Friends of Warwickz Farm Newsletter November 2011

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,

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 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.

Please feel free to respond to this newsletter if you would like further information on anything or just to say hi.

With the end of the year fast approaching, the weather warm and relatively settled making farm work less onerous it is good to settle back and reflect on the year thats been.

This week saw the anniversary of the tragic Pike River Mine disaster which has tended to have been overshadowed by the September and February earthquakes which further devastated Kiwi minds bodies and property.

The last twelve months will live long in our memories. From cruel devastation and heartbreaking loss to heartwarming memories of human bravery and compassion, of snow storms and weather bombs to rugby World Cup victory. A year to remember and a year that has in a subtle way changed our world and the way we relate to it and to each other, a year that has confirmed and contributed to the uniqueness of what it is to be a Kiwi.

Anyway, enough of this farm filosophy.

LIL UNS

The last few weeks has seen the arrival of more new births at Warwickz Farm, most recently with cavies (guinea pigs) and lagomorphs (rabbits). Hugo and Kathy, the Flemish Giants have enjoyed a lovely romantic interlude resulting in 3 not so little healthy rascals and Danny and Dee, the Minilops currently have four blind bundles of fur snuggling together in their nest.

Our new Flemish black stud, Onyx should produce us some nice contrasting colours when Sandy has her kits any day now.

The first of this seasons cavies arrived last week. Compared with rabbits guinea pigs take twice as long for their gestation (63 days) but when they are born they are fully furred, fully sighted and racing around like mad things. It is always a delight to meet these highly animated little characters for the first time.

Last but not least are Holmes and Watson, these kittens will not only be pets but also a highly effective addition in the war against pests and vermin that occasionally visit Poultry Lane. These lean mean ratting machines will be taught to solve rodent and stoat mysteries and bring rodent wrongdoers to justice. Wont you boys...............??!!!

RICKY

There are two types of alpaca, the huacaya that everyone recognises and the suri which is quite rare in comparison and has a totally different style of fleece that resembles fine dreadlocks. A few months ago we thought it would be a good idea to enhance our herd with the addition of Ricky, a suri to better showcase the breed. Ricky was bred by our friends at Brenel Alpacas and is proving quite a hit with our visitors.

Suris can go two years between shearing due to the nature of their fibre and as you can see in the pic, compared to our recently shorn crew he really stands out, and by this time next year he will be Ricky, the Prince of Stringbags.

ELLESMERE SHOW

The Ellesemere Agricultural and Pastoral Show was held in Leeston in October and leant an air of normality to our unusual year, as the rural community came to town to celebrate life on the farm.

We only entered two alpacas, Shyloh our fawn stud male and Earl our grey young boy and a handful of chooks and were delighted to come away with a first ribbon for Shyloh, a second ribbon for Earl as well as a second ribbon for a very proud looking orpington hen.

GOLD SEBRIGHT CHICKY

Talking of chickens, we are pleased to announce the arrival of our very first successful gold sebright hatchling. Sebrights are a rare breed bantam breed with very fine black lacework and are notoriously hard to breed. We have had some success over the years incubating silver ones (hens will lay but not sit) but this is our first gold one.

Note the fine lacework (in the pic) coming out even at this early age. Sebrights are beautiful to look at but have minimal nurturing instincts, which have obviously contributed to their rare breeds status.

SCHOOL VISIT

We have had many successful school and preschool visits over the years which have all entailed tight coordination and organization (you know the saying about working with animals and children), however a recent visit by a mixed age group of children proved a great experience for us as well as the visitors and deserves remarking on.

The group consisted of 30 which we broke up into 3 groups of which one would take the animal tour, another create origami baskets and the third would decorate the freshly baked animal biscuits before joining up for lunch.

The older children worked to ensure the younger ones enjoyed themselves and the overall atmosphere of cooperation, caring, creativity, imagination and good old fashioned fun was truly a joy as we announced to the beaming young faces as we farewelled them.

TIP OF THE SEASON

For those gardeners out there we have picked up a tip that not only will enhance the quality of your garden but also save you a few dollars in the process.

The next time you plan to incorporate some cuttings into your garden, gather together some willow leaves, chop them up and soak them in water for a week. If you are lucky like us you will have willow trees on the property, if not you can usually find some willow trees following a watercourse somewhere not too remote in the countryside.

The water combines with the leaves to create a hormone that is ideal to kick-start the cutting in its new location. A natural and effective way to enhance your garden by working with nature.

Until next time stay safe and keep smiling

Elaine & Chris & the Warwickz Farm Team

Friends of Warwickz Farm Newsletter August 2011

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.

Please feel free to respond to this newsletter if you would like further information on anything or just to say hi.

We have enjoyed a very mild winter apart from a couple of sunny snowy days a few weeks ago, that was until this week. It appears that the Celestial Winter Managers have just noticed that winter is nearly over and they still have a lot of seasonal misery in stock. They now need to urgently use it up if they are to justify the same budget for next year.

WARWICKZ FARM WHITE-OUT

Suffice to say, we are in the grip, along with the rest of the country, of extreme polar conditions. Records are being broken by the day as temperatures plummet and snow drifts build on the already many inches of snow that cover the ground. The frequent storms of snow, sleet and hail are accompanied by at times gale force gusts of chilling wind coming directly from Antarctica.

The majority of sensible people are huddling around their fireplaces and heaters, however animals are not so lucky and neither are the people who care for them. Fortunately we had a couple of days notice and were able to make sure there was plenty of hay on hand and the little creatures had plenty of warm straw in their beds. We also rearranged some of the paddocks to ensure all the animals had somewhere to shelter from the worst of the conditions.

During one snowstorm we had to meet some lovely guests from Hong Kong from their coach at the side of the highway and as access to the Barn by vehicle was impossible we had to escort these luggage-laden visitors from much warmer climes, on foot across our snow buried farm. An experience we are sure they will recall for many years to come.

HOME SPUN CREATIONS

During an early winter visit by a junior boy scout troop(Keas) and assorted parents there was a lot of interest in the items on display in the Barn. Of especial interest were the homespun woollen garments that Elaine has been having fun with needle felting designs on to.

One of the mothers was so taken with them that she commissioned Elaine to create some one-off originals with hat accessories for her children as pictured. The wool is hand spun from wool from our flock of black and coloured sheep and features romney/merino fleece. The youngsters should be nice and warm now until the sun starts shining again.

PANDA LAMBS

Warwickz Farm is proud to announce a bumper crop of ‘Panda Lambs’ this year. Pandas are the name we have given to the delightful Jacob-patterned sheep that we have been breeding for a number of years now.

They are a cross of the merino with the New Zealand feral sheep the Arapawa (which originated from the merino) and regularly produce either black lambs with white markings or white lambs with black markings, some very striking, particularly the eye markings. Such breeding also produces a very hardy sheep which is advantageous especially in the current harsh conditions.

Lambing has gone exceptionally well this year with nineteen on the ground and still counting.

