Friends of Warwickz Farm Newsletter February 2008

Hi Friends,

Welcome to the “Friends of Warwickz Farm Newsletter”. Once again, if you have received this you are considered a “friend” and this is a way of keeping you all up to date with the happenings at Warwickz Farm over the last few months. If in these days of unsolicited emails you would like to unsubscribe from this Newsletter just drop us a quick note (warwickzfarm@warwickzfarm.com) and we will remove you from the mailing list.

A warm welcome to our old friends and a special welcome to our new friends from around the world and closer to home who have stayed with us, visited us or worked with us since the last Warwickz Farm Newsletter.

Looking out of the Barn window I am pleased to report the emergence of the first hints of green that along with last nights heavy rain may herald the breaking of our summer drought.

Since we spoke last the number of Warwickz Farm creatures has grown by over 50 in a kaleidoscope of colours and textures. We now have a very productive tunnel house keeping us in a good supply of the most delicious lettuces, tomatoes and cucmbers (thanks Adam). We also have several more chook houses and rabbit penthouses.

This summer has also brought us even more friends as visitors and guests join us to spend time with the animals and enjoy the gardens and craft gallery.

Time now to meet some of the babes…….

ALPACA BABES

The Alpaca Gods were good to us this season and we are extremely proud to introduce you to Jewel, Cherry, Cloud and Jolene all fit and healthy and while adorable (as all our alpacas are) they are all stunning examples of what a patient well considered breeding programme of selective quality genetics can achieve in terms of creating classic alpaca cria.

Jewel born in front of some guests from Singapore in early December and Cherry born late December are black females with fine lustrous fibre. Cherry is a real character who bosses all her cousins and even her aunties about. Her presence along with her dense fibre makes us believe we have a show winner in her.

Cloud is a gorgeous white boy, strutting around like a little Princeling in his coat of long curls and treating his sisters with aloofness if they get too bossy with him. Jolene was born a little early on 9th February and has unusual light caramel colouring and is an absolute delight. While a little premature, her mother Ruby is a wonderful mother and she is thriving.

BUNNY BABES

Sugar one of our minilop doe’s is a first time mum and when she gave birth to 7 kits including 2 runts we really did not expect them all to survive……….. she proved us wrong.

Truffles, the grey one (2nd right in pic) was so strong that at only a couple of hours old he was blindly hauling his grey baldness around the hutch as his siblings all lay in a slumbering heap.

It has been a delight to watch these cuties grow and grow they do, from week 2 they grow a third of their size again each week for the following 3 weeks. Currently 5 weeks old they daily have a turn each in one of Chris’s pockets as he does his evening chores.

This week Bonnie our Netherland Dwarf gave birth to 4 kits and Sandy the Flemish Giant is due to have a litter next week.

As mentioned in the last Newsletter we were delighted to have Abigail a very rare and special Enderby Rabbit born in late November. She has now evolved from a tiny black bundle of fur to a proudly silver member of the less than 300 Enderby Island Rabbit family.

CHICKIE BABES

Poultry production or lack thereof was starting to become of some concern particularly when we had a list of prospective purchasers for the various breeds. Eggs were not the issue it was the broodiness of the chooks that was the problem.

However as December arrived things started picking up and between Christmas Eve and the day after Boxing Day we had 30 chicks hatch leading to an overcrowding problem in the Aracauna, Rhode Island Red and Chinese Silkie chook houses in particular.

OTHER SPECIES BABES

Nestled behind the Rabbitry high in a hedge we discovered a finches nest with 4 hungry hinge-jawed chicks and we paid regular visits to unobtrusively check on their progress. However Mum after a few days abandoned them and by the time we realized this 3 of the 4 had ended their short lives.

With one hungry chick now fast fading we decided we had to do something, anything to give it a chance and decided to try a long shot.

Our flock of fantail pigeons is a little larger than we like and we had found a most obliging pigeon who had agreed to swap her eggs for some Japanese Quail eggs to hatch for us. It was to her we went with our dilemma.

With a very pigeonlike sigh she raised her haunches and made room for the waif whom we desperately hoped she would be able to feed.

We are delighted to report that she did feed and care for it and within a short time feathers appeared the wings were furnished and sometime in the last 18 hours it took its first flight and departed the pigeon loft.

