Relaxed Farming - our farm in your classroom

The weather continues to be bad but most of the animals get outside for a short time most days at the moment. The storms that are currently wreaking havoc on the coasts are not doing too much damage up here on the moor although we did have to repair another hole in the polytunnel after the latest one. We think the constant rubbing of the polythene on the frame wore it down and the wind then found the weakness (cannot blame the ducks this time - see entry on 27th January). We do have protective material between the polythene and the frame but it was obviously not quite good enough in this particular spot! The paddocks remain sodden but not flooded!
Meanwhile over in the alpaca stall, Jupiter is sporting a rather nice shade of pink lipstick!! We gave both him and Neptune some vitamin paste today and Jupiter proved not quite as easy as Neptune when it came to getting it all down into his mouth. As explained on 26th December, additional vitamins are recommended for alpacas in this country to make up for the lack of sunlight which helps produce Vitamin D (important for good growth and healthy bones).
In the first photo David is telling Jupiter not to worry about the fact that we are shortly about to stick a syringe in his mouth full of sticky pink paste. He actually looks quite okay about it all...
Tomorrow, we need to give the sheep their annual vaccinations and this one is with a needle! Will be fun all round!!