfT5CX3bSsekZp5FXr62Yd058GQ0yYrHFF1MM0JUB4MzDmSTDPWFWEVfTOAI_h2k6zjgwscIvs_gfRjUHgzV6QvZ-4p-XDEAQ/s640/blogger-image-1791057258.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEioYBFcWRdZYb7-TelRYkUE2VoQjwSzDCzzZJ7p-p7jdXwfT5CX3bSsekZp5FXr62Yd058GQ0yYrHFF1MM0JUB4MzDmSTDPWFWEVfTOAI_h2k6zjgwscIvs_gfRjUHgzV6QvZ-4p-XDEAQ/s640/blogger-image-1791057258.jpg"></a>Faerie with the marks from having all that treatment</div><br><div class="separator" style="clear: both;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiC4FPfmE2Ja_3ZYi7Olf18qf_-xOcBg81CJA_Eja3SY3viDE2sfWXYWub5Lsokj2bBRTHPO7VqhzC7k_-bVT0PXutm194KBYDQn0PmHl0azar73gi93mi3maEJzwtewCCaVbkYXYYTlHQ/s640/blogger-image-195188288.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiC4FPfmE2Ja_3ZYi7Olf18qf_-xOcBg81CJA_Eja3SY3viDE2sfWXYWub5Lsokj2bBRTHPO7VqhzC7k_-bVT0PXutm194KBYDQn0PmHl0azar73gi93mi3maEJzwtewCCaVbkYXYYTlHQ/s640/blogger-image-195188288.jpg"></a>Frodo and Bijou</div><br><div class="separator" style="clear: both;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjzpjppinetIxgZ_sWTSNcqXMXor3EzSrV7aM6Cvkw1VPluVcmMP3c4BkvGUGb8DwwWdvnPvodxvWhdz7VhOTd5mz2qxTqMZrr85Xr6tVpPZrInZyecJxE0hyphenhyphen-AqyeXL4SbADXzNXL0-IM/s640/blogger-image-1321823736.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjzpjppinetIxgZ_sWTSNcqXMXor3EzSrV7aM6Cvkw1VPluVcmMP3c4BkvGUGb8DwwWdvnPvodxvWhdz7VhOTd5mz2qxTqMZrr85Xr6tVpPZrInZyecJxE0hyphenhyphen-AqyeXL4SbADXzNXL0-IM/s640/blogger-image-1321823736.jpg"></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both;">Flavia and faerie </div><br><div class="separator" style="clear: both;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjeyhlavqbXL4oMrtm-WXT42hVw7vtfj0rOzFQXxSglzLdZLlf06w81PXJpjZ9nkYp6hyphenhyphenQIPRTEgCAFmN3NGCP-FvNGUnSsiOxhMLBeG2-3aY5bWJwvTTW67YbsviSCEbs27SVqADRQThs/s640/blogger-image-475121221.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjeyhlavqbXL4oMrtm-WXT42hVw7vtfj0rOzFQXxSglzLdZLlf06w81PXJpjZ9nkYp6hyphenhyphenQIPRTEgCAFmN3NGCP-FvNGUnSsiOxhMLBeG2-3aY5bWJwvTTW67YbsviSCEbs27SVqADRQThs/s640/blogger-image-475121221.jpg"></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both;">Fleur and Faerie</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both;"><br></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both;">Worryingly , we have seen a fox around during the day and peering throu the French windows in the evening , my oldest hen did not go to bed last night, but that may have been the heat , I think she was at least 7,, and I haven't found feathers anywhere. I do wish that the city folk would stop rehomimg their foxes near me , just dispose of them humanely and save me from loosing all my chickens .</div>Suzanne@ Panteg Alpacashttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07719171147478819016noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1232198903182744466.post-40467031810749625182013-07-10T22:37:00.004+01:002013-07-11T07:16:56.510+01:002out of 2cria season has started with a bang ! After what can only be described as a hard winter on all fronts - weather , alpaca death - it seemed years until summer eventually arrived , but here we are basking in some glorious sunshine and the cria have started to arrive .<br>
First to arrive was Fleur , her mum is Artemis , a white Suri. Artemis was mated to Snowshill Raphael , and they have produced a beautiful chocolate brown Suri cria , very tall and gangly and quite delightful . Fleurs birth was sponsible for the only ' late ' mark on my sons school register this year ! But who could do the school run with a birth in progress?! Fleur arrived quickly with no prob and was cushed in under a minute I kid you not . Last year Artemis rejected her cria at birth , this year she is completely different , doting mother . After a day or so it became apparent that Fleur was not getting enough milk and so bottle feeding commenced . As the days have gone on she is getting more from mum , but I am the maintainence ration , gradually the balance Is changing , fingers crossed.<br>
Second up is Faerie , white huacaya out of an experienced and doting mum - but not this year! Faerie contracted a sepsis infection within 48 hrs of birth , a long weekend has been spent with my fab vet Kim, and now she seems to be on the mend, after a plasma transfusion ( IgG level low ) antibiotics , anti inflammatories and a drip .Suzanne@ Panteg Alpacashttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07719171147478819016noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1232198903182744466.post-9106957170248321842013-04-05T15:43:00.000+01:002013-04-05T15:43:23.567+01:00Tidying up the loose endsA quick summary:-<br />
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After nearly a week of steady improvement , Aberlour died. I was astounded and very very sad, he stood up for a little while and was pooping and peeing fine , and within an hour he was dead! The pm showed nothing unusual , a mystery, and a very sad end to a life with so much potential. I have possibly 3 cria of his expected this spring with genetics from the great Czar , so I really hope that everybody holds on and that spring finally does come with a whoosh and a bang that we all need.<br />
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As you might expect I was pretty down in the dumps after loosing Veronica and Aberlour, and it was with fear and trepidation that i checked everybody every morning . Imagine my horror when I found Bijou and Esti ( my bottle baby) both scouring badly . Fecal tests were rushed off , and came back saying a small burden of cocc and round worm . Our vet seemed largely unconcerned by the numbers - I was not , so we treated aggressively for both and I am pleased to say that both are doing well.<br />
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Really could do with some warmer weather and some grass , another load of hay is being delivered tomorrow which will bring our consumption to almost double last winter! Sugar beet and alpha pellets are being consumed like they have gone out of fashion , dried grass is also on the menu .We're hanging on in there , but spring has got to come soon , hasn't it?Suzanne@ Panteg Alpacashttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07719171147478819016noreply@blogger.com4tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1232198903182744466.post-36258567234782239012013-02-11T18:43:00.000+00:002013-02-11T18:43:19.770+00:00It just keeps getting worseLast week we had the sad task of putting Veronica to sleep. She was old and very frail , and she spent her last day outside in the sunshine with her friends , but eventually she just couldn't carry on .<br />