Incidentally the quail eggs are still toasty and due to hatch very soon.

OTHER KIDS

A new babe we haven’t mentioned so far is Friday, a delightful baby billy goat Daisy gave birth to and one of the most independent babes we have had so far. As Mum was hand reared she has no qualms leaving her little charge all alone for long periods knowing that there are human family on hand if needs be.

Friday is more than happy to amuse herself however he did give us some concern as the weather finally broke and we couldn’t find him. We had secured both ends of a hammock to a branch of a willow tree during some high winds and Friday decided that the folded up hammock interior was the warmest and driest place to be and finally we noticed the bulge in its base and discovered the cheeky cocooned Friday.

Gotta go, we have hungry chooks and rabbits calling us. Catch ya next time, till then stay safe and keep smiling

Elaine & Chris & the Warwickz Farm Team

Friends of Warwickz Farm Newsletter November 2007

The following WZF Newsletter is emailed out to the "Friends of Warwickz Farm". If you would like to become a friend send us an email and we will add you to our growing list.

Welcome to your “Friends of Warwickz Farm Newsletter”. If you have received this you are considered a friend and this is a way of keeping you all up to date with the happenings at Warwickz Farm over the last few months. If in these days of unsolicited emails you would like to unsubscribe from this Newsletter just drop us a quick note (warwickzfarm@warwickzfarm.com) and we will remove you from the mailing list.

Sitting in the rabbits "R&R enclosure (a bush fenced strip of overgrowun lush grassland) surrounded by rabbits, Niki our rough coated collie, Nova the orphan lamb, with Xena the possum-tailed cat looking on as I work on this Newsletter, the hot Canterbury sun flitering through the dappled shade of the oak trees, Louis Armstrongs classic song " A Wondeful World" comes to mind........the bleakness of winter now seems a long time ago.

BABIES

With Spring slowly evolving into Summer our parade of babies continues, though some breeds have not been as productive as we would like.

The first of our bunnies has appeared, a silky grey minilop who at 3 weeks old is such an adorable character, throwing himself (sometimes at considerable risk of falling from his 2nd floor apartment) into our arms for a cuddle when we visit. We hope to be able to report the the birth of our first litter of kits of the very rare and special Enderby rabbit in our new newsletter.

After a very slow start we now have some araucana and chinese silkie chicks skipping around the henhouses as if they owned them. While we have an abundance of eggs, broody hens, or rather the current lack of them are slowing production down. Apologies to those of you on the waiting lists for this seasons chooks.

We have a baby goat (kid) on the ground with twins due anytime now. The kid was from Lacey an angora-saanen cross who had a lovely ringlety coat though not as long as an angora. As Lacey is a first cross we discovered at first with some dismay that she slowly shed her long lustrous fleece in sections starting from the back. A common occurrence for a first cross and not scrambled hormones as we first thought.

Rags, our full angora doe unfortunately lost her kid born, in extreme weather conditions.

We are on standby for the arrival of guinea pigs, alpacas and ducks and in the new year some kunekune piglets.

NOVA the LAMB

Nova was a very late and unexpected arrival born months after our other lambs to one of last years Arapawa crosses who did not want to know anything about her newborn.

As you can see from the photo Mum did not even bother to lick her clean, a duty we performed not by tongue but with the judicious use of 8 buckets of water, soap and a towel.

You may recall in the last Newsletter the Lucky the Lamb story with the message that Nature knows best, well the Nova story shows that Man working with Nature works best of all...........Recalling the sad demise of Lucky when we lost the baby goat, we decided to milk off the colostrum and freeze it for use in future life-saving situations.

Nova is with us thanks to the goats colostrum which undoubtedly saved her life giving her the initial kick-start she needed to become the healthy plump, cute little pet that she is today.

Rags is still being milked every day keeping us in fresh delciious life-giving goats milk.

GOTLAND PELT SHEEP

Talking of sheep we need to introduce you to a new breed of Warwickz Farm Woolly, Pinky the Gotland ewe and her lambs Harry & Hermione.

