August 19th 2010 I've been having rather a lot of problems with my website today. The entire blog had gone completely for some time and then refused to be updated, edited, deleted or anythin else. Not quite sure what the problem was but hopefuly it is now sorted out. I am told that it might be good to create an archive and start again on the main blog page so that is the plan. Life on the alpaca front has been a little less frustrating. We now have all of this years crias safely on the ground. Martina and her daughter, Annie both calved on the same day within about an hour of each other. Annie had gone to Camouflage from Popham but didn't manage a spotty baby. She did, however produce a very pretty and extremely soft female for the 'Anne' line. She isn't a solid colour and has some white on her head and feet but is otherwise light brown.
At about the time of Annie calving things were clearly going on with Martina and after watching her for some time there was no obvious progress. I generally like to allow nature to take its course if at all possible but on this occassion it wasn't looking promising so I decided to have a feel and find out what was going on. It's good that I did as the cria was not presented correctly and Martina wasn't able to deliver without assistance. I'm glad to say that my first delivery, a little female called Annalise, is beautiful and absolutely fine. She has a grey head which fades into a dark fawny colour. I'm undecided whether she is actually a rose grey. These two took our gender split to evens - 2 boys, 2 girls. That left Amaia to tip the balance, which she did this morning, in favour of the boys this year. In my quest for a grey she went to Langaton's Smokey Joe. She has a gorgeous boy with a little white face and going down the front of his neck, and, I would say, he's a dark grey! :-)
July 28th 2010 Well, doesn't time fly? Another chaotic 3 weeks has seen the end of term for children and all that that entails. Also alpaca activity has been taking place. Little Malteser has gone from strength to strength and after a few days with a supplementary bottle from me Flossie sorted out the whole milk supply business and has needed no more help. He is now skipping around with the other 3 cria of the similar age and looking very well. This week has also been busy as it was shearing day again on Monday. This meant that Iain and I spent Sunday retrieving the alpacas from their 'lodgings' at Great Gutton and also at some other neighbours where a group have been happily grazing down a paddock. I say 'happily' but there is a whole different story there surrounding the ongoing feud between William and Henry. Anyway, to cut a long story short, Wlliam and Henry, who each get on very peaceably with all the other alpacas, will no longer be going anywhere together as they just don't seem to 'rub along' too well - even castration doesn't seem to help!! All present and correct and contained in a handy paddock overnight as the weather was dry, ready for shearing on Monday. I did need to spend some time in the catch pen picking assorted vegetation from their fleeces in an attempt to have them at least reasonably clean before the big day. The messiest bunch were the yearlings who had gone into a newly topped paddock on arrival at Great Gutton and very quickly resembled walking hay stacks! Fortunately, this little group are generally pretty calm as they are used to me being around a lot and it includes last years little orphan, Rosie. I've also been picking them out daily over the last few weeks as their lovely soft baby fleeces just pick everything up so easily. Monday morning dawned looking slightly iffy but the forecast was good so no plan bring them in until lunchtime. However on arrival at the field Micah had decided shearing day was the day to calve. A little white male with a fawn patch on his back who was a little feeble and not showing any signs of trying to get up and even less sign of feeding by lunch time so we gave him some nice fresh cow colostrum from one of Iain's freshly calved cows. Shearing went on around these 2 and we only brought Micah in at the last minute to shear her as her day had already been more stressful than usual! Thankfully the rest of the day went without major incident and little Patch, as the cria has become, is looking a little stronger now after a couple of days feeding and today I've seen him feed properly from Micah for the first time. Just to add to all the excitement, or not to be outdone, when I arrived to give Patch a bottle first thing yesterday morning (Tuesday) Misty had had a beautiful little boy. He is also fawn so we now have 3 fawns so far this year. I think they are my favourite colour. The gender count is less good so far with 4 males to 2 females, but there are still 3 to go. Interestingly, Misty has a little white flash on her face which Katy inheritted last year and the new cria has it too. Possibly lacking in imagination, this lovely little chap has become Flash.
July 5th 2010 Another week has passed and the cria are playing in the sun. Bessie was moved back to be with the other mums and crias and is proving to be a lovely mummy so no suprises there. In fact both of the first time mums are doing a very good job now. Less positive is the fact that for a couple of days little Malteser has been looking to feed and Flossie hasn't been standing for him. He tried to pinch a feed from Hope but without luck so this morning I gave him a bottle to see if he'd even think about taking it, having never come across one of these before! Unfortunately he was clearly very hungry and the unfamiliar method of feeding caused him not the slightest concern - he downed it all very quickly. I have seen him sucking again since but this evening he has emptied a second bottle. I'm hoping that Flossie will manage to continue feeding him with a little etxra help from me and that he will not become a bottle baby all together. Time will tell.
June 28th 2010
What a week! After having got the animals in what we believed to be the right places the fun began! The pregnant females were then all at the farm with us for keeping an eye on. Bessie and the yearlings then went down the road to some neighbouring friends with holiday lets and some land where the alpacas can be admired by their guests! All in and settled then. That was last weekend.
Monday saw our first cria of the year out of Aurora. A beautiful white boythat we have named John after the friend where some are 'lodging'! We had been waiting with bated breath as she and Hope had both passed 11 months. Then on Wednesday I thought Flossie was looking a little unsettled first thing at just 10 1/2 months having gone nearly 12 last year. By early afternoon both she and Hope had done the business and produced 2 more beautiful cria. Hope had a little fawn girl to be called Lindsey on our 'Rosalinda' line of females and Flossie a dark chocolatey brown boy who I just had to call Malteser. All 3 looking strong and healthy. Although it has taken Hope a few days to learn about keeping track of her baby! That got us to the point that the next 2 wouldn't be reaching 11 months for another 5 weeks - chaos temporarily over then. Not so! Yesterday my lovely, cuddly, not pregnant Bessie proved us wrong by having a gorgeous fawn girl for me. I was really excited as I especially wanted one from her and was quite disappointed that she was not pregnant - what do we know?! All at Great Gutton where they are staying were also delighted. However, unfortunately I think we're going to have to bring her home with the other mums as we've seen her allowing 2 of the yearlings to feed from her.