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Today Aberlour is looking very similar. I put Veronicas fast decline down t old age and the weather , since the vets could find nothing wrong with her , but now I really am wondering . I've treated him for fluke and barber's pole , given vits and antibiotics , and now we just have to pray that this is enough and not too late .<br />
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This is a short blog , 'cos I just cant bear any more !Suzanne@ Panteg Alpacashttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07719171147478819016noreply@blogger.com9tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1232198903182744466.post-88906978976296747342013-01-24T18:55:00.001+00:002013-01-24T18:55:14.868+00:00Still hanging in there!Like large parts of the country we are enveloped in snow . There are many mixed views on snow - personally I hate it ! The countryside is beautiful , but weighed against the amount of work it creates I'd rather do without.<br />
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Now in my last blog I talked about Veronica - she is doing fine . Every morning I cross my fingers as I go towards her barn , but so far the signs are good , she is eating well and full of curiosity so far so good. She has Bijou or Esti as her companions , I figure that the weather is too horrible for her to risk being outside , when the snow has gone and the ground is easier then she can go out , but until then she stays inside and stays safe.<br />
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Well the jinx I got from my last blog - on Tues Mr Fox came calling big time ! We have lost a couple of chickens over the winter - but only those who insisted on roosting in trees not houses .At 6.15 I went out to take DS#2 to YFC and there was a commotion in the hen house which i knew I had shut less than an hour earlier . Thrashing sounds revealed an ailing cockerel who I initially thought was dying from the cold , but on closer inspection I saw that part of the roof had been torn off and all my chickens ( 17) and my turkey were dead ! There was one survivor - who is currently in the downstairs toilet with another sicky chicky . I cannot believe the intelligence or cunning of the fox , but boy do I wish I had a gun!<br />
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All the alpacas come in for the night , but seem largely unconcerned during the day, wonder what they will think about all the rain that is due.Suzanne@ Panteg Alpacashttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07719171147478819016noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1232198903182744466.post-82759996816404698312013-01-14T11:58:00.000+00:002013-01-14T11:58:28.103+00:00Mixed timesThings have generally been going well , apart from the weather of course ! So I committed the unforgivable sin of thinking to myself ' things are going well considering the weather ' - what has happened , well of course it is not going well now !<br />
For several weeks I have been bringing Veronica and her cria Ewart , in for the night along with Esti , my bottle baby. Veronica is my oldest alpaca , at 13 she should still have a long life ahead of her , but this weather has proved that she really is getting old . She started to loose condition well before Christmas , hence the barn overnight , with extra supplies of alpha pellets and sugar beet . On Christmas eve she was struggling to stand - just the xmas present I needed- and I really thought that the time had come . With trepidation I went out on Christmas morn to find her knooshing happily. Since then she seems to have turned a corner and has steadily gained condition and is happily out for most of the day , unless it is raining with the rest of the herd. Last Wednesday night , her cria looked unhappy , nothing specific, just unhappy. Thursday morning he struggled to stand and was not eating . Vet visit - we seem to be boosting their coffers very nicely this week- and a general view that whilst there was nothing obvious , he was not well. He had no temp , nothing specific, but off to the vet he went for blood tests and a drip . Sadly , later that day he died . As usual , he was a cracker , always a little on the small side , but never a concern. The pm result showed nothing! No worms of any kind , no fluke , no gut problems , nothing , just a failure to thrive. Veronica is upset , but has got used to Esti , and now the pair are inseparable , she bears all the hallmarks of an old lady- very alert , but slower than the others , still warding them away from anything she chooses to eat , but happy to sit by the hay racks and gently nibble . I think we have to accept that we might be lucky to get through to the spring , but she seems pretty happy and is not in any pain , just old. Scarily Veronica has started tipping over occasionally when she is in a cush, this has given us all heart failure since we looked out to see her seemingly dead in the field and also in the barn , but a gentle push back to cushing and she is up and away.<br />
The rest of the herd are all doing well - there, I've done it again- and although thoroughly sick of the weather seem quite content with the continuing rounds of sugarbeet and hard feed.Suzanne@ Panteg Alpacashttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07719171147478819016noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1232198903182744466.post-67049887601625498802012-10-28T22:23:00.000+00:002012-10-28T22:23:33.560+00:00Always room for one more surpriseAs the nights draw in , and the days get colder , we are all looking to our winter husbandry regime . Hay is being munched at a greater rate , how glad I am that we had a good crop this year , sugar beet made with hot water is not far away , and of course Vit A D & E to be administered. We have always used injectable vits , but i am considering ingestible as well - any views or experience ? Can one mix them , since we have already done one round of injectable ....<br />
