It happens in Three's

Busy, busy, busy.

Firstly the pheasant eggs hatched and off went mum with her chicks (Sorry no pics)

Then the blue tit eggs hatched.

Not the best of pictures but this is when the eggs started to hatch, in the end six of the seven eggs hatched and both parents are looking after them well.

Unlike our next birth,

This is our first cria of 2011 - a very, healthy and strong male from Toad Hall Ice Gem.

Gem had looked uncomfortable for days and when checking at 5am on Friday morning it was obvious she was in labour but having problems.  The weather was atrocious but there was no choice but to intervene.

With much assistance from Sid she gave birth to this lovely, very big cria.  He weighed in at 10.4kg.  Luckily he was fit and healthy and Gem soon seemed to recover from her ordeal and before too long he was able to have that first vital feed of colostrum.

However, that is where Gem's participation ended.  She has totally rejected him.  We have put them in a small pen of their own by the other animals in the hope that she would accept him.  Unfortunately every time he goes for a feed she goes down.  We have tried encouraging her, lifting her (which is exhuasting) but there is no way she will  let him at the valuable milk supply.  Luckily he is a superb bottle feeder, so Sid and I are bleary eyed as we take it in turns to feed him round the clock.

So much for day time births in fine weather - it seems many breeders have had early and late births this year, just goes to show there is no text book birth!!!

Springwatch

At last we have had some rain - nice steady rain that will soak in.  Hopefully it will be kind and not go on for days (Never satisfied!)

All the alpacas are well and  looking forward to being sheared at the end of the month I suspect.  No cria yet, hopefully we won't have to wait too long.

Nature is wonderful and there is an array of wildlife here, for the last six years we have had a bird box with camera in it.  Blue tits and great tits have overwintered in it but there has never been a summer nest - until now that is.
One week the box still had the winter nest in it, the following week nothing -

then

for the first time we have a blue tit and her eggs.  Hopefully all will turn out well and I will post some pictures of the chicks in a couple of weeks.

The monitor has three cameras attached, security camera, the nest box camera and the cria care camera.  Hopefully we won't need to use the cria care this time and they will arrive in good weather and fit and healthy!

Others have been making the most of the wonderful weather.

This was the view from our window and we thought the balloon was going to land in one of the paddocks however he must have spotted the electric wires and gained a few feet to go over the trees and land in the adjoining field.