Another successful shearing day with out to many injuries to the humans. A couple of scrapes, a few knocks and a lot of sore muscles. Alpacas made out fine except a little chillier as today is damp and grey.
Thanks to Dianne, Liz, Clothilde, Patricia, Roy, Lynne, Don, Thomas, and Steven. Special thanks to Kevin, David and friends (sorry I missed your names) from the Agricultural College. The extra hands and strong arms were a huge benefit in making the day go smoothly. Thank you again Lucas for another good day of shearing that went by without major incident.
There were the stubborn girls who decided to cush every so often on the route to the Shearing site, the escapee at the end of the day that needed to be herded back into the barn from the pasture, the couple of screamers and only one spitter.
Thanks again for helping shear our 25 animals.
Note: For the second year in a row a pair of sun glasses were left behind.
Sunday, May 15, 2011
Friday, May 13, 2011
Shearing Day Saturday May 14th
Shearing day is on. The animals are quite dry. The fun begins at approximately 9am. It takes about 15 minutes an animal so come by later in the day to see the fun.
Finally dry weather
For the first time in weeks we had more than 24 hours with out rain. This is good timing as tommorrow is shearing day and a dry windy day with sunny breaks has got most of the animals dry. We have locked them in the barn tonight to be on the safe side.
Mayflower Show
May 7th was the Mayflower Show in Crapaud PEI. This was our third year at the show. Each year the show runs a little more smoothly. So our hats off to Heather and Paulette of Alpaca Bay Farms the organizers.
We took eight animals this year with Andele and Bartholomew taking 2nds in their Class. Bechamal and Bacio were second and third in their class. Anuone, Alteza, and Arwyn finished 1st, 2nd and 4th in a class of 7 animals. Anuone went on to win White female Champion.
The drive home saturday night unfortunately was a wet affair with heavy rain and fog over the Cobequid pass. But we all made it home safely.
We took eight animals this year with Andele and Bartholomew taking 2nds in their Class. Bechamal and Bacio were second and third in their class. Anuone, Alteza, and Arwyn finished 1st, 2nd and 4th in a class of 7 animals. Anuone went on to win White female Champion.
The drive home saturday night unfortunately was a wet affair with heavy rain and fog over the Cobequid pass. But we all made it home safely.
Thursday, May 5, 2011
A bird in every.....oven?
We have had some excitement at Rocaro Alpacas.
During a quiet moment, and there are few here in the spring, our Wwoofer Els and I noticed a scratching noise coming from the overn chamber of our wood fired cook stove.
The first assumption was that a squirrel had found its way into the stove and we had great discussions on the demise of the squirrel as we didn't want to run the chance of it escaping into the house.
We left the problem until the next morning, hoping the situation would resolve itself.
The next morning it became evident that the visitor was not a squirrel but a bird. We discussed our options to remove the bird and settled on using the live trap we have on hand. We arranged the trap tight to the stove and opened the door. Nothing.
We decided some bread would be an enticement for the bird and stuffed a crust into the trap. We waited...and waited....and finally the bird headed towards the bread. We quickly shut the door to the trap and scuttled the whole thing out to the woods.
The bird was grateful for his new freedom and we were glad we were not having Starling for dinner.
During a quiet moment, and there are few here in the spring, our Wwoofer Els and I noticed a scratching noise coming from the overn chamber of our wood fired cook stove.
The first assumption was that a squirrel had found its way into the stove and we had great discussions on the demise of the squirrel as we didn't want to run the chance of it escaping into the house.
We left the problem until the next morning, hoping the situation would resolve itself.
The next morning it became evident that the visitor was not a squirrel but a bird. We discussed our options to remove the bird and settled on using the live trap we have on hand. We arranged the trap tight to the stove and opened the door. Nothing.
We decided some bread would be an enticement for the bird and stuffed a crust into the trap. We waited...and waited....and finally the bird headed towards the bread. We quickly shut the door to the trap and scuttled the whole thing out to the woods.
The bird was grateful for his new freedom and we were glad we were not having Starling for dinner.
Monday, May 2, 2011
Saltscapes Expo
Our attendance at the Saltscapes Expo was a success. Thank you to everyone who visited the Rocaro Alpacas booth. We hope to see many of you at the farm over the summer.
Many thanks to Roy, Particia, Els and Elizabeth for your invaluable help.
Many thanks to Roy, Particia, Els and Elizabeth for your invaluable help.