Anyway, the surprise relates to Esti . Since we have raised her on a bottle she is something of a favourite! Gradually we have weaned her , currently she is almost bottle free , the impediment is me - I do enjoy that small moment of contact once a day, and the secuere knowledge that she has a hot meal in her belly. Honestly she is becoming a bit of a porker , but I would rather that as we go into winter . For the last 2 days I have observed the strangest thing - as the temp has dropped over night I have seen Esti snuggled up with ..... her mother ! That is really strange , Artemis has paid no attention except for the odd spit , scream or even kick , since the day Esti was born , but now they sit together almost happily . I still detect a slight froideur from Artemis , but she IS snuggling !? Alpacas can be so odd !Suzanne@ Panteg Alpacashttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07719171147478819016noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1232198903182744466.post-43361591751089318792012-08-19T12:24:00.008+01:002012-08-19T13:30:42.736+01:00Up dates <span style="font-family:Georgia, serif;"><span style="font-size:100%;">As you may have noticed , my blogging has become less frequent . In lots of ways this is positive - oh yes it is - because it means that the things I blog about are all going well , and there is little drama to report. Having said that , not all drama is bad news , and we have had plenty of drama recently.</span></span><span style="font-family:Georgia, serif;font-size:100%;">Firstly , the hay is ALL cut and put away, and we got more than last year, it smells great and I can sleep more easily knowing that there is no stress related to winter feed! Grateful thanks to our belgian visitors who helped with the physical putting away , very different from what I think they thought they'd be doing on a weeks holiday in the Brecon Beacons !</span><div><div face="Georgia, serif" size="3" style=" font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; line-height: normal; "><br /></div><div face="Georgia, serif" size="3" style=" font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; line-height: normal; ">And now the fun bits . Well true to expectation , all the alpaca girls have delivered happy healthy cria in the predicted time span- to the day!! Not quite in right order I must confess , but still within the dates I hoped for .Since my last update we have now got the full complement of 9! Six boys , 3 girls . 3 black, 3 choc, 2 mid fawn and 1 white!! Isn't alpaca genetics fascinating , all from the same sire , Teifi Magic , himself a blue black , out of mums varying in colour from black to white . 2 of the black cria are from black mums , the third is from a light fawn ? The only white is from a light fawn , and all the white mums had choc babies - it s a bit of a logic puzzle , which I have given up trying to solve , lets see what next year brings.</div><div face="Georgia, serif" size="3" style=" font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; line-height: normal; "><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg-7ScS7TXrETLs2RmCxyW8VLEB0s89qqjXWWGoyLJdnFSfU0_q5T0TyBVVdKGRdbCds4LA2lXBhE5U0a_yEz2-dkFJuAGj6i_SkZ2dJHHVdVOkM-zLpG46bpNWa_AhcYvMrxLIlW0tfAs/s1600/IMG_5896.jpg"><br /><img src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg1mLTgexR8rCgVQJGkzJpg053ownv1UujV0P912k0RHhBMvwZZyZkxRm5VUyKzn34QQZ8U3T5lC2J0iYYrF66ZuuMvSebNCDFSUS-FaSC5IG2cMkdmyBNUb1y1WvbXs8xG1D4fSOjctUM/s320/IMG_5933.jpg" border="0" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5778356663906886146" style="display: block; margin: 0px auto 10px; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 320px; height: 213px; " /><br /></a></div><div style="font-family: Georgia, serif; font-size: 100%; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; line-height: normal; "><br /></div><div style="font-family: Georgia, serif; font-size: 100%; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; line-height: normal; ">Elf , who had ' inside out ' ears at birth , no longer has 'inside out ' ears . In<span style=" ;font-size:100%;">terestingly this is due to 2 things , initially I did nothing ,then at 2 weeks old I vet wrapped both ears , one bandage came of within hours the other stayed put for a couple of days = one fine ear , one dodgy ear . Poor little thing looked even weirder , but was easy to pick out in a crowd! Gradually the other ear straightened all by itself , and now I struggle to tell the difference between her and Enzo. Ain't nature clever.</span></div><div style="font-family: Georgia, serif; font-size: 100%; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; line-height: normal; "><br /></div><div style="font-family: Georgia, serif; font-size: 100%; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; line-height: normal; "> The final four arrived in a fairly civilise<span style=" ;font-size:100%;">d manner, Veronica gave birth to Ewart on my dads birthday which was a week earlier then predicted , especially after last year when she was very late. He is a real beauty, with the most fantastically tight curls which are growing out to show amazing crimp, fingers crossed. Currently he is still a bit</span><span style="font-size: 100%; font-size:100%;"> small , but she is an experienced mum and he seems full of the joys , so we will watch and wait.</span></div><div style="font-family: Georgia, serif; font-size: 100%; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; line-height: normal; "><br /></div><div style="font-family: Georgia, serif; font-size: 100%; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; line-height: normal; ">The last birth was quite interesting- I have been wait<span style=" ;font-size:100%;">ing for Cerys to produce since the 22 June , at shearing the shearers agreed that she was pregnant , I sat back and waited , and waited and waited .... nothing happened , and some days she did look pregnant and other days I couldn't really tell. I couldn't feel a cria ' bounce' and she bagged up a long time ago - the signs were highly confusing! Anyway , on Aug 1st I put her mum , Boz Bijou , into the mating pen with Teifi Magic , and lo and behold Cerys insisted in going in too . I was pretty exasperated - only a week before she was spitting like mad over the fence at him .I felt pretty peeved that she had finally</span></div><div style="font-family: Georgia, serif; font-size: 100%; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; line-height: normal; "> decided to reveal her open state after all the weeks I </div><div style="font-family: Georgia, serif; font-size: 100%; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; line-height: normal; ">have watched and worried , but at least I knew for definite as she sat sedately next to the mating pair waiting for her turn.