June 19th 2010 Hello strangers!! I feel you are in need of an update. Well, where do I begin? Whilst I have been very quiet for a long time on the blog, life elsewhere for myself and my family has actually been very busy with many changes. To cut a long story short, life has taken another turn for me and I met a very lovely farmer by the name of Iain.The result of this is that myself, my children, cat, dogs, rabbits, chickens and, of course, alpacas have upped and moved 20 miles to the Crediton area. It has been taking some time and today saw us moving the last of the alpacas to their new resting place. The first 5 came with me at the end of May as they are the first due to calve and I didn't want to move them any later. Additionally I wanted them close by for keeping an eye on them. The other 3 pregnant girls are not due until later in the summer and were amongst todays group. My lovely Bessie unfortunately scanned not pregnant when the vet checked them so I could plan who to move when. I wasn't in the least suprised as she is far too cuddly to be hormonal! The move has also caused me to reconsider my long term plans for the herd and I have almost decided that I will reduce breeding. Sadly this will mean parting with some of my girls.I plan to keep the most varied colour genetics for breeding for colour and some young males and then to concentate on working my fleeces. I enjoy this aspect and enjoy speaking to members of the public at the craft fairs and shows. I will probably limit my alpaca numbers to the number of fleeces I am able to deal with - perhaps I'll need to speed up my knitting! Obviously, once we are settled in our new home, I need to look at improving and updating my sales page. I have limited it in order to make sure I have a good stock for markets, but if fibre is going to be the way forward for me it will need more attention!
January 25th 2010 Ok, so what exactly is my excuse for having vanished off the face of the earth for the last couple of months?! Sorry, I don't really have one. Life has been very busy on a personal level and actually very quiet on the alpaca front so I guess it has just whizzed past me even more quickly than usual. There I was thinking I'd get better at the 'blog mentality'. Doesn't seem to be happening, does it? We've had our share of the snow and ice in our corner of the country over the Christmas and early January period. Children had very long Christmas holidays as a result, I had very frazzled patience as a result! It did look very beautiful but I have to admit that the novelty is very short-lived as it does complicate life quite a lot. Having the alpacas at a distance from the house is more inconvenient when water is frozen etc. They got through rather more hay than usual for a couple of weeks but now we have reverted to mud and there is still plenty of grazing to keep them all happy. The only other news with the alpacas themselves is that now all of the crias are weaned. Last week the youngest 3 moved to join their contemporaries and the 3 young pregnant maidens who are playing 'Auntie'. Little Peggy is still missing Micah a little and is not as keen to come in with the others. However, she is now staying with the others and following them in, if a touch reluctantly. The Christmas craft fairs and my monthly 'slot' in Chagford are going reasonably well and I enjoy the opportunity to see people and talk alpacas, as they do seem to generate a lot of interest amongst the general public.
November 24th 2009 Just a quick update. Peggy seems to be a little more comfortable with her beautifully spayed blue foot. I've also managed to sort out the file of the book covers and it is now on the products page. You should be able to find it here!
November 23rd 2009 The weather is revolting and the rain is pouring down. For the first time since last winter the alpacas were in the shelter when I went to feed them this morning. Winter must finally be on its way! This last week has been an interesting one here. I have back the first samples of a little non-fiction book I've written for children. Perhaps it's a case of 'once a teacher always a teacher'! Hopefully, in time this is something I will be able to use with visiting schools. It's nice to have it back and it will be on sale on the products page very soon - just need to sort out a jpeg of the cover. Last Friday alos saw me on my first regular stall. I will be doing a stall at Chagford flea market once a month on the 3rd Friday from now on. I chatted to lots of very nice people and hopefully will get myself known there in time. Meanwhile, back with the animals, the first group are now weaned. They were taken with Rosie and some 'auties', in the form of last years females, to the bottom paddock last weekend. Generally they are fine. Edward is still a little unsettled but Katy and Suki are unbothered. As for the mums, they vaguely looked for the first day but are also fine. In addition I have one poor little girl with a saw toe. Peggy has somehow got a wound on the top of her toe which has got an infection in it. Having tried to draw it out with a poultice she is now on antibiotics. Fingers crossed we'll see some improvement very soon for her.
November 9th 2009
Well, once again, apologies for the absence over the last few weeks. I can't believe how the time goes so quickly. It's been quite busy here one way and another. Not especially so with the animals as we are in a relatively quiet period. All vitamins, worming and vaccinations are up to date and we're not quite at weaning and halter training point. That having been said our little orphan, Rosie, has now given up her last daily bottle. She's doing well and just as robust as the other crias, I think.
The wonderful dry weather has finally given way to lots of rain over the last couple of weeks so the field is no longer possible to drive into with the car. I have a flat tyre in need of sorting out on the tractor before the next load of feed requires transporting in the link box.
Yarn has finally returned after a few problems at the mill and I have been knitting and crocheting like a woman possessed in an attempt to have a varied stall for the first of the Christmas Craft Fairs which was on Saturday. I'm also now starting a regular slot on the 3rd Friday of the mointh at Chagford market in their Jubilee Hall.
My non-fiction book on alpacas for children is due back from the printers in the next couple of weeks. The local school saw it in it's draft form and are waiting for an update.
Also on my 'to do' list is a re-vamp of the products page. I've not been adding things as I've been trying to increase my stock but I'm now getting reasonably well-stocked so I'll pop some more on there soon.
I knew keeping the blog up to date might not be my strong point but I'm sure I must be in some kind of a time-warp...!
October 12th 2009
This last week or so has been a little chaotic here. It's strange how you can feel like you are chasing around the whole time and making little progress. I've been able to tick a few small boxes though so I guess that's good. Hopefully the problem of running out of water at the top shelter will now be over. Last week I got 2 further 1000 litre water tanks for collecting rain water from the roof. In a moment of good fortune I managed to get them set up without getting wet and then the rain set in in earnest and each tank collected about 200 litres by the next morning!
Last week also saw me racing against the clock in an attempt to get vitamin AD and E, vaccinations, weighing and worming all done within the pre-school hours Jessie does - much easier minus the small assistant! I'm pleased to say 'mission accomplished' and all is now up to date.
I've also been trying to build up a little stock in preparation for a local Christmas Craft Fair. I hope to have this years yarn arriving soon which will give me a better colour range.
September 30th 2009
Another hectic week or two has passed us by. It seems to have been very busy but no major developments really. The highlight for me, I think, was a visit from the reception class in the local primary school. They came to see the animals and to collect the eggs last week and, although it was unfortunately the dampest day of the week, they seemed to enjoy themselves. We finished with hot chocolate and muffins in the trailer tent as the ground was wet. This was sadly the last 'tent' time really for this summer and my sister and I dismantled it on Monday. Learning from last winter I have kept the stove in one half of the calving shelter in order to have coffee making facilities through the cold weather!