Gotland Sheep originate from Gotland Island in the Baltic Sea off the coast of Sweden and are a rare breed. (please see our Sheep page for more details of the breed) Pinky and the twins are very gentle though not timid sheep who will eat from your hand. Their inquisitive natures and unusual appearance have made them popular with our visitors.

We hope to have some samples of the stunning possibilities of what you can do with a Gotland fleece as soon as we get a chance to spin some of it.

ALPACAS

As mentioned we are awaiting the exciting arrival of four alpaca cria over the next few months. Every year the quality of our herd has improved due to inspired genetic choices so we are expecting some stunners this season.

Gateaux, Angel, River and Ajwain our new grey alpaca enjoyed a Show Season attending between them the Ellesemere A&P (Agricultural & Pastoral) Show, Ashburton A&P Show and the Royal New Zealand Show coming home with an array of ribbons.

Gateaux our black beauty to our delight came away with a 1st and a 2nd in his class from two of the Shows making us very proud alpaca breeders.

We will close this Newsletter with a quick hi and bye from the newest, smallest and most distinctive members of Warwickz Farm, Pablo the Mouse.

Pablo the long-haired mouse to be exact, yes a long-haired mouse, white with fawn splotches and oh so cute and friendly.

Till next time stay safe and keep smiling

Elaine & Chris and the Warwickz Farm Team

PS as this Newsletter goes live we are pleased to announce the arrival of 2 merino guinea piglets and 1 Enderby rabbit

Friends of Warwickz Farm Newsletter August 2007

The following WZF Newsletter is emailed out to the "Friends of Warwickz Farm". If you would like to become a friend send us an email and we will add you to our growing list.

Hi Friends,

A warm hello to all our new friends from around the world and closer to home who have either stayed or visited us since our last Newsletter.

Anything warm around these parts is more than welcome after a particularly cold and frosty winter. It is going to be touch and go to see what lasts longer, the cold weather or the firewood.

Since our last chat we have welcomed to Warwickz Farm some new furry wooly and feathered creatures including rabbits and guinea pigs, lambs, ducks and Mac the Hamburg rooster. We have however sadly lost Buttons our wonderful long haired chihuahua and loved family member. We have also been busy in the Crafty Barn running school holiday events in July for KidsFest. Evening craft classes are still proving very popular with daytime classes starting soon.You will be pleased to know that much of the plum harvest has been turned into yummy jam and sauce some of which is for sale along with our Warwickz Farm marmalade and pickle.

CLUB DUCK

Warwickz Farm ducks ,originally a flock comprising 3 breeds, rouens, cayugas and swedish blues welcomed to their midst a couple of pekins and 3 tame orphaned wild ducks and also saw the homecoming of a swedish blue and a rouen drake that had left us as ducklings and now needed along with their new friends a home as their owners headed off for life in the city.

Their arrival coincided with the opening of Club Duck, a luxury resort constructed from the creative rearrangement of fallen limbs and enhanced by an assortment of flaxes incorporating a duck class swimming pool, restaurant and quack class sleeping quarters.

It was amusing when the frosts first arrived watching the ducks scramble out of bed and out the door and into the pool and watching their confused expressions when there was no welcoming splash or sinking feeling. Did you know that ducks do not have any feeling in their webbed feet?

We would like to kindly thank those people who donated flaxes to Club Duck.

BUTTONS R.I.P.

It was with much sadness that we fare welled Buttons in May. Our beloved long haired Chihuahua passed away peacefully in our arms after nearly 11 years of loyal devotion succumbing to a cancer that while invasive came on rapidly and spared her pain.

Buttons will also be missed by the many people whose lives she touched though often briefly in their visits to Warwickz Farm. She loved people and inevitably would be found in someone’s warm arms and on occasion would have to be extricated from those arms before the tour coach in particular left the property.

It used to amuse us to wonder what the reaction might be if some of Buttons fleeting friends knew what delicacies she used to enjoy having in her sweet mouth (lambs tails, horses hooves clippings etc )

Farewell Buttons............we miss you

LUCKY (THE UNLUCKY) LAMB

The lambs came early for us this season and unfortunately many of the births coincided with bitterly cold frosty days. We now however have 7 very healthy and strong little wooly critters gamboling around the back paddock, though we lost a few due to the conditions.

