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| May 2008 Entries 30th May 2008Today I commenced Chili's pack training. I started by draping a folded towel over his back and by the end of the session he would stand still while I placed a fully open towel across him. We will consolidate that level of training and then go onto something bigger like a blanket, before I attempt to place an actual pack on him. Merlin showed me he has 'got' clicker training and hit the target stick with 100% success rate. I am very proud of both my boys. 29th May 2008Another lovely sunny day, which is really nice but I would prefer a couple of really wet and dreary days. Today I did more training with the boys, we continued with Merlin's clicker training with targeting and he is doing quite well. Chilli who already knows all about the target stick did a great off lead heeling pattern, it reminded me of my dog trialing days. 28th May 2008We weighed Eleanor the other day and she had only put on about 1kg, still that is better than losing weight and it means she has gained 5 kilos in two weeks. I have been doing some obstacle work with the boys and they are both doing well, Merlin seems to have finally clicked what signals from the lead mean. 27th May 2008Yesterday we went to Canberra for the day so we could have lunch with my parents and sister and brother in law. It was really lovely as mum cooked my favorite roast turkey with lots of veggies and gravy - yum!! On the way we dropped into Goolabri Country Resort where we are holding the llama association AGM & conference this year. It is really lovely with all the facilities you want or need. It will be fun having the llamas at the conference, I might take Merlin or Chilli as demonstration animals - assuming their training keeps going well. 25th May 2008Chilli had his first mobile mating today – he was a really good boy and just walked onto the float without being haltered. When we arrived at our destination (about 25 minute drive) we opened the back of the float and he just sat there. I haltered him but he still didn’t want to get up. He was happy to have some treats out of my hand and didn’t seem concerned just happy to keep sitting. Eventually he saw and heard the humming of the girls so he got up and followed me into the pen. I let him off the halter and he ran around checking out the surroundings, the two girls that he needed to mate showed quite a bit of interest in him. I did one of my orgle impersonations and he then started to orgle and Venus the lovely solid black girl quickly sat. Barbara the other girl tried to chest butt him off but she eventually sat next to them both. When he finished with Venus he tried with Barbara but he couldn’t get settled so she didn’t really get a turn. He was easy enough to catch and halter when I herded him into a small yard and then he lead beautifully out of the pen and back on the float – so overall a very successful day. 24th May 2008Today was spit off day, I used Elijah as he has a great talent for knowing which girls are open and which ones aren't. He was most interested in Lady Bridget and after some persuasion she sat for him and they had about a 15-20 minute mating. The good news is that everybody else spat, ran or Elijah had a sniff and walked away, so that all looks promising. Next month I will have Clover, April, Rhapsody and Nicky ultra sounded just to confirm their pregnancies. I was going to do some obstacle course work with the boys but ran out of time, maybe tomorrow. .23rd May 2008I did some more training with the boys today, Merlin is getting better at standing still while he is being haltered, I am hopeful that he will soon place his head in the halter when I simply hold it up for him. Chilli is learning to stand still while I touch him and is doing reasonable well although he is still touchy about his legs. 22nd May 2008Another really lovely day so everyone was able to get some sun on their backs. I was really happy when I went to re-rug Eleanor as I had to let out the waist band a little, I am sure she is putting on weight. I wish my old horse Jessie would also put on weight but I don't think that is going to happen. I know she can't live forever so I just try to enjoy each day we have together. 21st May 2008It was a lovely sunny autumn day today, warm enough for everyone including Eleanor to spend some time without their rugs. Thankfully Eleanor still seems to be feeling OK, although I am limiting her hay and grain/pellet intake for a few days. I had a great training session with the boys who both haltered really well and went for a nice walk with me. I also shared a really special moment with Lady Bridget today. She gentle sniffed me and enjoyed some TTouches on her face and neck. I have to be careful with Lady Bridget as she can tend to be a bit pushy so I strictly enforce personal boundaries. I am hopeful that she has finally learnt she is to stay out of my space unless I invite her to come close. 