Ian has told me that on arrival at Langaton Smokey Joe mated with Amaia so I'm hoping she's now pregnant. He was doing spit-offs yesterday which would be her absolute last chance for this season. We also had a visit from Gary from Popham with his boys for spit-offs on Monday. The 4 females all spat and ran so, fingers crossed they are pregnant and will remain so through the winter months.
September 17th 2009
Yesterday saw the return of My girls that have been away at Langaton for mating. I must say, it was very nice to see them home. Aurora and Flossie have obviously been very good mums and both cria are growing well. Ian said he though little Suki was looking good and she'll be one to show next year. It's rather nice to get the seal of approval from a long established breeder and judge! I felt like a proud mum when he said that all my babies were looking good and they wouldn't show me up in the ring! Less positive was the fact that poor Smokey Joe who came with him to mate with Amaia was not keen on this whole 'mobile mating' arrangement and refused to do the deed! Amaia has had to go away with them in order to have one last chance to be pregnant before winter sets in. All my effort to avoid taking her from little Rosie and she's gone anyway. Rosie did seem to look for them afterwards but she's fine today and has the other crias to play with.
Still no sign of this years yarn coming back. I'm waiting to get making things for some Christmas craft fairs hopefully.
September 12th 2009
Well, some how September has arrived. The children are back at school and life is supposed to slow to something resembling normality! I'm still waiting for this to take shape!
Gary from Popham came back last week to do spit-offs with my 4 girls using his studs. 2 spat and 2 sat for another mating. Fingers crossed for next time. I know Amaia is not pregnant from her day out at Langaton so hopefully she'll have a visit from Smokey Joe some time next week. Ian is also planning to bring my girls home, hopefully all 4 pregnant. I shall call it a day with any that are not yet pregnant by the end of September. If it gets too late in the year I will have late cdias next year which I don't want to happen.
In the meantime the crias are growing and, Rosie in particular is making new friends, included one of our recently rescued x-battery chickens!
August 21st 2009
Once again, a couple of weeks have passed me by without getting on here - apologies!
Since completing calving things have been ticking along pretty well for Tudor Cottage Alpacas. I thankfu lto say that all the crias are doing well, including little Rosie. She is now over 7 weeks and has gained a little over 5kg over her birth weight. She's a little slower than the others, as would be expected, but quite respectable all the same.
As for the next cycle, Ian at Langaton tells me my girls up there are spitting, so hopefully pregnant. Less encouraging is that Misty has just sat for her 4th mating. Also, Amaia, who went for a mating at Langaton and came home with me, sat outside the pen clearly hoping she was going to get a turn - no pregnancy there! Also today was time for Micah, Martina and Annie to mate. Annie, who isn't a solid colour herself had a visit from the very beautiful Camouflage from Popham. It would be nice to get one with an interesting fleece for handspinning so we'll see what comes of it.
August 4th 2009
Quite what happened to the long hot summer, I'm not quite sure! Our edge of Dartmoor is certainly not seeing all the MET office promised - ho hum! Photos are a bit thin on the ground, as a result.
We had our last cria for the year born last Monday. It's a little boy from Martina. He's very sweet and white. She is a cracking mother and he's doing well. She is one of our oldest girls and I had thought she might be looking at going on the market with her cria if she had a boy - now I'm in two minds...! On the one hand it's a relief to have the cria here with no further disasters to date, but it is also a slight anti-climax to think there will be no more until next summer - can't please some people!! I am really delighted with my new additions and 5 little females are fantastic to build up the herd.
Rosie is doing well and now beginning to graze a little more and also to eat a few pellets at feeding time with the others. Interestingly, she wont take the pellets from my hand but eats with the others from the troughs! All good signs of being a member of the herd, I guess.
Flossie has gone off to the stud at Langaton along with little Suki. I rather miss little Suki as she is a real character and extremely nosey! I also took Amaia up to be mated while we were there. She came home with Elspeth and Rosie as the three of them are quite a little 'unit' a lot of the time and I didn't want to take Amaia away from Rosie. Fingers crossed she's pregnant anyway. Apparently when Ian at Langaton did the spit-offs last week my other three females up there (Aurora, Hope and Bessie)wouldn't sit for another mating so that is a promising start - hopefully the next cycle is underway.
July 22nd 2009
I wish I knew where the time goes! It is, yet again, ages since I got myself organised to come on here. Sadly, no new photos as the weather has been pretty awful here over the last couple of weeks. It must be the start of the school summer holidays triggering all the rain - my girls broke up yesterday.
Little Rosie continues to be a little sweetie. She is growing but very slowly. She's pretty good at taking her bottle and usually empties it. She is also staying with the herd mostly when she isn't coming for her feed. The other two younger cria seem to play with her well enough so she has little friends in Elspeth and Peggy (which is what we have named Micah's cria as the start of our 'Margaret' line!).
We are now waitng for the last cria due which is from Martina. She is just over 11 months so any time goes. She looks quite big but her udder doesn't look particularly full yet so we'll have to wait and see.
I'm planning another trip up to Langaton on Friday to take Flossie up to stay for mating after all. Instead it will be Amaia that will stay at home with Elspeth as company for Rosie.
July 11th 2009
I'm pleased to say that Rosie is still with us. She is not quite 'safe' yet. According to the vets apparently 10 - 14 days is a bit of a dodgy period for infections if their antibodies are low due to inadequate colostrum. She is gaining weight, but more slowly than the others and she is extrememly sweet. We are very attached to her, of course, and although cautiously optomistic, I'm still keeping in mind that we're not out of the woods yet.
The other news update is that Micah calved this morning and, amazingly, produced another girl for us! She's white and the lowest birth weight we've had but is up and running and looking strong! Micah had put on very little weight and I was half expecting a very low weight cria so all things considered she looks great!
Having done so well with the females this year (5 out of 6 so far with only 1 more cria due) I will expect only boys next summer!
July 6th 2009
Things are going well here with Rosie. She is getting better at taking her bottle and seems quite strong. She is also beginning to return to the rest of the herd more readily when we leave her, which is very good news. This having been said, she certainly has an identity crisis and quite fancied moving into the tent with us on Saturday night!
Amaia and her new cria, Elpeth are both fine. They are helping to encourage Rosie to join the group as Rosie seems interested in Elspeth when she has a little run around and sometimes joins in - very sweet!
July 4th 2009
Just a quick update to let you know that our little orphan is doing well. We think she might be 'Rosie'.
Also, Jessie and I were lucky enough this morning to watch Amaia calving and producing another beautiful brown girl for us. She is our oldest girl and a very experienced mum and managed it all straight from the text book!
