The changing of the clocks...

I know, I know, it's a long time since I blogged, but as the days get shorter(I also know that each day still has 24 hours in it, but I meant the daylight part of the days getting shorter) there just seems to be so much to do, and in the evening I feel too exhausted to want to do much, other than send the odd tweet, or comment on someone else's Facebook status.

But now the clocks have changed, a recognition that the days are too short to get any real work done outside, certainly after a day in the office there isn't any daylight left, and that will just leave weekends, and that will depend on the weather, as to whether I can actually get anything done.

However there are chores that need to be done every day, most twice a day, and that is the interaction with the animals - llamas, goats, chickens as well as the cats and dogs!

They of course aren't bothered by the clocks changing, to them the days have gradually been getting shorter, and that means that meals come out later in the morning, and of course earlier in the evening.

The grass is not growing either, so the llamas turn to hay to eat during the day, and that is good, because they come up to the workshop more often, and that means we get to see them more often. They share the workshop area with the goats, who have munched hay most of the year, and out of all the animals have the same diet all year round. The goats however do not like the rain and tend to stay indoors on wet and damp days.

The chickens roost about an hour before dark, and like to have their corn an hour or so before they roost, so they are the ones that start the feeding session for all the animals.

During the summer, the animals get fed after I have finished the office work, but now I have to take a break around 4pm to sort the animals out, and go back to work after. 4pm gets closer to 3pm as the days continue to get shorter.

This does mean though that I now have time to think about blogging and doing a bit of my office work in the evenings after it has got dark.

It also means that I have to be careful about organising business meetings in the afternoons, because I have to be back by 3pm, or else the animals don't get fed. that isn't strictly true, as the animals have food and water on tap all day, it is just the treat food that they are in danger of missing out on - corn for the chickens (they have layers pellets to eat as and when they are hungry), and feed for the goats and llamas (but they'll happily keep munching hay).

So that's where we are now, and hopefully more to follow, now that I have time in the evenings!

Nazca

Here he is, sitting quite serene in the paddock on a nice quiet sunny day - he's now two weeks old (this picture was taken when he was 12 days old), and he's put on 5Kg (11lbs) in that time.

He is such a treasure, he is very inquisitive and enjoys the odd tickle under his chin, and plays by coming up to you and then running off.

Yesterday was injection day for the llamas, they needed 3 each, two under the skin and one into muscle - they have to have a "blue tongue" vaccine, the clostridium (I think that's how you spell it) and they all had a vitamin one as well. Young Nazca (it'll be Naz for short) took his better than the grown ups.

We're allegedly due a week or so of sunshine, and that'll see him come along quite quickly, and that will also mean more photos. We've got our own website now, and lots of photos are already uploaded there - check it out - www.ashwoodllamas.co.uk.

See you soon - we're going off on holiday soon, so housesitters are moving in for a week, need to work up a list for them! that could be a blog in itself.

See you soon!

Talk about a difference...

This is Pico (or it might be Isco) full brother to our young Cusco. He's only 9 hours old, and look at him standing up so tall and so proud next to his mum Lima.

He just looks so much stronger than poor Tilly, who, with hindsight was born poorly.

However, we're not taking any chances. Tonight, it is forecast wet, windy and horrible, the back end of Hurricane Bill is coming through. Not a good start to life in North Devon, and not even a day old. He now has a coat on!

We have had him weighed, although not very accurately, and he is just over 20lbs maybe 22lbs. This is well above the minimum range, and we are happy with that.

Today has been a happy day, not done much work, and luckily a client cancelled a meeting yesterday, so no need to go out. I went out this morning to do my normal rounds, and Lima was no where to be seen when letting them in to the larger paddock where the grass is longer - unlike her. Popped up to the shelter and she was lying down, and when I got there she stood up and there was a head appearing, rushed back to the house to get Vicki, and by the time we got back he was all out, and struggling to sit up.

It can take a few hours for the cria to stand but he was up in 15-20 minutes, nosing around for food. He was on the move to pasture in less than an hour!

We have had a couple of chats with the vet, she is happy with the reports, tonight will be sleepless, with I suspect the odd trip out in the wet and windy weather to double check all is OK!

More pictures to follow!

Thanks for reading!

Cria ahoy....

Lima finally gave birth today - a year and 10 days after the last one!

Llamas, gestation and crias!

After the drama of young Tilly, we are now waiting patiently for Lima, our other female to give birth, and in my basic estimation she was due on or around 7/8th August. Today is the 11th, and so we are a few days late!

Camelids are induced ovulators, which means they only shed eggs only in response to mating. They don't have seasons like most mammals. Ovulation takes place 24-48 hours after mating. We had our stud running with the female which makes the precise calving dates very difficult to determine!

According to my book "Storey's Guide to Raising Llamas", once a llama has calved it can be 7-14 days before she produces an egg (and is ready to produce one every 10 days thereafter). Gestation is 11.5 months, although it is not unusual for a female to deliver 2 weeks premature or to carry her pregnancy to a full 12 months.

