It's rude to stare when I've got no clothes on (Paul)

Evening all,

Debbie is 'busy' getting ready for a big day tomorrow (which reminds me I must set her alarm for 4 - mine goes off 2 hours later of course) and so I thought I'd do a blog for a change as I have been snapping today and I know everyone likes to see some photos!

Here's today's story:

Trevor and Tanja (from Australia) were coming over this afternoon to shear 3 alpacas so this morning we took some soiled hay and straw down to the muck heap and due to the intermitent rain, caught up on some paperwork - not very exciting but has to be done!

The 2 show girls from last week were getting nervous, just like when you go to the barber and wonder if you should have a number 1 or a number 1.1 - decisions decisions!

While we waited for Trevor and Tanja to arrive, we decided it would be a good idea to get a couple of final full fleece shots because they look so different after shearing.  So first up is everyone's favourite, Meketaten.  3 times Brown Champion, an overall reserve champion (brilliant for a brown) and 2nd best junior brown fleece in the world!

Next is Casiphia, Supreme Champion from the 2011 Kelso Show with a beautiful big fleece from one of our elite girls and our Supreme Champion stud, Legend of Spartacus:

Whilst all this photography was going on, I had one of those feelings that I was not alone.  In fact I was sure that someone was looking over my shoulder?  Perhaps it was my imagination?

Tweet and Tweet, our 2 new Maran chicks are very friendly and I was thinking to myself I hadn't seem them for a while.  Never mind, I thought, they will turn up sooner or later.

Anyway, before long Richard, Jessica, Briana and Ashling arrived to watch the shearing and soon after Trevor and Tanja arrived and after a quick bit of emergency wiring (sorry for the phone call Dave!) we were up and running!  First up was Casiphia, Trevor enjoyed that fleece!

Second in the barber's chair was Meketaten.  "Did you say Meketaten?" (I think I heard Trevor say) "please can I have my photo taken with her?" Go on then Trevor, seeing as it's you...big smile for the world please...

Third to go was Cassiopeia, one of our livery girls...for a venerable lady she has a beautifully soft fleece...

With only 3 shearings to do, and with Tanja doing a super fleece grading job, the event was over in a flash.  How amazingly small and clean do beautiful alpacas look after a good shearing?  Here's Casiphia:

And finally, here are Casiphia and Meketaten.  Don't forget, it's rude to stare when I've got no clothes on!

Busy day tomorrow - keep an eye on the Tweets @BarnacreAlpacas   https://twitter.com/#!/BarnacreAlpacas or come and see us at the Morpeth Fair, Sunday 10-5 at Oldgate.  We will have 2 alpacas and the knitwear with us.  Night all!
Paul

Flaming June or Floating June?

I'm not sure what happened to flaming June, maybe flaming wet June!  It has rained here solidly all day, in fact it's been raining solidly since yesterday afternoon.

This is not good news for Meketaten and Cassiphia who are both due to be shared tomorrow afternoon.  They have both been towel dried and shut in the overhang of the barn tonight so they are out of the rain but still in the wind in the hope that they dry off a bit; or rather a lot before the shearer arrives tomorrow afternoon.

I was hoping to take some photos of the cria born to date today so you could see how they were all growing but in view of the weather I didn't bother, maybe tomorrow if it dries up.  Hopefully by then Rosemary will have a cria so won't be suffering from cria envy!

The pet lambs have now had their last bottle, they are not happy!  I hate weaning, I'm far too soft, the poor little things are yelling even more than normal when they see me. 

Inspection time.

Today we have been visited by a very nice chap from Her Majesty's inspectorate, we had been randomly chosen to have a cross compliance review.  It has to be said I was really worried when I got the phone call saying they were coming!

When the guy came this morning he was really nice and friendly.  We walked the land, then there was lots of paperwork to go through and I had to show him all our movement records, soil protection review, medicine records, feed etc.  He left a very happy man so I was happy, it's nice to receive praise over the things you do and the way you document it all.  He was very impressed with all our alpaca movement records and herd details particularly as there is no legal requirement for us to do such things.