July 2nd 2009 Well, the last couple of weeks have been eventful here. After shearing there followed sorting of fleeces and 8 have now gone off to the mill so I'll be waiting with excitement for their return. Katy, Edward and Suki all continue to grow and are looking healthy and happy little crias and are very entertaining! We have our trailer tent up on the field and have now spent a few nights up there which is lovely as it give time to just watch them. Misty had a visit from one of Popham Alpacas studs a couple of weeks ago and he is coming back today for spit-offs. I think it will be another mating as I don't think she is pregnant from her behaviour.Then, yesterday I took Aurora and little Edward, along with Hope and Bessie (who were at the Devon county Show)off to Langaton Alpacas to go to the stud up there. I shall miss them at this end and Edward will seem a lot bigger when they come home in a couple of months. Flossie with Suki was also going to go but I've kept her here as I will explain in a moment. Sadly not all events have been happy ones. On Tuesday Amaryllis calved and all was looking well so I left them for an hour or so and on returning Amaryllis had had a prolapse. Although the vet was able to get the uterus back in she died shortly afterwards with toxic shock. This was really a 'first' I didn't want to happen yet and has left us with a little orphaned female. She is beautiful and is now 48 hours old but I can't guess whether she'll make it. It is virtually impossible to get the children to leave her alone to learn that she is an alpaca as she follows us around. Flossie and baby Suki have stayed as they seem quite interested in her and I hope they will encourage her to join the herd. Please keep your fingers very much crossed for her.
June 17th 2009 A big day for us today! We had a visit from Colin Ottery to do the shearing. We were extremely lucky with the rain as it held off all morning, although it did look like we wouldn't make it at one point. The 7 adult females were done outside the top shelter and then we moved down the field to the other shelter for the yearlings and did them inside. They all look very different and are looking at one another as if they've never met. It looks like they're saying 'whatever happened to you?'and not realising they look like it too! All very sleek looking and sacks of lovely fibre in the shed. This is another first and all went very well. Those that squeal at everything squealing but the rest were very calm. It might look a little undignified but they don't seem to mind and they are safely controlled to avoid any injuries.I hope they feel comfortable now - or at least they will do when the sun comes back out!
June 6th 2009
Well I'm back on here much more quickly than usual, so there must be a reason. This is introducing Suki. Flossie calved at around midday in the bucketing rain. The poor little thing was not looking brilliant and I think she was a little chilled so I rubbed her down and put her in with a little coat on and sher now is upright and looking brighter.
June 5th 2009 Yesterday saw the arrival of our second cria of the year. Aurora calved and was completely unimpressd by the whole thin! She had a little boy who we have called Edward and he weighed in at a massive 11kg which is almost exactly what little Katy weighs now at 5 weeks old. He's feeding well and looks like a good, strong litle chap at the moment so fingers crossed... Aurora has always been one of the more reluctant to come in to the shelters and today wasn't keen to bring her baby in. I know catching him is certainly goint to be tricky if she doesn't co-operate. Katy is very happy to have a little friend at last and Misty is almost as fascinated by him as she was by Katy when she arrived. Aurora is simply taking it all in her stride and is very much herself.
May 25th 2009 Where did that time go? Things have been pretty hectic here over the last couple of weeks. Little Katy is doing well although her weight gain has slowed a little this last week. She is skipping about and very lively so no concerns just now. Flossie and Aurora are both due any day now so hopefully she'll have a little play mate soon. This weekend saw the Devon County Show in full swing. The weather was unusually beautiful which was a real bonus. It was with a little trepidation that I took Hope and Bessie along to show. My first big show 'on my own', although people are very friendly. Anyway, it was well worth all the effort of getting them and me there whilst children needed getting elsewhere! They did me proud as Bessie got a 4th in her class despite being the youngest in it having just turned 12 months, and Hope got 2nd in her class and Reserve Champion Female Brown. I was delighted as it is quite a large County show and large breeders were there too! Our first rosettes! Photos to follow.
May 6th 2009 Just to let you know that all is well with our newest addition. She has been named Katy and is the first of the 'Katherine' line of names continuing the Tudor theme. She regained her birth weight quickly and was up to 8.3kg yesterday. She is now happily trotting about the field with mum and aunties and seems to be doing very nicely. It's a ral pleasure to see this pretty little skipping and jumping just for the joy of it! She did have a little 'chat' with another small member of the family early on and so heard about being small in this family! I also got the chance to go on a very interesting course up at Langaton Alpacas on Friday last week. It was run by camelid specialist vet Gina Bromage who is the author of 'Llamas and Alpacas: A Guide to Management' and was mainly covering nutrition and calving. As I head towards the future crias I hope not to need to help with too many calvings myself, but the information was useful. It was also good to meet up with other alpaca folk whether or not I'd met them before.
Apr 27th 2009 Isn't she clever? At last our first cria - that's both Misty's and mine! She calved at about 5.30 yesterday afternoon just as the rain was coming in for the night. What did I hear about alpacas waiting for a fine day? We just had about a month of them and Misty seem to have waited for the nice weather to leave us! Mum and babe were brought in last night with a couple of friends for company. I'm now happy that I've seen her feeding this morning and fingers crossed all will be well. Due to the awful weather they are now back in after a brief graze for Misty outside earlier on. I hope to go and give her another hour or two outside later if the rain clears enough. In a day or two I guess the new addition will be getting a little more robust but she can't go out in a deluge. She is very dark brown with a white flash on her head and weighed in at 7kg. Misty is every bit the proud new mum and more chilled than I've ever seen her - long may it last! Next up should be Flossie - she'll be 11 months in the middle of May. I'll keep you posted!
Apr 23rd 2009 Little news here really. We enjoyed a lovely afternoon at Popham Alpacas in the sunshine on Sunday catching up with some people and meeting others. I was also lucky to meet some near neighbours to the field last week. Tracey (?) and Jo were very friendly and interested in how things are going. It is very nice to know that people are having a little check on the animals as they pass by. Thanks for your encouragement. Misty is now well over 11 months and showing no signs of calving - the waiting continues. Flossie is also at 11 months in 3 weeks so either could happen first at this rate. I'll keep you posted. The handling pen has arrived so I've been trying to get them used to going through it this week. The 3 first due to calf are in another paddock so have yet to 'meet' it as it is in the main shelter. We are also very lucky with the continuing sunshine :)
Apr 13th 2009 We have had some beautiful weather over the last couple of weeks with just a few 'iffy' days. Perfect weather for Misty to deliver her cria, but she wont be told! Still no sign of the first 2009 baby. Last week I had a visit from the vet to help with the Blue Tongue virus jabs. They were trying to spread the available vaccine as far as possible and going around to places that didn't need a nice, tidy 'bottle sized' number of doses! She'll be back again in 3 weeks for the 3 that need a second dose as this is their first year being vaccinated and it isn't just a booster. However, it seems there is some disagreement between vets and the British Alpaca Society as to how many doses they need annually. I heard in the week that a clever little 'pen' I ordered at the futurity has been despatched so hopefully that should come tomorrow and will make some of the basic husbandry easier if I'm not trying to hold them at the same time and they can't go anywhere!