WHATS NEW

After a busy period of selling many of our surplus free ranging Old English Game hens (and yes we should have more to go later in the year) we have just opened the honeymoon suites for the Flemish Giant and Minilop rabbits. While we generally have some for sale to be ready for Christmas the pressure is on as we have been receiving orders even before the courting arrangements have commenced.

So if you are considering a fluffy bundle of fun it would pay to put your name on the list in plenty of time.

For those of you who haven’t visited the website (www.warwickzfarm.com) for a while, we have recently added a variety of videos to the site which will be updated from time to time. For example, a visit to www.warwickzfarm.com/baa.htm will allow you to view the newly born panda lambs in the nursery paddock.

SIGNAGE

One thing that has frustrated us over a number of years is the fact that we are not permitted to have a Warwickz Farm sign on the highway, something that would make finding us so much easier.

We are pleased to announce that this situation has now been rectified using a little imagination, some conveniently located trees and some windfall branches. As you can see, by strategically locating hand built signs made out of recycled materials including some creatively rearranged branches we now have effective signage from both directions.

TIP OF THE SEASON

A tip from a previous newsletter related to being prepared for emergencies and it was something that we had in hand for this snowy period especially in view of the power outages. Following on to being prepared is a very simple thing you can do if the power is off for a long time, it is snowing and you are concerned about the contents of your freezer thawing out.

Simply scoop up a quantity of snow and stuff it into your freezer and your worries are over. It is such a simple and easy thing to do and so obvious most of us would not think of such a “cool” idea.

A last thought. If you collect the lint that collects in your laundry dryer filter you can use it as a very effective fire starter if your kindling is damp.

Until next time stay safe (and warm) and keep smiling

Elaine & Chris & the Warwickz Farm Team

Friends of Warwickz Farm Newsletter May 2011

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.

Please feel free to respond to this newsletter if you would like further information on anything or just to say hi.

Thanks once again to the many friends of Warwickz Farm who checked on our welfare after the Christchurch earthquake that occurred a week or so after the last newsletter went out. The fault line was different to the September one and while we felt a violent tremor we were far enough away not to sustain any physical damage.

It was as you can imagine a very traumatic and emotional time and we were deeply touched to know we had so many wonderful people thinking about us.

The chimney that came down in the September Quake has been put to good use and is now an attractive part of the Enderby Island Rabbit enclosure.

With late autumn upon us the Farm is a kaleidoscope of colours, reds, golds, yellows, browns and russets predominate and the crunching of leaves underfoot will continue for many weeks before they find their final resting place on the compost heap.

PET FUN DAY

The Saturday before the Earthquake Warwickz Farm was invited to set up a display outside Animates, a Christchurch pet superstore we supply some of our animals to.

We loaded Tracey goat, a kunekune piglet and a variety of chooks, guinea pigs and rabbits and headed for the city. The day was a great success and a lot of fun especially sharing the animals with the city kids.

Tracey spent a lot of the day reclining with Chris in a chair and was a hit with the large crowd gathered around our display adjacent to the busy shopping complex carpark.

Such a hit was she especially the fact that she was relaxing in a very human like way on the chair that Chris decided to grab piggy and let the crowd get nice and close to him too.

The theory was good but the practice not so good as Chris caught his foot on the top of the picket fence, piggy tightly wrapped in his arms. Faced with a split second decision to either release the kunekune to his fate in the busy carpark or hold him safely and securely and experience certain pain, like a true animal lover Chris became the fall guy.

Chris’s limp has now all but gone after a long 10 weeks however he has retained the use of his new farm vehicle, a trusty bicycle enhanced with guinea fowl and turkey feathers from which he flies around the farm.

CYBIL

A frequent passenger on the bike is Cybil a white Chinese silkie teenage chicken who is much like Sassy our buff silkie believing she is more human than poultry.

As you can see, Cybil is very happy to roost on Chriss shoulder and help him as he does the rounds in the evening feeding and tucking in the wee creatures around the house.

Cybil is also becoming a star of our tours and ends her contribution to the fun by hopping off Chriss shoulder and stepping into her apartment.

Cybil has also been helping Chris put together videos that are now playing on several of the website pages. They have given the site an added dimension bringing the animals to life, we hope you enjoy them.

COUTURE CRAFT CREATIONS

With these colder days Elaine has been keeping nice and warm turning our wool and fibre into wonderful creations for sale in the Barn.

The stunning blue vest and scarf pictured were a commission from one of our overseas guests. Well, the vest was, the scarf became a gift as she has become a lovely friend of ours since. They are made from felted wool with a variety of other types of fibre, including mohair, embellishing them. Knitting needles have been clicking and clacking in front of the fireplace during these colder nights as Elaine works on her 2011/12 collection.

A number of these woolen wonders will be featured on our For Sale page on the site for those who are unable to visit the Barn.

GRINNY PIGS

Due to the recent seismological disturbances in the force mentioned earlier and the closure of some pet shops in the interim we have found ourselves with a surplus of guinea pigs.

We have now turned off production of the wee creatures but have 5 cute young boys that require homes. They are available free to the right home(s) if anyone is interested. These rex boys would make ideal first pets and come with a starter kit for new owners.

TIP OF THE SEASON

In preparation for a Dyeing Day with the Dunsandel Spinners Group Elaine thought it could be interesting to experiment with some natural dyes worked into various fibres.

Using onions, blackberries, walnut shells and turmeric she extracted the natural colours ie. Boiling the onion skins, mashing the blackberries etc and the results were very pleasing. Each item had a unique natural colour and some of them like the mohair dyed with blackberry gave a stunning shimmering purple effect.

A combination of imagination and ordinary things at hand can sometimes provide extraordinary results.

Until next time stay safe and keep smiling

Elaine & Chris & the Warwickz Farm Team

Friends of Warwickz Farm Newsletter February 2011

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.

Please feel free to respond to this newsletter if you would like further information on anything or just to say hi.

It has been an interesting few months since the last newsletter. We have experienced some mixed weather conditions, from 40+ degrees Celsius heat last weekend to torrential rains and violent winds all happening against a background of the approximately 4000 aftershocks since the September earthquake. Although we cannot complain as due to all that heat and rain we have had a bumper crop of fruit and vegetables.

We have hosted some wonderful guests in the Barn and entertained many visitors with tours of the farm, have had much delight with our Kunekune piglets and Fernando our newly arrived miniature horse.

Warwickz Farm has also hosted an episode of Animal Academy a popular animal programme on television and have recently become a supplier to The Hobbit movie that is about to begin filming in New Zealand.

Now I think about it perhaps exciting is a better word to describe the period than interesting.

KUNEKUNE PIGLETS

As the last newsletter went to print our 5 adorable Kunekune piglets were born. Poor Rosie was very relieved, she was so big and hot, we had to give her regular showers the weeks before farrowing to keep her cool. It looked as if she had a set of bagpipes dragging on the ground under her.

She gave birth to 2 males, one red and one red with black spots and 3 females, a cream, a red with black spots and one with brown spots like Rosie. We have two boys left and it will sad to see these mischievous escape artists go, although we wont miss the regular ransacking of the garage in their quest to find the apple buckets.

