The alpacas are learning to trust me more. They know I’m the one that brings them apples and carrots, alfafa hay and Camelibra. What’s not to like? But I can’t say we have really got that close yet. They  prefer to avoid physical contact, which rather disappoints the local children who want to cuddle these big-eyed soft bodied creatures. One little boy managed to pat Diana’s tail and you would think he had climbed the Matterhorn!

So I have kind of got used to the fact that there are no strokes or tickles. I move them out of the way when I’m feeding them and they lean against me like I am another alpaca, but that is about it.

Imagine my surprise and awe then, when I was cleaning out their stable the other day. Bent down and intent on my task, I was raking away when I felt a soft nose on the top of my head. I stood stock still, not daring to look up or move as the nose pressed gently all over my hair and I felt warm breath on the back of my neck. It was Nicola, the cute little black one that everyone loves, who had decided that I was finally worth investigating.

It sounds so small a thing to happen, but after standing there being touched on the head by an alpaca nose  for almost a minute, I felt quite elated, like I had made a bonding breakthrough.

I know she may have thought my hair was hay and that is what flashed through my mind, but there was no attempt to nibble or bite, just this soft pressing sensation. It was lovely!

UPDATE: What’s better than a sniff of my hair? A kiss. Nicola kissed my cheek last night!

Gli alpaca iniziano a fidarsi di me. Hanno imparato che sono io a portare le mele e le carote, il fieno di erba medica e il Camelibra. Come si fa a non amarmi? Ma in generale preferiscono evitare il contatto fisico, perciò devo abituarmi al fatto che carezze e solletico sono fuori questione. Può capitare che io debba spostarli mentre li sto nutrendo e che loro si appoggino contro di me, ma questo è tutto.

Quindi immaginate la mia sorpresa quando l’altro giorno stavo pulendo la stalla. Erochinata a rastrellare il pavimento quando all’improvviso ho sentito una leggera pressione sulla testa. Sono rimasta immobile, senza osare guardare in alto o muovermi, mentre un naso premeva gentilemente sui miei capelli e sentivo il respiro caldo dietro al collo. Era Nicola, il piccoletto nero e simpatico amato da tutti, che aveva finalmente deciso che ero degna della sua attenzione. 

Può sembrare una questione di poca importanza, ma dopo essere rimasta lì per quasi un minuto mentre un alpaca mi toccava la testa, mi sentivo piuttosto euforica, avevo l’impressione di aver finalmente legato.

So che magari Nicola poteva semplicemente pensare che i miei capelli fossero paglia, ed è questo che mi è venuto in mente prima di tutto, però non c’è stato nessun tentativo di mordere. Solo questa piacevole pressione. E’ stato molto bello!

Aggiornamento: cosa c’è di meglio che un’annusatina di capelli? Un bacio. Nicola mi ha baciato sulla guancia ieri sera! 

After months of daily rain and unseasonably low temperatures, the heat has hit us with full force here in Italy. It’s nice to see the sun, but it’s a bit of a shock to the system. It was 32 degrees C yesterday (90 F) and set to be even hotter today.

For alpacas, the heat is a much greater threat than the cold. In the Andes temperatures don’t get much over 20C (68F). We have taken them out of that environment and brought them to places that they would never inhabit normally – the southern United States, Australia and southern Europe, for example. So we have to help them cope with the hot weather.

SHADY LADIES 

This morning I was up at 7 and rigging up more shade using a system of string, shading material, posts and wire. The girlies watched me with interest as I hared up and down my ladder, throwing bits of string over branches, hauling up sail-like pieces of green ombreggiante in pirate ship fashion and hammering away. I also constructed a shady place for their waterbowls as yesterday I had stupidly left two of the bowls in full sunshine and the water was really hot. (Duh!)

You would think they had no shade at all the way I am going on – in fact ,their paddock is like a mini wood (what Italian call a parco) with a gazillion trees and lots of shady places even a big doggie swimming pool which cost Euro 70! (I know, I am bonkers!) But like bees round a honeypot ,they make their way to the stable where they stay put. This could be connected to the hay in there, so following former-owner Hilary’s suggestion, I will start putting the hay under a tree to see if I can entice them out of the shelter.

