Apple Vale Flamenco arrives.

Yesterday morning, during this warm September spell, Golden Delicious went into labour, and I was able to 'race' home from work to witness/assist in the birth. I arrived to find a little nose-shaped swelling from the rear - Delicious had spent a lot of time rolling, and her waters had broken before Joy 'phoned me - within minutes, a black nose poked through, and then several minutes later, a head appeared, and a mouth gasped as the membranes cleared away. Around ten minutes passed, and the head descended, and occasionally flicked, splaying its ears out, so we knew the cria was lively, showing more neck...but no feet...moments later one foot came out but not the other, and it was immediately apparent we could have a problem. I 'phoned the vet, knowing it would take some time for them to reach us, and Joy donned the gloves and lubed up, we approached Delicious and she was happy for me to hold her - alpacas often know when they need your help - Joy located the front leg, and felt around to find the back leg, just to be sure she had located the correct one. Contractions began squeezing against Joys' arm, and it became apparent that the leg could not be straightened to come out, without pushing the neck and head back, but she was too far out - Delicious had laid down by now, and the change in position allowed Joy to keep the leg pressed close to the body as the cria was delivered - it was a light brown or fawn female, and 11.45, and Apple Vale Flamenco had arrived. (tonight, Joys thighs and knees are aching from the strain!)

 We drew back to allow mother and cria to bond. Delicious continued to sit for a while, and the cria made efforts to sit, succeeding quite quickly - then she started struggling to stand, but the leg which had been kept back would not open, so she lost balance, rolled a few times, and eventually began to shuffle around on her front knees - we decided we couldn't let her carry this on for long, as she wouldn't be able to feed, and she might just get used to it - so we lifted her, and held her steady to eases the lower leg joint into use (a bit like when you've slept in an awkward position, it takes a while). Gradually, she staggered about as the leg began to work. She clearly had lots of energy, as she continued to walk, then run about. We sat for three and a half hours anxiously hoping for the first feed, while she went around and around, sucking mothers fleece, disappearing into her front groin, coming out of the back - we started thawing plasma, made enquiries to try and locate bovine colostrum, and Joy went and bought goats milk - we didn't want to be caught out late in the day. Fifteen minutes after Joy left, her heaad disappeared high up into the udder region, and my heart lifted - she spent at least ten minutes up there. She had two more feeds an hour and a half later. We breathed sighs of relief.

She weighed in at 6.4kg. As a cria, Golden Delicious had to be bottle fed, to supplement her mums supply, after a plasma transfusion, when we realised from IGG tests that she hadn't had much Passive Transfer of Immunity. So, Flamenco is a third generation to be born here, and her sire is EPC Columbus of Patou, now owned by us here, and he's done a great job! She has his'smile', viewed from the side.

The class of 2014: Florina, Flamenco, Fortune & Fiesta

Chasing cria.

The cria are developing well. We thought that the yearling sisters of two of them were distracting them from feeding, as they're weight gain had slowed, and on occasion caught one of them stealing a sneaky drink, so we seperated the mums, cria, and an expectant one, to fresh grazing, and they have increased their rate of weight gain.

We entered a couple of fleeces into the North Devon Show, as a new challenge, and were pleased for both to get rosettes, in particular because I had shorn them, so they wouldn't have been maximum weight, as I haven't quite mastered getting all of the good leg and base of neck fibre in the first cut with the saddle.

We had a visit from Mark Steele, editor of the South West Alpaca Group newsletter (SWAGMAG) recently, who was writing an article for a new feature called Farm Focus - when dealing with the 'press' you can be putting your neck into the mouth of a lion, but I think on this occasion the lion was tame, and we are pleased with the outcome, even though I felt faintly ridiculous modelling one of Joys felted ladies hats! The main purpose was to get a little publicity, and to help the 'Ed' fill another issue.

One of the greatest pleasures (and there are many), is when the cria play chase, and they are mesmerising - the move to a new paddock gave them a larger 'circuit', so here are a few photos of one particular evening:

Apple Vale Fiesta

Fortune - Florina - Fiesta

Apple Vale Fiesta

On friday afternoon, Pelachuta started final stages, and I came home from work and settled down on a bench to watch, only to go back to work for the afternoon as she appeared to calm down, but at 5 o'clock Fiesta eventually dived into this world, being a 7.2kg male and a lovely caramel colour.

This was Pelachutas fourth cria - she is a sound mother, who takes close interest in her cria, and keeps away from the throng for a couple of days, preferring to take her morning feed away from the rest of the herd. It had been sweltering for several days, and, if they have any ability to choose when to birth, it seemed she waited until late afternoon for a cooling breeze to spring up, and went to the top of the hill to deliver.

He was sired by EP Cambridge Columbus (Scrumpy), our herdsire, who has done a good job with this one, and we await one or two more from him - one is now over 12 months, who had scanned negative, and who was overweight, but had shown well-defined physical characteristics once we had shorn her and could see her true body shape - a well-respected breeder who was visitng recently and took a look at her, has offered to eat his hat if she doesn't produce a cria.

