What You All Looking At......

Hi Folks,

It's been a couple of days again since my last blog, so I thought I should try and slip in another one.

We have been dodging the rain showers that we have been gratefully receiving over the last few days although the ground just seems to keep soaking it all up and it looks like we have had no rain what so ever.

Whilst we were enjoying a nice cup of tea I spotted the alpacas looking for something, I managed to grab a quick picture of them doing so. It soon became apparent of what they were watching but unfortunately the batteries went flat in the camera to catch what happened next.

The alpacas had spotted two hare's in the paddock and proceeded in chasing them around the paddock for two laps before the hare's managed to escape through the stock fencing, it was quite amusing watching them all pronking around after them and very good to watch how the alpacas had started to work together in trying to corner the hare's before there great escape. I wish I had a video camera it would have been nice to have watched it again and to share with you all how the alpacas worked as a team.

Relentless our herd sire has been working his magic again and has an appointment with another of our girls this weekend when I am off to give Lisa a hand, so hopefully some more pictures to come and an updated picture of Tilly our 13kg cria that was born a couple of weeks ago, she has come on really well and has the most amazing fleece, lets just hope she keeps this quality as she grows up.

Well that's all for tonight, back soon.

Herd Sires.....

Hi All,

Well my last blog again was so long ago. I can't wait to have so more time on my hands when I change jobs in the next few weeks. Today we have been ear tagging our Ryeland Lambs and this years cria's so far.

Our herd sire Wellground Relentless has been working his magic today on one of his girls and has had fun working it all out, good lad Relentless you show them what your made of!!

We are really excited to see what Relentless will produce for us. Relentless's genetics consist of EP Cambridge Samson as his sire, EP Cambridge Peruvian Spartacus as his grand sire and Jolimont Amatea as his grand dam. Relentless's dam is Wellground Ruffo's Reflection, NWA Ltd Ruffo is her grand sire. So some good genetics in the mix.

Our other herd sire Wellground Tchaikovsky is just as stunning and also packed with quality genetics with Silverstream Czar of Anzac as his sire, ILR Alpine Fibre's Brutus as his grand sire and Peruvian Hemingway as his great grand sire. Tchaikovsky's dam is EP Cambridge Assertive Lass, with Jolimont Commisario as her grand sire and Jolimont Conquistador as her great grand sire to name just a few. So some exciting times coming soon when these cria's start hitting the ground.

In the middle is Wellground Tchaikovsky a Solid Mid Fawn, standing here proud with his pals, on the left we have WillowBank Killawasi's Spirit and on the right of Tchaikovsky we have Cambridge Kazuo. Both Spirit and Kazuo are potential studs on the horizon with genetics including EP Cambridge Gianmarco's Masterpiece, Jolimont Gianmarco, Jolimont Sculptor, Jolimont Encantador, EP Cambridge Stormcat, NWA Ltd Ruffo, Cambridge Cajamarca of Blenheim, Jolimont Palmina to name but a few for these two boys.

Well that's all for now, I'll be back soon.

News, News, News

Hi All,

Well again the time since my last blog has flown by. I just don't seem to find the time at the minute to try and keep it up to date, hopefully soon this will change as I am pleased to say that I have found a new job and have handed in my notice with my current employer. This has not been an easy decision to make as I have worked for this company on and off for over 12 years but with all the travelling involved and the long hours which really doesn't give me much time to do anything else when I get home, it has finally had to come to and end.
So moving onto pastures new in the next few weeks will be culture shock but I am also looking forwards to the new challenge ahead and with the job being just 20 minutes up the road instead of the 1hr 30minutes if I was lucky to my current job, this should make a pleasant change and increases my time spent at home considerably.

Anyway that's enough of that news. Moving onto alpaca related news we would like to wish Lisa and Dave all the very best with the three boys they purchased from us and we delivered to them last Saturday.

Here is Lisa and Dave helping to unload there three boys (L2R) Wellground Gieves, WillowBank Killawasi's Image and WillowBank Coco just leaving the trailer to their new home. We are so pleased for Lisa and Dave who are over the moon with the boys and has fulfilled a dream of owning alpacas for pets.

Gieves seems to have taken a real shine to Dave and I think these two are going to be inseparable. Well done guys and all the best for the future.

Now onto a final bit of news for today and I am pleased to see that after the announcement of Rob's Alpaca Blog from Wellground Alpaca Stud coming to an end, that Rob and Les have returned with something new, exciting and fresh on the scene with the launch of their Wellground Alpaca Video Diary, what a fantastic idea. Although the video diary is still in it's early stages, this will be something special to follow. If the video diary is anything like the blog they used to post then this will soon be followed by many. Great idea guys, good to have you back.

Well that's all for now, but when the rain stops and the sun shines, I will try and get some new pictures of the 13kg cria that was born, who has now been named "Tilly"

13kg!!!

Hi All,

Well those of you that read our blog would have remembered me saying that Alice one of Australian females was holding onto her cria. Alice, who genetics include EP Cambridge Stormcat as her Sire and NWA Ltd Ruffo on her Dams side.

