30/03/2009 by Rosemary.

Wonderful brother Chris came over today and took photos of the alpacas.  He also sorted the laptop so I no longer need to stop when Sam goes to bed!  The photos are so clear you can see everything.  He also took a whole series of the Big Baby stalking a vole and several head shots of the chickens.  Unfortunately, he took one of me and that has reopened the old dilemma of should I dye my hair again.  I have to admit it does look pretty bad and my other brother John told me I looked ancient but I just do not want to have to keep dying it.  In places it is black still and in others it is silver (quite a lot of other places if I am honest).  John’s hair is remarkably lacking in grey hair for one of his years.

Tomorrow I shall work on getting some of the photos on the website.

Posted in Uncategorized | 2 Comments »

29/03/2009 by Rosemary.

Tremendous day today!  All alpacas now have neatly trimmed toenails, worm eradication has taken place, jaws-fleece-bottoms-condition have all been checked and very little drama or hysterics from either animals or humans!  I forgot to order the lambivac and no one had any in stock so that will have to be done later in the week but I now feel everything is under control.  Waste has been managed and all is right with the world!   Only real concerns were that Carolyn seems to have a rather large molar but I don’t think it is an abscess may just need a bit of grinding at shearing - we’ll not worry about that until she has had her cria - and Bert’s tummy is the other worry.

Poor old Bert!  Her real name is Roberta and she is an import from Peru.  It is really strange to think that she has travelled farther than I have.  She once wandered across the Andes!  Anyway, before we had her, she had trouble getting pregnant and ended up going from place to place eventually getting a really bad case of mites.  She eventually got pregnant and had her first cria last year.  She, apparently, couldn’t feed him and so he was taken to another alpaca whose cria was still born on the same day.  When we bought her the mites had gone but she was bald in a lot of places and had thick leathery skin which had nasty cracks in it.  We spent hours covering her in udder cream which she loathed.  She spat like a fountain and then kushed (lay down) and cried and screamed.  I am glad we have no neighbours when we are in the field or they would think we were murdering her.  Ordinary udder cream wasn’t much good as she just rolled and it all rubbed off too quick so we went to an equine cream with aloe vera which was much thicker.  Gradually hair began to grow on her face, ears and legs but we are still having some difficulties with her tummy and top of her inside front legs.  We got the treatment down to once a month but I think we might have to step it up a bit on her tummy.   She is now pregnant to Sinbad - a black - so could give us a brown cria.  After seeing it move we are sure she is pregnant but whether she will be able to feed it we do not know!  If she can’t I will have to be a surrogate mother!  I am hoping it will not come to that, maybe if her tummy is better she will be OK - I am not really surprised she could not feed a cria with the way she looked then.  Bert is my favourite alpaca and after creaming her today, which she found most unpleasant, I went and sat with her tonight to say sorry and fed her a few carrots.  Carl’s Mum and Dad visited and brought the carrots and they were very superior ones - not Tesco Market Value which we usually have!  Thank you from Bert!

Posted in Uncategorized | No Comments »

28/03/2009 by Rosemary.

Funny sort of day today.  The morning was lovely and sunny.  As I drove back from Sturminster this morning I rounded the bend and all the alpacas were up the top sun bathing.  To anyone unfamiliar with alpacas it must have looked as if they were all dead!  Carl said a lot of pronking (running with all feet off the ground at once - like bouncing) had been going on while I was out - girls and boys.  When I went over to start waste management it was still lovely and most of the girls were still spread out on the ground.  Carolyn was so fast asleep she was actually snoring - I crept past so as not to wake her and could see her lips vibrating as she snored!

It ws also a good opportunity to check out her teats which look much more pronounced, as do Islay’s, so things appear to be on track for births in a few weeks.  The new grass is making them particularly windy so it was also a chance to check out their rear ens as they were flicking their tails a lot!  While we were having lunch Sam commented that he wondered if all families spend their meal times talking about teats and bottoms!  It was still sunny when we went back out and then all of a sudden there was a hail storm.  The chickens charged for the community centre and the boys raced for their shed.  The girls sauntered down to the hedge trying to look unconcerned.  Carl had been fencing all morning so he took the opportunity to slope off to bed for an hour resting his eyes(!)  while I managed a little more waste.