We were very lucky because it stayed dry until not long after he left, so it was cria coats back on and inside jobs for the later part of the afternoon.  The rain has in fact got worse and it is now absolutely chucking it down!

We have some very friendly cria already this year, Liberty is so friendly it's mad, it's hard to get a full photo of her as she is always so close.

Ursula's baby is a really friendly little cutie too, here he is licking the rain off his nose before he came to give me a kiss!  The poor chap still needs a name, we are struggling to agree on a suitable name for him, so any suggestions gratefully received.

We I'd best go and shut the hens in as the rain clearly isn't going to slow down any.

I've never had them so thick and fast!

So my mum's not the only one how isn't so sure about Ankhesenamun's name then.  A few people have said it's a good job we don't have children of the two legged variety, when they see our alpaca names!

Shortly after my parents left this morning (oops I'm in bad books for not spotting earlier), I noticed that Midnight Star was looking like she was doing to birth despite the not so nice weather.

Star was only at 333 days gestation, exactly the same as last year, but she decided that today was the day to produce the latest Barnacre baby.

Out popped the head without too much bother, but the shoulders was a different story, this cria was clearly big and pressing on a nerve or something because at one point poor Star couldn't stand up.  I went over to check all was ok as I was quite worried but she then managed to get herself up but it looked agony!

After a number of huge pushes out came the shoulders, but rather then the cria flopping to the ground it hung there, almost walking it's front legs behind poor Star as she walked and pushed.

In the end I had to help to get this baby out, a big solid black girl from Loki. 

Within two minutes she was kushed and checking out her surroundings, then the thunder and torrential rain arrived.  At this point I was job smacked, Star looked at me as if to say keep an eye on her and she ran to shelter with the rest of the herd leaving her poor baby in the middle of the field.

I thought we were going to have a problem, but as the rain slows she ran back to her baby humming and kissing as if she'd never left her.  Grandma Kate then came to give her seal of approval.

Then Venus as we've named her, in view of today's astronomical activities, was up on her feet. 

There has been no stopping her since. 

As you can see she is huge, she looks a few weeks old already weighing in at a whopping 10.58kg, our biggest cria of the year so far, by 2kg!  Star had a big cria last year weighing over 10kg so she's obviously one of those girls who cook them quick and grow them big.

Ankhesenamun

After all the excitement of the last few days we have had no new arrivals today, that's not say its been a quite day, there's always something to be done on the hill!

We have started to build one of the new shelters today, whilst mum was continuing work on the veggie plot and dad was supervising.  There was no chance of adding more manure to the veggie plot as Paul has broken the muck truck.  He managed to roll it - I'm not happy; need I say more!

I was saying to Paul this morning that Nefertiti's new cria who we have called Ankhesenamun (who was the third daughter of Nefertiti), was the spitting image of Meketaten.  I thought I would look at some old photo's.

Here we have Ankhesenamum

And here we have Meketaten

I know there looks a light variation of colour on these photo's but that was only down to the sun, they are peas in a pod.  Lets hope this new little girl follows in the footsteps of her two big sisters, both colour champions in their own rights.

Another cria & another sash!

Firstly I thought I would share a few of the photo's from last nights birthing.  Ursula was the noisiest alpaca I've ever heard giving birth.

She spent a lot of the time sat down pushing which didn't make things any easier. 

Splat! 

Kisses for her second son. 

After the very late night, or rather early morning getting this wee chap to feed I was up just before four to check all was well and get the two girls we were taking to Northumberland County Show ready.  We'd actually go them in the shed so it wasn't too bad.

On checking the girls though it was evident that as I suspected yesterday Nefertiti was going to give birth whilst we were at the show..

Here is Paul in the ring with Casiphia, who the judge agreed has masses of fleece.  She is been struggling in the heat and her fleece has just gone too far but she still got a third place.