ELECTROLYTES ELECTROLYTES!

I had a nice message from a fellow alpaca owner in Italy yesterday. Penelope from Alpaca Hill got in touch to remind me about the alpaca equivalent of Gatorade, which is essential to keep them hydrated. It is good to add this to their drinking bowl as long as they also have a bowl of ordinary water.

I set to immediately and have added to two of their bowls. here is the recipe:

FOR 8 LITRE S OF DRINKING WATER

100g sugar

60 g sodium bicarbonate

60g non iodized salt

If the alpacas are already heat stressed or dehydrated they can be given a more concentrated solution by syringe: 25/15/15 per litre.

HOSE DOWN

No, not just you, but also the alpacas, on their undersides where they sweat apparently. I haven’t tried this with mine yet and don’t think they will take to it to be honest, but we shall see. I am also thinking of removing the straw on the ground of their stall as that retains heat apparently. I know that alpaca owners in the US use fans and all sorts, but I hope it won’t come to that. Pregnant alpacas feel the heat a lot more and, as you know, three of mine are due from the end of summer onwards, so that doesn’t help.

At this rate I will soon be longing for the cold and the rain to come back! Noooooo!

Per gli alpaca il caldo è molto più pericoloso del freddo. Nelle Ande la temperatura va raramente oltre i venti gradi. Noi li abbiamo sottratti al loro ambiente naturale e li abbiamo portati in luoghi dove normalmente non vivrebbero mai: ad esempio nel sud degli Stati Uniti, in Australia e nel sud Europa. Quindi dobbiamo aiutarli ad affrontare il caldo al meglio.

SIGNORE IN OMBRA

Questa mattina ero in piedi alle 7 per montare nuove strutture per creare più ombra, usando tende, pali e cavi. Le ‘ragazze’ osservavano con interesse mentre andavo su e giù per le scale, lanciando funi oltre i rami e tirando su teli di ombreggiante, come se fossi su una nave dei pirati. Ho anche creato un altro posto all’ombra per l’abbeveramento. Ieri, stupidamente, avevo lasciato al sole due delle tinozze e l’acqua era diventata molto calda.

Leggendo, vi sarete fatti l’idea che prima di oggi non avessero per niente ombra. Ma in realtà il loro recinto è una specie di mini bosco, con tanti alberi e perfino una piccola piscina. Però continuavano a tornare nella stalla e a restarsene lì. Ho pensato che potesse essere perché era nella stalla che gli lasciavo il fieno, quindi ho cominciato a metterne un po’ sotto un albero per vedere se potevo convincerli a uscire un po’ dal proprio rifugio.

ELETTROLITI ELETTROLITI!

Quando il tempo si fa molto caldo è necessario aggiungere elettroliti alla loro acqua. Si può fare anche da sé. L’importante è che abbiano anche una ciotola di acqua normale.

Ecco la ricetta:

PER 8 LITRI D’ACQUA

100g di zucchero

60g di sale non iodato

Se gli alpaca stanno già soffrendo il caldo e sono disidradati, è possibile dar loro una soluzione più concentrata con una siringa: 25/15/15 al litro.

INNAFFIAMENTO

Si può anche bagnarli con un tubo sulla loro parte inferiore, dove non hanno la pelliccia. Io ci ho provato: a due non piace, ma sembra piacere alle due più gravide, Emilia e Diana, che infatti si sdraiano mentre io le ‘innaffio’.

Ho tolto la paglia dal pavimento della loro stalla perché tende a trattenere il calore. Quando sono incinta, le alpaca soffrono molto di più il caldo e, come saprete, tre delle mie dovrebbero partorire intorno ad agosto, perciò il problema c’è.

Se va avanti così finisce che comincerò a non vedere l’ora che tornino il freddo e la pioggia!

Nooooo!

 

So today I thought I would tackle a job I’ve been putting off.  Since the shearers came in April the shorn fleece has been sitting in the garage in plastic bags, three per alpaca divided into first, second and third quality. I know storing in plastic bags is not good but I couldn’t for the life of me think of where to get big paper bags, until a friend suggested hessian potato sacks.

