Update!

It has been a while since I put hand to keyboard as a lot has been going on. I hope that you have had a great summer.

I am sorry it is sometime since I updated on here, but my health has been very up and down so any energy I have had has been put into the animals. I always make sure that they are extremely well cared for. Also, time seems to go so quickly, before we know it, it will be Christmas!

The good thing is, that since it has been sometime since my last blog, lots has been happening.

We have had many chicks, which have now grown, and either been sold, or we have kept ourselves. You are able to see one of the chicks on the news page. We have made some changes in the coops, to give the chickens more room and to make it easier to clean. My husband is working on a ladder, which can be attached to roof of the coop and then dropped to the floor at an angle, for perching. The great thing about this will be that I will be able to pick this up from the floor and attach to the roof, as it will rotate from the initial roof fixing, which will allow me easy access to clean the coop. Everything needs to be as easy as possible, whilst being the best it can for the birds. Unfortunately, avian flu has not gone away and if anything, is more prevalent. I am being sent messages daily, by the government, about new cases, from all over the country. I am taking appropriate measures connected to the number of birds I have, and we have a foot wash when you enter the paddock. We can only take the appropriate precautions and give the birds as good a life as possible. They love free ranging but always stay inside of the fencing and don’t venture out, so we have more control over their safety. The government advise to keep wild birds off the land, which we do as much as possible. However, the animals are quite protective of their area and generally frighten off any wild birds, which is a great help. Other than that, all is well with the birds. Our heritage breed has been doing really well and I have a couple of gorgeous cockerels to move on at some point.

As for the goats, well although being a delight, they are little monkeys as well. If food is involved, they are like bulldozers and will try and plough right through you. Their manners have improved but they are still incredibly focused when food is about. The goats are a real joy though. They are a bit like dogs. They love attention and crave it. You have to make sure that they get lots of cuddles, tickles, and scratches throughout the day, which as you can imagine is a real chore! I sit down, take a break, and have lots of cuddles. This all goes well, until one gets jealous and then it all falls apart!

I had hoped that the kids would wean themselves. I was hoping for an easy way out! Obviously, this was not to be the case. Therefore, I had to separate the Nannies from the kids/doelings for 3 weeks. They were separated but could see each other, which seemed to ease the tension, but it was still quite noisy for a couple of day. Then, after the break, the nannies milk dried up and they could all be put back together again. The reunion was lovely, although I had to keep an eye on them for a while to ensure that the kids didn’t try to suckle, and I still separated them at night as I wouldn’t be able to see what was going on.

One of the kids did pick up a staphylococcus infection on her udders, which I did try and deal with myself but then needed the vets help. So, I ended up having to give her an anti-inflammatory jab, along with three days’ worth of antibiotic injections. Thankfully this did the trick and cleared it all up.

The nannies are now in great condition, ready for mating. They will be having blood tests next week and I have found a great Billy goat in readiness. Just have to wait for them to show the signs that they are ready. That will mean that in 5 months’ time we will, hopefully, have some stunning Saanen kids. Very exciting.

As for the alpacas, they have been coming along well. They were all sheared in the summer, and they did look funny. They looked a bit like caricatures! They have become much more friendly, and I think have been advised by the goats, that food is a good thing and if you can get it, get as much as you can, in as quick a time as possible! Hence, the alpacas will feed, pretty much, from anyone now. I also have some exciting news as Angel and Maddy have been mated. Polly wasn’t able to be mated, as she wasn’t quite ready. We are unsure if they are pregnant yet, as we were unable to take them back for a spit off, due to vehicle issues. If you are wondering what a ‘spit off’ is, it is when the females are presented to a male and if pregnant will spit at him and if no spitting takes place, then they are not pregnant. I feel that this is incredibly unfair for the male but that’s the way it has to be in the alpaca world. Our van has only recently been mended so we will be able to take them for a spit off. However, due to the time they are pregnant, if they are not pregnant, we would be leaving it until next year to try again. This is as the pregnancy last for approximately 11 months and the newborn alpaca (cria) would need more time before the winter hit. So, we have everything crossed that they are both pregnant and we will have 2 fantastic little cria running about in July 2023.

There have been the usual husbandry duties to take care of with all of the animals along with bi-annual vaccinations for the goats and the alpacas. If you would like to know more about the husbandry duties, let me know and I will go into more detail next time.

The fruit and veg came on well, although there were numerous casualties due to the heatwaves, we had this summer. Although, I have still managed to grow some crops. We have had numerous different soups etc and have enjoyed lots of turnip, carrot, salads, fruits and one of my favourites, sweetcorn. It has been absolutely yummy.

Although, it has been a busy summer and some days I have really struggled, it is always extremely worthwhile. I initially felt incredibly angry that I had to leave my old life behind and make big changes for my own wellbeing, but I have now made peace with these feelings. I felt that the anger and frustration was inhibiting me from moving forward and making the most out of my life. My life has changed, and I am now glad that it has. Financially, this has been a massive change, and I have had to really learn how to count every penny, but I am happy where I am in life and am thankful that I was able to do this. I am well aware that many, would not be so lucky and that is why I am thankful every day for what I do have.

I hope that you have found this update interesting, and I promise to update again very soon. Take care everyone