Mar 30th 2009 Oh dear! Apologies once again for the lack of news. In truth there isn't a great deal of news at the moment - just waiting! It took several days to convince the 3 that are now in the calving paddock that the new shelter was quite safe to enter! As the wet has been such a problem with the first shelter the 2 new ones have a suspended floor in them, which means a step up. This was very worrying for my girls and I had to enlist the assistence of my eldest daughter, Beth, to help me round them in with ropes! They have now got the hang of it and the lure of food seems to outweigh the mistrust of the step! They are all still intact and seem quite happy in their new area. Misty is now 10 1/2 months so any time now really. Hopefully my (and Misty's) first cria wont come along with too many complications - it's all getting close now and lots of new experiences are around the corner. I also now have a date on the calendar for shearing which is quite exciting - all those new fleeces to do things with. Some I have definite plans for and other I'm undecided about. I do plan to have some to sell as raw fleece for hand-spinning this year, and also some as yarn. I hope to be able to have a variety of 'options' across the colour range. Seeing them all together now gives a very pleasing idea of the spread of colours now represented and I wait with interest to see if we have any new shades to add from this years crias when the arrive. Time will tell.
Mar 12th 2009 Today my sister, Katy, helped me bring all of the alpacas back together into the top shelter for injections, worming and weighing. The scales went a little wonky at the end but I think all seems well. I don't much like stressing the ones that are soon due, but it's done now. Misty is my bigger worry as she hates being handled and throws herself around a lot and she is the first due - only 5 weeks away. Fingers crossed she has done herself no harm. We then split them all up again into different groupings, as the first 3 due are now down in the bottom paddock with the brand new shelter where they will remain until after calving. The rest have been shuffled a little to make sure the weanlings are still away from 'mum' but all the young ones have some adult companions too! Aunties are in charge! Next up will be the Blue Tongue jabs, but we are now up-to-date and where we should be. It was nice to get to the flask of coffee at the end! I've also, finally managed to add a couple of new bits to the products for sale page!
Mar 4th 2009
Another couple of busy weeks here. The main part has been the trip up to the British Alpaca Futurity last weekend. Little Hope went on a big adventure starting with a trip back to her place of birth at Langaton Alpacas in North Devon (This step of the journey was happily completed in the back of the car!). She travelled with their animals to the show. She was very well behaved and did me proud, although no rosette this time. The competition was stiff and all very new for her. However, what was very good to see was the fact that she was not at all out of place amongst the very beautiful animals from top breeders across the UK. I felt proud to have her there. In addition, I was able to take some of Ian's Langaton alpacas into the ring for the experience and I really enjoyed it. The trade stalls and alpaca fashion show was also interesting to see. It was really a busy weekend with lots to learn and enjoy, and I'm glad I went despite having pretty much decided I wouldn't go initially. The other news is the arrival, today, of a small blue tractor. This will hopefully make for less carrying around of bales of hay and feedsacks, and also allow me to keep the grass under control come spring and summer (if they ever happen - it is currently snowing outside!). I think I could use a little tractor-driving practice to hone my skills!
Feb 22nd 2009 Things are all rather more back to normal here now. The snow has all gone and temperatures have risen. This week has been half-term for the children and we've had a lovely bright week for it. The sunshine has even prompted me to put a little bench in the top paddock for 'paca-watching'! They were very interested in the procedure! The Futurity is now nearly upon us and Hope is doing well with the halter. By far the most reluctant weanling with a halter remains as Henry. Even William and Annie, who have only started training this last week, have overtaken Henry in the 'willingness' stakes! I've also found myself a little old tractor to make all the carrying rather easier. Also this will be used to top the paddocks through the summer when the alpacas are not keeping up with the grass growth. Delivery has yet to be confirmed but should be soon.
Feb 10th 2009
The last week has been truly winter for us on the edge of Dartmoor. The heavy snow fall we had over night on Thursday necessitated walking to the field for the following couple of days as most of the lanes were not passable. My older 2 daughters and my father-in-law joined me on the first day which was nice. Everything was very beautiful. The girls opted out of the 4 mile round trip on the second day - fair enough! Of course the alpacas were fine in it, although obviously getting through the hay rather more quickly with all the grass under 18" of snow! They were also using the shelter/horsebox most of the time which is unusual.
Feb 3rd 2009
Another week passed and halter training is in progress for Hope and Henry. Hope is rather more happy about it and is making some progress. She has worked out that it is more comfortable not to pull against it and has also allowed Beth to hold her today. It's been a very snowy day here and as a result schools have been closed so I've had a couple of 'helpers'. Henry is less relaxed and I'm just giving him as long as it takes in small sessions. However, I'm hopeful that Hope will indeed be ready for her trip to Warwickshire. I am, of course going to join her!
Since I had spare pairs of hands with me today it seemed a good time to put them to work and we have now weaned the remaining cria. Annie is the youngest and is now 6 months so she and William have now been separated from their mums. Neither mums or babes seem to be bothered so far and that will hopefully remain the case. The five mums are now together and the five cria are still with the two adult females without cria. An extra food trough has been moved to the mum paddock for feeding times.
All seem perfectly happy in the snow and the chickens are racing them to the water trough when I break the ice!