GETTING THE SACK(S)

I went to the local Conzorzio Agrario who already know me through my (unsuccessful) attempts to buy alfafa pellets. “They’re not in yet,” said the man as I walked up to the counter. He looked stressed and distracted, constantly tapping a computer keyboard and saying things like: “Madonna! What am I going to do now?”

“OK,” I said. “Have you any idea when – no never mind. Em – I was wondering about sacks for the alpaca wool. Maybe potato sacks?”

“Just a moment. If I don’t do this it’ll never…” he stabbed at the keyboard. “Done!”

He then insisted on accompanying me the ten paces to the potato sack area. “How many do you need?” I did a quick calculation. I didn’t really need sacks for the “third quality,” so eight should do.

“There are only seven small ones and the rest are bigger,” he said, his brow furrowing in concern.

“Well, I’ll take the seven small ones and one big one,” I said, as this seemed to be a good compromise.

He counted them out slowly. “Madonna! There are only six small ones.”

“Well how about I take six small ones and two big ones?”

“Really? Well, alright, if you’re sure.” He seemed greatly relieved at how flexible I was being and I wondered if there had been some terrible Potato Sack Incident to make him so stressed.

FLEECE IN THE BATHROOM

I had Googled how to prepare (skirt) an alpaca fleece. Many videos I watched on You Tube involved a skirting table with mesh, which I didn’t have, so I thought the downstairs bathroom floor would be OK. The people in videos talked about spreading the fleece cut side down and then removing any hairs and debris and anything that was a significantly different colour. It sounded simple enough and so I tipped out the first black plastic bag labelled “Diana firsts”.

Well, all I can say is that there seemed to be far more fleece in the bag than I remember being on Diana. Mountains of the stuff came cascading out. Because she is a huacaya (fluffy, springy hair) I couldn’t even tell which side the cut side was. As I examined it closely, peering at it myopically, it stuck to my clothes and in unentangling myself parts of the “one piece”  fleece came apart until I was surrounded by a sea of alpaca fibre. There was no way on earth I know which was hair, which was the right way up or even which part of her it had come from. The ladies of the American Alpaca Shearing Association or whichever the hell video I had watched had swiftly spread, pulled and rolled their fleece in a matter of minutes. Diana’s took me an hour and a half, a lot of swearing, and several swiss roll bundles with increasingly more burrs and twigs in them as time went on and I grew more and more pissed off.

SENDING OFF THE FIBRE SAMPLES

The shearers had handed me small samples from each of the alpacas to put in separate envelopes. these were for fibre testing, done in Wales. They had been sitting on the dresser for almost a month so I thought I had better send them off. I taped up the envelopes, wrote a short explanatory note to the Fibre Testing people and then taped up the brown envelope and addressed it. Then I braved the Post Office.

Our Post Office is very nice, with friendly staff but it always takes several millenia to get served and I still don’t know which counter I’m supposed to go to. Finally I handed over my envelope and despite a growing queue behind me decided to ask about the most efficient method of sending off fleeces. This was a spontaneous and rash decision on my part, particularly since I don’t know the Italian for fleece (as in the whole thing). I began with my usual well-worn phrase:”I’ve got four alpacas…”

“Oh, my goodness!” said Mauro the clerk, looking a mixture of impressed and perplexed as to why I was sharing this.

” I need to send the wool to England. It’s maybe two kilos per alpaca. I wanted to know the best way to send it?”

“Ah,” he said, relieved to be asked a postal question. He indicated some quite small looking shiny cardboard boxes perched on the top of a filing cabinet. “Would it fit in there?”

“Em… I’m not sure,” I said, trying to imagine the Atlantic Ocean of Diana’s fleece inside the teeny box. So Mauro helpfully got the box down and together we examined it.

“Will it squash down?” he asked, gesturing compressing what he imagined to be two kilos of fleece into a small pencil case sized bundle.

What could I say? “Yes, I’m sure it will, how much would that be?”