On Monday my brother, the David Bailey of the family, is coming to take some superior photos of the alpacas so I can change the ones on the website - hope the weather holds.  I am also hoping he can sort out the laptop, he is multi talented,  as at the moment the wireless network does not work so Sam’s computer is the only one on the internet and that means when he goes to bed I have to stop doing anything internet based.

At feeding time we decided to give the new handling system a go - getting them down to the bottom pen was a challenge as we haven’t put the bottom run in yet and they found our herding efforts great fun.  Flamenco and Prudence pronked off in the opposite direction while Dobby and Caedmon pronked away in the boys paddock.  Eventually they were all in except for Flamenco who just pronked and bucked up and down the hill!  We decided to ignore her and concentrated on getting the others through the system.  It worked perfectly for checking them over but not for feet - I will say no more about that now as Carl looked a little dejected about it all.  Flamenco found it fascinating and kept getting her head in the way while I was checking for tooth problems (none found).  We let her in and she had obviously learned a lot as she went straight through the right gates and stood while I checked her over.   Then we did Bert’s feet.  This is a mammoth undertaking as she does not like it and she spits.  We have tried the camelidynamics approach but just can’t make it work for her - but then she has had a rough time of it.  I must give the history of Bert soon because she is a special girl!  Anyway, she is, in theory, pregnant but we have never scanned her and Carl didn’t think she was.  BUT tonight, after the foot trimming episode, I saw her baby move.  At first Carl said it was wind but I know it wasn’t - even he agreed in the end that it was the baby after it kept doing it.

Posted in Uncategorized | 1 Comment »

27/03/2009 by Rosemary.

Just as we finished feeding the girls, we saw Crispie’s baby kicking!  Well it was more like somersaults with its legs going all ways.  I’ve seen movement before but never like this!  She is not due until the end of June so I suppose the cria still has a lot of room to move around in.  It was fascinating to see.

I forgot yesterday - Turnworth is two days so I’ll have to update that on the website later.  Sam was late back from school tonight as the bus was delayed by a nasty crash in Belchallwell.  According to him a head on collision between a van and a car - lots of ambulance activity and reports of the occupants in intensive care.

Must go and relax now in preparation for waste management tomorrow - unlike my superior colleagues who will no doubt be poovering in comfort  or maybe even “hazel nutting”!

Posted in Uncategorized | No Comments »

26/03/2009 by Rosemary.

Brenda came up from Belchallwell this evening to see if we would take some alpacas to Turnworth in May for their Turnworth in Spring event.  We were really pleased as we had a fantastic day there last year.  It will be on 9th May this year and is well worth going to - even if you are not into alpacas!  Last year there were wonderful tractor rides which took you all over the place and gave a commentary about everything there was to see.  Dave was shearing sheep and he is always fascinating to watch and listen to.  There were also exhibitions of bottles, lawn mowers and Mary Rose artifacts  as well as old tools for sale and a working blacksmith.   There was a gun dog display and a Bird of Prey as well as the resident peacocks which the alpacas found fascinating.   The lunches were really good and the cakes an scones gorgeous. I don’t know what they have got planned for this year but it is bound to be good.  If you read this and go - come and say hello to us and our alpacas.  We now have to choose who to take.  Dobby has to go as he is on the banner.  I can’t remember whether I mentioned that the banner had arrived.  Jason did a lovely job and I am very pleased with it but I know when the moment comes to put it up I am going to be highly embarrassed by it!  This weekend is injections, inspections and feet so I have to get the lambivac tomorrow in readiness.  I am a bit worried I have heard nothing yet from our vet about the Blue Tongue vaccine - I know some others have got theirs.  This weekend I also have to do my other favourite job but it has undergone a name change.  My mum says I cannot call it poo collecting.  She says it sounds rude and is not how she brought me up.  After much careful thought we have decided that hereafter at Westhill the act of picking up alpaca doings will be called Waste Management!  I am therefore going to be doing a lot of Waste Management on Saturday!

Posted in Uncategorized | 5 Comments »

23/03/2009 by Rosemary.