</div></div><div><div style="text-align: center;"><br /></div></div><div><span style="font-family:Georgia, serif;"><span style=" margin-right: auto; margin-left: auto;font-size:100%;"><img src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg-7ScS7TXrETLs2RmCxyW8VLEB0s89qqjXWWGoyLJdnFSfU0_q5T0TyBVVdKGRdbCds4LA2lXBhE5U0a_yEz2-dkFJuAGj6i_SkZ2dJHHVdVOkM-zLpG46bpNWa_AhcYvMrxLIlW0tfAs/s320/IMG_5896.jpg" border="0" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5778356648433060370" style="display: block; margin: 0px auto 10px; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 320px; height: 213px; " /></span></span><div><div style="text-align: center;"><br /></div><div style="font-family: Georgia, serif; font-size: 100%; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; line-height: normal; "> And then I saw a foot , actually 2 feet appear and disappear with regular contractions ! Clearly the old adages are true - sex does have an effect on a pregnant creature , just not the one I expected . Fairly quickly after that she stood up , I let her out of the pen , and within 10 mins she had produced a gorgeous black boy, all fit and healthy and up and away within all the predicted time limits . </div><img src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEirJYo1bEJEQbz8GECXrPZ5ODa6BcFdz4IY_ZRkk9uNbrbfoFjGTIcec5tAVMHsGApNakMWA7eRxdUHudiJv_z6Eb7KxZ4eAnCP3HM2tzsdLL05R6Wk2ZH_ShiuNoYgoIQyfvZ5rCR0iv0/s320/IMG_5906.jpg" border="0" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5778357055258674066" style="font-size: 16px; font-family: Georgia, serif; display: block; margin: 0px auto 10px; cursor: pointer; width: 320px; height: 213px; " /><div style="font-family: Georgia, serif; font-size: 100%; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; line-height: normal; "><br /></div><div style="font-family: Georgia, serif; font-size: 100%; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; line-height: normal; "><br /></div><div style="font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; line-height: normal; "> He <span style=" ;font-family:Georgia, serif;font-size:100%;">goes from strength to strength , despite the fact he has no name . I know , its shocking , but true , he is nameless.</span></div><div style="font-family: Georgia, serif; font-size: 100%; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; line-height: normal; "><img src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEghgEXNukclMmTtWUjKdnMqjVvgYckW5T3JMOC3OqDnYwA6ZtPNIrTAS10J142CE05Y8UKMTWsYd8X6olPPNV_iXgSLowtMNpLvcgGKU9thBQHw6LVY0fIM957kyk3JvmvfSpezYhKG7_w/s320/IMG_5918.jpg" border="0" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5778359088123067586" style="font-family: 'Times New Roman'; font-size: medium; display: block; margin: 0px auto 10px; cursor: pointer; width: 320px; height: 213px; " /></div><div><br /></div><div style="font-family: Georgia, serif; font-size: 100%; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; line-height: normal; ">And so the herd is complete for this year .</div><div style="font-family: Georgia, serif; font-size: 100%; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; line-height: normal; "><br /></div><div style="font-family: Georgia, serif; font-size: 100%; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; line-height: normal; ">Matings have taken place at the appropriate times , and Andaw Czars Aberlour has started his career as a sire of prize winners - we hope ! </div><div style="font-family: Georgia, serif; font-size: 100%; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; line-height: normal; "><br /></div></div></div>Suzanne@ Panteg Alpacashttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07719171147478819016noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1232198903182744466.post-36889340221635293582012-06-28T20:49:00.008+01:002012-06-28T21:32:52.994+01:00Lots to report!!<div style="text-align: center;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: center;"><br /></div><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg69J5h-AhRfBECgLzgPGZnQujlItiAufXohYZUGabiq732Fq0_nVt1O6b_2Kc5-DisG1r8veVoksTFpzLfEwzOdyVtUCthAVLJbP8mUCR3EpQg64etbiwhUVq5DPp0BFJ9giF5-VCOPLE/s1600/IMG_5772.jpg"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 320px; height: 214px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg69J5h-AhRfBECgLzgPGZnQujlItiAufXohYZUGabiq732Fq0_nVt1O6b_2Kc5-DisG1r8veVoksTFpzLfEwzOdyVtUCthAVLJbP8mUCR3EpQg64etbiwhUVq5DPp0BFJ9giF5-VCOPLE/s320/IMG_5772.jpg" border="0" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5759183705934528242" /><div style="text-align: center;">Esti</div></a><span style="font-family: Georgia, serif; font-size: 100%; ">Well, since our first cria , now named Estrella (swedish for star , Esti for short ) we have had a few more additions. But first Esti, she is a super star , hence the name . I am feeding her 6 or 7 times a day and she is a dream, needless to say she is growing fast and very friendly . I am slightly cautios about the 'friendly' bit, I know it can be a bad thing later , but for now we are all enjoying her . She comes</span><span> </span><span ><span style="font-size: 100%;">when called and the boys love racing around with her , of course Esti never gets out of second</span></span><span ><span style="font-size: 100%;"> gear but they all seem to enjoy themselves .</span></span><div><span ><br /></span><div><div style="font-family: Georgia, serif; font-size: 100%; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; line-height: normal; ">Next to arrive is another light brown female , as yet unnamed , who has slightly bent ears . She is a beauty with a great fleece , and the ears give her a very elfish look, I know that they need to be dealt with , but I have not yet manged to catch her and wrap them , her mum is super protective and will not let me near. DH thinks they look cute , however, they should be straight and thats how they will be - eventually ! When she was born, her ears were wrapped around the back of her head like cabbage leaves , each day they look a little straighter ..........</div><div style="text-align: center;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: center;"></div><div><br /></div><img style="float:left; margin:0 10px 10px 0;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 320px; height: 214px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEirfzyyKMj6qO_mYLCurreOFrL9ndd3Vmj7VOrHuvi7ZexmoLBQm_V1hzbV5TL9qUSys51YF5KeVgHendSvig29dU9RkTIG3S9fcdvTQUi3R7WM8u7V6SL0spvTJ4-zKfTytjVLyxYaYik/s320/IMG_5759.jpg" border="0" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5759183138985862946" /><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 320px; height: 214px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjQaVcN9Ta0N3evYuqyCGNy7-u65dQn7J_CHarvprsosqfiEre4mID6N5rbvWV2XXtPCsPnMD9rDwqbPQbNyvdcjjvKfmcNNpgoKRLQauxaqGX4WqmrFDWQCrqDkEGcCHfc2fP9iAqYXYM/s320/IMG_5746.jpg" border="0" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5759182163231715170" /><div style="text-align: center; "></div></div><div><br /></div><div><div style="text-align: center;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: center;font-family: Georgia, serif; font-size: 100%; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; line-height: normal; ">'Elf'</div><div style="font-family: Georgia, serif; font-size: 100%; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; line-height: normal; ">On Tues arrived our first male of the season , a dark fawn with a fab curl. He is the smallest of</div><div><div style="text-align: center; "></div></div><div style="font-family: Georgia, serif; font-size: 100%; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; line-height: normal; "> the lot to date , but none the less up and away without any help and doing really well. His mum , Cressida, is really a teenage mum , being only just 2 herslef and on the petite side , but her cria is great , also unnamed , but I am leaning toward Evan .