I was bright red, conscious of the absorbed queue behind me and what they were making of my transaction. Maura was as laid back as ever and proceeded to write down every conceivable combination of box dimensions and weight possible. The cost went from very high (Euro 20) to astronomical (Euro 75) per 2kg. Finally he handed me the piece of paper and I thanked him profusely and fled, deciding that I would spin the bloody stuff myself with a stick rather than have to send it off via the Post Office.

So now I have a garage full of hessian sacks and a choice to make. Handspin? Send to the UK? Find a mill here? Make some nice hessian cushions stuffed with alpaca fibre? Decisions, decisions!

“

Da quando, in aprile, sono venuti i tosatori, la lana tosata è rimasta in garage, in grossi sacchi di tela per le patate.

Ho cercato su Google come si fa a trattare la lana degli alpaca. In molti dei video che ho trovato su You Tube la dimostrazione veniva effettuata usando una speciale tavola con griglia, che io non ho. Perciò ho pensasto che il pavimento del bagno di sotto potesse andare bene. Nei video si suggeriva di spargere la lana sul pavimento con il lato tagliato in basso e di rimuovere qualunque corpo estraneo e qualunque cosa fosse di colore evidentemente diverso. Sembrava abbastanza semplice, perciò ho rovesciato il primo sacco, quello con l’etichetta “Diana prima” (prima qualità).

Beh, devo dire che nel sacco c’era molta più lana di quanta credevo Diana avesse addosso. Dal sacco sono rotolate montagne di quella roba. Dato che Diana è una huacaya (con pelo soffice ed elastico) non riuscivo neanche a capire quale fosse il lato tagliato. Cercando di esaminare il materiale più da vicino, ha cominciato ad attaccarmisi sui vestiti e per cercare di liberarmi, il manto “tutto di un pezzo” si è disgregato e io mi sono ritrovata circondata da un mare di fibra di alpaca. Non avevo modo di sapere quale fosse il lato tagliato, e neanche da quale parte del corpo fosse stato tagliato. Le signore sul video della American Alpaca Shearing Association avevano tirato via e sistemato la lana in pochi minuti. Per quella di Diana mi ci sono volute un’ora e mezzo più tante imprecazioni, e sembrava che ricci e rametti nel manto andassero ad aumentare, man mano che li toglievo e mi arrabbiavo sempre di più.

LA SPEDIZIONE DEI CAMPIONI DI FIBRA

I tosatori mi avevano dato piccoli campioni di fibra per ogni alpaca, allo scopo di effettuare degli esami in Galles. Erano rimasti lì per oltre un mese, quindi ho pensato che fosse ora di spedirlo. Ho messo il nastro sulle buste, ho scritto una breve nota ai signori del centro esami, e poi ho scritto l’indirizzo sul pacco. Infine mi sono avventurata all’ufficio postale.

Consegno il pacco e decido di chiedere qual è il metodo più efficiente per spedire del manto di alpaca. Parto dalla mia frase ben collaudata:”Ho quattro alpaca…”

“Oh mio dio!” dice l’impiegato, che non capisce per quale motivo gli stessi rivelando una cosa del genere.

“Non ho mai inviato lana in Inghilterra. Saranno forse due chili per alpaca. Qual è il metodo migliore per inviarla?”

“Ah”, dice lui, sollevato dal fatto che la mia fosse effettivamente una domanda di carattere postale. Mi indica delle scatole di cartone lucido piuttosto piccole, in cima ad un armadietto. “Entrerà lì dentro?”

“Em… non sono sicura”, dico, immaginandomi quell’Oceano Atlantico di lana di Diana dentro quelle scatolette. Lui tira giù le scatole per farmele esaminare meglio.

“Sarà possibile schiacciarlo?” chiede, mimando lo schiacciamento di quello che lui immagina come due chili di lana dentro una scatoletta per matite.

Che posso dire? “Sì, sicuramente si schiaccerà. Quanto costerebbe?”

Ero rossa come un peperone, ben conscia della fila che si era formata dietro di me e di quello che sicuramente pensavano della mia transazione. Molto gentilmente l’impiegato mi scrive una lista di tutte le possibili combinazioni di dimensioni e pesi dei pacchi. Per 2 kg i prezzi andavano da molto alti (20 euro) ad astronomici (75 euro). Lo ringrazio sentitamente e me ne scappo, chiedendomi se ma riuscirò più a sopportare l’imbarazzo di tornare in ufficio postale.