Today just got colder and colder.  By the time we got home there was a fierce wind blowing across the hill and a drizzle of cold rain.  Yesterday the T shirt had a tentative unveiling for a couple of minutes but today it was coat and gloves again.  Despite this, Carl hung his last yard gate - we hope Dave (expert on all things farming) and Merv (ace tractor driver) don’t spot the set up or they will laugh themselves silly!

Islay was first down for feeding today after missing out yesterday.  She is Carl’s favourite alpaca (he calls her Izzle Pizzle).  She reminds us of a ’60s flower child - completely laid back and unconcerned.  She was one of our first alpacas and we bought her very cheaply as she had not managed to get pregnant.  She was bought really as a companion for Carolyn.  She settled really well and then about 4 or 5 months after we had bought her we noticed she was very lethargic and she rapidly lost weight.  We were new to alpaca keeping and had no idea what was wrong so the vet was called.  (The rest of this story makes me cringe every time I think about it) He diagnosed a tooth abscess and said she would need to go to an equine hospital for surgery.  He did not know if it would be successful - in fact he expressed doubts and the bill he quoted was astronomical.  In the meantime he sedated her, lanced it and flushed it out and put her on antibiotics.  We were to consider things and keep flushing for a few days.  Islay was so weak she was barely moving and we didn’t know what to do.  I was then talking to a lady who used to be involved with cattle who said they always flushed with Hydrogen peroxide and that sorted it.  I saw the vet and asked what he thought.  He said try if you want - it wouldn’t do any harm but take care as it fizzes and spits and to wear glasses.  That evening was awful - should we?  shouldn’t we?  It will REALLY hurt her and we don’t really know what we are doing.  The next morning she looked worse and alpacas have such huge trusting eyes it breaks your heart when they are ill - we were responsible for her and the decision had to be made.  That evening we went over with a syringe, without the needle, full of the dreaded stuff.  Carl held her head, she didn’t have much strength, and I edged the end of the syringe into the hole where we had been flushing . . . and I squirted hard!  It was horrid - fizz and spit - Islay tossed her head and shook it but that was about all - I think she had given up.  We let her out and left her in peace for the evening.  Now you might not believe this but the next morning she was eating and it was onward and upward from there on.  Whether it was the squirt or all the flushing was taking its course I do not know but she recovered very quickly.  The vet came back a week or so after and said it was fine but it may reoccur - fingers crossed it has not so far and that was over a year ago.  Islay is now a very strong young lady and very wary of me but has a special bond with Carl.  When the stud came for Carolyn last year we thought we might as well give Islay a go and she sat straight away.  Later a scan confirmed her pregnant so we are just waiting until 3rd May to see the outcome!

Posted in Uncategorized | 1 Comment »

22/03/2009 by Rosemary.

Another beautiful day today.  Carl has been constructing his yard all day and it is nearly finished.  When Sam and I got back from Mum’s we let the girls out but then they didn’t want to go back.  I spent 15 minutes wandering about with my long blue water pipe trying to look like a professional herdsperson and failing dismally.  When we have made all the runs it will not be like this!  Eventually they all went in apart from Islay who seemed to have lost the herd instinct and had decided to be her own woman for the evening.  Meanwhile Carolyn and Sherbert decided to have a real confrontation - neck wrestling and ear biting - Carolyn is still one grumpy alpaca.  The sight of all this aggravation tempted Islay back and she sauntered back to the gate and waited patiently to be let in.

Posted in Uncategorized | No Comments »

21/03/2009 by Rosemary.

The Yeti and Cousin It went to have their hair cut in Blandford this morning and returned looking much better.  Carl then spent the rest of the day perfecting his yard handling system - pictured as a work in progress below (I have my doubts but we will see).

I am holding off with injections and toenails as he assures me it will be up and running next week end and by the use of very many gates we will be able to accomplish all tasks with ease (!).  I poo collected, as usual, and, as we were all out there, I let the girls into second field.  Only Islay and Carolyn have ever been in there before so they all went mad - running up and down the hill.  Bert was eating so furiously she kept missing the others wandering off and then frightened herself bucking and leaping in a bid to find the rest of the herd.  Caedmon spent the day moaning whenever they went out of sight. Little Spike didn’t know what was going on - I think he needs his fringe trimmed!