Wednesday, April 13, 2011
Show success
We are home safe and sound after a long trip for both alpacas and humans. The Alpaca Ontario show was a success again this year with Oreo Ben taking the Black Male Huacaya Colour Champion for the second year in a row. Toblerone took a first in his class, Blizzard and Bacio were each awarded second place in their respective classes. Now to prepare for the Mayflower Show in PEI May 7 and then shearing day.
Tuesday, April 5, 2011
Final preparations
Today I am working on the final prep for our departure to the show in Ontario. It is drizzly outside and the wee ones are pretty damp so they will be spending the day inside in hopes they will dry off a bit. To give the show-goers a little more room in their section of the barn, I put the two of the group who are not attending the show in with the moms. There was much curiosity on the part of the moms with the new additions to their herd, and the four left behind were quite concerned at the loss of their pen-mates.
Sunday, April 3, 2011
The big trip
We are in full swing with preparations for the long road trip to the show in Ontario.
Last year I had the help of a wonderful wwoofer, but I'm not so lucky this time around.
The straw and hay are in the truck and the alpacas have been in the trailer a couple of times.
This week I have to seriously get the rest of the prep work done or I'm not going anywhere...so much to do.
Wednesday, March 9, 2011
Spring must be here.
This morning after breakfast the girls traveled single file across the pasture to their favourite summer hang-out. A sure sign that spring is here!
Monday, March 7, 2011
The Rodeo Part 2
Today marked the first day of lead training for the Rocaro cria, after having the month of January lesson free.
It was a warm day, the kind where you don't have to bundle up or wear gloves. It's icy outside so the first session is in the barn. Normally there are two people working on lead training so the whole group can go together at first...safety in numbers from an alpaca point of view.
This is not the case today as I am here alone. I managed to get halters on and everyone tied without trouble. Then the fun begins.
It made sense to take two cria along with Andele for the first lesson because Andele, age 2, is already lead trained and the non-trained alpacas should follow along. Step one is get the girls out of the barn so I don't have a repeat of The Rodeo. Accomplished.
I then get Andele in hand along with two others and head for the door. Andele follows well, however the other two are having nothing to do with this. A little alpaca is surprisingly strong when leaning backwards with front feet splayed and determined not to move. Hmm, I have no one to get behind and give them a shove. Somehow I manage to keep the leads in front of Andele and reach behind the stubborn ones and provide some incentive. We make a tour around the barn and back home. The first lesson is always short.
Away we go with group two, Andele in the lead. Same situation however this time in my wisdom I wrap the excess leads around my hand. Or so I thought...really they were around my fingers. Fingers are not meant to bend in that direction! Thankfully nothing is broken.
Along with the commotion of trying to get the second group moving, the dogs caught a glimpse of Tab the barn cat prowling the barn near the gate, right under the dog's nose. Of course this is too much for a dog to ignore and the barking and leaping on the gate commences. Naturally the gate flings open, the cat disappears and the dogs bound through and towards the cria who have just stepped past the door.
Panicked cria; once again this is not how fingers bend. There is nowhere handy to tie the alpacas while I get rid of the dogs & shut the gate. Arrgh!
Eventually everyone had their lesson, and I can't wait to do it all again tomorrow.
It was a warm day, the kind where you don't have to bundle up or wear gloves. It's icy outside so the first session is in the barn. Normally there are two people working on lead training so the whole group can go together at first...safety in numbers from an alpaca point of view.
This is not the case today as I am here alone. I managed to get halters on and everyone tied without trouble. Then the fun begins.
It made sense to take two cria along with Andele for the first lesson because Andele, age 2, is already lead trained and the non-trained alpacas should follow along. Step one is get the girls out of the barn so I don't have a repeat of The Rodeo. Accomplished.
I then get Andele in hand along with two others and head for the door. Andele follows well, however the other two are having nothing to do with this. A little alpaca is surprisingly strong when leaning backwards with front feet splayed and determined not to move. Hmm, I have no one to get behind and give them a shove. Somehow I manage to keep the leads in front of Andele and reach behind the stubborn ones and provide some incentive. We make a tour around the barn and back home. The first lesson is always short.
Away we go with group two, Andele in the lead. Same situation however this time in my wisdom I wrap the excess leads around my hand. Or so I thought...really they were around my fingers. Fingers are not meant to bend in that direction! Thankfully nothing is broken.
Along with the commotion of trying to get the second group moving, the dogs caught a glimpse of Tab the barn cat prowling the barn near the gate, right under the dog's nose. Of course this is too much for a dog to ignore and the barking and leaping on the gate commences. Naturally the gate flings open, the cat disappears and the dogs bound through and towards the cria who have just stepped past the door.