Allora adesso ho un garage pieno di sacchi di patate e una scelta da fare. Filare a mano? Mandare nel Regno Unito? Trovare un cotonificio qui? Realizzare dei comodi cuscini di tela, ripieni di lana di alpaca? Quante decisioni!

 

 

All animals feel safer with a routine and alpacas are no exception. I am fine-tuning mine so I don’t get too obsessive about it and also amending as I learn more about what they like and don’t like.

Mornings

I cut up an apple and two or three carrots then put a bit in each of their dishes (aka plant pot saucers) and add a handful of dried hay cubes, which I got by mistake from one of the local farm supply shops, thinking they were alfafa pellets. They like them and the pellets are on order, so no harm done. I carry the plates to the paddock and am immediately surrounded. We walk to a clear area of grass (I walk they run in their weird, slow motion, bouncy kind of way) and then I put the four dishes out a distance from each other so they don’t steal each other’s food!

I check the water and change if necessary (I have this in two large washing up bowls outside their little shelter) and add some cider vinegar as a worm prevention measure.

I then clear up the manure. These “coffee beans” are in the shelter (I know!) and in several piles around the paddock. I then dig a hole under a bush or trees and bury the dung and straw there. I know this sounds mental, but if I put it straight on the garden the dogs eat it and in this way  it can get absorbed by the trees and shrubs and I can always go back and dig it up to add to the garden later.

I go and get some hay and put it in the manger (they are waiting for this by the time I get back) and spread it around a bit including a pile in the corner for Champagne who, although she is the biggest, gets left out.

Lunchtime

I go in the paddock, clear up the dung from the shelter (again!) and mooch around with them for a bit.

Evening

I take them their dishes of carrot, apple and Camelibra camelid supplement ( 60g each) and then leave them munching away while I clear up the dung and get another bit of hay for the evening.

I know I am obsessive about the dung clearing but that is because I live quite near other houses and am petrified it may smell (it doesn’t). Also as I haven’t got a huge field I have heard you ned to keep it immaculate in case of worms.

When the shearers and Hilary heard how often I was clearing up after them they all laughed and told me I would soon get tired of that! They don’t do it nearly as often, I got the impression maybe once a week. I am trying to cut down to twice a day for the shelter and once a day for the paddock.

That’s it!

Tutti gli animali si sentono più al sicuro quando la vita si svolge all’interno di una routine, e gli alpaca non fanno certo eccezione. Io mi sto lentamente regolando, man mano che imparo quello che gli piace e quello che non gli piace.

La mattina

Taglio una mela e due o tre carote e ne metto un po’ in ognuno dei loro piatti per poi aggiungere una manciata di erba medica. Porto i piatti al recinto e sono immediatamente circondata. Camminiamo verso uno spiazzo erboso (o meglio, io cammino, mentre loro corrono alla loro curiosa maniera saltellante) dove metto il cibo su quattro piatti – a una certa distanza gli uni dagli altri, così non si rubano il cibo a vicenda!

Controllo l’acqua e la cambio se necessario e aggiungo un po’ di aceto di sidro per prevenire la formazione di vermi.

Poi pulisco il letame. Questi “chicchi di caffè” si trovano nel rifugio e in diversi mucchietti intorno al recinto.

Metto il fieno nella mangiatoia e ne spargo un po’ intorno, incluso un mucchio all’angolo per Champagne, la quale, nonostante sia la più grande, viene spesso messa in disparte.

Ora di pranzo

Pulisco il letame nel rifugio (di nuovo!) e me ne sto un po’ a bighellonare con loro.

Sera

Prendo i loro piatti di carote, mele e supplementi Camelibra (60g ognuno) e li lascio mangiare mentre pulisco di nuovo, e poi gli porto un altro po’ di fieno per la sera.

E questo è tutto!

I have to admit being pretty stressed about today, having never seen an alpaca being shorn (or should that be sheared?). I looked info up online and so knew that they were shorn lying down with their front and back legs tethered to stop them moving and to actually calm them, and to be frank, it all sounded a bit traumatic.

