Today was a big day for the Alpacas, they have now become one herd, in the big field area we let the girls in with the boys, at the time of letting the girls out the boys were in there coral as they were getting the dose of medication that the girls got the other day, the reason for the delay was the boys were not playing fair and refusing to come in for medicine, anyhow we got them done this morning, once they saw the girls in the field they were anxious to be released
we opened the hurdles for them and the boys went galloping across the field to meet the girls properly, Daisy (self appointed herd leader) walked over to them gave them a kick and walked off,
there was no fuss or anything.
After a while Daisy led the girls away to another part of the field, when the boys decided to have a tiff this afternoon Daisy intervened between them, I think she is taking her job seriously.
We had a phone call from the vet this morning, more results in, it seems the Alpacas have picked up a sheep parasite resulting from the rain and run off from the fields at the back were sheep were grazing this year, they have been treated for that, the other thing is a bit more concerning, they also seem to have picked up a parasite from the goats, this is in its early stages still egg larvae stage 3/4 this must have come from the goat paddock were they have been grazing recently, hence the reason for moving them today, they will be getting treated for that on Monday as will the goats.
So nothing yet that cant be controlled.
my salad leaf seedlings were starting to get a bit leggy and growing towards the window so I set up the grow lights,
The grow light panel is full of blue red and white led bulbs, they have now straighten up again they will stay under the light panel until they are in proper leaf.
A proper winter dinner tonight
Lancashire Hotpot I added sweet potatoes to it as well, we had it with some fresh picked curly kale from the garden.
The complete meal was home produced, with our own lamb, potatoes, onions, sweet potatoes and stock, the meat and veggies were browned off in our own lard and the kale was sauteed with our own garlic and apple cider vinegar, the only thing that wasn't home produced was a bit of flour salt pepper and Worcester sauce
It was delicious
The weather today
bitterly cold, dry and wind free, we did have a lot of mist come in giving everything that ghostly appearance this afternoon.
Hmmmm sounds like Barberpole worms alright. Just a sudden death nightmare.
ReplyDeleteKeep us posted.
Its not barber pole worm its Coccidiosis parasite.
DeleteReally hoping that now you know what parasite it is that the herd will be fine. Thanks for the great photos of them all together and that Daisy is a good leader.
ReplyDeleteIt is good that the alpacas are all getting along well and that Daisy is doing such a good job, hope that you can get all of the ills sorted out. xx
ReplyDeleteWhat a wonderful meal! - sounds totally delicious :)
ReplyDeleteFingers crossed the health issues for your alpacas can be eradicated!
At least you know and are at least nearer tackerling the issue for now and he future...hope Kara still drinking ..thinking of you all humans and livestock ...xxx
ReplyDeleteGlad you at least know what it is and it can be treated. Good luck.
ReplyDeleteI'm so happy you have some idea what has caused the deaths. Hope it all settles down now.
ReplyDeleteHow can you prevent this from happening in future - keep the 'pacas in the higher field so they don't get exposed to rain water run off?
Fingers crossed that this parasitic invasion is stopped in its tracks. Dinner sounds delish.
ReplyDeleteAt least you know what it is and can treat it. Animal medicine like this in a grid down situation would be really difficult, makes me wonder what we'd all do.
ReplyDeleteYour tea looked nice. I think I might do a root veg stew for tea.
I'm glad you got to find out what it was. Your meal looks delicious just the thing for this weather. Hope the alpacas still behave for you this week x
ReplyDeleteSorry about the various things with the Alpacas. It is the down side of keeping livestock isn;t it?
ReplyDeleteThat hot pot looks deliciously right for the weather outside. And reading what you put in it I am now off to put a shake of Worcester sauce in my beef in beer, which is ticking over in the Aga for lunch.
Hope you are able to rid the Alpacas of their parasites, are there sheep and goats in their normal habitat? It's good you have a head of the herd, and I hope they can live together. Love the sound of your meal, real comfort food, we are having lamb hotpot today, it's already in the slow cooker.
ReplyDeleteWhat a fabulous home-produced meal. Well done - even your own lard. Sorry that there is cross-infection between the species, but best found out now rather than later, and as you said, at least it is treatable. Years ago we bought a batch of young chickens which were riddled with Coccidiosis and lost a good many of them. I hope Kara is still glugging down lots of bottles of milk.
ReplyDeleteLovely pics of the alpacas. I love it when we eat a meal where we have produced everything ourselves even though sometimes it is only egg salad... I'd be interested in hearing how you make your own cider vinegar please.
ReplyDelete