This is however the very short story of Lucky the Lamb. Lucky was one of twins born on a freezing day and unlike her strong brother who was busy checking out his new friends and hassling Mum for a feed she was lying down hungry and freezing to death when she was found.

After a couple of days in front of the fire and being hand fed Lucky was making great progress and graduated to a wooden case in the woodshed appearing full of beans.(well warm milk really)

The following day she was faltering and died later that night. The day after that her once active twin brother was also found dead.

Moral of the story : perhaps Mother Nature sometimes knows best.

KIDSFEST

Warwickz Farm was this year approached to take part in KidsFest the annual school holiday events program for children sponsored by TV2 and the local District Councils.

We ran two events for 8 days over the two weeks, Kreate a Kite in the mornings and Learn to Knit in the afternoons. Kites were created from scratch and then decorated; it was fun watching the youngsters personalities emerge in their creations.

The knitting proved very popular with basic beginners knitting being craftily evolved into clever creations including bookmarks, diary covers and various artistic creations.

BUNNYFEST

The Warwickz Farm Rabbitry and Guinea Piggery was enhanced last month with the addition of a rustic enclosure based on the Club Duck theme of recycled fallen limbs. Safe and secure it is a wonderful place to just hang out and chill with these furry little critters. It is a seriously relaxing environment enjoyed by both human and wee critter kind.

Speaking of rabbits Warwickz Farm is proud to be a founding member of the recently created Enderby Rabbit Club of New Zealand and hope to have our first litter of the very rare Enderby Rabbits this coming season.

Regular readers of the Newsletter will be pleased to see from the above pic that we have found gorgeous replacements for the Flemish Giants we lost earlier in the year.

Projects for the next few months include the construction and utilization of a tunnel house that our15 year old son Adam intends to use to keep us in organic vegetables and make a few dollars selling his surplus to local eateries and part 2 of the fencing project that will see a number of new and smaller paddocks and complete the race circuit enabling visitors easier and closer access to our animals. So a busy Spring is coming up.

Till next time stay safe and keep smiling

Elaine & Chris & The Warwickz Farm Team

Friends of Warwickz Farm Newsletter May 2007

Hi Friends,

Welcome to the second “Friends of Warwickz Farm Newsletter”. Once again, if you have received this you are considered a “friend” and this is a way of keeping you all up to date with the happenings at Warwickz Farm over the last few months. If in these days of unsolicited emails you would like to unsubscribe from this Newsletter just drop us a quick note (warwickzfarm@warwickzfarm.com) and we will remove you from the mailing list.

A warm hello to all our new friends from around the world and closer to home who have either stayed or visited us since our last Newsletter.

We have had a busy few months with craft classes starting up for the year, sheep & goat drenching, keeping the grounds and gardens up to scratch for the coach tour visits, alpaca training, dealing with tragedy in poultry plaza and the rabbitry (more on that later), entertaining Seiya a Japanese exchange student and welcoming two new wonderfully cool new members to Warwickz Farm, namely Pedro the Donkey and Rosie the Kunekune Piglet.

PEDRO the DONKEY

Pedro is a grey/white gelding English Donkey who after an unsettled couple of years has made his home with us. It was only after we had reassured him that he would be here and loved by us for the rest of his life that we discovered that healthy donkeys can live up to 40 years. Oh well, octogenarians with an aged donkey could be interesting.

Pedro has settled in very easily and it was only a matter of days before we could enter his paddock and call him to bed (in his yard) and watch him put himself to bed. (Maybe it had something to do with the hay he found there, donleys are very bright.)

Currently we are doing some lead training with him and riding him bareback and he is proving very responsive. What we have not explained to him at this stage though are our plans to put him in a harness and attach a small dray to him. We hope to have doneky cart rides available to tour the farm on by next summer.

HOPPY THE DUCK (update)

We have a little post-script to add to the last Newsletter regarding Hoppy.

While still enjoying his post-traumatic lifestyle (whiling the day away with his fleeter footed feathered companions on the range before returning to his room serviced accommodation) Hoppy has morphed.

Yes, both of these pictures are of Hoppy, now the not so ugly duckling but a very handsome Rouen drake who is treated with greater respect by his fellow quacksters.