The shearers, a brilliant father and son team, Gary and John Naish from Oakview Alpacas in Gloucestershire soon put me at my ease. John lay down and pretended to be an alpaca while John tied him up, so that they could show me the process. And they agreed I could take a picture as long as it was for an alpaca website, as clearly there is room for some misinterpretation here! The great thing about John and Garry is that they breed alpacas thenselves and treat them with the greatest respect and kindness. You could immediately tell from the way they were with the alpacas that they cared about the wellbeing of the animals and were not interested in getting through “x per hour”.

And so Diana, being the matriarch was first. I haltered her, led her to the rubber shearing mat which had been placed between two big trees and then Garry and John took over, laying her down, tethering her feet and soothing her. Hilary from ZarZa Alpacas, who had helped organise everything was there to guide me through what I should be doing – putting the top grade “blanket” fleece in one bag, seconds in another and the other stuff (which could be stuffing for cushions etc) in a third bag, plus a sample in an envelope for analysis.

Diana made a few little mewing kind of sounds but was otherwise quite calm. They did her nails and teeth and then, a couple of kilos lighter, she went back to her “house” and her curious companions.

Emilia was fine as she went through the same process. I was quite calm myself by now, as I realised it wasn’t distressing them and probably felt quite nice to get all that fleece off!

It’s Suri Time

I had a feeling Champagne the big suri would act up and she did. She didn’t want to leave the shelter and John and Garry ended up carrying her. I gave her some Rescue Remedy which made her rear up – not supposed to do that, but maybe it was a delayed effect! I nearly drank the bottle myself! Once she was lying tethered she was absolutely fine, and she too made the little mewing sounds but that was it.

Finally class comic Nicola the suri was done. She was beautifully behaved, little bit of squeaking, but otherwise exemplary behaviour. Afterwards she was so happy she went and danced in her water bowl, which I have never seen her do before!

So now they are done, to much relief all round. Hilary told me to expect to be shocked at how thin and weird they would look, even though they are all scoring a good 3 out of 5 on the “fatness scale”. In fact they look rather nice like this I think.

Now I have to decide what to do with the lovely bags of fleece!Ero piuttosto ansiosa per oggi, perché non avevo mai assistito alla tosatura di un alpaca. Ho visto qualche video online e quindi sapevo che la tosatura avviene con l’animale steso a terra con le zampe anteriori e posteriori legate, in modo che non si muovano e restino calmi. Onestamente mi è sembrata una procedura un po’ traumatica.

I tosatori, un’ottima squadra composta da padre e figlio, Gary e John Naish dalla Oakview Alpacas nel Gloucestershire, mi hanno per fortuna subito rincuorata. Uno dei due si sdraiava a terra, fingendo di essere un alpaca, mentre l’altro lo legava, in modo da mostrarmi come funziona il processo. La cosa ottima di John e Garry è che essi stessi sono allevatori e trattano gli alpaca con il massimo rispetto e la massima gentilezza. Si vedeva chiaramente, dal modo in cui stavano tra gli alpaca, che a loro sta a cuore il benessere di questi animali e non erano più di tanto interessati a fare “x all’ora”.

Diana, la matriarca, è la prima. Le metto la museruola, la conduco verso il materassino in gomma posto tra due grandi alberi, e da qui, Garry e John prendono il controllo della situazione, mettendola a sdraiare, legandole i piedi e tenendola calma. Anche Hilary, che mi aveva aiutato a organizzare la cosa, è presente e aiuta nell’operazione mettendo il manto di prima scelta in un sacco, le seconde scelte in un altro, e il resto (che comunque poteva funzionare come imbottitura per cuscini, ecc.) in una terza sacca. In più, un piccolo campione in una busta per effettuare delle analisi.

Diana ogni tanto lancia dei versi simili a miagolii, ma per il resto è piuttosto calma. Le fanno anche le unghie e i denti e infine, un paio di chili più leggera, se ne torna a casa tra le sue compagne incuriosite.

