Weaning day has arrived

Hi Folks. Following our decision to provide a respite from the weather for our Elite Australians on Saturday, we gave them all their dose of vitamins AD&E before seperating the cria's from their mothers today. It is always a heart-wrenching sight to see the utter despair of the youngsters when their mothers are put into a different paddock. Poor little "Polaris" decided to attempt a break out and got himself well and truly stuck when trying to squeeze through a gap between the top rail and the stock fencing! Fortunately, we spotted his attempt and rescued him before he damaged himself. We then decided that the only way to prevent any potential accidents was to move the crias into a paddock which is completely fenced using "equifence". We did this but only after some considerable time as a couple of the youngsters were not about to be moved too far from their mums and in the end, I had to resort to catching them and literally carrying them into their new "safe" paddock. I was surprised how heavy they were!!

Having completed this task, it was the turn of the other herd to enjoy a spell in the barn for a couple of days before they too would be receiving their AD&E jabs.

With the barn being occupied by the kitten we bought in auction the other week, it is an entertaining sight as the alpacas are so intrigued by the kittens presence. They are not exactly sure what she is and they tend to follow her around as she prances across the floor and up and down the hay bales which are stacked in a corner of the barn.

The weather has been quite benign today and looking at the forecast, we could be in for a couple of days dry weather before it tips down again during the latter part of the week. If this is the case then we will be able to conduct a few more "spit-offs" with Cambridge Ice Cool Lad.

Signing off now and will be back soon.