My stage : Day 1
I have decided to do a daily blog for my time spent here on the farm so here is how the first day went and what happened.
Day 1:
When I got there this morning, we sat down and had a cup of coffee ( whilst alpaca-talking at the same time obviously!).
Then it was time for the day to start so we went outside and let the alpacas out from they're sleeping place ( the barn) and I was taken for a tour of the farm, followed closely by the alpacas like some huge and very fluffy dogs! It was soooo cute. Next we took the food and wool that was collected yesterday on a little "alpaca-essential" roadtrip out of the car so that Sophie and I could pop out to the vets, so that we could get some vitamin E for Blaze, the receptionist of the veterinary office told Sophie to give her a dose every day, but she found that a bit weird as the usual vitamin D dose duration is about every 2 months. So they got the vet to phone us back later to let her know.
When we got back to the farm it was poo-picking time, we did the barn first and then moved on to one of the fields. While we were in there, we found out that the alpacas had managed to get into the field they weren't supposed to be in, so we tried herding them back out several times but failed ( not without a good laugh though!). We went back to the field and kept on with our job but a client arrived to pick up an order so we stopped again and spoke to them for a while before returning to finish the job. Afterwards we went in to warm ourselves up with a lovely home made butternut squash and celeriac soup and some bread.
Alpaca winter wonder walks
Would you like to walk the alpacas through the magnificent areas in Argentonnay?
Walk the alpacas around the chateau
It’s a wonderful experience with the calming affects of spending time with the animals and the beautiful Chateau de Sanzay
This afternoon I watched while Blaze was given her injection but not without an unusual struggle.( video below) And after I learned how to handle an alpaca and how to do a routine health checkup on them. That was really interesting and extremely cute as I properly got to get in contact with Jura and see how they are underneath all of that wool!
We spent some time just watching the alpacas and just keeping an eye on them in general ( especially Blaze) because she hasn't been herself lately, she has been acting a bit off, and there is a chance that she is pregnant and the vitamin had some side effects so we just had to check that everything was okay.
And finally we got weeding in one of the fields because an invasive and toxic plant had suddenly sprung up everywhere!
So we got them up while surrounded by the animals so that the field could be safe for them.
I can say that I can't wait to go back there tomorrow as I am constantly leaning new interesting facts about these fascinating animals, and I love being around them and seeing how they act in different situations etc, they are just amazing creatures altogether and it's an incredible experience to be here and I feel so grateful towards Sophie and Will to have welcomed me with open arms, on to their farm and to be willing to share their daily life with me, it's amazing altogether, I don't want it to end.
Do you want to send the Alpacas a gift ?
We’ve added this service so that you can support the farm from a far and give your support, a gift from you to them. This is a much easier way than trying to post a bag of carrots!
From something really little, to bigger gifts, everything is so appreciated. From a bag of (nutritious) treats, to essential hay, a big bag of feed, their vaccination or a visit from the vet; your support is magical.
We will do what we can when we can to show our thanks to you, from a thank you email with exclusive photos and videos for you, to a gift we would send.