20th May 2008It was really nice this morning but around lunch time turned back to being really cold and overcast. I have re-rugged all the horses, I hadn't un-rugged Eleanor as I wanted her to have a day without being handled. Yesterday Eleanor was off her feed and had me really worried, we treated her with protexin paste but there was no improvement so we called the vet. We had seen her drink and wee but she wasn't eating and we hadn't witnessed her going to the toilet. Her temperature was normal but she was showing signs of discomfort (cushing off to one side, restlessness, getting up and sitting back down, rubbing her head on the ground). There was no teeth grinding and she would get up when we approached and even run to keep up with the herd. My best guess was some sort of tummy upset. The vet advised to give her pain relief, drench her for parasites and also drench her with oil. About an hour after we administered everything she was up and grazing and has been eating ever since. We did manage to weigh her yesterday and she was 72kg which is a gain of 4kg in a week so I am really happy with that. 19th May 2008We have spent the last few days doing a general tidy up of the property. We have collected several ute loads of wood and Ken has slashed all the areas with weeds, the place is much tidier now. It has been freezing cold again so the animals have all kept their rugs on. Eleanor's foal coat seems to be helping her stay warm which is good news. I think she would also benefit from a neck rug so I am trying to figure out how to make one. Today is weigh day for Eleanor so fingers crossed she has at least maintained her weight and not lost any. 17th May 2008We have had a cold spell come through, there is a sheep graziers alert for the whole area. The horses and Eleanor are all rugged up and the llamas are locked in their shelter - not that they seemed to mind the cold as they were all prinking around the paddock earlier this evening. The main reason for locking them up is to keep Eleanor and Platinum out of the wind and rain (if we get any). I did spit offs today and everybody spat or ran so that is really promising. Mascara is only 7 days post mating so it means she has ovulated but isn't necessarily pregnant. The others are all at least 3 weeks post mating so I am quietly optimistic they may be pregnant. It will be interesting to get the ultrasound results next month. 16th May 2008Eleanor is sporting her new foal rug today . It isn't as long as her other coat but is warmer and shouldn't ride forward like her current coat does. We had some light showers overnight but not as much rain as other districts seem to have had - hopefully our turn is not too far away. I am working on the Llama Association AGM and trying to get a NSW branch off the ground. It is quite time consuming, especially as I really don't have much idea of what I am doing. Tomorrow is spit off day it will be interesting to see if Mascara has ovulated and how the others girl react. Monday is weigh in day for Eleanor and Platinum. On Sunday Ken is taking Chilli for his first outside mating, hopefully the float training we have done will come in handy and he will load without any problems. 15th May 2008The vet came out today to check over Eleanor, our friends llama that we are caring for. They will be back next month for a routine visit - ultrasounds, toenail trimming, blunting Chili's fighting teeth and I think I will have Merlin wethered as well. That is not a vet bill I am looking forward to!! 14th May 2008Another lovely sunny day, we just missed out on the rain yesterday, hopefully we will get some sooner rather than later as things are really drying up. Ken has harrowed another one of the horse paddocks. It really does a great job of breaking up the horse poo. That not only helps it break down and fertilise the soil quicker it also exposes parasite eggs to the the elements. Harrowing is an impotent part of our worm management program for our four resident horses. As I do a daily poo pick up of the llama paddocks we probably won't bother harrowing them. 13th May 2008Not much happening on farm today, I have had a very dull day doing some washing and other domestic duties. I did spend an hour or so just sitting in the girls paddock, it is always a relaxing way to pass time. 12th May 2008 We weighed Platinum, the females and Elijah today. At just over 3 weeks old Platinum was close to 26kg, April Showers was our heaviest llama at 160kg, Chiquita was our lightest girl at 110kg (with the exception of Eleanor who is way underweight). We also trimmed Lady Bridget's toenails but the rest of the girls were so stressed and trying to resist so hard we decided to give up for the day and formulate a new plan. 11th May 2008 - Happy Mother's Day Mum!!!!I forgot to upload yesterday's update so I am doing it early this morning instead. It is Mother's Day today so I need to wish my wonderful mum a relaxing and enjoyable day - thanks mum for everything you do and just being you. 10th May 2008Mascara finally succumbed to Elijah's charms yesterday and they had about a 15 minute mating. No one else sat next to them, although I am unsure about April so may spit her off in the yards tomorrow. As it is Ken's day off I also want to try and weigh everybody and finally get their toenails trimmed. 