I was resting at home when Neil messaged to say he had given the alpacas hay but would message, after. Odd. When he messaged he had bad news. One of the ducks had blood on her and he said she was very subdued. He didn’t expect her to make it. From shock more than the injury. Not a good end to the day. So when I went to Garth Hall and wasn’t looking forward to letting the ducks out. They don’t do well on their own 😔 I walked over and the quacking was quieter. There was only one duck jumping at the door but I thought I heard two different quacks. I climbed into the enclosure and opened the door. She shot out, followed by her butty 👏They both seemed ok. They went in the paddling pool and then off into the mud like normal. I went to Cai to get the alpaca food. Then I saw a cut on one duck’s neck. Not too large, not bothering her. Phew!
I fed the wellfield alpacas and Rascal then went off through the wellfield gate. There were lots of ewes about. When I got near the ringfeeder I saw an ewe inside it standing on the hay! Bloody sheep! “OUT!” She looked at me for a while and then looked around as if working out her exit strategy. She turned and jumped through the bars in one movement. She was skinny and one of the empty ones. In the distance, I saw one particular ewe. I couldn’t see her face but from the shape of her and they way she was holding her head, I knew it was Munchie. When I got closer, she turned her head away as if to dismiss me. Such an attitude, so funny 😂
I fed the alpacas and messaged to say we needed to take alpaca mix and ewe nuts down. The sun was out though so it was a positive. Maybe the sun would dry it out a bit 🤞 I walked up and went to Cai. The bucket of Pecky food I’d filled for Jordan to give them was still there 😬I fed them and they didn’t seem hungrier than usual. Strange though, I sent her message. I knew she was working but she’d be finished soon. I went to Aldi and the poundshop. I did my shopping and I was loading the boot, she rang. “I’ve tried you 3 times. I assumed you were in Aldi. It’s OK, I fed them using a tub.” Another one not listening to my instructions 😂
Back home I unloaded the shopping and got the truck out and put the car back. Jordan turned up for her shopping and took photos of 2 items that I’m selling. My back/side was hurting by then so I had paracetamol. I had dinner and took ibuprofen but the back part of my ribs was really sore. I can’t wait for the mud to go away and the grass to grow so I don’t have to carry such heavy buckets over such difficult terrain. After walking Skye, I had a sit down and started this blog. When I went back to Garth Hall, I had things to do. My first job was putting a fresh bag of alpaca mix in the bin in Cai. Then I went on a hunt for size 8 and size 1 wellies. I have someone wanting an alpaca walk with a friend and daughter from the US. I managed to find size 8s, brand new, donated by Emma. No size 1 though. Just as I was sorting the wellies, Rascal arrived after food. It wasn’t happening yet and when he heard the quad so he rushed out to try Neil. Rascal knows (as do I) that Neil is a softer target to beg to than I am 😂 Neil got the small red trailer and didn’t even see Rascal. He wandered off, disappointed for the time being. We loaded the little trailer and took them to the LST. Molly and Baarbaara were there. Neil stayed outside and passed the sacks over the gates to me. We had to shut it to keep them away! Baarbaara and Molly were after the food and interfered and generally made nuisances of themselves 🤦♀️Bloody sheep!
Once that was done, we headed back up. “What’s that?” Neil pointed over by the oak tree “I think it’s a rock.” I’m sure I’d seen it there before but we went to check, you never know if it’s a cast sheep, so worth a check. It was a rock so we left and headed towards the barn. There was Munchie, by the airlock gate. I went off to get the Pecky food. She tried Neil for food but he wasn’t giving her any extra treats today. He went off to potch about so she turned her attention to me. She was outfield and I was in the paddock. I then found myself arguing with a sheep. She called me first, I told her she wasn’t getting anything and she called out another few times 😂 Bloody sheep
Helen x