FERNANDO

Keybee our wonderful old horse passed away at the ripe old age of 30 late last year which left us all, especially Pedro the donkey very sad. While Keybee was a very large horse we have found a replacement buddy for Pedro who is a very small horse.

Fernando is a miniature horse who was looking for a good home and at only 2 years old he will be with us for a while. He is very friendly and has settled in very well and Pedro while still having a long face is very happy again.

Fernando has been trained to give rides and to pull a cart and we hope in the coming months to have a saddle and a 4 seater cart so we can offer pony rides and farm tours by cart.

ANIMAL ACADEMY

Animal Academy is a popular television programme that screens on TVNZ hosted by Sarah Ulmer the New Zealand cycling Olympic Gold Medalist and Jeremy McGuire the head ranger at Willowbank Wildlife Reserve.

The producers approached Warwickz Farm as an ideal location to host episode 4 of the series starting in March.

Between each of the six segments one of our animals or breeds is featured including Tracey the goatling, Bartie the rooster and of course the piglets.

Filming took close to 5 hours and of course when dealing with animals and amateur humans not everything went smoothly. However the film crew and presenters were a delight to work with and we certainly had a lot of fun.

New Zealand viewers can watch it on TVNZ Heartland on Sunday 27th March at 7.05pm repeated on Mon 28th at 4.05pm, Friday 1st April at 6.06 and Sat 2nd April at 12.05pm. Overseas viewers can see it online at http://tvnz.co.nz/animal-academy after the 28th.

THE HOBBIT

While we were enjoying the bragging rights of being on TV we received a phone call from the makers of The Hobbit.

They were looking for some exotic feathers to use as …..well, I had better not say as it may be classified!

Further discussion about the movie led to us supplying 4 Gotland Pelt fleeces similar to the one many visitors would have seen in the Barn. I wonder if we will get a mention in the credits.

SEBASTOPOL GEESE

At last, after several years we finally have some Sebastopol goslings which as you can see have matured quickly into a fine looking family of 3 girls and 2 boys.

It was not long before the 3 girls and 2 boys identified themselves with their colouring, white for the males and grey/brown for the females.

The proud parents are very protective and have been even more fiesty than usual as I found out one evening as I fed the ducks. Walking past the duckhouse I threw out some feed for the geese not realising how close I was to their family meeting behind the duckhouse. I soon found out as old Seb attached himself to the bucket I quickly placed before me, with his beak.

HARVEST

As mentioned in the intro, due to the tropical nature of our weather these past months, ie wet and warm and the power of alpaca droppings and our magnificent compost pile we have enjoyed a great season for growing produce.

To give you an idea, check out the picture on the left of a pumpkin in our pumpkin patch that has gone aerial. The vine has wrapped itself around a tree and climbed ever upwards with several pumpkins now defying gravity.

Our fat juicy tomatoes are ripening nicely and this is our best ever season for wild plums. We have a dozen or soon wild plum trees growing along the back of the farm with 3 or 4 different varieties of fruit. Some of these trees are very old and they have all been heavy with fruit. Not many of our recent visitors have left without taking home some plums with them.

The wild blackberries are also very abundant though less fun to pick, I average 6 scratched arms a small bucketload.

There have been some seriously delicious aromas coming from the kitchen as Elaine has been turning our harvest into plum and blackberry jams, sauces and crumbles. The dehydrater has also been busy creating sundried tomatoes and dried apple.

TIP OF THE SEASON

While we are a rare breeds farm we are also very concerned about the conservation of rare seeds and the importance of conserving the fabulous fruit and vegetable of old that are full of flavor and goodness. With modern farming methods it is not only heritage animals that are in danger but also heritage seeds.

We belong to a heritage seed exchange and would urge everyone to consider the importance of supporting these endangered plants.

Not only will you eat healthier and tastier but you will also enjoy the visual delights you can grow like the ribbed pumpkins that slice up into cog shapes as pictured left.

Until next time stay safe and keep smiling Elaine & Chris & the Warwickz Farm Team

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.

Please feel free to respond to this newsletter if you would like further information on anything or just to say hi.

CANTERBURY EARTHQUAKE

As most of you will be aware we had a very shaky start to the beginning of Spring, I am of course referring to the early morning wake up we had at 4.35am on the 4th September as we were rocked by the 7.1 magnitude earthquake.

As the crow flies we are approximately 9kms away from the epicentre and were extremely lucky to only sustain minor damage (see www.warwickzfarm.com/events.htm for further details).

The violent shaking and primal roar lasted for close to a minute which in the darkness seems like much longer. There followed an anxious torchlight check on the family’s welfare and the safety of the house and a tentative check outdoors on the animals. Fortunately no guests were with us that night as it is not the kind of experience we like people to go away with.

So far we have had 3000 aftershocks and still counting.

As far as the animals are concerned I am pleased to report that apart from Shyloh jumping into the next paddock and assorted poultry tending to be off the lay they are all fine.

BIRTH QUAKERS aka the Tremorloes

Not surprisingly, as the earthquake hit, the power went off and in our case stayed off for 36 hours. While the kids were distraught not having access to any plug in devices for the weekend it was Elaine who was most upset as her rare breed eggs in the incubator faced a terminal future.

Being the determined lady she is and refusing to accept anyone’s advice about the futility of a rescue mission she set about clucking over them. Fortunately it was a warm and sunny disastrous weekend and Elaine utilized the constructive hand of nature by placing the eggs on the verandah in the sunlight and as it cooled putting them back in the incubator covering them in alpaca fibre a plastic sheet over the top and then a blanket.

I am delighted to report that 5 days later thirteen of the 20 eggs hatched and became affectionately referred to as the Birthquakers or the Tremorloes.

TRACEY the KID

This is the first year in many that we have not had to adopt an orphan lamb with all the extra care, time, expense and yes delight that goes with it. Just as we thought we were all clear along came Tracey.

Tracey lost her mother when she was two days old and she is a saanen/angora cross which gives her, her floppy ears and ringlets.

Like Charlie when he was a lamb she is a real favourite with visitors with her cheeky grin and the way she follows people around like a lost puppy.

Coming up to six weeks now she is starting to get quite mischievous and will no doubt be getting into all sorts of trouble if we don’t keep our wits about us.

WARWICKZ FARM TRANSPORT

In order to be able to offer a little more comfort and diversity we have traded the family car in on a seven- seater van.

This now not only allows us to offer a better pick up and drop off facility it also allows us to take visitors on more comfortable tours around region.

With very comfortable seating, 5 sun roofs a good stereo and tinted windows we are sure our guests will enjoy it.

The BLACK SHEEP

You may recall in the last newsletter we mentioned the Ultimate Frisbee Team the Black Sheep. (You remember, the one with the famous playing strip)

We are pleased to announce that the Tournament played in Bathurst, NSW, Australia featured 26 teams comprising the cream of Australasian players including the Black Sheep who won the Bronze medal, coming third in the event. Congratulations guys and thanks for the shirt.

ALPACAS

As you can see from the picture we are coming into the warmer part of the year and the alpacas are looking substantially lighter after being shorn.