Jan 24th 2009 So much for a new year and being better at 'blog-keeping'! The wenalings are all doing fine. Bessie is still not keen to come into the shelter for feeding although she is coming in with the rest of the group to sleep. Amaia, her mum is still far more interested in food than the whereabout of her young daughter! The weather has reverted to being horrbly wet and last wek we had some quite severe winds thrown in. They managed to roll the smallest (fortunately empty) henhouse and the full hayrack across the top paddock. The hens were temporarly in a slightly larger one awaiting the arrival of thei new accommodation which came last Sunday. It is now erected and offering the small one (for broodies/younger birds etc)some protection from the prevailing weather. Their temporary home has been collapsed and removed now. I also collected a few more pullets yesterday. They are lovely and totally unworried by their larger guardians, unlike the older ones that I moved up there from our garden that were rather nervous of the alpacas for some time. The more exciting news for me at the moment concerns the 'British Alpaca Futurity' plans. This is pretty much the biggest British Alpaca Society event of the year and is taking place at the end of February at Stoneleigh Park in Warwickshire. I had decided, for various reasons, to give it a miss this year. However, Ian from Langaton (where some of my herd came from) emailed me at the start of the week to say that although he new I wasn't planning to go he would be prepared to take Hope and show her on my behalf. Hope shall go to the ball! The fact that somebody as experienced and well established in the alpaca business as Ian thinks I've got something worth taking to show is really quite exciting! Of course, with her heading off to this rather large and grand affair I feel I'd like to go too. A little juggling and asking for help from family is needed - and, of course, having Hope nicely halter trained before the time arrives!
Jan 11th 2009 All were where they should be this morning, thankfully! Out of the cria involved in this group of weanlings Hope came up to the shelter happily for feeding, Henry needed some encouragement and following up the field so he didn't change his mind, but little Bessie refused to be removed from the fence to the mums. Interestingly, out of the mums it was Amaia (Bessie's mum) that seemed least concerned and she was certainly not going to let her anxiety come between her and her food! She came, first as usual, into the horsebox to eat. When the rest of the herd came bak out the all went to graze around the fence to the next paddock where they were closest to their friends. It does feel a little mean, but it is for the best given that the mums are also pregnant and the crias from 2008 are able to support themselves. This means that mums, 2008 crias and 2009 crias get the best chance possible to grow and remain in good condition.
Jan 10th 2009 My two older daughters, aged 11 and 9 came with me today and we dropped the 2 year old off with my in-laws. They were very keen to be involved and help with the animals so as I was wanting to give another dose of vitamin A D and E and wiegh them again before separating my three females from the herd, it seemed like a good time to invole them. They helped with holding some for their injections and recorded weights and who had been done for me on the chart. Some were too strong and keen to be free for them to manage, but they will grow and get stronger so it is something they will manage sometime, if they are still interested and willing! We arranged it so the first 3 weighed and released were Amaia, Amarillis and Aurora so we were able to round them into the other paddock before the rest of the herd were out. That was fine, but within a very short time of releasing the rest little Bessie had found she could squeeze under the lowest timber in the corner by the gate to get back to Amaia. The corner has now been blocked with hurdles until I can put some timber across at a lower level and with my eldest, Beth on the other end of a rope we were able to corner them and pop Bessie back through the gate. They were clearly not terribly happy but I know it'll soon pass. We'll see how they are in the morning.
Jan 9th 2009 Today while the field was still nice and hard and frosty I have moved the horsebox into another paddock so that I can use it as a 'temporary shelter' for some of the mums of cria needing weaning. If only I'd known how fantastic the weather was going to be over the last few weeks I might have been able to book the shelter people to come and put up the next one up while we could drive on the field without sinking beyond trace! Anyway, as it is the next shelter will have to wait a little longer but will hopefully be here for calving. The plan is to seperate the three mums whose crias are ready tomorrow.
Jan 8th 2009 Well, a new year seems not to have improved my blog-keeping habit. I hope 2009 is good for you all and I will aim to keep you up to date with our happenings. The weather has continued to be beautiful, if very cold and frosty. The animals seem to like it that way and still mainly choose to sleep outside rather than in the shelter.
This is Flossie and Misty on their way in for food. These are the fawn and black combination I've been using on some of the jewellery. They are the 2 that don't have cria just now and Misty (fawn) is the first of the 7 females due to calf. All being well she should be producing in April(ish!). It will be interesting to see how they are when they're not pregnant. They are both young and pretty nervy, but I don't know how much is hormonal really as they were both pregnant before they came here and I started to get to know them.
As all the waterbuts and hoses have been frozen solid I've been taking water up for them from home. Although the temperature was far higher this morning at about +1 just before 9am, the water was still frozen and Amarillis and Bessie fancied a drink when I got there! I was also having a little look at one very fleecy Henry! I thought this shot of him in the shelter at feeding time is quite nice as it shows some of the colour-range in the herd while they all stand together.
I am beginning to think a little about the plans for my girls when they're ready to go back to stud in the summer. Some I plan to wait and see what results come from last summers matings but I have 3 combinations that I can not repeat, sadly, as the stud Misty, Flossie and Amarillis went to has recently died.
Dec 27th 2008 Rather a hectic week has passed - not with the alpacas but in the house with Christmas and so on. Lots of food, family, paper and excited children! Anyway, the main chaos is now passed and everytig can settle down again. It has been a lovely week weather wise and the animals all seem very happy through the bright, cold days. Very exciting news is the 'gateway progress'. There has been a little digger up at the entrance this week and much mud has been cleared and hardcore put down. Some more will be needed as this 'beds down' but a vast improvement. It is hard to know exactly how much more will be needed and how it will level off as the ground is extremely frosty today so not behaving as usual.
Dec 17th 2008 I don't know where the time goes to because I'm sure it wasn't that long since I was on here! I have been updating items on the sales page over the last week or so as things have been quite busy on that side. Production is struggliung to keep up a little! It is going to virtually cease now for a couple of weeks what with Christmas looming large! However, I've had some very positive comments from some satisfied customers, so that has been extremely pleasing. The alpacas are happily munching on the next paddock which I opened up for them today. They now have access to 3 out of the 5 and seem perfectly happy. They are always keen for their feed and the hay is beginning to go down a bit more now, but they all look very well and are quite content with life. Matting is shortly to be raised on pallets as I 'acquired' some today from some friends who have the builders in. Perhaps the wet side in the shelter will finally be conquered!
Dec 8th 2008 We had another couple of days with beautiful frosty mornings over the weekend. It makes a real difference underfoot in the field. In the morning you can still see frost on some of them with thicker fleeces their insulation is so good! Henry in particular as he is 9 months old and wasn't sheared in the summer so he is very well wrapped up! In between the frosts the wet in the shelter continues to be a bit of a battle. The matting has helped but I think I'm going to try raising it slightly on pallets - we'll get it cracked in the end! I seem to be struggling a little to get a supply of products produced before they vanish! This is a good problem to have I guess but since 'going public' a lot of those items that I had in hand have gone. I must say, I'm very pleased with the fibre and how things are coming out. I've just completed the knitting of a wrap today. It seemed to be taking forever and I was getting a little disheartened, but now it's knitted and waiting for some added sparkle (in pinks, I think) and I'm very pleased with it. It will be added to the product sales page in the next few days :)
Dec 2nd 2008 Yesterday was a beautiful frosty day and I was able to get some rubber matting down in one end of the shelter. The tarpaulin is underneath it but I decided that cleaning out would be easier and the water rising up would at least be reduced. I think it will help a lot and the alpacas seem to like it. All of the animals seemed to be enjoying the nice hard field for a change, Flossie, Arouror and Henry were not too keen to get up from their spot in the frosty sunshine! The chickens were also perfectly happy in and out of their 'alpaca-free' feeding spot and scatching around. A really lovely feel to the morning.
