It was a lovely morning to be working outdoors. Chilly but sunny. I didn’t remember putting hay out for Bramble, Hennessey and their mothers last night so I stopped off in Cai and got 2 empty feedbags. Then over to the barn. No sign of Elsie. Bit of a relief, maybe she has weaned herself from me at last. I fed the rams, they had plenty of water. I filled up the bags with hay and then went to look for the little wooden feed trough. This can only be used indoors but will be fine in the alpaca pod. I had intended to go down for the mule but decided carrying it all would be quicker. The trough was heavier (by far) than it looked. It only made it just out of the wellfield gate with me before I dumped it for collection in the mule in a bit. The hay wasn’t heavy. I could easily manage that. Then Olive and Pandora started following me. I could still manage but they started doing that thing that pet sheep do for food. They cut right across in front of me and turn stop. They were also trying to walk exactly where I was walking. They kept bumping into me and rubbing my legs with their wet wool. I gave up, I was going down for the mule anyway. I put the two bags high up on the corner of the nursery wall and went for the mule.
Despite how dry the summer was, the ground is already getting wet. The high traffic areas are the worse, especially where the tractor has been because it’s heavier. However, I managed to get the mule through and up the slope. I went over for the trough first and then collected the hay. I parked up by the pod and lifted the trough over. I noticed the hay in the feeder in the pod. Neil and Rhi must have filled it yesterday. Never mind, I’ve brought extra down. It’s now in the livestock trailer. I got some ewe rolls and Camelibra and put them in the trough. Luna was straight over to eat. Hennessey was eyeing me up, wondering if I was going to feed her. The next jobs were to move the ram lambs and check for green bums.
We came to the conclusion that poor Ted poisoned himself by eating acorns. So as a result of that we decided to move the ram lambs away from the acorns. I walked around the jail, driving them in front of me to put them in the small pen area away from the acorns. We would move them into the wellfield later. They came quite easily, it just took time so I was there longer than usual. As I was walking around, I had a great view of Starsky and Hutch and their women. I looked and looked and looked. Not a green bum in sight. I was gutted. The only consolation is that plenty of Ladies Who Lamb (a group I belong to on Facebook) have said that the ewes are cycling later this year, due to the dry weather. Fingers crossed. With the rams in, the should start cycling soon. They cycle every 17 days. Neil said “They’ve got til a week Thursday!” That’s the date of the next market 😂
With that done I walked up. On the walk back up, I started to need a wee. I wasn’t going to make it to Jordan’s so I went in the wellfield for a ‘wild wee’ behind the barn. I could see Elsie and Ant. Elsie called out and then I heard Susie. I heard her but could not see her. I concluded she must have been behind the rushes. I walked over and could still hear her. There was no sign but her voice was echoing a bit, like she was by stone. I really did not have the time, energy or inclination to walk to the top of the wellfield. But I had no choice. The further up I went, the more it sounded like she was out on the lane. I kept talking to her and she kept answering. I got to the very top before I spotted her. She was camouflaged against the wall. But luckily she was in the wellfield not outside. I gave her a nudge and she came down with me. Ant and Elsie came towards the barn as well. Elsie wanted her lamb creep. The lambs used to be able to get in between the gate and the post. Susie is now just a but too fat. She got her head in and just started calling again. Really? I opened the gate and called her. I think she is the same calibre as Molly and Petra. Cute but thick 😂 At least she was safe.
The first job of the afternoon was to take some alpaca mix down in the truck. Neil had found two bags at Tregurnog so I took one of those. I got some food and fed the boys. I then called the girls into the blue shelter pen. We needed to check Ffion’s eyes. They are often mucky. Colin suggested trimming her long eyebrows and lashes. We caught her easily and I gently trimmed them with a scissors. We will see if it helps at all. I’ve let them out and Neil brought the trailer in with his quad. We got two hurdles and then got the ram lambs in. We put them in the blue shelter. Neil drenched and I vectocerted. Then we got them in the trailer. It wasn’t easy to drive it out with that weight but he managed. I let him out of the main gate. As he drove off I looked at how deep the tracks were. That trailer was heavy and then the penny dropped. “NEIL!” He heard me and stopped. “Flat tyre. You’re running on the rim!” He only fixed it a few months ago too. “We never have any luck!”
We transferred them to the big trailer and towed them up using the tractor. We let them out in the wellfield and fed them. Then we took it back down. I fed the alpacas in the small field and emptied out the alpaca mix. Bloody gone off. There was no way I was feeding that. I tipped it back out into an old tub. No alpaca mix for them today. I had a feeling it would be spoiled/gone off. While I was doing that, Neil was looking at the tractor. It’s leaking oil. He was trying to work out from where. He’s found the pipe. It’s now a matter of working back a bit for the root of the problem. (Or so I’ve been informed) Let’s hope its not an expensive fix!
There were still no green bums, however, they both seem interested in the black ewe so maybe she is coming into cycle. I will keep you informed! Well, there’ll be photos, lots of photos.
Helen x
