Freedom & Summer Chores !

 

This was the big day for the little rescue hens.  I have been feeding them up, worming them and giving them some treatment for Coccidiosis.  After a few weeks of this they were ready to join the other free range chickens out in the orchard.  This is a box with the first three being put outside for the very first time.  These little chickens were barn hens and have never experienced the world outside ... until now. 

 

The girls are attracting the attention of the big Orpington Cockerel.  I have four Orpington cockerels in total so the boys will have some extra girls to watch over.  Some of the brave ones venturing out ... and onto the grass !

 

The summer chores continue...this is a bit of a quiet time for me on the animal side of things, which means that I can catch up with chopping the wood and stacking the logs on the woodstore ready for the winter.  I have my parents visiting at the moment, so its great to have some extra helpers. I have no babies due until mid July all going to due dates, then it will be time to think about making some haylage once again...the year just ticks along and the seasons roll by.  So this time allows me to do a few catch up jobs around the garden and general chores, there is always something to keep me busy.

 

Safety in numbers ...more of the little brownies are now out with the others.  They have been out now for three days and are getting the hang of their new surroundings.... this is their last move now, so time to just enjoy some freedom outside.  These little chickens are only 40 weeks old, hopefully they will now enjoy a long and happy life. 

 

Doza is settling in just fine... he is gaining weight and has put on 2kg in 2 weeks.  He has had his second vaccination and we managed to get him weighed.  He will soon be over 60kgs at this rate.  The dogs are also enjoying some sunny days out in the garden.  Zonda is much happier, but she is looking much older lately, she spends lots of time asleep on the lounger. 

 

This is little Zanto after his appointment with the shearer !!  We are getting used to the new summer look. 

 

Sparky & Stravinsky strutting their stuff out in the field the other day ....the boys are looking very sleek.  Its lovely to see them all sheared.  I have been busy sorting my mountains of fleece out.  I have 7 more to do.  Then I just have to find somewhere to store it ....The boys have yielded some huge fleece weights this year.   I have some fleece samples to send away for analysis, which will be very interesting.  I like to guess the results, its just a little 'me test' to see how accurate I am ....no doubt when they return I can tell you more !

 

 

 

 

Fleeced !!

 

 

Little Zazu being brave for the very first shearing !  He looks so different you would hardly recognise him.  The big boys were sheared first, most were well behaved with the exception of .....guess who ...yep Duke !  He put up a hell of a fight and James had his hands full .... he was dealt with swiftly, but I'm glad they all don't behave like that.  He's a big powerful boy and he took some holding.  But James knows how to handle the alpacas and once he was tied he was ok.

 

This is little 'Dolly Mixture' having her date with the shearer, she was a real princess, no fuss and just behaved in a dignified fashion, unlike some !!

 

Zaninni is not happy, he was having a right strop with anyone who dared to get in his space.

 

Zoretah, she was a darling and the girls were very well behaved, we started shearing at 8am and didn't finish until after 1pm.....only stopping to change blades, the babies have all been micro-chipped, I hate that big horrible needle.  Most of the herd have had their annual vaccinations, except for the pregnant females who will be vaccinated in their last four weeks of their pregnancies.

 

Zeto, before .....

 

and after !

 

Stravinsky is hiding behind the tree.....all embarrassed

 

 

Zerquo ... he was full of himself after shearing, he is a bit of a stirrer.

 

The babies, recognise who's who !

 

Look at me !  little Zyisha, has lots of multi coloured spots.  Its lovely to see just how spotty she is.

 

Some of the girls resting after their exhausting day with the hairdresser.

 

So we are all set for summer with our new summer look.  We will be getting ready for the babies to arrive mid July onwards.  Looking at the girls after shearing, I'm confident I have 6 definitely and 3 might be's  so we will just have to wait and see.

 

 

Just in time for Summer !!

 

 

Zazu, Zanto, Zodo, Zirdar & Zavia  (L to R)

 

With the promise of summer, I thought I'd better take some photos of the alpacas before they get sheared on Friday.  Here are the little boys yesterday out in the big field enjoying some nice fresh grass.  This is my hay field, but I have been letting them graze in here to allow their field a bit of a rest.

 

This is Wellground Vital Spark, known as 'Sparky' he is alittle camera shy and always moves just as you try to get a picture.  This was the best shot that I managed, funny how some of them like having their photo taken and pose quite happily, whilst others are really hard to take.

 

Zanubis and Wellground Stravinsky, thankfully both boys were posing together, so I managed to get a quick picture.

 

This is Zazu, any prizes for guessing .....'Who's the Daddy'  He is a little duplicate of his dad, Zanubis.  He carries a lovely dark grey fleece, he will look very different come Friday !

 

We all have one ... he is the Poser !  This is Barnacre Duke.  He is happy to have a photo.

 

Little Zanto, he is the brother to Zimushka & Zeto, my grey stud boy.  Zeto had 5kgs of fleece last year with a 4kg blanket.  I am always excited to see if we manage to get a similar result,  I have kept the same mating and it is always exciting to see what Dusty produces.  Out of three matings I have three lovely greys, I wonder what this year will bring. I have always promised myself, if we get a different result I'm going to try her with Zanubis, but she produces these lovely babies, so as the saying goes ... If it ain't broke... don't fix it ! 

 

Zazu, Zavia with Zanto, Zirdar and Zirrius in the background ..... I haven't run out of 'Z' names yet !

 

Piggy Piggy ... Norka and Noggy also enjoying some sunshine, its about time to.