I was able to have a couple of child free hours this afternoon and had the chance to see just how tricky the single-handed injecting and weighing would be. I don't think they were overly impressed but the tasks were both successfully completed and each animal had vitamins A D and E, as well as me now having a record of their current weight. Hopefully the experience will not put them off coming into the shelter for feeding as this is the only way I can easily catch them! I guess we'll see what they think tomorrow!
Nov 26th 2008 Things continue to be a tad wet here. I've spent quite some time convincing the chickens they are safer from Mr Fox if they remain on the same side of the fence as their alpaca 'minders'! Sadly Mr Downie preferred to trot off across the neighbouring field and we no longer have a cockerel. On a more positive note, without his influence the ladies seem to be much more settled. They are showing more respect to the fencing and becoming happy in the company of their bodyguards - long may it last! In my attempt to give them nice dry lying down space in the shelter I've put down a large tarpaulin under the straw as there is no 'floor' in a mobile shelter. The jury is still out as to whether this is going to be successful. They don't seem to like it much as it make a fun noise and move with the soft ground underneath. I may yet have to splash out on rubber matting, I think. I'll give it a little longer before making a decision. I was off up to Langaton yesterday to meet up with our little group for spinning. That's the last one planned just now but we had a very enjoyable time playing with fleece! This last week or so has had me very busy with spinning, knitting and felting for various alpaca pieces. It really is a beautiful fibre and the more I do the more I enjoy it. I hope other people will enjoy the outcomes as much!
Nov 17th 2008 Once again the time has flown by. I'm, admittedly, not brilliant at this 'blog-keeping' business! Well, little Annie had her second blue tongue jab last week. We had a visit from Gary and Felicia from Popham to give her a dose while they were doing some more of theirs. It was nice to show them that they've all settled in well, but rather less nice to show them the extent of our mud! I'm glad to say that little Annie has shown no adverse effect and is quite her usual little self. It was good to hear that gary and Felicia could see that she had grown - it's hard to tell when you see them every day. Over the last few days they have been a little less enthusiastic about coming for feeding, which was strange. However, I've got to the bottom of it now and this morning acquired some sheep hurdles to 'pen in' the chicken feeders. The alpacas have learned to knock the lids off and developed a taste for layers pellets. I think they are unlikely to produce me any eggs so I've taken steps to keep them at a distance. I first put the feeders inside the small hen run but the cria just put their heads down and walk right in! Once they have knocked the lids off it's surprising how far their mums long necks can reach! I now have a few items to list on the site. I would like to show the alpaca who produced the fleece with each product but am still waiting to get some nice (slightly less muddy!) individual piccies of some of them!
Nov 10th 2008 Another week has passed and still the rain it keeps raining! As far as I'm aware there is no record of alpacas developing webbed feet, but the Tudor Cottage herd could well be a first!! Micah has had a bit of a sticky eye this week and it has been bathed regularly. I was pleased to see this moring that it is looking much improved. Also little Bessie's feet which have been a little sore are looking good. Quite how they have 'dried up' so well given the muddy conditions, I don't know but obviously that's pleasing. The alpacas now have some feathered friends as I moved the chickens up there a few days ago. Let's hope they live up to their guarding reputation and my chucks don't become fox food. The cria were all very interested in the new arrivals whilst the adults were more interested in their breakfast. As for the chickens, they were a little nervous of their protectors for the first day or two. They are well settled now and paddling around together happily! The novelty didn't last long for any of them. Unfortunately, I missed the initial meeting for photos as it was, unsurprisingly, pouring with rain! I'm very pleased with my new spinning wheel which is now stained and in action.
Nov 3rd 2008 Well I've been a bit lazy with this over the last couple of weeks. Things have been pretty busy one way and another. Time has been at a premium with it being half term and a house full of children amongst other things! Anyway, the alpacas all seem very happy in their new home, despite it being extremely wet and muddy. Still no sign of any ditching just yet but there's been plenty more rain. In addition to the animals I've been grabbing spare minutes to 'play' with fibre. The spinning is going well and I've been making felted beads and starting some jewellery which I hope to add to the website soon. I'm also trying out various patterns to find what I like for scarves and wraps. There are limited fleeces and colours so some things will have to wait for another year! Oh, and my new spinning wheel is sitting on the dining room table half stained...! The last ten days in a nut-shell! I will try to get some more piccies when we have a dry bright (!!!) day.
Oct 22nd 2008 It was interesting to see Martina (from Popham) and Amaryllis (from Langaton) have a bit of a set to this morning. The spit was flying but I think it was a stalemate in the end. I guess they'll be shuffling the pecking order a little with the 2 groups coming together. The rain continues and the field is in a state. Hopefully some ditching is to be done soon and that might help to drain it a little. It is also quite clay soil so of course that doesn't help.
Oct 21st 2008 Today I had another little trip up to Langaton for the next meet up on the spinning course. We were armed with our 'homework' and had a very enjoyable morning. I got to try out a different wheel which was interesting. The wheel I have has given me a chance to get started and to decide that I think I will continue with spinning but is not fantastic. If I'm going to do a lot I think I will 'upgrade' at some point having found there is actually quite a difference! As for the animals, having Amaia in the group could prove useful, I think, as she'll go anywhere for food!!
Oct 20th 2008 The Langaton group are settling in very well. They are rather more confident coming for feeding in the absence of children and are beginning to come into a catch pen for their pellets. They are beautiful animals and their individual characters are becoming noticable. Today was another big day as it saw the arrival of the rest of the group. Gary from Popham arrived in the bucketing rain with the last 2 mums and babes. It was very wet and I have no pics but it was lovely to see the way they all greeted one another. The new comers were instantly part of the herd. Seeing them all together for the first time I was delighted with the colour spread. I hope to work with the natural colours only for my products and there is a really good variety in the existing group now. I wonder what next year's crias will add to the 'pallet'.