We are pleased to say that after 23 days overdue at 19.00 last night Alice gave birth to a Solid White Female, now this was not the easiest of births as the cria is absolutely massive weighing in at 13kg that's 2 stone!! Lisa had to assist as the cria was understandably stuck, it was a normal presented cria but she still took some pulling even the back end wouldn't come out on it's own.

These are not the best of pictures as they were taken in our birthing quarters under the heat lamps. The cria's Sire is Wellground Legend of Spartacus a Scottish National Fleece Show Supreme Champion. So putting those genetics in the mix with EP Cambridge Stormcat and NWA Ltd Ruffo we are keen to see how this cria will develop.

Alice and daughter are doing really well and the cria is now running rings around Alice in the birthing quarters. We have decided to keep them both in today as the weather here is not the good and we would rather keep them in.

Well that's all for this morning, the barn still awaits for attention.

First Signs Of Shearing

Hi Folks,

Well today has been a manic day. I rushed back from work a little bit earlier today as we had our friend Sam coming to shear our sheep. Lisa had already been up to our other land and fetched the sheep back in the trailer and had got them ready in the barn for Sam's' arrival.

We only have six ewes and Bertie the ram that needed shearing so for a professional like Sam this was going to be a quick pit stop.

Sam has managed to fit us in to his busy schedule, He has approximately 20,000 sheep to shear and had already shorn 300 before calling into us. Well with Sam shearing like a trooper it was all over in a blink of an eye. Thanks Sam you are a star.

The barn was soon cleaned up and disinfected after the sheep had been in again and so to was the trailer after we had taken them back to the other land, I can't even recognise them as our sheep now, mind you I have the same problem with the alpacas when they are shorn, talking of which our alpacas are being shorn next Thursday so it will be good bye to those big beautiful fluffy coats.

I think the boys were unsure who these strange looking creatures are, by the faces that were being pulled you would have never of guessed that they were together only a couple of hours ago.

This picture is for Debbie at Barn Acre Alpacas, as you can see Debbie Kazuo still has his dirty beard and has now taken up wading in the water trough and then getting himself grubby from the dust piles....he is a first class tramp!!

Alice is now three weeks over her predicted birthing date and still she shows no signs of anything happening in the near future, well I guess that's alpacas for you, they like to keep you guessing.

The barn alterations are starting to take shape and we can start to see how it's all going to work for us, this is one of those jobs that we have been meaning to do for a long time and never got round to it, but no we wish that we had done it sooner and benefited from it sooner. Lisa is still keeping the whip cracked over my back to get the barn finished before shearing, but with seven day weeks at work and Sunday being my only day off this week, it's going to be close. Not even a bank holiday Monday next week as I have got to go into work, so again it's return home and work on the barn until it gets dark, which gives me about two hours an evening. Never mind the new carousel system we are creating will all be worth it in the end.

Well I must dash as the cat of nine tails has struck my back again and I hear the barn calling.

A Change For The Better.

Hi All,

Well it has been a busy weekend for us as we have decided to redesign the inside of one of our barns. We have been meaning to arrange the barn since last year, as it was not working for us how we would of liked it to.

As you are all aware trying to keep the stress levels down with alpacas is an important role of keeping alpacas, so making the handling areas as least stressful as possible was our aim with the barn. We are creating a carousel affect within the barn allowing all the alpacas that we require to be handled for husbandry duties or shearing to be moved around to the appropriate stages in the barn and then released into a final holding bay before returning back to the paddocks, this will hopefully reduce any unnecessary running around, reducing the risk of any injury or stress.

We are very conscious here not to put any animal under any unnecessary stress and are very keen to make the experience for the alpacas as comfortable as possible and obviously a bit easier for us to manage.

The alpacas are all looking fantastic out in the paddocks and we are due for shearing on the 2nd June so getting the barn completed before then is the aim. Lisa assures me that I will have it finished!!

We have an alpaca that is coming up to 2 weeks over her due date this Thursday, so again we have been on constant look out trying to catch any sign of birthing, so we will keep you posted with the progress of Alice.

The Pedigree Ryeland sheep are now going up for sale, if any one is interested in a nice starter flock of 6 ewes with lambs at foot and a proven Pedigree Ryeland Ram then please feel free to get in touch.

Well that's it for now, more later with the progress of the barn and Alice.

Don't Put All Your Eggs In One Basket!!

Hi All,

Just a quick blog tonight as we wanted to share a couple of pictures with you all of some strange going on's.....

Lisa was out cleaning the chicken shed out when she noticed a bit of que forming in the shed as to who was going to lay their eggs first.....well that soon turn out obvious as three chickens got into the same box to lay and a fourth was stood looking to see if she also could fit in with them!!

So maybe you can have all your eggs in one basket......well chicken shed anyway.

Lisa then noticed that the girls in the birthing paddock were also up to strange happenings and managed to take this picture of a two headed alpaca......

We have been discussing the going on's and the only thing we can put it down to is that Jayne must have put something in the water when she came......is this your revenge for us having Tchaikovsky...... only joking Jayne we are just having a silly day.

Well that's all for tonight, back soon.