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.

Sunday 12 March 2017

Nails and the ageing boys.

Fyta (front) with Faro behind - two buddies who follow each other around  The boys are 11 years old this summer and we've had them for 10 years so they know who their friends are!  The veg plots can be seen in the background, empty apart from some leeks, parsnips and sprouting broccoli and now awaiting Spring.
Big Fergus getting a pat after finishing off his share of the carrots.  The boys have been on Verm-X granules this week with their feed.
Fidget - in upright mode and devouring some haylage.  Like the other boys he enjoys his food - perhaps a little too much judging by the size of him!
Fidget - in horizontal mode and deciding yesterday that he did not want to have his nails trimmed - again!  All four boys are herded into the pen, Faro and Fyta are released and Fidget and Fergus, both white boys, are in line for nail trimming.  Fergus was as good as gold and all nails got trimmed.  Fidget however assumed the cush position, so no chance of a trim.
Fergus is in the pen on the left with Fidget and Fyta is waiting for him outside on the right, with Faro. 
We tried a different tack with Fidget and moved him from the small catch pen (top of picture) into the bigger 'holding' pen.  This time he did not cush and we were able to get two nails trimmed, which is a start.  It is likely that he now associates the catch pen with nail trimming and knows immediately to cush.  Moving him to the bigger pen confused him about our intentions, so we'll try this approach again.
After the nail trimming session, Fergus (left), Fyta and Faro enjoy some haylage.  Fidget has cleared off to an adjoining paddock in the huff!
And finally................. I just finished knitting this scarf a couple of days ago.  It is made from Fyta's fleece which I find is getting less soft as he gets older. I find that all the boys have coarser fleece now that they are older.

1 comment:

  1. Lovely to hear how those boys are! We have a couple of oldies too now and yes, the fleece isn't like it used to be! We have an old chap who cushes but we manage to cut his nails whilst he's down...we pretend we're going one side...so he rolls towards that side and Ron gets the opposite one! Works a treat every time!
    We too are enjoying the purple sprouting broccoli...delicious isn't it?!

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