Oct 16th 2008 A very big day today as the first alpacas arrived to make their home with us. We were lucky with the weather staying dry and they showed no major objection to the extremely wet and muddy gateway!! They've found the hayrack, enjoyed some pellets and begun to check out the shelter. They didn't seem overly put out by the very excited children, although they did keep their distance!
Oct 15th 2008 Well this week has been even more hectic. It has seen a drastic change in the field as the fencing has appeared. We are now stock-proof and ready for new arrivals! Hopefully, the Langaton group will be arriving tomorrow. The main challenge then will be getting in the gate!! It is so wet and all the heavy machinery has churned it up in a major way. I can still get in and out in 4 wheel drive but don't fancy it much towing. I think some hurdles might be required and off-load in the lane. Main thing is to remember the camera to capture those frst moments in their new home.
Oct 2nd 2008 Today I have been to see a secondhand and rather basic horsebox. No whistles and bells but I think it will do anything I need in the short term so that's another box ticked. I'm off up to the training centre at Langaton again tomorrow helping handling at a BAS course so that should be interesting and another opportunity to go and visit my girls up there.
Oct 1st 2008 Yesterday saw the completion of the field shelter and it is really just what I need. There was a bit of a glitch in that the rain wasn't coming down the downpipe, being mobile this obviously depends on the lie of the land. Anyway, I've sorted that by adding a little more guttering and a downpipe at the other end. This is now diverted into a waterbutt and straight into a secondhand water trough I've acquired. When it next rains we'll see if the ball-cock is moving as it should! It is now weighted down as instructed and I'm moving in already even if the animals are not yet. The field has all been measured up today for fencing and hopefully that should be done in a couple of weeks, making us stock-proof and ready for arrival of alpacas! I can't wait! I hope we don't have too much more rain too soon or they might have difficulties as the field is so water-logged. I think so gravel in the gateway could be helpful.
Sept 29th 2008 Well, the shelter has arrived today and is well on the way and looking good. There's also been a tractor baling, wrapping and removing the last cut so it's been all action up there today! The field is very wet and hopefully some ditching will help with that in the not too distant future.
Sept 27th 2008 Today we spent a very pleasant day at the open day at Popham Alpacas. They couldn't have arranged better weather if they had tried. It was nice to be able to visit Amaia and Martina with their crias there as we can't have them home yet. Amaia and Bessie were looking very lovely showing off in the progeny pen.
Sept 25th 2008 Unfortunately, due to some minor problems with the supplier the field shelter has not been able to come today and is instead to be put up on Monday. As the field is not stock-proof there is also some fencing to be done before my animals can come home. There is also somebody coming to look at this on Moday. This is quite frustrating but obviously needs sorting first and so I guess I must be patient...! On a lighter note I went on a spinning course yesterday up at the Alpaca Training Centre at Langaton and had a very enjoyable day. Admittedly, my first attempts are less than perfect but it is certainly something I will enjoy persevering with and hopefully manage to produce some saleable yarns in the future - watch this space!
Sept 17th 2008 Things are now coming together nicely. The field shelter is ordered and booked to be arriving on 25th September so hopefully the first of the animals will be able to move in shortly after this. The field is a couple of miles from home at an appropriately named junction called Spitlar Cross!
Aug 31st 2008 Well, things have been pretty busy here. Having established that I will not be buying land for a little while I decided to go shopping again for a couple more females. After a little hunt I have now added two more coloured females to my herd. They are coming Popham Alpacas near Saltash and both of them also have female cria at foot. They are a little older than my other females being 5 and 6 years old but will both add more colour to my group. Amaia is mid brown and Martina a dark fawn. I've also found a very helpful supplier for a mobile field shelter which can go in the 'main paddock'. I am now waiting to hear when the field has been cut for haylage so I can start getting ready for the first arrivals, which, all being well, will now be at the end of September or start of October. I hope to have them all at the end of October-ish - pregnancies permiting! Martina has only just been mated so even if that is successful she will not be ready to move for 60 days.
Aug 20th 2008 It is funny how things work out! Ater hearing about the field no longer being available I walked into a neighbour around the corner who had spotted my advert looking for land in the local newsletter. To cut a long story short, I now have a space to bring my girls home in October which is very exciting! I guess I can continue spending more money now hunting down a trailer, hurdles, hayracks...! Is this what they call retail therapy?!
Aug 15th 2008 Today was a very enjoyable and informative day spent on the 'Standard Alpaca Husbandry Course' at the Alpaca Training Centre at Langaton Alpacas in North Devon. There were 3 others on the course who were also new to this venture and it was dry weather for us to enjoy the farm and the 'hands on' elements of the course. I'm now impatient to get my girls nearer to home. The downers of the day were breaking down on my way home, and getting the message from the agent that the field I was hoping to buy has now been sold as part of a much larger lot. Ho-hum, back to square one then...!
Aug 6th 2008 Rather a muddy trip to the North Devon Show today to watch the alpaca classes and see how it's done! The judge, Liz Barlow, was really informative and explained her decisions clearly after each class. Although the classes were not in the main ring they do seem to be able to attract some attention from the show goers!
July 27th 2008 Spent a lovely day at 'Dreamfield Alpacas' today with the children for their first open day. It was perfect weather and, I thin a successful day for them. Thanks to Lynsey for her support and enthusiasm for my new venture! The children and Kay, my mother-in-law enjoyed getting better aquainted with these beautiful little creatures.
July 23rd 2008 Today I have sent off a parcel to Wales containing 4 of my 5 fleeces for processing. I've kept one as I plan to do a spinning course in the Autumn and, who knows, I might want some of my own fleece to practise on through the winter.
July 21st 2008 Well, I've finally gone and done it! Today I went back to revisit my first group of alpacas. After much hunting and visiting and re-visiting I have finally made my selection for my starter herd. They are all coming from Langaton alpacas in North Devon, so not so far away.
I have chosen 5 female huacayas who will all be pregnant if the plan goes as intended. Three of them have cria at foot, one of which is female too. They are a mix of colours from white through to black as I want to be able to produce a variety of natural coloured fibre. I guess my mission will be to try to improve the qualities of the fleece on my future cria, in particular the coloured ones as it is generally the white fleeces that have the more desirable characteristics.
2 of the group are only just starting the mating process so they wont be ready to move for a little while yet. This is probably just as well as it seem the vender of the land I was hoping to buy is having a change of plan, but that's another story...!
I was also able to have this years fleeces from my five which is rather nice so I can get started at trying out things to do with it.