Our shearer Ron, is a man of many talents, a real man of the land; he is also a country and western singer of repute and we always enjoy a pleasant evening of song and stories after an afternoon of shearing. He has offered to provide some live music on an Open Day we hope to have early next year. Keep an eye on the site for further details.

We only took one of our alpacas to the Shows this year, Earl the grey male alpaca and yes we do enjoy the tea!!

We are delighted to announce that he won a ribbon for second place at both the Ellesemere and Ashburton A&P Shows

BABIES

One of the joys of this time of year is the abundance of new life appearing from turkeys and chooks to rabbits and guinea pigs and very soon ducklings, goslings guinea fowlings(?) and piglets.

Last newsletter had a picture of the just born Flemish Giants so we thought you might like to see what they grew into (at left). These adorable guys all found really good homes.

We also have another new born that is quite special; it is a chick of the very rare and hard to breed Silver Sebights (see www.warwickzfarm.com/poultry.htm for further details).

Silver Sebrights are white bantams with very fine and delicate black lacework on them.

TIP OF THE SEASON

As I write this, on the other side of the Southern Alps on the West Coast we are again in state of crisis with 29 miners trapped in a mine after an explosion. At this moment their current status is unknown and we pray and hope for a speedy rescue.

This coming so close to the Canterbury Earthquake has renewed memories of living through crises.

At Warwickz Farm we fortunately have basic contingency plans to cover crisis situations ie adequate reserves of water to last several days (no power means no water pumps operating); emergency food; emergency lighting; a first aid kid etc etc.

Our tip of the season is for you to consider how a crisis could impact on your situation and start preparing for it today because you just never know when something may happen.

Until next time stay safe and keep smiling

Elaine & Chris & the Warwickz Farm Team

PS: News just in we have piglets

Friends of Warwickz Farm Newsletter August 2010

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.

In fact anything warm is very welcome around these parts at the moment.

As you can see from the pictures we have experienced a wet cold and miserable winter season. Our new waterways may look picturesque and are indeed a Disneyland for Ducks however we will not miss them as winter releases her icy grip on Warwickz Farm.

A frequent comment we hear during our busy season from visitors is how lucky we are to live and work in such a lovely environment surrounded by all the animals. While this is a very true observation it is one that is occasionally recalled with a wry smile after a couple of hours of working out in the freezing torrential rain and sleet as we attend to our cold and hungry creatures. Still we wouldnt swap places for the world.

PANDA LAMBS

Winter is not all doom and gloom though and one of the highlights of this period is the arrival of our lambs especially the arapawa/merino crosses. These lambs tend to come out with black and white spots and are very similar to the Jacob sheep breed found in the UK.

We have seven or eight either white with black spots or black with white spots. Currently we have a total of 16 lambs and so far no orphans which means no pets however it also means no extra cost and time invested in feeding, so a mixed blessing.

FLEMISH TINYS

Probably the warmest wee creatures currently at Warwickz Farm are the 5 gorgeous Flemish Giant kits born this week. Their lovely mother plucked enough fur to line and insulate their nest for at least a dozen babes.

With a solid white mother mated to a solid black buck we were expecting a mix of blacks and whites however we are just as delighted with the fawns and probably blues that have arrived plump and healthy.

EGGSCELLENT POULTRY CHOICE

With a dozen or so different breeds of chicken there are not too many months of the year when eggs are not being produced on the farm. It is however a constant source of frustration to certain Warwickz Farmers (me) that as the eggs are rare breeds they are not destined to the kitchen and thus the eggs that arrive on my plate come from the supermarket or other farms.

This situation will soon fortunately be rectified as we have spent the winter growing on some fine feathered white shavers who should keep us supplied with free range golden yolkers for years to come.

These young chooks have also supplied a couple of laughs and insights which I will cover in the Tips of the Season section.

NATIONAL EXPOSURE

It has been an interesting couple of months aside from the animals with Warwickz Farm being featured on national radio and also featuring on the playing shirts of a New Zealand rep sports team.

We received a phone call one afternoon from Keith Stewart who hosts the Saturday evening slot on Radio Live, a show celebrating food and wine. He was doing some research on rare breed ducks for a feature on where our foods come from before the kitchen.

After discovering more about Warwickz Farm he invited us to be a guest on the show and for close to 30 minutes we happily shared many of our life on the farm stories with the rest of New Zealand.

Earlier this month we were approached by the Black Sheep Ultimate Frisbee Team who are shortly going to compete in a tournament in Australia. We are now proudly featured (well the Barn and Jack the ram are) on their new playing strip.

We will keep you informed on this new and exciting sport and let you know how “our” team, made up of the cream of Canterbury and Wellington players do in the tournament.

Oh, and while we are boasting, we were able to assist Te Papa (the National Museum) with a mystery surrounding the make up of part of an ancient Maori cloak by supplying some angora goat wool to confirm that that was mystery fibre weaved into it.

GUINEA PIGS & GUINEA FOWL

Some of you may remember Dixie our wonderful show quality abyssinian guinea pig with her 8 crowns. Well we are pleased to announce that she has reproduced herself times four.

We have never seen such a fat little piggy before and we were concerned she was about to burst when out popped these four bundles of fur all “whistling Dixie”.

Last newsletter we mentioned the guinea fowl and how interesting this exotic breed is. We recalled on the radio interview the day we discovered how intelligent they are.

After being followed on a regular basis by the guinea fowl as we were putting the ducks to bed they were becoming a bit of a nuisance, scrambling to compete with the ducks for their dinner.

It was with relief that one day they failed to show up and the duck procession proceeded happily to the Dux Deluxe only to find the guinea fowl had planned ahead and were waiting to greet us, in prime positions to begin their feasting on the ducks dinner.

The adjacent photo shows them stalking Xena the cat as she sprawls out enjoying some rare sunshine. They nonchalantly looked elsewhere and steered a new course as Xena rolled over and glared at them. These guys are real entertainers.

TIP OF THE SEASON

I have no real seasonal tip this newsletter apart from to stay dry and warm in winter as much as you can! However as mentioned, a couple of incidents concerning the young shavers have taught me some life lessons.

The first concerns the young rooster who unlike the other chooks who all jumped outside the coop as I opened the door to feed and water them and then hopped back inside again, this young fella took off like an exocet missile.

There was no stopping or even catching up with him and so I reluctantly had to leave him to the elements and for a couple of days he lived under one of the larger chook houses keeping a very low profile and well out of range.

That was until the freezing cold morning when I felt I was being stalked as I crunched my way along Poultry Lane. Opening the door to the shavers I noticed a white blur race towards me before ricocheting off my ankle and into the coop.

The young rooster who had proudly fled to freedom was wise enough and obviously cold and hungry enough to acknowledge his waywardness and come home to the warmth like the prodigal son.

The other incident concerned the polite little hen that jumped out but didn’t hop back in again, though did not run away just stood there at my feet looking up at me until I was done.

After several attempts to shoo her back inside she remained at my foot still happily gazing up at me in spite of my louder exhortations to move.

Finally in exasperation I put down my bucket and went to lift her up over the threshold when she gave a rather indignant squawk as I stretched her leg that was securely stuck under my size 11 gum boot.

