Can anyone join the party? Huacayas too ?

Seems like all the TOFT weaners are keen to join the festivities starting with the TOFT Alpaca Farm Open Day on the 20th of December. Ho Ho Ho...!

So where's the party?

Crimbo has officially started at TOFT alpacas. The TOFT Studio is twinkling, trees are sparkling and the mince pies and brandy cream are pouring out of the Cornflower Cafe. It's as cosy as a Hamsters boudoir in the Studio these days. 

All we need now is a visit from old 'Ho, Ho, Ho'. I hear he's dropping in on the Xmas Farm Open Day on the 20th. Should be a a good un! Ho Ho Ho...

Wires on...

Wires up on the new alpaca paddock. Two strands of plain wire to string tomorrow and three gates to set up and  the next five acres will come online. 

Hey ho, only another five to go and the job will be almost done. Thank goodness it feels like this job has run longer than Emmerdale. I've set Xmas as the deadline -as you do and if the weather rolls our way we will get there. A few good frosts will help now the posts are all in.

It is now almost a year since we took on this land and it has taken all of that time to get it operational. 12 months ago all the hedges were overgrown 25 yds out in the field, there was a decade of debris scattered around and some of the biggest bonfire middens  I have ever seen. The fields were four foot high in nettles and thistles covered in huge thick tussocks you could hardly ride the quad over. 

We started cutting slashing and burning last December and have been working on it most of the year. Twelve massive bonfires later and an awful lot of fencing we are almost there. With a bit of luck we will have 15 acres of very tidy new alpaca paddocks up and running in the New Year! And then? Well some downtime I hope and back to the herd.

Chrissy lights are up....

Time for the twinkling in the twilight as the Manor gets ready for Crimbo...

A rose between two fawns

Caught this little brown girl hiding between two fawns yesterday looking for the courage to come forward and join the big school.

Happy new tags big boys and girls...and welcome to your new school

Microchip and tag application day today with seventeen newly weaned cria taking up their residency in the weaner paddocks. When we wean at TOFT we change the nursery tags to the big flags and microchip at the same time. 

With Linda tagging, Freya handling and yours truly on the chipper and not one miss or a spot of blood- we were all done and dusted in 30mins. I think we can safely say we now have this routine down to a fine art.  

So now the weaners  all have their adult tags which as you can see adds another colour to the collective. Now they are popping around the paddocks proud as punch, like kids in new uniforms on their first day at school.  One of the boys even came posing for 'new school' photies. 

Welcome to infant school boys and girls just get on munching now grow into your tags please! 

Shirley at Olympia with the British Alpaca Society at the Farm Innovation Show...

5 am the girl set off this morning with the trailer for Olympia where she is busy promoting Alpacas at the Farm Innovation Show for the next two days on behalf of the British Alpaca Society along with Gary Sanders of Popham Alpacas.

The girl will be tired tonight as she will have talked herself to a standstill today about our emerging industry and she had a lecture to deliver. 

This girl doesn't do ' Sparrowfart' easily so she was huffing and chuffing in the dark this morning as we were loading the alpacas and she will have run on adrenalin most of today.  The stand looks great. Apparently there has been a lot of interest throughout the day but I  hope they let her get to bed early the night or there won't be a lot left of her coming backup the M1 tomorrow!