 

 

Made to Measure !

 

 

Today I managed to finish off the job that was halted a couple of weeks ago, when my handle snapped off the tractor !  This is the first time I have mucked this part of the boys barn out.  It was always made with the idea that I could fit inside with little Ruby the Siromer tractor.

 

Thankfully, we must have built it right as the little tractor fits inside snugly .... which is great, this means that I can muck this part of the barn out with ease !  It only took about an hour to finish off the boys barn.  More to the point the handle stayed put.  We are shearing next week, so I thought that I'd get this job done, as you can bet your boots that the weather will change after shearing and the boys will be needing their barn.

 

Doza is settling in, this is him enjoying a walk round the wood.  It was the first time I had let him off the lead. I think he enjoyed the walk with lots of new smells and places to explore.  Zonda has been rested this week and she will be out for walks soon, I have been just letting her enjoy the garden.

 

We were at the vets last week for Doza to have his vaccinations, when we were there I got him weighed, I guessed between 50/55kgs.  He currently weighs 53kgs, but when he is mature he should be around 60/65kgs, so he has a bit of condition to gain.  He has a good appetite and is eating around 1kg of food a day plus .... eggs, which is great as the little rescue hens are providing us with lots of lovely eggs. 

 

Highland Holiday !!

 

 

Just look at those gorgeous babies ....I was in heaven !

 

Yesterday I felt like I was on holiday .... the sun was shining, I was near the sea and had a wonderful day in great company !!

 

I must confess, I did get very lost !!  trying to get there, had to overcome a road block, that I had drove down by mistake ..... after careful negotiation, well that wasn't going to stop me.  I was already over an hour late, I was rescued by Mabel .... who was at the other side of the road barriers !! 

 

Needless to say they were swiftly dealt with.  I arrived for a little visit to Highland Alpacas near Aberdeen.

 

Some of the younger boys, looking very handsome.  I was blinded by beauty, just loved them all !

 

This is Wallace, isn't he handsome.  Mabel and Imants have two lovely dogs, but the other one was too busy running around and causing mayhem. 

 

The stud boys are busy being macho.  The sun shone and I had a lovely tour round meeting all the animals. We spent the afternoon having a relaxing time in the garden enjoying the view. I took Doza with me as I didn't want him to be left at home all day, he was very well behaved and spent the afternoon being a good boy.

 

The girls and the youngsters looking lovely, you can see the sea beyond what a brilliant time I really enjoyed my day off. 

 

The view overlooking the paddocks back to the house.

                                                
                            Happy .... Happy .... Piggies !!

Look at these handsome boys .... Mabel has four pet pigs, I think this photo is fantastic .... just sums up the great day ..... these boys make my piggies look tiny !!  The time whizzed by and it was a wonderful day.  I eventually left around 9pm, after a lovely meal ... back home, which I found without getting lost !!  It was after 11pm by the time I got finished, just as well that it is the lighter nights.

Dogue Tired & Visitors !!

 

 

Doza, on his new bed .... having a snooze.  I think it is fair to say he is settling in just fine.

 

Zonda convalescing with Jessie in the conservatory, she continues to make good progress after her operation.  She loves to get on the sun lounger.

 

The big puppy ... its a hard life growing up and takes allot of energy just trying to keep those big wrinkles awake.

 

On Saturday afternoon while I was busy trying to make the house more 'Doza' proof, I got a phone call, which was a lovely surprise.  Mable & Imants from Highland Alpacas were hoping to come a pay us a visit, it was a lovely day and it turned out into a fantastic afternoon.

 

Mable & Imants meeting the big boys .... we spent the afternoon chatting and the time just flew by.

 

As I was waiting for them to arrive I was quite surprised when a very flashy BMW motorbike came trundling up my track.  I was expecting them to arrive on four wheels for some reason.  What a very smart motorbike indeed, its a pity there wasn't room for three .... or I might have just jumped on the back to for a bit of a blast.

 

I'm hoping to return the visit very soon and pop over to Highland Alpacas to return the pleasure before they all get a haircut when the shearer arrives next week.

 

 

Partial to a Ginger Giant !!

 

 

Ok, most people who know me, also know that I am partial to 'Ginger Giants'. 

 

Actually to be precise Dogue de Bordeaux's also know as French Mastiff's. 

 

Meet the new BIG Boy !!  He was looking for a new home and I really couldn't resist offering him a home with me, in Scotland.

 

There were a few logistics to organise as I had to drive a round trip of 300 miles to Perth to collect him, so early morning I set off on my mission.

 

He is 18 months old and really still a puppy, but a very big puppy.  Thankfully, I have a huge cage, that he can be secured in when I can't keep an eye on him, but he is doing just fine.

 

I have a girl Dogue de Bordeaux as most know called Zonda who is really not very well, she has a condition called Chilothorax and needs to have fluid drained from her, in order for her to still be here.  So she is very special and needs lots of love and care.  She has recently been poorly and is recovering from her ordeal at the moment.

 

So the new boy is my security guard and he will be a great asset round the farm.  It would take a brave person to tackle him when he eventually grows up !!

 

But for the moment, we are getting to know each other and he is keeping me on my toes.

 

Love at first sight .... this is us meeting for the first time, I think we might just get along fine.

 

Out for our first walk round his new home ..... who said Big isn't Beautiful.

 

I hope he has a long and happy life with me, he was called Diesel, but I think I might change his name as I already have a little Diesel .....

 

Im thinking more like DOZA .... as he is built like a bulldozer !!