I have now stopped worrying about Belinda as she must be alright the way she was charging up and down the hill with that head down neck wiggle alpacas have.  Just before dark I took some slightly off grapes over  - Carolyn sniffed them but was obviously too tired to eat them - she didn’t even get up.  Bert ate the lot but, like Carolyn, she remained lying down and I had to sit down by her and feed them one by one!   After tea there was a mad panic as we realised that we had forgotten to lock the chickens and they were all in the wrong paddock as they had escaped earlier.  With the aid of the torches we found them all on top of each other in the field shelter and had to carry them all back to their house.

We had a new worry this afternoon, though as a large hound suddenly appeared.  He was one of the Hunt’s dogs and must have gone the wrong way as I think they were out earlier.  He started barking and running towards where the girls were but luckily he saw us and turned tail.  He probably wouldn’t have done anything but you never know and hunt dogs are pretty powerful - we were just glad we were around.

Posted in Uncategorized | 4 Comments »

19/03/2009 by Rosemary.

Working every day has made it another difficult week.  Jobs seem to mount up outside and just keeping things ticking over is a challenge.  The lighter evenings are a help as at least we are not stumbling around with a torch trying to check animals, water, hay, fences . . . .   Belinda is still lying down quite a bit but she seems perfectly happy - poo normal!  Her fleece is long and bushy around her eyes so I am wondering if she can’t see out too well!  Carolyn has been a bit grumpy all week  - still humming a lot and giving everyone a threatening look if they get too close.  She never spits, she’s much too much of a lady for that (she has also got amazingly long whiskers).  Her cria is due next month and as last year it was born at 11 and a half months we are putting it at the same length of gestation - 27th April due date, can’t wait!  Now I am off to the PCC meeting in the village despite another horrible cold.  Roll on the South West Alpaca Group Sale and Show on the 4/5 April weekend.  It is in Bristol and we are going but we cannot buy another!

Posted in Uncategorized | 1 Comment »

15/03/2009 by Rosemary.

Beautiful weather today - the sun is out and the buds are breaking open.  Along the Drove all the primroses are starting to come out.  The girls were so keen to come out of their paddock this morning I gave in and let them into the hay field where they dashed around eating furiously.  I have to keep an eye on them though as they love to explore and they go over the bank to look across the road which gives the cars a bit of a shock or else they go down the bottom and there is a gap in the fence between first and second field - a couple of times they have wandered though into second.  Muck has just been spread so I don’t want them in there.

We went to a farm sale on Saturday which was good, prices were not too high and we got 2 iron hay feeders for £15, 2 gates for £32 a pulley for a £1 (we are not sure why we got that - I think because it was a £1) and Sam got a box of things for £5.  I always find dispersal sales a bit sad though.  This was two brothers selling up and it is sad to think the old farms are going.  The two boys looked quite happy until children started climbing all over one of the tractors and broke a switch - I think that made them sad.  I sat in the truck with the dog whilst Carl and Sam walked over with the gates and an elderly Dorset farmer came up to the window.  He must have been at least 80.  “Hello mother,” he said, “Can you hear me wheezing?”  Then followed an in depth conversation on the respective states of our chest s by the end of which I seem to have lapsed into a deep Dorset accent like his!  I’m not sure whether he thought he knew me or I was just looking particularly ancient that day!

Carl became inspired by the gates and started putting the posts in for the new pens.  He has decided we cannot afford the handling system I wanted - yet - so is making something.  If it does not work I am having the system!  Sam is turning the wheels round on the tractor.  We turned them last week to give it a wider wheel base for the slopes but it is now so wide it can’t go on the road so they have to go back!  Carl then finished the chain harrowing while Sam and I continued with the Duck Pond which now has a house on a stand in the middle.

Halter training did not go too well.  In fact it didn’t even reach stage 1.  None of the halters fitted, even with multiple adjustments.  There must be a size we don’t have so I will research that tonight.  Spike was very good he stood there while I put one after the other on and off!  Not sure he had a clue what was going on.

I started poo collecting on Saturday but didn’t finish the girls.  When I got back to it Sunday I had to start again as they had pooed on the clear bits!

Thanks for the offer to help Dan - Carl is going to need you soon!!

Posted in Uncategorized | No Comments »