</div><div></div><div style="font-family: Georgia, serif; font-size: 100%; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; line-height: normal; ">Yesterday( Wed) we had a giant delivered. Elvis is Bijou's 5th cria for us , and a corker! He is huge , at least as big as Esti if not a bit taller, certainly heavier! and a fantastic blue black like his parents.</div><div><img src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhEhLCVFm0Lg2ltLV2_UOIr_FJJTy8qP9u4g8RrtrF3YJE___7mstDdb50QkgKUdp6fvyrICbaUCM0PZp6p3CoApl-SVcgtyzDvUni8os1op5PrFeiIUVUbdjaQoPuba9alEseHApGa8Tc/s320/IMG_5820.jpg" border="0" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5759185211767671634" style="display: block; margin: 0px auto 10px; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 320px; height: 214px; " /><div><div style="text-align: center; "></div></div></div><div><br /></div><div style="text-align: center;">Elvis ( 4 hrs old ) and Bijou</div><div></div><div style="font-family: Georgia, serif; font-size: 100%; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; line-height: normal; ">Today saw Hermione produce a white female , who is called Elizabeth the Third ! for obvious reasons. Again a tall cria , she is safely tucked up in a stable with mum for the night , just to make sure the bond is strong , and feeding is going well .</div><div><div><div style="text-align: center; "><img src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhJbd3d5laZuLO_2mVgX8m6PNiQ3OXFJXZBzM2BIFtBUsS5ELJHLhAJ-pmFp7IyBXUJhlFjJ8AthRdpEaZZmQDjd4MNVOezZzNfLZLe_YTvlGDVgunk2CsR6umZ2KUOx3kJYNofAgXgjAA/s320/IMG_5809.jpg" border="0" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5759186866572389746" style="display: block; margin: 0px auto 10px; cursor: pointer; width: 320px; height: 214px; " /></div></div></div><div style="text-align: center;">Elizabeth III with Elf in the background</div><div style="font-family: Georgia, serif; font-size: 100%; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; line-height: normal; "><br /></div><div style="font-family: Georgia, serif; font-size: 100%; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; line-height: normal; ">Thats all folks .... for today , still 4 more due this week!</div></div></div>Suzanne@ Panteg Alpacashttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07719171147478819016noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1232198903182744466.post-48014131635140551542012-06-23T16:44:00.002+01:002012-06-23T16:49:27.364+01:00Elderflower cordialWell , I have to say that I am feeling quite pleased with myself - for once nothing animal related , I have made elderflower cordial! It is remarkably easy , and yet I have never done it before. The elderflowers are just coming into their own, so there may be plenty more to come, but for now I am freezing it ! Alpaca news to follow , and yes we have another cria , but details will be later!! Meantime , my turkey has gone broody again, but I cannot find where! Periodically she reappears for food , but I have not had the time or luck to find her nest , safe to say the fox hasn't either , yet .Suzanne@ Panteg Alpacashttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07719171147478819016noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1232198903182744466.post-45366709296764115622012-06-17T13:45:00.003+01:002012-06-17T14:07:04.574+01:00Finally!<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiZMUTB8F6O8UhI0fAZUz3GboXOw40tSFoY2Z_81B6c5Tf2fWKlawvaVMSGHHTEFtWCruLJJ8Q5TKeBVfCu-tPq_Jo5u8V2DHk3mltr2eSB9NuBZRY2FPuN2WfIZ_oZNy_AjWb25zOuM8M/s1600/IMAG0089.jpg"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 214px; height: 320px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiZMUTB8F6O8UhI0fAZUz3GboXOw40tSFoY2Z_81B6c5Tf2fWKlawvaVMSGHHTEFtWCruLJJ8Q5TKeBVfCu-tPq_Jo5u8V2DHk3mltr2eSB9NuBZRY2FPuN2WfIZ_oZNy_AjWb25zOuM8M/s320/IMAG0089.jpg" border="0" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5754991397631790434" /></a><br /><span ><span style="font-size: 100%;">A new addition to the herd. On Wednesday lunchtime Artemis gave birth to a female , chocolate brown </span></span>suri cria<span ><span style="font-size: 100%;">. She is absolutely beautiful , but sadly her mum doesn't think so, hence the lack of blog ! i saw mum giving birth , and the labour was a little slow and obviously painful , so a gentle tug and everything was OK. Artemis looked genuinely shocked by the birth , and as a first time mum was completely stunned by her newborn . The </span></span>cria<span ><span style="font-size: 100%;"> - yet to be named - was fantastic , </span></span>cushed<span ><span style="font-size: 100%;"> in 5 </span></span>mins<span ><span style="font-size: 100%;"> , standing in 20 and nursing within 45 </span></span>mins<span ><span style="font-size: 100%;"> - perfect. </span>Gradually<span style="font-size: 100%;"> , as the </span></span>initial <span >euphoria<span style="font-size: 100%;"> wore off , it became evident that Artemis was less than thrilled . She </span></span>let<span ><span style="font-size: 100%;"> the baby nurse for the </span></span>first<span ><span style="font-size: 100%;"> couple of hours and then began to reject her. I have tried </span></span>everything<span ><span style="font-size: 100%;"> - confinement in the barn for a day or 2 with a companion , check over by the vet , mild sedative, pain killers , even lavender oil on them both , but to no avail . Quite s</span></span>imply<span ><span style="font-size: 100%;"> mum is not remotely interested , and whilst not aggressive , will not let her </span></span>cria<span ><span style="font-size: 100%;"> within feet of her . So , I have a bottle baby! Luckily she is easy to feed and doing really well, gaining weight , and out with the rest of the herd today now that the weather is better. My one big concern is that she identifies with the other alpaca, currently she is very happy to follow me and stick by me , I am keeping my distance and gradually one of my maiden females seems to be taking an interest , fingers crossed.