On wednesday evening we got the hay baled and stored without thunderstorms - 140 bales compared with last years 80, a fabulous feeling when its all in and the barn is stuffed full.

While Joy and I were re-positioning the shelters, Bramley began wretching and gyrating her jaw sideways, she clearly had something stuck - she trotted over to us, and we feel she clearly thought we could help - we had a watering can with us to soften the soil for the ground anchors, so I put the handle of a lump hammer across her mouth to keep it open, while Joy fired a stream of water into her, and that sorted her out!

Apple Vale Fortune

Tuesday saw the arrival of a male from 'Apples' (Helenia Diana) whose sire is Dovecote Jaquinto. He was a whopping 9.5kg, bright crimpy solid white, and sired by CCNF Talon of Classical Milend.

He and our other new arrival, Florina, have been gaining weight steadily, although 'Flo'' has not made the gains we would usually see - we think that is because her yearling sister Elstar has been getting in the way, and Flo' seems to stay closer to her than her dam, Bramley - as a result, we have seperated the new mums and their cria, as when we did some trial seperations, she gained more weight - we then brought the herd back together when the thunderstorms threatened, as we could provide better shelter. We've just had the hay cut today, so fingers crossed for the mid-week weather.

Apple Vale Fortune

Apple Vale Florina

Apple Vale Florina

Saturday morning began with checking the two whites most likely to birth first, and after a few chores I went in for a cup of coffee, came out half an hour later, and there was a little brown head sitting up above the grass - Bramley, our dark fawn, and re-mated to Van Diemen Qjori of Patou had repeated last years birth with a brown female, weighing 6.0 kg exactly the same as Elstar a year previously (and at almost exactly the same time!). She was up within no time and suckling well - she has gained weight over night, although Elstar has tried sneaking a drop of milk, so we seperated her last night with some companions.

Apple Vale Florina

We had a set-back last week, when Freedom, who was only just on 10.5 months pregnant, had a still-birth early in the morning, a  male weighing just 3.8kg, fully formed externall, and a light fawn. The placenta appeared normal. She has had a quite extensive attack of mange mites on her legs in the last couple of months, which we had been treating and had got on top of, with Cydectin, but clearly she has struggled to develop the cria to a point of viability. It was heart-wrenching to see her looking to where she had delivered it, after I had taken it away, and humming for it. On top of that, yesterday we discovered an abscess on her thigh and have this evening treated it with Hibiscrub and Manuka honey, and fly-spray, which we understand has worked like magic for another breeder. Fingers crossed.

Bramley with Florina

Shiraz for shearers (or, showing showing, shorn)

Two blog titles, for the price of one today!
Enjoying a glass of the red stuff, after completing shearing our herd for this year today. We have been on cria watch for a week or so and now have three in their 'window', with two or three to follow.

Bramley and Elstar

Being able to shear our own, we have taken it steady to suit ourselves, the herd, the weather, and the show season.

Autumn Gold, shown above, was scanned as not pregnant last September, and we've found her to be body scoring very high, and she's kept us guessing, but we are convinced that she is pregnant and should be first to reveal her 'cargo' any day - she has the easiest temperament, and will happily chew your shoes or trousers, but has always seemed a bit 'dim' - fingers crossed.

Scrumpy: "don't tell anyone that I squealed like a wuss while being shorn"

 

Empress and Minnie wrestle for superiority.

I'm gradually getting quicker at shearing, and it's the pressure to get finished and release the alpaca that results in odd tufts being missed, that you notice as they walk away! One of those quirks of life, that getting 70% of the fleece, the blanket, takes 10% of the time, and shearing the legs, neck, head and tail, 30% of the fleece, takes 90% of the time, but there comes a point when they are getting stressed, and I've sweat the pint of cider that I have to replace, that you must let them go, after all they're not entering a beauty contest. (today I noticed flecks of blood as I sheared Minnies tail, and it turned out I had caught the top of my finger!) nothing important then.

Scilly season

Allow me please, to share something non-alpaca - we've just had a short 5-day break in the Isles of Scilly, planned between shows, shearing and birthing We went 9 years ago for an anniversary, and so enjoyed it, we had to go back. It may seem expensive at first, but it is special, having a rarified, quiet, un-hurried atmosphere with lots of space - you don't need a passport(!), and from boat to hotel or boat to car on your return, takes only 10 minutes, it is so simple (or you can fly). And, no I don't get commission!

This is known as 'Loaded-Camel Rock'

motor boats take you between the islands.

Sometimes the beaches can become crowded, if another family turn up!

I went on a boat trip around the outer islands and saw plenty of seals - there are Puffins, but they are a bit elusive.

Time to get the boat home...

We brought the girlsto the closest paddock for birthing, but the grass has grown so well, if a cria is born we'll have a job to find it!
It got so warm today, that I brought Scrumpys shelter over, and he recognized the shade and soon sat under it - he's not daft, he's got the Patou instinct.