It is all so confusing for Sir Francis (our original Rouen drake) who during his moult thought all his worst nightmares had come to life, he though now is once again fully resplendent in all his feathered finery, though still a little confused about Hoppy’s metamorphous.

ROSIE the KUNEKUNE

After a long search we have finally found a fiancé for Robbie our Kunekune boar (NZ Native pig) though he is going to have to be patient as Rosie is not quite 3 months old.

Rosie while maybe not the pick of the litter, with her black and white spots and cute tassels and perky (or is that porky) personality was just what we were looking for.

She was also the personal favourite of the farmer’s daughter whom we bought her off and a tearful farewell ensued as we departed amidst reassurances that she would not lack for love at her new home.

We had forgotten how fast little Kunekunes grow into larger ones and it is fascinating watching her bulk up by the day.

On her first week with us she breached security however minutes after we discovered her enclosure empty she heard us and dug herself out of the straw tunnel she had made in a nearby barn and came running all agrunt for breakfast.

SAD DAYS

We mentioned earlier that we had experienced some tragedies on the Farm. These happened over a two week period in mid March. While we do not like to dwell on unpleasantness we believe it is important that we outline what occurred in the hope that someone reading this may benefit from our experiences by learning from them.

The Chooks

Never be complacent about the state of your chicken coops particularly with regard to stoats. Not only can stoats climb, but they are also very small and flexible and very very deadly as evidenced by our six deceased fowl.

The gutting part is that these losses took place over several nights in spite of the fact that better security had been put in place. We now have very fine netting in place. The saddest losses were two of our broody Chinese silkie bantams in highly sought after colours who were sitting.

The Rabbits

Several years ago in a frustrated and ill advised attempt to reduce the numbers of wild rabbits in New Zealand a farmer illegally imported into the country a virus designed to eradicate wild rabbits. The calci virus has worked well with numbers vastly reducing for a period; however the virus does not discriminate between wild and domestic or rare rabbits.

You guessed it, 3 of our rabbits were exposed to the virus over five days either by wild rabbits passing by or through airborne means ie flies or mosquitos. The disease is now known as RHD and it is very important that non wild rabbits are vaccinated against it as all of ours now are.

Two of our losses were the gorgeous Flemish Giants featured in the last Newsletter. As much loved pets they were laid to rest in a shady corner of our rambling country garden.

MORTIE the VOLE (update)

You may remember Mortie the Vole from last time.

Well, Mortie really was a baby when we adopted him because he just kept growing and growing. Cleaning his cage became a nightmare as he kept escaping at high speed and biting any fingers that came close enough to his sharp teeth.

The noise of his working out on the treadmill at 100mph became a regular impediment to a good nights sleep for the boys whose room he was in.

Which all goes to show the truth of the Warwickz Farm rule that wild animals are not to be kept.

Mortie was quietly liberated into the lush pasture of a neighbor’s field one afternoon while the boys were at school. (Funnily enough there was no drama about the release)………Run Mortie Run

ANGEL

We are proud to announce the arrival of Angel who appeared in early March a little sooner than we expected.

While alpaca birthing is generally straightforward they are very valuable animals and it is wise to be on standby to assist if any difficulties arise. Being early however we were unprepared and arrived home to find this delightful Angel following proudly behind Ruby her Mother.

She needed a once-over though to confirm her sex and clean her up properly so Chris picked her up and in the process felt the full wrath of Ruby who in a most unladylike fashion doused him in a fine mist of putrid green saliva.

Well, that’s about all our news for now, oh before I forget, Robbie the Kunekune pig, Buttons the long haired Chihuahua, Niki the collie and Xena the cat said to say hi to all their new friends.

Till next time stay safe and keep smiling

Elaine & Chris & The Warwickz Farm Team

Friends of Warwickz Farm Newsletter February 2007

The following WZF Newsletter is emailed out to the "Friends of Warwickz Farm". If you would like to become a friend send us an email and we will add you to our growing list.

Welcome to our first “Friends of Warwickz Farm Newsletter”. If you have received this you are considered a friend and this is a way of keeping you all up to date with the happenings at Warwickz Farm over the last few months. If in these days of unsolicited emails you would like to unsubscribe from this Newsletter just drop us a quick note (warwickzfarm@warwickzfarm.com) and we will remove you from the mailing list.