</span></span>Suzanne@ Panteg Alpacashttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07719171147478819016noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1232198903182744466.post-41870969557372271102012-06-03T17:39:00.002+01:002012-06-03T17:46:36.861+01:00Never cease to surprise<span ><span style="font-size: 100%;">No not the alpacas on this </span>occasion<span style="font-size: 100%;"> , but the hens! One of my broody hens has abandoned her chicks and returned to the more </span>glamorous<span style="font-size: 100%;"> world of the chicken house , and amazingly the other hen has adopted her chicks !! I have never seen this before , and I am amazed - I really didn't think they would do that .</span></span><div style="font-family: Georgia, serif; font-size: 100%; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; line-height: normal; "><br /></div><div style="font-family: Georgia, serif; font-size: 100%; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; line-height: normal; ">On the alpaca front , nothing! Just nothing. The pregnant girls are all looking very pregnant , and some are beginning to bag up , but other than that , nothing . DH has been on birth alert , and in all honesty I am glad nothing has happened on his watch, I really want to be around when the cria are born , there's a silver lining etc , good chance I may be here. On Friday we are shearing , we have never sheared with animals who are so close to giving birth , one year the only female due around shearing gave birth just before the shearers arrived.... so I am a little anxious , but the shearers are experienced so we are all in good hands. </div><div style="font-family: Georgia, serif; font-size: 100%; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; line-height: normal; "><br /></div><div style="font-family: Georgia, serif; font-size: 100%; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; line-height: normal; ">Any news will be swiftly reported I promise</div>Suzanne@ Panteg Alpacashttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07719171147478819016noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1232198903182744466.post-71300683522470562292012-05-23T22:34:00.002+01:002012-05-24T22:14:45.319+01:00planningDespite the fatct that the cria are yet to appear , it is never too early to start planning who the daddies wil be for next years cria! Lucky old Panteg Artemis has a date with a lovely brown suri male - Raphael - from Snowshill , which i purchased as part of the Futurity event. The only problem so far is that she is still very pregnant. <div><br /></div><div>My new stud Andaw Czars Aberlour , is about to complete his halter training , and then does he have a fun time ahead . I feel that a truly lovely cria willl be the result of a date with Acantha , she is possibly my most beautiful alpaca , she has huge eyes and a lovely head , a great peachy( mid fawn ) fleece and a very gentle nature. Aberlour has had a relaxing winter just settling in , but now the work begins , both for me and him! When he arrived , Aberlour could kick like I have never seen before; a most impressive flying kick which was almost level with my head , and quite scary. Gradually , with a bit of desensitisation he has stopped kicking , and has become a delight to handle and train .</div><div><br /></div><div>Todays great weather bought a repeat of the watering from yesterday- as soon as I approach the poly tunnel a stampede occurs as the girls all line up for a bit of a dousing</div>Suzanne@ Panteg Alpacashttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07719171147478819016noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1232198903182744466.post-72576937374146320132012-05-22T18:08:00.002+01:002012-05-22T18:22:43.946+01:00Another glorious day<span ><span style="font-size: 100%;">Isn't it funny how the sun makes everything fine ? The alpacas looked thoroughly relaxed as they ambled around , the pregnant girls are clearly beginning to be quite uncomfortable and have started to sit with their weight slightly to one side, making them look as if they are reclining. The heat was quite immense for most of the day , so after lunch I went to water the poly tunnel , and was immediately surrounded by pregnant girls who made it quite clear that a good soaking was high on their list of desirable outcomes. For over half an hour I stood and watered them all! Even those who like to keep a reasonable distance were very happy to come and get wet, each holding out </span>their<span style="font-size: 100%;"> feet for a cooling . Some were really happy to have </span>their<span style="font-size: 100%;"> bellies sprayed , and they all sat around on the wet grass for a good long time after I had actually gone to water the veg.</span></span><div><span ><span style="font-size: 100%;"><br /></span></span></div><div><span ><span style="font-size: 100%;">Phineas and Ferb ( pigs ) are growing nicely , and I really need to start planning a butchering date before all the butchers go on holiday like they did last year! They have been lying around in a nice smelly wallow catching some rays and relaxing.</span></span></div><div><span ><span style="font-size: 100%;"><br /></span></span></div><div><span ><span style="font-size: 100%;">The turkey has finally given up her sitting , much to </span>everyone's<span style="font-size: 100%;">' relief, she was seriously beginning to smell! and after a couple of 'cooling off' days in the chicken run , she has </span>resumed <span style="font-size: 100%;">her duties of terrorising the smaller hens when they try to feed! The chick numbers are ddwindling fast - we started with 8 and are now down to 5 , one drowned , one just disappeared and one keeled over - I am seriously considering another hatch , but DH will be less than impressed , if I set them now they won't hatch until after shearing on the 8th ,any earlier and they would have needed to be in the shearing barn under a lamp whilst we </span>are<span style="font-size: 100%;"> shearing , so that sounds like perfect timing to me !!</span></span></div>Suzanne@ Panteg Alpacashttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07719171147478819016noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1232198903182744466.post-87126965666252547342012-05-19T19:21:00.002+01:002012-05-19T19:21:46.346+01:00And now we wait .Monday is B day! , that is the first day from which I will be on ' birth watch' , and when we aim to have a pair of eyes at the homestead at all times . The birthing field is ready - groomed , topped and ready for action , so tomorrow we move the girls into pastures new and WAIT! In preparation , the barns are nearly ready ( by tomorrow night they will be ) , birthing bucket freshly stocked and to hand , cria coats located , rinsed and ready to go! but good god , the weather is not with us so far . To say I am chewing my nails is pretty accurate , althou ' I really don't want to see a cria much before the 9 June , I know they could arrive any time , and I would really love it to be warm , and possibly sunny . Is that too much to ask in June?<br />