Anche con Emilia va tutto bene, e il processo si ripete alla stessa maniera. Io stessa sono ora piuttosto calma, avendo capito che gli animali non soffrono e anzi, forse trovano anche piacevole liberarsi di tutta quella lana!

 

Ora tocca ai suri

Avevo il sospetto che Champagne avrebbe creato problemi e così è stato. Non vuole allontanarsi dal rifugio e John e Garry sono costretti a portarla. Io le do un po’ di rescue remedy e lei si impenna. Non dovrebbe fare questo effetto, ma forse l’effetto è ritardato! Per poco non ingurgito tutta la bottiglia io stessa! Ma una volta legata, sta assolutamente bene, e anche lei fa quei piccoli versi come miagolii, ma per il resto tutto bene.

Finiamo con la piccola, simpatica suri, Nicola. Si comporta benissimo, solo un po’ di squittii, ma per il resto un comportamento esemplare. Dopo la tosatura è così contenta che se ne va nella sua vaschetta a danzare e saltellare, una cosa che non le avevo mai visto fare!

Adesso abbiamo finito, e tutti sono sollevati. Mi aspettavo di rimanere scioccata dal loro aspetto esile, anche se tutte segnavano un punteggio da 3 a 5 nella “scala del grasso”. Invece mi sembrano tutte piuttosto carine.

Adesso devo decidere cosa fare con tutti questi bei sacchi di lana!

 

Now the weather has warmed up a bit and we are out of winter’s icy grasp (sorry – been listening to too many dramatic Italian weather forecasts!)I have noticed there are some small and pesky flies in the  shelter and around the alpacas. This is despite my almost fanatical “coffee bean” clearing, three times a day.

I googled some solutions and came up with this very cheap and simple one so am doing it as an experiment. Basically you fill plastic freezer bags with a bit of water add a coin and then hang them up. The idea is that the flies think the water filled bags are super scary humungous spiders’ webs and that the coin is the big spider itself lying in wait.

Well, it’s worth a try isn’t it? It may also be the reason that I have seen a lot of jars of water and such hanging from trees in the fields here in Italy.

Anyway, I have made about eight so far and put them in the shelter and on the fence. I used some old English 2p coins I had as they seemed nice and big.

According to the forum post I read (can’t remember the source now) it takes a few days to work but is now magically keeping flies out of this American lady’s field.

So as we are into day two I can report there DO seem to be fewer flies but they are still there. I will keep you posted as if this works it would be fantastic!

Well, the first week has flown by and I have learned a lot about my new girls! Mostly things I didn’t expect. We have established a routine, which I always think is very important for any animal to feel secure, and I am starting to understand their different personalities and behaviour.

Things I Didn’t Expect:

• Alpacas sunbathe. It put the fear of God into me on Wednesday when I saw Nicola and Emilia stretched out, seemingly lifeless on the grass. ‘That didn’t last long then,” commented my sister wryly. After the initial panic,  we calmed down and noticed that a) sun was shining, b) they seemed to be breathing and c)  most telling of all – they leapt up when I moved closer. That’s a relief. Not dead just sunbathing!
• The amount of manure! Yes, as stated in the literature, they do go in the same couple of places, which is much easier for clearing up. One of these places turns out to be the shelter, which is a bit of a pain. And there are two wheelbarrowloads of “coffee beans” a day. I started by trying to compost it, but quickly realised it will fill up in the blink of an eye, so am now digging it in to the garden. Alpaca manure can be used without composting which is handy.
• They invent games. We have some  tall pine trees with low hanging branches which swoop down onto the grass. I saw one of these branches moving violently and wondered what could be causing it. Then I saw Nicola (naughty black one) jumping over the branch and letting it kind of ping up underneath her and then running round the tree and doing it again!
• They use their shelter. I read all sorts of opinions along the lines of don’t bother with a shelter they’ll never use it and they’re used to the rain and cold. But the alpacas hadn’t done their reading, it appears. So they took themselves off to bed the first night and spent the whole of a very rainy Sunday under cover, making tentative forays only when the rain had subsided to a fine drizzle. They now go to bed on their own every night, settling down on the straw for a good snooze. So – yes, for happy alpacas, you need a shelter.
• The dogs really aren’t that bothered. Nightmares plagued me, prior to the alpacas’ arrival, about how the dogs would react. I was convinced Gassie in particular would break into the enclosure, or spend hours racing up and down the fence terrorising the poor beasties. In fact, after some initial barking, they have virtually ignored them. Gassie does like to play BOO at them when he thinks I’m not looking, but other than that they have been fine.
• They are great de-stressers. On sunny Saturday morning I sat for well over an hour just watching them graze and kush (lie down with their legs tucked up under them), sunbathe and wander about. Time flew by. My thoughts were, Eckhardt Tolle-style, focussed on the present moment. It was great.
• They are popular with the local constabulary. Already Elena our postlady loves them, Enrico and Sergio, the guys who did the fence think they are pretty cool and a couple of district nurses are fairly smitten, even if one was smitten in a “they would be great to eat, you mark my words,” kind of way. But yesterday when the local Carabinieri car pulled up in our drive my first thoughts were, basically, oh crap. I walked over, smiling, “Buongiorno!” (Interpretation: Please, please, please don’t tell me off!) “I have permission from ASL,” I added as they stared at the animals. “No, no,” replied one. “We just wanted to look at the llamas.” “Em, alpacas,” I said. “Bellissimi, bellissimi,” they murmured, as if hypnotised. And then they thanked me and drove off. So the police love them too!

