Favourites...

Winter appears to have arrived...no bright skies and snow covered paddocks here...no just wet, muddy and cold. Not the weather to be going up the paddock at 6.30am in your dressing gown and slippers!

Why on earth would anyone do that? Well I have a confession to make; I have a favourite cria...I am obsessed about him...I can hear the wind and the rain outside...I am worried that his coat may have got wet through and that he is freezing cold...he is tiny...he is cute...he is EPIC!!!

I did think that they might have come in to the barn hence the slippers...but no he was out, in the mud and soaking wet (the coat had yet again stayed waterproof at the skin but had absorbed what felt like 2lbs of water). So dry coat in situ I plodded back to the house in my mud covered slippers with mud covered feet!

Epic's dam is a maiden and his weight gain has been slow. He did take small amounts of supplementary goats milk but he has recently started to refuse this. Then we noticed him tucking in to the Camelibra with gusto. He is only 8 weeks old but he doesn't just pick at the odd morsel like the other young cria...no he eats a small handful. I was concerned about him digesting such a quantity but all appears fine in the poo department. I will get him the hembro and cria feed with the next order.

He has got such a taste for hard feed that he his one of the first in at meal times. I would defy anyone not to smile when you watch him racing to the front in his red coat

                                

Can you spot him?..in the middle behind a black cria

here he is making up ground quickly 8th place

Coming up the inside in the racing red coat

Nearly there...final result was 2nd behind Beck Brow Foxy Sox (next to Sox is Sugar Babe, behind her Esmee Mae. Behind Sox is Bozedown Celestrial)

We have had a pleasant ticking along week. On Thursday Amanda and I gave everyone their AD&E, always good to have another excuse to handle everyone. I am always amazed at how the cria fleeces keep changing but we will have a number of juniors going to the BAS National Show next year. Sponsorship opportunities are being taken at a great rate, only three silver sponsorship opportunities left now...dont miss out!

On Saturday we weighed all the cria. It is always interesting to study the differing weight gains and look at the family trends. We have a female; Silverstream Galaxy ET who is consistently one of the dams at the top of the leader board for cria weight gain, she gets pregnant on her first mating every year and has an 19 micron fleece at six years...plus her son Beck Brow Crafter will definitely be in our show team...if only I had a couple of dozen of her! Interestingly in the top six were two dams both aged 11 years old (both have the same sire) who's crias always flourish.

Robyn turned 30 yesterday. She has been having various celebrations for weeks now and these look like continuing. However, on Friday we managed to get to the Heather Glen for a close friends and family celebration, then last night we had a family meal together at ours. As this was a big birthday she was invited to put in a menu request...chilli with soured cream and advocado...childhood favourites are always the best!!