Check it out, boys.

Robbie was topping up the sand pits today and this was the cause of great interest amongst the boys.  All except Faro of course who was standing a short distance away having checked out what was happening and decided it was pretty boring!  Gaucho is sniffing the sand and shortly after this, Fidget (far left) got into the sand pit for a closer inspection.

Echo (Wee Eck) has been the subject of much scrutiny by us this week.  We have suspected that he may be deaf when on one or two occasions he did not appear to hear us, but this week he was grazing completely on his own in a fold in the land which hid him from view.  When we found him only about 30 yards away, we called loudly several times and he carried on grazing, then suddenly he looked up, saw the herd was missing and ran towards us.  We now know he is not hearing things and explains some of his actions and reactions.  For instance, he frequently barges into the middle of the herd oblivious to the groaning, moaning and general gnashing of teeth going on around him.  He is only a wee chap so often the spitting goes over his head, literally, then he realises it's being directed at him and he spits back.  He obviously misses the audible warning signs going on all the time when the boys are in close proximity to one another.  The fact that he is deaf makes absolutely no difference to us of course as he is a real charmer - and a bandit! 

Here is Wee Eck with our other deaf boy, Gully, behind.  If you look closely at his front left foot, there is a white patch at the back.  Some alpacas carry the 'white spot gene' which is connected to deafness.  So, does Wee Eck carry this gene and is that why he is deaf?  He has black eyes and is solid black colour otherwise, but Gully has blue eyes which can be associated with deafness.   The Alpaca Vet, Leo Van Merwijk explains the 'blue eyed white' (BEW) alpaca condition very well in his June 2009 blog (www.dierenarts-en-alpaca.blogspot.com) and there is a link to a scientific paper on the subject.  I mention all of this because alpacas are well known for hiding physical ailments or abnormalities - obviously hard wired into their system so as not to appear to be the weak animal to any interested predator!  We know from Gully's behaviour that deafness is very hard to detect sometimes in an animal within the herd - we have to look very hard for a sign in him that he does not hear because he covers it so well.  Clearly, Eck is obviously also good at hiding his inability to hear as we spend a lot of time with our animals and we've only just managed to confirm it.  Wonder if anyone else has an alpaca within their herd who might be deaf and it has not been discovered?  Interesting!  Robbie is always saying that Wee Eck won't do as he's told - now we know why........he can't hear him!

I've crocheted this curly wurly scarf from Fergus (white) and Ardo Gottit (black) fleece.  I carded the two fleeces together before spinning them to see what it would look like.  I'm pleased with the result.   On the right is a ball of Gaucho's spun fleece and I've made a label for it.

And finally............the boys are having a nocturnal visitor in their field shelter.  Mr (or Mrs) Rabbit is becoming a pain in the rear end burrowing holes in the ground!  We blocked one hole with a boulder two nights ago only to discover this morning that the rabbit had made a hole right next to it and scrapped away all the earth and straw as shown above.  The rabbit is either not scared off by the boys in the area  or it's a very big rabbit and the boys are scared!!

Doggone!

Why is it that I never have my camera handy when something interesting happens?  Our neighbouring farmer's sheepdog decided to go walkies on his own along the road and this immediately had all the boys heading towards the fence and facing the threat.  Tails were up, ears pointed forward as they watched the dog.  By the time we got the camera the dog had wandered back to the farm but the boys watched it all the way - all except for Faro the guard!  His attention was taken up with the new threat of the camera - he does not like it being pointed at him and does not like posing.

Can't say the same about this trio of Gaucho (L), Gully and Wee Eck (R) who will pose endlessly and come right up to the camera lens if allowed to!

Our two (dirty) white boys, Fergus at the front with Fidget behind.

Rufus in the middle with Gully (L).

Fergus is a really laid back character so whilst some of the boys still keep an eye out for the dog and others start grazing, he decides its time to chill out and lie down.  Shortly after this Wee Eck came and touched his back which had Fergus spitting up in the air as a warning to keep off!

And finally, Gully showing his thick fleece which he's needed this winter like all the boys to keep the cold weather out.

Anticipation

We gathered up the boys this week into the catch pen.  You can see the the anticipation on their faces - or is it dread?  We didn't have to use the long white sticks to guide them into the pen as they almost went in of their own accord, clever boys.  Faro who is at the very front of the photo is the least comfortable in the pen, always anxious to get out so when we've finished doing our work with them, we lead him out first.  He is then completely relaxed.

The halters are now on, at the last hole of the fastener due to the thickness of their neck fleece. The three guys in the middle are Fidget (L), Fyta in the middle and Gully (R).  Fidget is the least happy to have the halter fitted, but once it's on, he's fine.

Here is Rufus, halter fitted and (almost) ready for a wee walk and getting a neck rub with the back of my hand.  I always use the back of my hand for neck rubs.   I've noticed that Rufus is now quite relaxed whilst having his halter fitted whereas when he first arrived last year he usually tensed up, although never refused the fitting.  As he's settled into the herd he's become more dominant, pushing and shoving himself into the group and spitting into the air if he's not happy with the others.  He's a lovely chap though and when he gets a bit above himself Wee Eck comes along and brings him down a peg or two!

