OUR SMALL HERD

Our original four boys came from Ardo Alpacas in Aberdeenshire. We are not alpaca breeders and have our boys purely as pets. Our experience is that you don't need to be a breeder and that a 'batchelor herd' can give much pleasure to the owner. We have 5 acres including our big garden and grazing for the boys, 15 miles north of Inverness, Scotland. I spin, knit, felt and crochet with the fleece from the boys.

Clicking!!

Just a reminder that clicking on (most) of the photos will show them greatly enlarged.

Saturday 12 March 2011

More snow - and a budding alpaca farmer!

A look of resignation from Fergus as he eats his breakfast haylage in the snow again.  We all thought we'd got rid of the snow for a while, but no such luck.
We've had a couple of days this week when we were back into mid-winter.  Fortunately the temperature has stayed above zero most of the time, so the snow does shift.  Sometimes it has been really sunny, then it gets very dark, and we get dumped on again.  Here, the boys happily eat their haylage whilst in the background, on the hill road traffic came to a standstill as usual, skidding and sliding all over the place.  There's plenty of grit in the Council depots apparently, but we rarely see the gritting lorry.  Until a couple of years ago piles of grit were left on all the hill roads so that drivers could get themselves out of trouble - those were the good old days!  Now drivers have to find a friendly farmer with a tractor to pull them - clearly much cheaper for the Council to do it that way.
Last Sunday however it was cold but not so wintry and the boys had a visit from Rauridh, Callum and their dad Pete.  They were up from the Borders with mum Lesley and Rauridh likes to have his 'paca fix when he's in the area.  We're convinced that he's going to be an alpaca farmer later in life!  Here he is showing total control of the herd with his bowl of goodies!
Rauridh with Faro.
Now that's one happy junior alpaca farmer as he feeds Fergus and checks the thickness of his fleece.
Rauridh keeps his dad right on the finer points of feeding Wee Eck!  Unfortunately Callum missed the photo shoot - next visit for sure, Cal.
And finally...........I started with Fergus the Big Man, so I'll finish with him.  He's looking for food as usual.

2 comments:

  1. I was thinking about you when I saw the weather forecast. Brrrr.

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  2. Oh...you have more snow than me....mine is wet snow and not lying much at the moment....Im hoping this is the last for this year....and lovely photos...of your budding alpaca farmer...and the boys !......Jayne

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