Apologising profusely I gently picked her up and took her humbly to her breakfast thanking her for her lesson in patience that she had given me.

Until next time stay safe and keep smiling

Elaine & Chris & the Warwickz Farm Team

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.

The days are getting shorter and the nights are getting colder but the memories linger on as we recall the many visitors who have shared time with us at Warwickz Farm this past season.

We waved farewell to the last of the coaches in late April at the end of our busiest season to date. With many Devonshire teas, luncheons (one lunch for 70 guests!) and car club picnics now behind us we are enjoying some down time and preparing for winter. An extra warm thank you goes out to all the organizers from the many groups that visited us providing so many people including us with such happy memories.

GUINEA FOWL

Just when we thought we had reached our ceiling for rare creatures along come the guinea fowl. Guinea fowl originate from the West Coast of Africa (formerly known as the Guinea Coast). Our ones are descended from those imported from India by the Canterbury Acclimatization in the 1860s.

Once old enough to be released from their coop they soon became an integral part of our free ranging fowl. Travelling as a unit they are respectful of the other breeds but also smart enough to come up if a potential feeding situation arises.

FINCHES

Another new but not so rare breed we have acquired since our last newsletter are finches. These four little guys are real time wasters, with their antics and cheeky faces they are real entertainers.

Finches are a breed that is highly evolved as they have had to adapt to their changing environments. An example of this is their large, solid and extremely powerful cone shaped beak that they use for splitting seeds. The hawfinch which weighs a mere 55 g (2oz) can split open olive stones which requires a pressure of up to 11kg/cm2 (159il/sq,in)

FURTHER FEATHERY FELICITATIONS

One of the drawbacks of keeping small feathered creatures is that their life spans also tend to be short.

Over the last year we have lost our Japanese Quail to old age and also had had two widowed Chinese Quail so we thought we had better remedy this situation.

We would also like to incubate some quail eggs to ensure we have a good number of quail. The chicks are referred to as bumblebees as that is exactly what they look like when newly hatched and they are a delight to watch.

During the season we have relocated the quail and the cockatiels’ accommodations to the garden. We had intended to move the budgies out with them too however the hedges have doubled in size since they were put in their present location and it is now impossible to relocate them.

HUNNY BUNNIES

Min lop rabbit kits would have to be one of the cutest looking of the young that we have at Warwickz Farm.

The photo on the right is quite deceiving really as the two in the foreground are siblings pretty much the same size and Mum is the grey one at the rear. However we thought we would share this picture with you.

The black one was posing nicely for me when the harlequin one sneaked through under its ear to have a feed. It is good to see that at 4 weeks old the ears are lopping nicely.

NATIONAL ALPACA OPEN DAY

The week leading up to the 2nd May, national alpaca day was a busy one. As one of a handful of alpaca breeders in Canterbury that had agreed to open for the day, the pressure was on to showcase Warwickz Farm Alpacas.

After hosting the last of our coach loads of tourists for the season earlier in the week we turned our focus to preparing for the day. Paddocks were cleansed of paca poos, highway signs were created, car parking was organized, and the Barn was rearranged to demonstrate the wonderful things that can be done with alpaca fibre. The advertising, press articles and other marketing was firing, we even had a couple arrive the day before by mistake, and all was looking good.

The day arrived bright and sunny. Alpaca breeder friends unloaded their animals and spinning friends set up their wheels and we all had an enjoyable day in spite of the fact that not one person turned up. Oh well

BEN the GOTLAND

Ben the Gotland ram was acting rather suspiciously a month or so back. Isolated from the flock and spending a great deal of time pacing up and down the fence line of the neighbouring sheep farm.

On investigation it was discovered that the neighbouring paddock had a flock of alluring ewes teasing and tantalizing him and he was desperate to find a spot suitable for jumping over. (Gotland rams have a reputation for high jumping) Ben has been tethered until his testosterone subsides.

It was at this time that we noticed how lustrous his fleece was so early in the season. In order not to let it blow out and go to waste we had him shorn and blended the wool with Gateau our black stud alpacas fibre and achieved a stunning result which will be spun into wonderful creations.

As a thank you Elaine needle felted some of the fibre into replicas of Gateau and Ben. (see photo)

TIP OF THE SEASON

To anyone new to keeping animals of any kind it is very important to bear in mind how the seasons can impact on them.

Here in New Zealand we are fast heading into winter and just as we are preparing for a warm and cosy season unpacking our winter wardrobe and collecting plenty of firewood we are also preparing our creatures for the cold as well.

Make sure you have plenty of winter feed available for the larger animals who may have their paddocks covered in snow and also the smaller animals accommodations should be weather proofed and also vermin proofed.

It may take you a little longer out in the cold pulling covers over hutches etc but remember, those creatures are relying totally on you.

Until next time stay safe and keep smiling Elaine & Chris & the Warwickz Farm Team

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.

February finds us in the middle of our silly season with never a dull moment. With entertaining farm stay guests, hosting lunches and Devonshire Teas for our increasing number of visitors, selling on our harvest of furry and feathery creatures, greeting and nurturing our new babies and doing all the usual farm duties and maintenance we are finding ourselves sleeping very soundly.

WILDLIFE

With over 40 breeds of animal from over 20 species we have plenty of creatures to keep us more than occupied without having to encourage any wildlife.

Non resident visitors that have dropped or crawled in include another litter of hedgehogs which were fortunately left uninterrupted this year as they had made a home in some straw rather than a hay bale as they did last year.

A baby wild rabbit exploring his new world had decided to investigate the bait in one of our rat traps. Fortunatley it was the one with a ramp that lowers and traps the rats for later disposal and he was lucky that he was spotted watching the world go by from his cell. Wild rabbits are once again becoming a problem in Canterbury but in a weak moment I released the cute wee critter when no one was watching to return home. (Please do not tell the neighbouring farmers).

Feathered wildlife included a sparrow who was lucky that we were handy when it took its first nervous flight and crash landed close to Xena the cat who was far from nervous and a beautiful Kereru, a native wood pigeon who has adopted our Kowhai and Willow trees and is totally freaking out our fantail pigeons whenever he tries to join them.

CRIA

This seasons crop of alpaca cria (off spring) is especially exciting as three of them will have been sired by River our lovely stud. So far one of his is on the ground, Selwyn the brown boy looking back at you from the photo.

Earl, the grey boys birth was celebrated by a drive-by (alongside his paddock) by the MG Car Club that was arriving for a tour which was delayed momentarily while Mother Nature took her course. Not wanting to delay proceedings this very upstanding boy was up on his feet within five minutes of being born to the delight of his admiring spectators.

Esmerelda the chocolaty coloured alpaca is a real sweetie who while a few weeks younger than the boys doesnt let them get away with a thing.

BUNNIES

Last year we had a gorgeous looking dalmatian mini rex rabbit born with a black T marking on top of its head. We decided it was a male and named it Mr T. Well Mr T while looking and feeling beautiful did not have such a beautiful personality and while still tame is the least friendly of our rabbits.