So now we wait .Suzanne@ Panteg Alpacashttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07719171147478819016noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1232198903182744466.post-80269979658053885932012-05-12T23:52:00.001+01:002012-05-12T23:52:35.198+01:00Turkeys are definitely more stupid than chickensAfter last years attempt ( see ' Chickens are definitely not as stupid...) lurkey is now sitting lovingly on 6 hens eggs!! A big improvement on the plums from last year , but slightly heart failure inducing - initially I thought that the fox had eaten her , but could find no evidence apart from the lack of a turkey. After 4 days of absence I finally located her sitting quietly under a huge curtain of honeysuckle , pretending to be a bush ! Very relieved , I scooped her up and put her in a dog crate in the barn with some chicken eggs ( she has no turkey mate , so no hope of hatching her own eggs) .To giver her her due , she has been a very diligent sitter for nearly 2 weeks , far better than some of my hens , just hope to goodness she hatches something, since I am finding it very hard to find turkey poults for her , so I hope she doesn't squash them , but Lurkey looks like she might make a great mum.Suzanne@ Panteg Alpacashttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07719171147478819016noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1232198903182744466.post-8508250630690614022012-05-12T23:41:00.000+01:002012-05-12T23:41:18.164+01:00Pregnant or not ?Today was a busy day of testing . Testing for pregnancy . The catch pens were ready , I was ready , the girls were ready , but Magic - he was not ready! After a little persuasion , he was coaxed into the pens with the first girl to be tested- Cerys- she was having nothing to do with him , undaunted Magic had a good look at Artemis, equally mad and spitting . Gradually , Magic's interest waned , and by the time he had seen 5 girls , who all gave him a good spitting and occasionally a kick , he was paying very little attention . In fact , he was standing looking in the direction of his field mates , with a look of longing ! In conclusion , pretty sure about 6 girls , strong suspicion about a further 2 , no idea about 2 ! The date gets closer , must get my birthing bucket up to speed , 9th June is the first date - Artemis is the first , with all the rest in the following 2 weeks!! Bet your bottom dollar that it will not go to plan.<br />
<br />
<br />Suzanne@ Panteg Alpacashttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07719171147478819016noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1232198903182744466.post-26630464485309258022012-04-02T16:03:00.002+01:002012-04-02T16:13:10.801+01:00Beginning to get excited....Well last week Spring really did spring . The weather was just gorgeous, lots of sun bathing was done by all , including me - 25 degrees is not to be sniffed at , the world is pretty mellow! Grass is definitely growing , there are some pretty portly ( preg I hope ) alpacas around , 2 incubators of chicks have hatched and are safely under heat in the barn . DH is putting his foot down to geese, but i am always dreaming of more animals. Seriously , the weather has been so good that I have had to start watering the alpacas!! Who would have thought that March would be hot enough to get the hosepipe out ( while we still can ) and give the girls a little watering , they really love standing under a jet of water so long as it doesn't go on their faces . Kirsty was the first to come for a drenching , she is such a princess , holding each foot delicately in the line of water , but definitely keeping her face well away- mustn't ruin the hair darling- and Veronica just likes to be soaked from head to toe .<div>Hopefully over Easter we will get the fencing and catch pens back up , they had to come down whilst a huge tree was felled , and then I can confirm my suspicions about who is pregnant and who not , then begins the fun of mating and new cria arriving!!Can't wait . Meanwhile , the weather is still gorgeous , but only 19 degrees today!</div><div><br /></div>Suzanne@ Panteg Alpacashttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07719171147478819016noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1232198903182744466.post-56413666338726532772011-12-14T14:37:00.003+00:002011-12-14T14:47:02.070+00:00Aberlour makes new friendsAfter being isolated with Boz Flag for 2 months the time came for Aberlour to meet the other boys . It was a slightly torturous morning , since he refused to leave the field where he has been for the last couple of months - Flag proved his value again , I put him on a halter and we spent the best part of an hour coaxing Aberlour , an inch at a time , out of his field and into a new one ! We walked back and forth endlessly , unitl Abe decided to pluck up all his courage and venture along the bridle path to meet his new friends . <div>Then , a complete change of tune , no longer the shrinking violet , he went into total domination mode . There then ensued an hour of squealing and chasing , where Abe tried valiantly to impress upon the other 7 boys that he was going to be boss . Surprisingly , Teifi Magic ( from whom I expected trouble ) stayed largely out of his way and was pretty calm about this new interloper. Suffice to say it has taken a couple of days for complete calm to be re-instated , and Abe is firmly part of the herd now , thank god!</div><div><br /></div><div>Monday saw the second round of Vit injections . The boys behaved really nicely, except for Magic , and were all injected with the minimum of fuss . Not so the girls - plenty of spitting from Athena on her and everyone else's behave , screaming from Kirtsy , and an escape bid from Artemis which was frankly laughable - a huge suri trying to squeeze under a gate with only 6 inch gap ....</div><div>All this in a sea of mud , but we remained up right and largely unscathed.