Fyta eating his sugar beet.  I've been trying to capture on camera something which only Fyta does in the herd.  If another animal comes near his bowl when he's eating, he puts his right foot into the bowl as if to say, "This is mine" and if necessary, will overturn the bowl.  He frequently does this but never when we have the camera handy........one day!

And finally.........a long shot from a dip in the field showing the boys on the sky line in their paddock with the snowy Beinn in the background.

Better weather

We paid a visit last week to friends Ian and Angie who have recently become alpaca owners!  They have four, Bianca  and Coco and their cria,  Twix and Honey.  They are lovely animals and have settled down well and have discovered an instant liking for sliced carrots!  Angie now has the task of deciding what she will do with the lovely baby alpaca fleece which she will have after this year's shearing.

Colourful hats and wellies come to visit!

Today was the first day this week that all the snow has melted and most of the sheet ice has gone.  The boys have spent the week sliding around the paddocks, an alarming sight when four legs go in different directions at once!  Quite dangerous for humans to walk on too and I note from other blogs that some of you have experienced similar conditions.  The ground is still frozen solid but at least the grass can be nibbled.   Due to the conditions we didn't get to clipping Fergus's nails - next week for sure.  Fergus is in the front of this picture with Wee Eck (L) behind and Gully (R) behind and Rufus and the other boys at the back.  They've been out in the squally conditions all day so they are pretty damp!

We had a visit today from old friends Dorothy and Barry, daughter Emma and just 4 of the grandchildren.  Snazzy wellies and hats were on display and essential against the cold whilst plenty of 'happy snaps' were taken with the boys.

Gaucho, Rufus and Gully have never seen such a gathering of Peruvian hats and ponchos!

Emma Louise (L) is wearing a Fergus curly-wurly scarf but still seems to be feeling the chill.  Fergus, Gully and Rufus are looking for more apple slices which they've just been fed by the visitors.

And finally........Grandad Barry with (L) Hannah, Lily, Emma Louise and Lucy with Grandma Dorothy on the extreme left, recording a memorable visit to see the 'pacas.

Swede time again.

Gaucho (left) and Gully, two pals who arrived here during summer 09 waiting with the other boys this afternoon, for their bit of daily swede.  These two lovely boys who are not yet 4 yrs old,  still like to play together and do a bit of neck wrestling.

Also waiting to use a bit of turnip floss is Rufus.  We've still got a wee bit of snow here and the temperature isn't getting much above freezing today.

Rufus with Wee Eck, a suitable case for James Dixon's dental skills at shearing time this year!  Eck continues to be the bandit of the herd, smallest in size but afraid of none of the others, especially Rufus the biggest boy with whom he often has arguments.  Eck loves to muscle into the other boys' food bowls, and if he is told off, he sulks!  He growls and moans like blazes though when one of the others tries to pinch his food!

This is what the've been waiting for - a bit of (frozen) swede to gnaw.  They love it, and it keeps their teeth lovely and clean.  From the left, this is Fyta, Faro and Rufus.

And finally.........the long shot, looking west to a snowy Strath Glass.  All the boys have their heads down, chewing their swedes.  Fidget (front, right) looks like he's been enjoying a roll in the muck - as usual!  The boys will have their Verm-X granules during the coming week and if the weather permits, we'll do a bit of nail clipping and halter work (I can hear them groaning already!!)

Happy New Year to everyone - best wishes for 2011.

Some mornings at this time of year, the light is really beautiful.  This was taken on Boxing Day at 8.15am, and the 'light show' lasted for about 10minutes whilst the boys were enjoying their breakfast haylage.  This is looking in a south easterly direction, over the hill to Loch Ness, then over the Grampian Mountains and beyond.

'Beefy Boy' Fergus looking to add to the poo pile as the 'light show' ends and daylight breaks.

Left to right, Fyta, Fergus and Fidget, 3 of our original 4 boys who have been together for  nearly 5 years.  They know each other well but that does not stop them having a bit of 'argy-bargy' when it comes to sorting out bed-spaces in the shelter and invading each other's personal space!  Fyta and Fergus are avoiding eye contact, heads in the air and spitting/snorting/grunting in the air as warnings to each other.

Two minutes later, male egos satisfied, they settle down to chew the cud.  If you magnify this shot you will see Fergus has a droopy lower lip as a result of his spitting.  The inside of the shelter shows that the boys are quite happy to try to build a poo pile in the middle area - but they have no chance with Robbie carrying out his regular 'poop patrol' duties !  Several minutes after this photo was taken, Rufus came along with a look which said, "Move over the bed a bit"....... 

And then there were 4!

And finally.........Christmastime TV has to be viewed sparingly in our opinion, so for something completely different from the normal pastimes of spinning, knitting and crotcheting we got stuck into a 1000 piece jigsaw.  It just got bigger and bigger, starting on the jig saw mat, moved to the bigger coffee table then ended up on a large piece of chipboard on the kitchen table - should have checked the dimensions before we started!  It took our spare time over 3 days to complete, we took the photo, then broke it up and put it back in the box.  What was that all about, eh?!
This is 'sair heed' day in this part of the world following last night's celebrations - hope your 'heed' isn't too 'sair' today.  Enjoy!