Wednesday 21 March 2012

Give me alpacas any day

Having had an early night in the hope that I would get up refreshed it was sadly not to be, I felt terrible.  Never mind when you have animals you have to get up and on with it regardless, so off I went on my rounds.

I usually feed the weanling alpacas and boys first as Minimus and his friends need taking back out after a night in the shed.  As I walk up the hill I always look down on the girls, this morning was no different, however the girls were watching something.....

Some of the pesky sheep had escaped and were in the woodland next to the alpacas, they should be two fields and a burn away!
I really wasn't in the mood for chasing last years ewe lambs round, they are wild and totally unresponsive to a feed bucket or anything else for that matter.  They couldn't stay where they were though because if they'd walked though the burn once to get there they could wonder up further and end up in a neighbours field.

Once I'd sorted out all the alpacas I set about trying to gather the escapees to shepherd them back to where they came from, however they had other idea's.  Little me, feeling rather poorly, in a 2 or 3 (ish) acre slopping field with trees and bits of wall and 11 wild blackie ewe lambs, they were not stepping one foot in the water - they must have walked through it to get in there!

Anyway an hour later I gave up and decided the best course of action was to block off the burn on the edge of the field so they could get no further up and hope that they didn't eat anything they shouldn't.

I clearly should have just left them to it because this evening at alpaca feed time they were back across the burn and I managed to get them back in their rightful field, for how long I'm not sure.  Higher stone wall required - well that's how they got back anyway; over the wall!

Seeing as we are talking sheep, I thought you might like to see poor Mocha, she looks like she is about to explode, that looks like two big lambs in there, hopefully not too big though.

Mocha is one of my pet racing sheep, see my blog of 17/09/11 , if you're new to my blog.  I don't think she'll feel much like racing at the minute, not unless it's to the feed bucket anyway.

4 comments:

Zanzibah Alpacas said...

Sheep Dog Required....!!! I think !!..I remember my day chasing sheep...for hours...I managed to get 4 through a gate..after hours...and gave up..back to the alpacas..who came to a call !!...Ahhhh.. the joy of alpacas !......Jayne

Unknown said...

Poor Mocha...they are going to have to be Expresso and latte...lets hope for regular size!

Bev said...

I've got the lurgy too at the moment, and my chest is complaining while I see to just 3 alpacas, so you have all my sympathy looking after all your guys. Feel better soon.

Shirley said...

Mocha appears to be the same shape as Jayne's Norris! We know what Mocha's excuse is - wonder what Norris's excuse is? Hope you are feeling better after your run! Take care. Shirley & Robbie