</div><div><br /></div><div>The weather is calm for the moment , the rain and snow have been and gone , fingers crossed that tomorrow is not as bad as predicted </div>Suzanne@ Panteg Alpacashttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07719171147478819016noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1232198903182744466.post-78321222015143464662011-11-09T20:10:00.004+00:002011-11-09T20:42:23.792+00:00Announcing a new arrival!<div style="text-align: center;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: center;"><br /></div>I feel like it has been a long time since my last confession /blog, on one hand there is not so much to relate , the alpacas are all well , first Vit injections of the season have been done , no dramas ( I had my fingers crossed as I typed that so we should be ok) the chickens are fine , the baby chicks are now fully fledged but still minature , what more can I say ? Oh , the title !<div><br /></div><div>Well , after much deliberation and searching I am pleased to announce that we are now the proud owners of a new stud male - he is a dark fawn , with dark tips , a fab pedigree and an even better name- introducing Andaw Czars Aberlour....</div><div><br /></div><div><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 320px; height: 214px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj1c0gvUPeYR-zxvMS_SpoB1ugFln_bmjCJc57-nOBgMscrW-SbQLAgthfUs2oT3Yq05eFsdX-_mfHAs9GYboUzQN7N2o9ai_uohyphenhyphent1pBYE3gyxkZ4f4hkrgTiScammMd5BSjGfH62_wE8/s320/IMG_5109.jpg" border="0" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5673098322387251394" /><div style="text-align: center;"><br /></div></div><div>His father is Silverstream Czar, and he has a long and prestigious pedigree with a Jolimont and a pperuvian for grand parents and great grand parents . I hope he will do very well for us , with both a white and coloured background I am looking forward to some lovely fawns and who knows what else. Aberlour is still quite young , only just over 2 , but judging by the activity in the paddock he is very keen , poor old Bozedown Flag , who is his companion until quarantine finishes , is putting up with his amorous intentions in a resigned but fairly relaxed way!</div><div><br /></div><div>He has been with us for about a month and is settling well , having come from a home with no children he is finding my youngest son hugely interesting , and a routine is developing - every day on his return from school Huw takes a short cut across Aberlours field in a bid to get to the cakes first and avoid the roosters! Aberlour loiters near the gate and follows him at fairly close quarters , its a bit like the keystone cops , Huw walks Aberlour walks , Huw gets nervous and trots Aberlour trots , Huw breaks into a flat out run so does Aberlour - its hilarious to watch , but both are secretly enjoying themselves. So far Aberlour has not vaulted over the fence at the end , but I'm sure the day will come !</div><div><br /></div><img src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEirZY6yFZTF78-Xk3053bJKiCCj6cDP99Bb4GRldshuOBjK1dYgSnevFRIojOMGzH0WUMqQgwkDN679CTcsb-CHjg_vv46jfvwgtGe9OlLYJl438TFkqdWFotdo3DSlT9g53sa9mLDRa-Q/s320/IMG_5107.jpg" border="0" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5673098314793313778" style="display: block; margin-top: 0px; margin-right: auto; margin-bottom: 10px; margin-left: auto; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 320px; height: 214px; " /><div><br /></div>Suzanne@ Panteg Alpacashttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07719171147478819016noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1232198903182744466.post-13443463688131600642011-09-06T21:54:00.002+01:002011-09-06T21:57:30.243+01:00Chickens are not as stupid..as Turkeys! Our turkey is lovingly trying to hatch 15 plums that she has gathered on the compost heap! She is very protective of her plums and attacked DH when he picked her up to put her to bed . In theory if Turkeys could hatch plum jam I would be thrilled ( we have tons of plums this year) but what I can't get my head round is how she's going to get the jam into the jars ....?Suzanne@ Panteg Alpacashttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07719171147478819016noreply@blogger.com7tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1232198903182744466.post-24252705319942975762011-08-31T20:22:00.002+01:002011-08-31T20:26:52.665+01:00A close shave ...I was upstairs just getting changed ( isn't it always when you have your clothes off?) that the alpacas in the front field all suddenly stood up tall and faced the same direction . PANIC! I have been watching a couple of dogs chasing my neighbours sheep this evening , and despite his and our best efforts we have not been able to catch them or their owner , so I immediately thought that they were back . I yelled for DH and we both shot out of the house , him through one door me through the other , taking our dog with me , just in time to see a very large fox , turn tail and shoot off up the drive - the dozy chickens were all standing looking at him ! Close call!Suzanne@ Panteg Alpacashttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07719171147478819016noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1232198903182744466.post-79313575408365741692011-08-28T18:12:00.002+01:002011-08-28T18:19:50.964+01:00Safe and dry!Thats the hay - we finally got the hay made on Monday night and worked late into the evening getting it onto the tractor and away in the barn, we were expecting heavy rain over night on Monday so I was really pleased and slept well , knowing that the hay was safely away for the winter . Woke to on Tues to ..... blue skies and sunshine ! The week has been largely lovely ! which is a bit of a pain in a way , ' cos the predictions were not good , and if we'd known we'd have cut the other fields as well!! However , our friendly farmer is happy to have them as silage if nec so it will all be fine .<div>
<br /></div><div>The alpacas are all looking fantastic , Cerys had her meeting with Magic and everyone else is showing all signs of being pregnant. Fingers crossed.</div><div>
<br /></div><div>we have another broody hen , which after the recent disasters , when DH took the eggs at the last minute and gave them to friends ... yuk , I am hoping will get me a few more nice hens before the winter .</div><div>
<br /></div><div>DS#3 is happily heading to Switzerland as we speak - what it is to have nice friends .... I can't really speak after my trip to Mustique , but he does seem to do rather well on the holiday front!</div>Suzanne@ Panteg Alpacashttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07719171147478819016noreply@blogger.com1