So, if we work backwards, Cusco, her last cria was born on 15th August 2008, 7 days later is 22nd (her earliest date for ovulation) and a normal term of 11.5 months should mean that she is due on or around the 7/8th. But she could take another 7 days to ovulate, so she could give birth on 14/15th and she could run a full 12 months which could be anything up to 28/29th or anything in between.

Mind you, it has been known for a llama to gestate for 13 months! Let's hope not!

Now, you'd think that there would be some signs, well there may be - some females show signs as early as 6 weeks ahead of time, others don't exhibit any signs until just before delivery. Just our luck, I think we have one of those!

Llamas are generally easy, and need little help during birthing, a little cleaning up after is all.

They are also very considerate, and generally give birth during the day, Clara had hers about 10am, and Lima had hers last year at about 2.30pm. This is because in the Andes where they originate from it can be very cold at night, so having the cria in the sun enables them to be up and about, dry and ready to run in case of trouble in the dark, not that the last bit is a problem in North Devon!

So, thank you to all who have asked, we are still waiting, and don't worry, pictures and news will be posted as soon as possible after it happens!

Animals just don't let you dwell on the past...

..thanks for the comments, the well wishes on both Twitter and facebook - there are a lot of really good people out there!

Today, Saturday, time to get the animals, and especially the llamas back in to routine, everyone likes routine, and animals like that, they like to know that the normal things in life carry on.

Clara seems to be fine after the traumas of the last week, though she occasionally goes looking for young Tilly, but she seems to be so relaxed that I feel she knew that something wasn't quite right!

Today, it was Wilbur, our young gelding who we hope to be our leading trekker, yes we would like to let people take our llamas out for a trek around the countryside of North Devon, but I think that is a "next" year task now, anyhow, it was Wilbur that had a very uncooperative day. He is normally such a star.

The girls are quite calm, and were happy to be rounded up and groomed. Clara in particular just stood there and enjoyed the attention. The boys though were in frivolous mood, and it took at least 4 attempts to round them up, but rounded up they were. They are actually in the biggest paddock, and trying to get them in to a 6' by 6' pen when they don't want to is to say a bit of a challenge.

Once in the pen, Vicki gave them a good groom, got the halters on both Cusco (not yet a year old, and our first own bred llama) and Wilbur, and we thought we would take them for a short walk.

Cusco, little devil, just lay down - that's it I'm not going anywhere he indicated, and Wilbur took two steps outside the pen, and just stopped, I'm not going anywhere either he seemed to say. He was coaxed a bit, but no, he wasn't interested. One of the tricks to get him in to the pen is food, and I don't think he had finished before we wanted to walk him. He won't get as much next time :-)

So, today, everyone was groomed (well Lima wasn't but as she is due to have her own cria soon, she's being spoilt), and no one was really walked. It was good fun though, and good to get back in to the routine!

Tomorrow, we 're off to learn all about shearing! watch this space!

The downside of having livestock...

.. having heard it hundreds of times by now, if you have livestock, you'll also have dead stock!

Young Tilly was born last Thursday morning (9th July)... a pretty young thing.



She was soon up on her feet and suckling and in the early July sunshine looked a little unsteady on her feet. She was a bit knock kneed, a common fault that is rectified as she gets older and stronger.

She was a little premature, just a week or so, but as the gestation period is eleven and a half months, something that is quite common.

Mum, Clara, was a doting mum, this was her second and everything seem to go so smoothly.

Last night though, the weather had turned, and we have had such a downpour, that even my bucket in the office that sits under my leaking roof was over half full, something that it hadn't done at any time over the winter.

At 6pm, our neighbour, also a vet, had popped over to give Tilly a vitamin injection, and while she was at it, gave her a quick once over. Thought she looked a bit thin, but she had a warm tongue and seemed to be fine. Took her injection as calmly as you like.

Vicki popped out at about 7.30pm, the rain was just getting harder and the wind stronger, and wanted to ensure that Tilly was still in the warmer and certainly drier field shelter and not out in the open. Clara was however out in the rain, and so was Tilly. Tilly was not happy, and having fallen down did not want to get up again. Vicki picked her up, and carried her to the field shelter and came and got help. We dried her off and wrapped her in a couple of old towels to warm up.

The vet popped back over, so useful having one as a neighbour, and thought that a some food would help, so having rung around some other llama owners we determined that lamb milk would be OK. She took a couple of mouthfuls, and died in the vets arms.

It was so sudden, and awful at the same time.

The feeling of guilt that we could have done something more to help is still with us, despite the assurances from the vet, and the various other llama owners that we have spoken to have given us. She was just a week old, and all that hard work by Clara to bring her into this world has all gone to waste.

So, various theories, she was premature, she wasn't getting enough to eat, she was too weak to cope with the cold and wet weather (llamas can normally cope with cold temperatures but it is the wet cold they don't like), we'll never know.

Time to reflect, but the other animals all need looking after now, especially Clara!

Thankyou for reading, I hope the next blog will bring a happier tale!