Fingers crossed

We have taken a chance and cut the first field of hay , well actually we cut it on Wed , but with 4 small children at home for the school holidays time is beginning to blur! So far the weather has held and I am quietly optimistic that we will be able to bale it on Sunday, which is supposed to be a very nice day! If not it will be silage and I will have to think again for the second field.

Th pacas are all enjoying a spot of the warmer weather , lots of sun bathing and general lounging around , everyone is looking very mellow! Today I tried the girls with some carrots , I know lots of people feed their alpacas carrots but I have always been slightly nervous of them choking ( yes i know that's slightly daft ) so today when the veggie box arrived with LOTS of carrots I tried feeding a few to the girls . I chopped them all up nicely and put them in the feeding trough , everyone came at a gallop and then skidded to a halt to look at these very strange things in their troughs. Lots of sniffing , and a fair amount of jumping about , finally only Bijou took the plunge and ate some , nobody else would brave it , so they all wandered off en masse to stand in the water trough! It's a little trick that Hermione has taught them all and I really wish she hadn't! Whilst it is very amusing to see all the alpacas taking turns to splash in the water troughs , at the moment , when the water supplies are very low it gives me a bit of headache trying to keep the water clean . I have tried buckets but Hermione tries to stand in those too and spills them all , fence buckets also get spilled but to a lesser degree .

Water is becoming a concern - two of my neighbours , one on either side have now run out of water , or more accurately their springs have dried up ! so we are being as careful as possible , flushing only when necessary - the beauty of small boys is that they are thrilled to be encouraged to wee on the compost heap- two birds with one stone so to speak!

ALLS WELL

The girls ( and the boys ) are all looking good despite the unseasonably cool weather . Tomorrow I have one more mating to do , Cerys has an appointment with Magic , last week when we did spit offs she was the only one to sit - great news for the rest , but she was mated a couple of months ago and I was hoping that she had taken , anyway , tomorrow is the day !
Still we are waiting for a good spell of weather to get some hay making done , every year its the same - the hay fields are not quite ready in June when the weather is hot , and by August the weather is too damp??
The hens are all beginning to get the hang of laying back in their houses , and the pigs are enjoying the glut of cob nuts - a last fling before the butchers on Thursday!

Exciting news at last !

Well , a long absence from blogging , largely due to the family holiday to the Vendee! Lots of sun and beaches and rock pools for small boys , kites for the not so small , and books for me!

The animals were all well cared for by a series of house sitters , and we come back to the same number we left - which is always positive!

For a couple of months now I have been looking around for a new stud to replace West , who sadly died last year , well I think I've found him ! I took a trip to sunny Devon on Tuesday for a hands on experience , and am well pleased with what I found. He is a youngster , not quite 2 , but with fantastic blood lines including Jolimont , Silverstream and pperuvian amongst others , a dark fawn , who i hope will add to my herd very positively. Awaiting vet checks before I bring him home , and then I shall reveal all!

Looking to the future.

Sadly , on Sunday we had to make the descision and have Diablo put to sleep. An abscess had burst in his ear canal on Friday and I was really praying that the antibiotics would have begun to act - he was on a third type by this time - but unfortunately not . I took him on his last visit to the vet and made the vet promise not to mention that I cried , when he next saw me! It was incredibly quick, seconds really , and then home to the herd for mum to begin to realise he was gone. Poor Veronica was distraught and stood by him for the whole day. Finally I took him away at dusk , I really didn't want the foxes to get him . Veronica is still unhappy but is slowly getting better.

Meanwhile , matings carry on at a pace , I am determined that next year we will have a good strong crop of cria with a strong colour bias. The herd is looking well , and an infection that had started around Brizo's ear tag has subsided with the help of some anti biotic cream and anti fly cream , gosh the flies are bad this year. I am also hoping that we are nearly ready to make some hay , I leave it to the far superior knowledge of the farmer next door , but every year I am raring to go and he advises caution - he's usually right !

Maybe , just maybe

we have turned a corner . I am really praying we have . Bloods and fecals came back from the VLA showing an underlying infection , so dose of penicillin and finger s crossed. Tonight he sucked his milk down on his own - the first time he has done that in 2 or 3 days , and took almost 200ml , which is more than he took all of yesterday and today combined. Not sure that penicillin can work that fast, he only had the injection 4 hours ago , but I am really hoping we may be on the way back .

Thanks for all your advice and support , much appreciated !

Still no decision but in my heart ...

I know it cannot be good news . The blood results came back and showed no abnormalities at all , so the kidneys are a slight red herring . Poor little Diablo has had a tough weekend , his weight has gone up and down a bit , but when you only weigh 6.3kgs a little is alot if you see what I mean. He refuses the bottle most times , but is not feeding very well from mum , so it really is a case of force feeding him. He looks pathetic and listless , tries hard to eat grass but is clearly not enjoying life .
I am still waiting for the fecal results , and there is a slim chance that they may suggest an infection which we can clobber with antibiotics , but I am really not optimistic and I have mentally made the decision that unless it is clear cut and pretty good odds , Diablo cannot go on like this . You may think that I am jumping the gun , but I need to be prepared cos it is breaking my heart to watch him not make any progress and seem so miserable . I really hope I'm wrong he is a beautiful little chap.

Potentially tough decisions ahead

Diablo had his visit to the vet this morning . I was reasonably optimistic - he was brighter and more alert , still not keen to take a bottle but his belly seemed full enough. Anyway, the vet kept him for a few hours and then rang with the news I dreaded - it is not simple or even probable that it can be solved. It seems that he has mal-formed kidneys , resulting in urine not being passed to the bladder effectively . Currently we are awaiting blood results , but it seems that we are not sure how this will progress. It may be that his body will adjust at regular intervals , but equally he may not be able to survive and I must look at the possibility of euthanasia . Not a happy night ahead!