First of all we would like to thank all of our new friends from around the world particularly from the USA and Singapore who have made our first season open to the world such a success and so far we have a 100% record of nice people staying with us. Thank you.

We have had a busy few months with alpaca shearing, preparing craft classes for the coming season, milking Rags the angora and picking and pulping approximately 70 litres of plums from the dozen or so wild plum trees which we intend to turn into yummy stuff this month.

CHOOKS

If you have checked the website in the last few days you will have found our new Poultry Page. There are a few embellishments to go on it soon, more pics and fun chook facts and perhaps a chook health section.

Our newest arrivals are 4 Silver Sebrights, bantam chicken that have striking lacework. We will be getting some Gold ones soon to join them. These small creatures are very skittery and deceptively fast when they want to be.

One of our Red Shavers has gone broody and so far she has hatched an assortment of silky bantams and araucana chicks for us and hopefully soon a home grown Sebright.

HOPPY THE DUCK

Some of you will remember the 3 ducklings we had waddling behind the black Cayuga duck. Well, life is not always rosy on the farm. Don’t worry, all three are still alive and happy though one is now called Hoppy.

It was a Saturday in December and we had someone coming to purchase some of our Arapawa cross lambs and we needed to separate them from the flock. A simple process of running the flock down the race to the yards for sorting, however mother duck decided it was just the time to take her ducklings to the yards for a fossick as well.

Yes, you have the picture, 30 stampeding sheep meet three ducklings and a worried looking duck in one large haze of dust. Two of the ducklings made it safely under the rails to safety however the little yellow fella got stood on before we managed to scoop him up and out of danger.

All looked reasonably okay until we tested the leg and discovered that one could rotate in perfect 360 degree circles, a clever party trick but not a lot of fun on the range. Well, on Warwickz Farm our motto is “where there is life there is hope” and “Hoppy” went into ER emerging with a splinted and bandaged leg (Elaine was a nurse in a previous life).

Hoppy as you can see is now a full grown duck who spends his days more and more with the flock being reassimilated but also enjoys a good cuddle and neck stroke as well from his human family.

LITTLE to LARGE to TINY

In recent weeks we have added to the menagerie from one extreme to the other. From two Giant Flemish rabbits to Mortie the vole (field mouse), with a couple of very small Chinese Quail.

The Rabbitry now boasts two stunning examples of the Flemish Giant variety of rabbit, a white one and a light brown one. Cody and Adam are the proud custodians of these monsters which while only 11 weeks old now have the potential to get to 8.5 kilograms.

For such large animals they are the quietest and most friendly of our rabbits.

The Chinese Quail are a lot different to the Japanese Quail we have, being much smaller and rounder and busier.

Ian who dropped them off to us warned me to be careful while transferring them from his cage to mine. Not a problem, I am always careful I was thinking as I watched them take off vertically like helicopters from a standing start and hover a good few feet above my head before they began a long diagonal descent. Fortunately they landed against a dense hedge which gave me time to launch myself at them and retrieve them and save a little face.

Mortie the vole (not to be confused with a mouse but commonly called a field mouse) is an exception to a Warwickz Farm rule that wild animals are not to be kept.

After reminding them of the rule we placed him nice and safely in a lush paddock far away from his feathered friends and left him to his life. Come feeding time, who do we find once again spending quality time with the Sebrights? Mortie now has his own comfy accommodation and currently resides in the boys room.

GATEAUX

We are proud to announce the arrival of our newest alpaca. Holly our lovely black alpaca gave birth to her gorgeous cria Gateaux (yes, named after the famous Black Forest cake) late last month.

He was born exactly on time and had the longest ringlets and the silkiest, satinest, chocolate fibre we have ever seen on a baby alpaca. Up and walking within 30 minutes he is a very imposing little guy who holds himself like a show winner (so fingers crossed). Ruby is due in mid March so watch this space for updates on what she gives us.

Well, that’s about all our news for now, oh before I forget, Robbie the Kunekune pig, Buttons the long haired Chihuahua, Niki the collie and Xena the cat said to say hi to all their new friends.

Till next time stay safe and keep smiling

Elaine & Chris & The Warwickz Farm Team