We later discovered she was in fact a female and she was quickly re-christened T Bag. Anyway, the point of the story is that she has recently had some very friendly kits that will soon be looking for new homes. One is dalmatian like her and the other is white with stunning mascarad eyes as you can see in the pic.

We are still having a hard time contributing to preservation of the very rare Enderby Island Rabbit species so in order to address this we have been lucky enough to acquire Marcus a silver buck from a leading New Zealand breeder.

Enderbys are born black and over the weeks slowly turn silver to blend in with their original sub Antarctic environment. You will note from the pic that Marcus has only a little black left on his head and will soon be mature and ready to do his important work to conserve this wonderful species.

CHEEKY CHICKIES

Between the many chicken coops and the incubator we have had many months of feeding and caring for lil tweety birds (not to mention ducklings and turkey poults). One clutch however was a little different to what we had been used to.

One of our free range hens an aracuana/favorelle cross (actually purchased as a pure bred aracuana but thats another story) had been notably absent at feeding time for a few days so we presumed she was sitting on some eggs. On making appearances from time to time for food we endeavored to track her back to her hideaway but she would always choose her moment while we were distracted to make her break.

Fortunately we located her by chance deep in the middle of a patch of overgrown garden a few days before her eggs hatched. We were nervous of losing any hatchlings to our frequent verminous predatory trespassers.

What I didn’t notice was that the neighboring plant, the one she rushed to with her brood to shelter from me a couple of days later when they hatched was punctuated with thorns. I am happy to say that all 11 chickies were liberated to a warm cosy and safe home with a cost of only 3 nasty pricks per chick.

DUCKVILLE

You may remember Club Duck from a few seasons ago; well it has now been replaced by Duckville as the original duck resort complex was overwhelmed by the ravages of snowstorms, grazing sheep and Pedro the donkey.

New fencing, an updated pond and nursery accommodation have been put in place and we now have the luxury of free ranging ducks that can be happily confined when required. It will also enable us to become more scientific with the breeding of ducks to ensure pure bred conservation of each species.

TIP OF THE SEASON

To all you fellow onion lovers out there, we have discovered some good news and some bad news regarding our friend the onion. This is not a crusade on our behalf we are just passing on what we have been told and you can google it for more info.

The bad news, do not use or put part-used onions in the fridge. They will absorb any passing bacteria and then you will transfer that to your sandwich or meal and potentially make yourself ill.

The good news is that a cut onion placed by the bedside of someone unwell or under the weather will pick up and absorb the bad bacteria and either help in your recovery or keep you safe from germs.

Until next time stay safe and keep smiling

Elaine & Chris & the Warwickz Farm Team

Friends of Warwickz Farm Newsletter November 2009

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.

November is the start of our favourite time of year, the days are warmer, the evenings longer, the gardens are blooming, little creatures are appearing from every corner and we are making more friends every week as fellow animal lovers find Warwickz Farm.

OPEN DAY

October 4th dawned cloudy and the weather deteriorated on our second Alpaca and Rare Breeds Open Day run in collaboration with Brenel Estate Alpacas.

Having said that, while numbers were down on last year we still had 30 odd vehicles parked in the paddock behind the Red Barn and we were able to spend quality time with all our visitors as we shared our knowledge of our rare breeds, alpacas and a variety of crafts.

Several spinners were busy at their wheels and Chris was kept warm with Charlie Lamb draped around his neck for much of the day. Thank you for all who attended and we plan on having our next one in a drier and warmer month next time.

BRIDGET

Some of you may remember Buttons our adorable long haired Chihuahua who passed away two and a half years ago; well we would now like to introduce you to Bridget.

Bridget having recovered from a traumatic operation has found a new home at Warwickz Farm.

As you will note from the picture of her with a juicy bone the same size as her, she is a real character who believes she is a full sized dog in a tiny body and woe betide any creature who treats her otherwise. She is however a real sweetheart to humans.

PEARL

Pearl is a top quality alpaca with a lovely personality who we sold on in 2004 and Elaine who has regretted it ever since has followed her life over the years always hoping to have her back some distant day.

Well, that day arrived last month when we were alerted that due to changing circumstances she was requiring a new home. To cut a long story short, this wonderful alpaca who has touched several hearts has come home, Elaine and Pearl have been reunited and all is well in the world. A huge thank you to all those concerned.

As you can see our alpacas having completed their Show Season (with the Show Team, Cherry, Jolene, Celeste and Shiloh all coming home with ribbons) have been sheared.

We are now on standby for the arrival of six cria (babies) over the next few months including three sired by our home grown stud River.

RABBIT ROUND UP

We are proud to announce that Chris & Elaine are now committee members of the Enderby Island Rabbit Club of NZ. In recognition of this we decided to improve the display area for this extremely rare and wonderful rabbit.

As you can see from the picture we have relocated our Enderbys to a more environmentally friendly area and built a large enclosure for them to frolic in. Hopefully this will put them in a more romantic frame of mind as so far we have seen no kits this season.

Our other rabbit breeds are all doing well, however Jalopeno our elderly mini lop male has been retired from his stud duties. It appears that while the spirit is still willing the flesh appears weak.

We now have a new boy on the block, a lovely and affectionate harlequin mini lop. Quinn will be introduced to some lovely ladies later in the summer however we should have some rex kits available early in the new year.

CRACKLEBERRYS

Eggs have been cracking all over the place with a variety of fluffsters emerging from them. We are delighted to announce the arrival of 8 of the rare Royal Palm turkey poults. Our first experience of raising turkeys has been great. Having laid them in a corner of a dilapidated old barn, on hatching we built a shelter around them and Mum. We later transferred them to more comfy accommodation (see pic)..

Other newcomers include Rhode Island Reds, Aracuanas, Bantam Leghorns, Buff Orpingtons, Frizzles and Silkies. Some of the younger hens who gave up sitting too early had their eggs finished off in the incubator. Currently we have a dozen balls of fluff in the lightbox in a corner of the lounge.

SASSY & SON

You may remember from our May newsletter Sassy the Silkie who thinks she is human, well she is now all grown up and has been helping us with incubating e

Unable to have fertile eggs herself as she is NOT a chook she was absolutely delighted to hatch one of the eggs we put under her. We have never seen a prouder mother and we are delighted grandparents having watched her from her egg days through to motherhood..

TIP OF THE SEASON

Warwickz Farm has recently started selling a series of books on natural health remedies for animals. (These will be on our For Sale page on the site in the future.) They are written by Chris�s Australian based brother Mark Gilberd, a homeopath and medical herbalist and are proving very popular as he has collected and collated a wealth of knowledge from days gone by

Along these lines our tip essentially is to remember to look at the more natural health options for your animals. Used in balance with the more conventional solutions you may well find your creatures healthier and your wallet wealthier.

Until next time stay safe and keep smiling

Elaine & Chris & the Warwickz FarmTeam

Friends of Warwickz Farm Newsletter August 2009

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.