Panicked cria; once again this is not how fingers bend. There is nowhere handy to tie the alpacas while I get rid of the dogs & shut the gate. Arrgh!
Eventually everyone had their lesson, and I can't wait to do it all again tomorrow.
The Rodeo
A couple of days ago I was doing evening chores as usual. Things were still frozen tighter than a cannon ball, including the door that separates the cria from the moms. The door being frozen is not a big deal, it simply stays shut for short times while hauling water & hay.
As usual, I didn't latch the door. Well, along came a huge gust of wind through the barn and blew the door wide open, with me nowhere in sight.
So the wee ones took advantage of the situation and wandered over to see their moms. Now this is not cause for concern however Andele, a teen age male is also living with the little ones. Being a bundle of raging hormones Andele wasted no time making his way to the girls of his age. He's not really old enough to do any damage (he thinks he is) but we don't want to take any chances.
I start to herd him around to the open door to his residence and away from the ladies, but on the way he ducks through the door to the pasture that is frozen open. Around we go in knee deep snow, Andele much more agile than myself. Finally I get him back in the barn and the outside door blocked off. Around the barn we go, all the while the girls providing distraction for the young man. At one point someone kicked open the gate to the main barn area. The dogs delighted in this new development and added to the confusion by barking and trying to join the chase.
Eventually Andele is back where he belongs and the door latched. Training for the cria is to begin in a week, so I need to get 5 cria back to their home.
One at a time, I manage to herd them towards the latched door, however keeping a hold on them and trying to get to the hook on the opposite side of the door and get it open is nothing short of a challenge.
After an hour and a bit all was back to normal.
As usual, I didn't latch the door. Well, along came a huge gust of wind through the barn and blew the door wide open, with me nowhere in sight.
So the wee ones took advantage of the situation and wandered over to see their moms. Now this is not cause for concern however Andele, a teen age male is also living with the little ones. Being a bundle of raging hormones Andele wasted no time making his way to the girls of his age. He's not really old enough to do any damage (he thinks he is) but we don't want to take any chances.
I start to herd him around to the open door to his residence and away from the ladies, but on the way he ducks through the door to the pasture that is frozen open. Around we go in knee deep snow, Andele much more agile than myself. Finally I get him back in the barn and the outside door blocked off. Around the barn we go, all the while the girls providing distraction for the young man. At one point someone kicked open the gate to the main barn area. The dogs delighted in this new development and added to the confusion by barking and trying to join the chase.
Eventually Andele is back where he belongs and the door latched. Training for the cria is to begin in a week, so I need to get 5 cria back to their home.
One at a time, I manage to herd them towards the latched door, however keeping a hold on them and trying to get to the hook on the opposite side of the door and get it open is nothing short of a challenge.
After an hour and a bit all was back to normal.
Monday, February 28, 2011
Shearing 2011
Shearing day is confirmed for Saturday May 14. We usually get started at around 9am.
If you would like to volunteer let us know.
If you would like to volunteer let us know.
Friday, February 25, 2011
Wasn't that a Party!
Winter is still fast upon us, and everyone is hunkered down therefore things are pretty quiet these days.
Although....when I arrived in the barn to do chores yesterday morning I found some very innocent looking alpaca faces standing amid a mess.
The hay boxes in both the male section and female sections of the bran had been turned upside down, the girls had knocked down a couple of railings and even the cat dish was on the floor.
Sometimes it just better not to know....
Although....when I arrived in the barn to do chores yesterday morning I found some very innocent looking alpaca faces standing amid a mess.
The hay boxes in both the male section and female sections of the bran had been turned upside down, the girls had knocked down a couple of railings and even the cat dish was on the floor.
Sometimes it just better not to know....
Thursday, February 10, 2011
Driving a Zamboni
We have been home from our southern escape for a couple of weeks now and winter has settled in full force.
Two of the three barn waterers are still frozen and there are mountains of snow everywhere.
This afternoon I was doing yet more snow clean-up in front of the barn. The tractor doesn't have chains on the tires, one of those fall jobs that didn't get done. With all the layers of snow and rain the area in front of the barn has become a skating rink.
The tractor slipped and skidded as I was blowing snow.
Who hasn't wanted to drive a zamboni?
Two of the three barn waterers are still frozen and there are mountains of snow everywhere.
This afternoon I was doing yet more snow clean-up in front of the barn. The tractor doesn't have chains on the tires, one of those fall jobs that didn't get done. With all the layers of snow and rain the area in front of the barn has become a skating rink.
The tractor slipped and skidded as I was blowing snow.
Who hasn't wanted to drive a zamboni?
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