 

 

Well – they’re here at last! Thak God for that as I don’t think my nerves could have stood much more. Yesterday (arrival day) I was awake at 4 am as all a stream of increasingly dire scenarios rushed through my mind, mostly involving Gassie the Setter. Alan reassuringly told me that he understood why I was anxious as “the opportunities for disaster are fairly huge.”

It was a lovely sunny spring like day and I got the garden as ready as it could be, I put a heart shape on the gate and a flower above their stall to welcome them, as I know that is what the Quecha indians do in Peru. OK I am not a Quecha and we’re not in Peru, but I wanted to invoke some positive energy!

I wore my Mum’s gold bangle, so she could be part of things in spirit, and was delighted when a little robin appeared as my sister and I always think a robin is Mummy. Good to know she was looking down on me and no doubt enjoying the whole thing. She knew I wanted alpacas so I’m glad I got them. She would have loved them.

Arrival

Hilary arrived with the trailer at 3pm and we unloaded my four new friends, who seemed pretty laid back and delighted to see the grass and trees. I learned to halter and unhalter them (if that is the right expression), we made a catch pen and practised herding them in and out of it, then we let Gassie out from the house, the moment I had been dreading. After racing up and down the other side f the fence he calmed down. The alpacas, meanwhile, just stood there and looked at him. What a relief!

Then Hilary was gone and I was on my own. I stood outside as the weather got colder and colder, just watching them. Never would I have imagined alpacas in my garden and yet here they are. And they just seem perfectly right, like they have always been there.

When metal detecting at the bottom of the garden I unearthed chains and stakes which had been used to tether animals when the garden was a  vineyard, many many years ago, so it is nice that things have come full circle and la Vigna once again has a few ruminants- albeit quite a long way from home.

 

Where is all this rain coming from? It has now poured almost non-stop for six days, which has rather put the kybosh on the alpaca preparations. At least it has given me a chance to get used to the new look garden and move daffodil bulbs and bluebell bulbs as they are toxic to alpacas. I’m hoping to God the trees and weeds that are left are not poisonous. Stress, stress, stress!

Anyway, after several days of inactivity, the guys are back and working on filling in the gazebo to make a three-sided shelter.  This is the part I have been looking forward to. There is something about creating a home, a house for an animal that is deeply satisfying. I felt the same when I was making an aviary for my pigeons. Creating a lovely environment for them is a huge pleasure. (I know, I should get out more!)

They are covering the gazebo with  rustic looking rough planks, which look just amazing.”This is how they used to make the old mountain cabins” said Enrico, who I think is quite enjoying himself.

The white plastic roof will be covered with some more subtle green, although that is not top of the priority list at the moment.

The alpacas are now coming on Saturday afternoon, which is not long at all.