Today is the last day of August so I am cutting it fine for the August Newsletter. This is because while it is a quiet time of year for visitors and guests we are kept very busy in many areas. From the construction of new housing for our animals from recycled products to maintaining and improving the gardens and animal enclosures, incubating eggs and the many creative activities that are part of Warwickz Farm, there is never a dull moment. Anyway, enough of the excuses.

FEATHERS

Bertie Wooster, a rather stunning and very gentlemanly Buff Orpington cockerel along with his colourful buddy Rodger the Dodger an Old English Game Rooster have joined our free ranging feathered traffic along Poultry Lane.

Requiring a new home they settled in well and Bertie in particular is proving popular with our visitors whom he allows to feed and stroke him.

Uncle Tom our new Royal Palm Turkey is also proving an attraction. Royal Palms are the smallest domestic breed of turkey and are a rare breed (on the critical list in the USA). With his colour combination of blue white red and black and brownUncle Tom gets the cameras flashing when he poses, opening his large fan of tail feathers framed by a distinctive black band.

While striving to give our rare breed chickens as natural a life as possible, we have to keep the breeds apart to maintain the integrity of each breed, this unfortunately does not allow them to free range together.

Over the winter however we have come up with an excellent compromise. Each breed of chook now enjoys regular time out in our mobile runs which can either be attached to the chook house or loaded and wheeled to a desirable location.

Coinciding with Lucy our Sebastopol goose finally going clucky we have made some enhancements to our feathered water fowl fraternity�s lifestyle. The duck house is now home to the geese, (though Seb is a little skeptical about it Lucy has started laying her eggs in it) and the ducks accommodation has been upgraded to the much grander Ducks Deluxe. New landscaping for the original Club Duck is planned including a new pond and fencing.

WOOLLY BLEATERS

Just when we thought we had survived the lambing season without adopting even one orphan lamb, along came Charlie.

Rearing an orphan lamb is a costly procedure and after a few days of feeding around the clock with constant demands for more and cleaning up after it the novelty can soon wear a little thin.

With Charlie (named after the brand name on the bottle we feed him from) however things are a little different. He is the best mannered, least demanding (well so far anyway) and generally the coolest little lamb we have ever had. For a critter not known for having much in the way of personality he has charisma plus.

When he is hungry he will wait for you to come by, wait until he catches your eye and then bleat once for food. If the milk runs out before he is full he lets out a couple of air sucks just to let you know and then settles down for a rest.

When you talk to him he watches you intently and like all pet lambs Charlie will follow you around and be cuddled. His easy manner and charm make him a delight to have around.

Two other lambs stand out from the flock this season, Tiny and Milly. Tiny we believe may grow up to be a miniature sheep. We were sure he was born prematurely and were ready to assist, however right from the get go he was strong and happy and in the care of a great mum. He is just so so tiny!!

Milly is another one of a kind. She is an arapawa/merino cross, normal in every way apart from her wonderful facial markings. As you can see, she has white markings criss crossing her face and combined with her sheepish smile she is very easy on the eye.

KIDSFEST

July was a busy month with over 100 young people from around Canterbury experiencing close small animal encounters and expressing their inspiration in the creation of wonderfully creative animal masks.

While handling children and animals is traditionally not one of the easiest tasks we are pleased to report that this year�s event proved very successful. It is always pleasing to watch city kids especially interact with animals. We did smile though when one queried if a rooster had laid the egg they were being shown.

OPEN DAY

Our Open Day this year is being held on Sunday 4th October and will be bigger and better than last year�s successful day. (see the events page on the website)

This year we will be featuring pony rides, hands-on craft demonstrations, lots of spinners at their wheels as well as plenty of advice and information on alpacas and other rare breeds. The extremely rare Enderby Island Rabbit will also be on display at a stand manned by the Enderby Island Rabbit Club of New Zealand.

TIP OF THE SEASON

The first tip is to not leave things like newsletters to the last minute!!

The important tip is to find a few moments on a regular basis to stop and smell the roses. Most of us are too busy doing things to stop and notice and experience the wonders of our world.

This was brought home to us recently by the two young people who purchased one of our squiglets. They regularly load up this delightful creature in the car and bring him home to spend time with us and Robbie and Rosie.

You are an inspiration guys, thanks.

Until next time stay safe and keep smiling

Elaine & Chris & the Warwickz Farm Team

Friends of Warwickz Farm Newsletter May 2009

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,

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 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.

Well the drought has broken, things have greened up again, temperatures are dropping and the leaves are falling in all their rusty glory. We are also still enjoying the fruits of our bounteous summer harvest of tomatoes, walnuts and wild plums in particular.

Alas the squiglets (kunekune piglets) have all found wonderful homes around the country but are very much missed. We were delighted when one of them came back with his enthusiastic new owners to say hi and immediately raced up for a kiss and a catch up.

BUNNY NEWS

Snow the Angora

A long standing goal was achieved recently when we acquired Snow, a nine week old angora rabbit. Still only a young fellow his personality is fast emerging and he is rapidly enchanting everyone he meets.

Angora rabbits have been domesticated since 120AD in the time of the Roman Emperor Hadrian. This probably accounts for his combination of gentleness, trust and his relaxed interest in his world.

The deal we have with him is that he can live in the house with us on the condition that we can harvest his fast growing fur for Elaine to spin. He is also happy to make guest appearances when we have visitors.

The Cuticles

The Cuticles are the collective name for the 5 lovely Flemish Giant kits that Sandy and Hugo have had.

Three white and two fawns, this quintet have been a highlight of several children�s events we have had in the past few weeks.

It is only fair to warn parents that these hunny bunnys will be ready for new homes around the time of Kidsfest in July. We have over the summer built a new larger rabbit enclosure alongside the Enderby Island Rabbitry to allow the rabbits to run free and exercise in. It also give us a safe environment for their interaction with our visitors.

PALOMA THE PACA

While the majority of our alpacas have been bred on the Farm we occasionally bring in new blood lines but are very selective on whom we share our world with. Thus it is with pride that we introduce Paloma to you.

She is a grey who is pregnant and while being very easy on the eye with her pretty face she also has wonderful fibre. Her previous owners, reputable alpaca breeders of long standing were busy knitting up her recently spun fleece when we picked her up.

Being an older girl she is very wise and her kind nature made the transition to joining our herd an easy one.

MORE NEW CREATURES

We have two more new but smaller creatures that have made an impact on us since last letter, one feathered and one furry, Sassy the Silkie chick and Sly the Peruvian guinea pig.

Obviously we have had quite a number of chicks and guineas born over the time but these two are real characters.

Sassy was incubated as Elaine was experimenting with her new incubator and from the word go she was Miss Personality. Lots of attention was repaid with many delightful hours of great company.

The time came to place her under one of our motherly bantams but Sassy was not going to have a bar of that. What did we think she was��a chicken or something!!!!��.. she demanded to be returned back to her rightful home with us and that�s where she stays.

Sly, while a gregarious young fellow who is happy to be held and played with also likes his privacy and is a good at hiding.

In fact he had probably been born about 3 or 4 days before I finally caught a glimpse of colour streaking into the tube as I approached the cage at feeding time.

I remember Secret Squirrel from my childhood and maybe we have bred a secret guinea the way he hides in the straw and hay and in the pipe in his cage.