We were also showing our world class brown girl Meketaten, she is a stunner, yes I know I'm bias but she is.  Our judge Jay Holland agreed and she won her class and another Brown Championship sash.  This was actually her last outing before she will be mated, shortly after shearing. 

Having not been at the show long my phone rang, butterflies kicked in, I knew it would be Carol and Dave about Nefertiti.  They were on farm watch for us, as if they don't do enough for us already.

Nefertiti, mum to Meketaten had given birth to a lovely brown cria, but they kept us in suspense over the sex.

 I couldn't wait to get home as this cria is a full brother or sister to Meketaten so we had high hopes.  Nefertiti hasn't disappointed us, a stunning brown girl no less!

First impressions are this girl is the spitting image of Meketaten, her fleece is looking very nice indeed.

Having had less than 3 hours and being the last to bed and first up this morning I'm off to bed , last again!

Not a weekend for text book births

Who said alpacas don't give birth at night?!

Friday night Willow was causing me a little concern, she had been moaning most of the afternoon, which is nothing out of the ordinary for Willow as she gets close to birthing.  She is only a petite girl so space inside gets limited!

At 10pm she was sat on her side looking so uncomfortable I almost rang the vet, but she wasn't having contractions and was sat with the rest of the herd (trying to get her in would just stress her out) so I decided to keep a close eye on her.  By 10.30 she was a bit happier so I thought I would assess the situation again in the early hours.

By 3.30am we had a lovely little white cria sat in the field having been up and feeding!  Three  years ago Willow gave birth to a cria in the middle of the night, the coldest night of the year, and it didn't survive so I knew she could be unpredictable.

Her little girl who we have named Palace was our smallest cria of the year at 7.12kg.  She is doing well out in the field with mum with two coats on tonight as it's freezing.

Today we have had a busy day with visitors, my uncle, his partner, her cousin and daughter came to visit which was a lovely surprise - hopefully Uncle Derrick took some photo's with his nice new shiny camera that I can share with you in a day or two.

Not long after they arrived Carol and Dave came up to do some more digging in  our veggie plot - very embarrassing.  They popped up for a couple of hours and only left an hour ago; thanks to Ursula!

Carol hadn't seen Palace so before they left we went up to see the girls, Ursula has been on her own most of the afternoon so I had said she was bound to give birth tomorrow whilst we are at Northumberland County Show.  But no, Ursula decided to give birth at 8pm tonight!!!!

Ursula is mum to Pearson who Carol and Dave saw birth a couple of years ago, and now they have seen his brother arrive, a lovely little brown (maybe dark fawn) boy.  Unfortunately he has been very slow to get to his feet, despite being kushed within minutes, Ursula wasn't been too keen to let him feed either.

They are now tucked up nice and warm in the shed and about half an hour ago he finally fed from mum so I am much happier.  He is only little, weighing in at 6.54kg.  Hopefully now he has feed I can go to bed for two or three hours ready for Northumberland County Show tomorrow.

Keep posted on events with our tweets.

Chick chick chick chick chicken....

We have had a busy day with a difference today, Carol and Dave came to do a bit of gardening.  Well I say gardening, its more excavating!!  We are getting the veggie plot ready.

Unfortunately the builders definition of top soil is clearly rather different from mine.  It is full of rocks, rubble, clay and goodness knows what else.

Mum, Dad, Carol, Dave and I have been at it all day and we've hardly done any, in fact we haven't even got a quarter of the way across.  It is going to need countless tons of alpaca manure on  it.

Last weekend we took on two little maran chicks, they are so friendly, Ron and Eve as they were named are happily wandering round the farm yard and are constantly under your feet.  Here they are helping Carol!

 

and checking for anything edible.

I forgot to take a before and after photo of the veggie plot so you will just have to believe what a state it was.

On the alpaca front Liberty continues to cause mayhem, Liberty by name, Liberty by nature.