On reflection...

Haven't we met before?
Bath time!
We got our fibre analysis results back this week - Pela and Minnie have held exactly the same as last year, Ambrosia and Autumn Gold were similarly good as yearlings - whilst experienced breeders can instantly judge fibre fineness, it's useful for less experienced breeders to have a quantative assessment - while I had the girls in the pen for a checkover yesterday, I had a delve into Moiras black fleece which is now developing some length - we decided not to shear her this year, as her fleece was short, and she shivered during the snow - as we found last year when analysed, it's fantastically fine so with a bit of length will be superb for products - a shame she doesn't conceive...

Alpacas bathing antics are comical - they differ so much - Moira uses her front legs to splash her chest, then sits with her chest in the bath - Pela only scoops with her front legs - Ambrosia goes for a full sit down in the bath - but Minnie sits as close as she can (as in this photo), hoping to get splashed, but doesn't, and won't get in the water at all.

Hi, tease!

As I had a site visit to make near Penzance with the day job (investigating mine shafts near a clients house!), I've brought Mrs. Smallholder with me for some R & R on a long weekend. I make no apologies to you all toiling away with poo-picking and carrying buckets of water etc., and hope the attached pictures will cheer you up with the thought that maybe your holidays aren't far away, and if not, well here is some nice scenery...

Spit and polish.

Pelachuta's fleece laid out for skirting.

Ambrosia's fleece.

Queuing for the bath...

Yesterday we started skirting the fleeces. For those unfamiliar with this, it is where you take the shorn fleece, lay it out, and remove any bits of vegetation, guard hairs, short bits of 'second cuts' which can't be spun, leaving you with the best of the fleece for carding and spinning.

Next followed a bit of husbandry, as the young ones nails needed a clip - I found that one of them has filling in the front space where you usually dig out soil, of both of the nails on one foot, a sort of semi-solid calcified callous - I couldn't remove it - anyone else come across this?

Then came my baptism - I'd noticed a slight pinkness in Minnies face suggesting slight loss of fleece as she did last year, so I got ready to apply some udder cream, when, in an instant, she fired a broad-side of regurgitated alfalfa into the side of my face - I'd arrived - previously I'd got away with a fine spray blown back by a windy day, but she'd decided I needed a full facial!

We had a delivery of hay today, which came with some relief, as we've only had brief showers over-night and the field is parched - it's going to be in great demand, and short supply.

That still left time to paint the side of the house in the sweltering shade as the sun had moved around.

Glastonbury Festival - a tenuous link.

What is she wearing?
Can you eat it?
I'll give it a try...

With shearing out of the way, we've been able to strim, mow and rake all the Nettles, Thistles and Docks, so the paddocks are looking better, and the alpacas can get to every diminishing blade of grass, as the 'drought' continues.

I've started giving Alfalfa to augment their grazing, which they took a few days to get accustomed to, but are all liking it now - and doesn't it smell great?

Autumn Gold has at last, started taking supplement at 11 months old, while her half sister started at 7 months - she has been enjoying carrots for a while though.

I had last weekend at Glastonbury Festival, and whilst many of you may be wondering what that's got to do with alpacas apart from spending three days living in fields like an alpaca, well the craft area had workshops for felting, spinning etc.! so I was able to pretend to be doing a bit of research in between enjoying the great music and other entertainment on offer!

Lettuce pray: I was making a sandwich for lunch last week, and dropped a leaf, only for it to land in the dogs water bowl...I washed it off and put it in the sandwich as intended -well it was homegrown - I'm fine, and I don't think the dog has suffered...

We've been considering our breeding programme, which is made particularly difficult due to land constraints - while it seems many breeders are happy to breed from 12months of age, provided they are well-grown and mature, I've seen comments that some breeders have had less success with females of around that age, and I feel we should perhaps let our yearlings wait until the spring, otherwise we'll be re-setting the mating clock within a year or two in any case - that way we can work on selling their mums and/or getting more land to ease pressure - ultimately, the health and comfort of the herd is paramount.

Video clip before fleece clip...

Press the 'play' button to see my Fathers Day gift from our son (go to www.philbearman.co.uk for video graphics design)- a brief introduction to our herd. Double-click on the screen shot otherwise you get a cropped view.

They've now been shorn, courtesy of Mike Banks on sunday - and the word in my head all day at work on monday, was 'elegant' (the 'pacas, not Mike!) - I couldn't wait to get home and see them again. Seeing your cria after their first shearing is amazing - you've watched them grow for nearly a year to full size, and can't imagine the body inside all that fleece - and I was surprised how they look so different facially.

The little rabbit hutch shown in the background to one scene, had been housing five six-week old chickens, but unfortunately a relative(s) of Basil Brush dragged the hutch away from the wire mesh pen, pushed in the doors, and ripped off the plywood end, breaking it! no sign of the birds at all in the morning - I think it must have been a whole family of foxes.

"We're walking in the air"

Autumn Gold and Ambrosia look on in amazement, as Pelachuta perfects walking in the air!

Hot legs...

Yesterday morning we set off for the Royal Bath & West Show, only an hours journey for us. We had only entered Ambrosia in the Intermediate class as she was 1 yr old on monday, while Autumn is still Junior and that class was on thursday, and we'd have needed two days away with all the disruption to work etc.

A nice touch was that our set of instructions included a list of what to bring with you, and the last item on the list was, 'a sense of humour'!

So with that in mind, the Judges Briefing included a demonstration of how he wanted the animals paraded around the ring - one of the Assistant Stewards (sorry, not sure who it was) obliged, and she did such a good job, theatrical and animated, that I though I must have got the wrong show ring and was in the Showjumping ring! A light-hearted touch always helps, and didn't get in the way of a professionally run show.



"Can you ride them?"


No-one told Mark about the quicksand...


Judge Nick Harrington-Smith helps to pull her out... (only joking, it is a different alpaca, in a different class, and the judge is checking her 'nether regions' and she is deciding to 'kush')

So to our class, and Ambrosia was youngest, and as she was shorn at only 5 weeks old, the judge noted that some baby fleece was causing 'cross-over' of the fibres. I'll not mention the success of other bloggers, so as to let them tell their story.

Despite the 'bare-leg amnesty' that was declared, I felt that my legs combined with the white show coat wouldn't be a good look, and then regretted not wearing shorts in the sweltering heat.
Outside in the sunshine it was very hot, but in the marquee the sides were open, a breeze blew through, there was shade from the trees and it was very comfortable for us and the alpacas.

A nice touch was the lunch-time barbeque put on by Tim Hey, which gave a chance for breeders to get together.