9th May 2008It has been lovely here today, sunny and warm. Mascara still does not seem to be feeling romantic towards anyone - she should be receptive soon. I will try her tomorrow in the yards and see if one of the boys can woo her. Some really sad news is that one of our lovely Isa Brown chickens was found dead down the end of the road. We are not sure what happened but I can't recall the llamas going on alert today so she may have wandered out of their safe keeping onto the neighbors property. Still very sad, she has been buried with Roblin hen. 8th May 2008I am still not feeling 100% so have had another easy day - Mascara was still being stand offish across the fence so I didn't bother putting her with Chilli. Maybe she will feel more romantic tomorrow? 7th May 2008No update yesterday as I was feeling a little under the weather with a cold. Still not 100% but better than I was. I did spit offs today and tested Mascara to see if she was receptive. Everyone either spat or ran which is good news. Mascara didn't spit but when Elijah jumped on her back she wasn't going to sit so I separated them and will try her again in a two days. 5th May 2008I did some more clicker training with Chilli this afternoon. Today's' task was to have Chilli load on and off the float on a halter and lead. We did it three times in a row with no problems so then we stopped work on that and started on teaching him to stand still while I touched him. That also went well so we finished with the clicker training and just went for a nice walk together. Ken and I also tried to get the weights of the llamas but where we had it set up in the chute it wasn't giving accurate readings (I was about 25 kilos less than my normal weight!!). It worked well on the concrete floor in the enclosed section of the shed so we are going to have to figure out how to safely get the llamas to walk through the shed. We didn't get to do the toenails or spit offs - I will try to get he spit offs done tomorrow and we will do toenails next weekend. 4th May 2008We dropped Priscilla back home today, she was really good and just followed me onto the float with no fuss. I am sure she was happy to be back with her family and Eleanor seems quite settled without her being here. It was such a nice day that all the horses and Eleanor went rug free for the day. I am really excited as we have borrowed a chute and some platform scales from our friends so I will finally be able to get accurate weights on everyone. It will be an invaluable tool keeping track of Eleanor's progress plus Platinum's growth rate. Tomorrow I hope to do some spit offs and toenail trimming - I will see if Mascara is receptive and if she is she will have a mating - although I am still not sure who to put her to - Chilli or Elijah. 3rd May 2008Thankfully my website issues are resolved and the current version is now on line. It is sunny but windy here today. I decided I would try out my clicker training by seeing if Chilli would load into our horse float simply by following a target stick. The float is in the house paddock and I have got him used to it by placing feed in it on and off. Today I started by reinforcing touching the stick = a click = a treat. I then walked onto the ramp of the float, holding the stick, Chilli stepped onto the ramp with no hesitation, touched the stick and got a treat. I then walked all the way into the float, once again he followed with no hesitation, touched the stick and got his treat. We did this a couple of times - all with great success. Tomorrow I will try the same thing with him on a halter and lead. Chilli is more confident trying new things without a halter and lead - I think it is because he knows he still has opportunity to escape Doing things slowly really helps to build the trust between us and makes him more willing when haltered. 2nd May 2008Today is my nieces birthday - happy birthday Abbey!! My website is back on line, I am not sure what happened but at the moment the latest diary entry is mid Feb 08. I have tried to upload all the changes and diary entries made since then but it isn't working so I am back to waiting for technical support to help me. It is another dreary and cool day, the poor horses and Eleanor will be looking forward to a nice day so they can have their rugs off. Platinum seems to coping well with the cooler weather, although I will have to be very careful with his ADE supplementation during the winter months. Today I noticed he was trying to mount one of the girls while they were cushed, being so small he kept sliding off, I think he thought it was a great game!! 1st May 2008We still have another month of autumn but it feels like winter already - it was another chilly, overcast day so I have had the fire going non stop. Eleanor is doing well, she is being very good and letting me adjust her coat in he field - I think she likes wearing it as it stops the wind and keeps her more comfortable. We will take Priscilla (Eleanor's friend) back home on Sunday, as Eleanor has integrated into my herd really well and doesn't seem to need the moral support anymore. I think I will put her, Mascara, Chiquita and Platinum together with the other girls in a different paddock. That way I can feed Eleanor's group more and higher quality feed as they all need it whereas the other girls are still a bit too over conditioned for my liking. |
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