LUCKY LAME LAMB

It had been raining for days when we discovered one of our spotted arapawa lambs from last season laying inert in the back paddock. Fully expecting it to be dead I was relieved when it lifted its head slightly as I knelt over it.

Testing the sodden sheep for some warmth in its mouth I carried it to shelter and warmth. Another hour or so in those conditions and it would have died.

The first day I had to rotate it regularly from side to side as it lay still, in the straw, to weak to support itself even to sit. Every day for nearly a week I drenched it with 30mls of Animal Health Elixir (A.H.E).

By the second day it was sitting but could not stand unless I supported it and so on for another 2 days. By the fifth day it could drag itself around (the back legs limp) and even tried to run away from me. The following day it was up and running and on the way to a full recovery to our delight.

What we think had happened was that it had been kicked by Keybee the horse when it probably got between her and some hay and damaged her hind legs and so when the weather packed up she wasn�t able to seek shelter with the rest of the flock and left to the mercy of the elements.

During this worrying week I was truly grateful to Ian who at last years Kidsfest introduced me to A.H.E., this magic supplement that gives our animals every support to heal themselves.

KIDSFEST 2009/SPINNERS GROUP

Which reminds me, Warwickz Farm will once again be involved with Kidsfest in the July school holidays. We will be running an animal encounter event that will include the children creating animal masks.

The Red Barn is also home to the Dunsandel Spinners & Knitters Group that meets the first Tuesday of each month. These informal and relaxing evenings are open to spinners as well as anyone who would also like to learn the ancient art of spinning and knitting.

Check our Events page on the website in the near future for details on both events.

TIP OF THE SEASON

A couple of simple tips to keep you more comfortable over the colder seasons��

If your boots appear to be letting in water as you tend to your outdoor chores, until you get around to replacing them place your feet in plastic shopping bags and then place them in your boots, your feet will remain dry and warm.

When your chores are over for the day you may find your hands chafed or cracked. A good alternative if you do not have any hand lotion is to use shaving cream. Rub it into your hands after you have applied it to your face for shaving if you are a guy or just steal some of his if you are a lady.

Until next time stay safe and keep smiling

Elaine & Chris & the Warwickz Farm Team

Friends of Warwickz Farm Newsletter February 2009

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.

In fact the welcome is more than warm as it is very hot and extremely dry in Canterbury and the forecast is for another two months of drought conditions. (check out the pic of the candles) The green lush farmland of such a short time ago is now just a memory.

We also have extra mouths to feed during the summer including 2 new gorgeous alpaca cria Celeste and Shiloh, two Royal Palm turkeys, some stunning frizzle bantam pekins, a new very special bunny, some new chinese quail and two tree frogs. We also appear to have been adopted by a very cheeky but possibly unwell opossum that is making herself very much at home and some......................

SQUIGLETS

For any of you who joined us on our Open day on October 5th and were standing with me next to Robbie and Rosie the Kunekune pigs honeymoon paddock and witnessed their romantic performance, I am very proud to announce that 3 months 3 weeks and 3 days later (the traditional Kunekune gestation period) Robbie and Rosie became the proud parents of 6 of the most adorable little creatures you can imagine.

It was an added delight to share the occasion with some lovely farmstay guests from Colorado who were as captivated with Rosie�s new arrivals as we were. I must admit that I spent the whole day feeling like a little person on Christmas morning. In fact the following morning I went AWOL and Elaine found me in Rosie�s house curled up with Rosie and the squiggling pile of silky little piggliness as we all enjoyed a siesta.

GOTLAND PELT PELT

Along with the Arapawa sheep the Gotland Pelt Sheep will when they become fully fleeced start to self-shed their wool and this was beginning to happen as we waited on our busy shearer to get around to our flocks of wooly bleaters.

Crossing the paddock from the Barn to the house we noticed the fleece was pulling away from Hermione�s neck and back in a neat break. Straddling her back I gently folded it back and found it while still tight was coming away in one piece. I suggested to Elaine that if she got some scissors and used the blade to break the fibre we could perhaps peel it off in one whole piece.

While Elaine was fetching the scissors Hermione took me for a short ski around the tunnel house and Elaine was amazed on her return to see me standing next to a shorn Hermione with a complete whole blanket in my hands. Literally a sheepskin rug without the skin, the underside was all felted.

We have since discovered that the window of opportunity for getting the blanket off a Gotland Pelt Sheep in this way and in one piece is about 3 days the condition being right so I must admit it was shear good luck!!

SHOGLETS

A few days before Christmas Bruce was feeding hay out to the alpacas opposite the Barn when from out of a broken piece of hay bale rolled a slightly bewildered hedgehog. Our guests at the time from Hong Kong came to have a look and we were all surprised to discover that the bale was not only home to the hedgehog but was in fact the nest for her four tiny bundles of prickles who soon assumed the name of Shoglets.

We returned the post natal package to the hay barn and settled them back down again as best we could but unfortunately a short while later Ma Hedgehog decided that she had had enough of this insanity and shogged off to parts unknown leaving us with somewhat of a dilemma.

Some quick internet research advised us that the chances of being successful shog parents were remote but provided us with details of what was required if we were brave enough to try and try we did over the Christmas break.

From feeding them every six hours on various mixtures of milk formulas and palpating their little bellies after every feed until they did their little businesses the whole process was a combination of enchantment and education.

Unfortunately, probably due to the lack of colostrum from their mother they slowly after the second day one by one passed on leaving us while sad also enriched by an experience few people are lucky enough to enjoy.

A RARE TREAT

There have been some changes to the Warwickz Farm Rabbitry since the last newsletter. We have split the rabbitry into two locations, the main part is now located in the gardens in a much shadier and environmentally pleasing position among the trees. The Enderby Island Rabbits are located in another shady spot close to the pine and oak trees.

Our new resident in the Enderby Enclosure is Beethoven a cr�me Enderby Island Rabbit which makes him one of the rarest members of one of the rarest rabbit breeds in the world. Of the approximately 300 Enderby Island Rabbits Beethoven is one of the approximately 20 cr�mes (a recessive gene) in existence which makes him very special indeed !

We will breed him with one of our silver does, Sylvia who has cr�mes in her background and hopefully contribute to the numbers of cr�me Enderby Island rabbits. For more information on Enderbys visit www.naturespace.co.nz

NEW ARRIVALS

As mentioned, we have had some charming new arrivals over the last few months including Celeste the baby alpaca born to Holly in December and Shiloh, Rubys new cria born in January, both fawn both two weeks early and both wonderful new additions to our herd along with Girlie, an older alpaca very similar to dear departed Diamond who has come to us to retire.

A frizzle is a genetic throwback that can come out in any chicken resulting in a frizzled appearance to the feathers similar to I imagine plugging the chook into the power mains. A frizzled chicken bred with any other breed will result in approximately half the eggs hatching as that particular breed and the other half a frizzled version of it. The picture on the left is of three of the remaining (unsold) seven hatchings that resulted from a pekin cross hen bred with a frizzled pekin rooster.

We have also recently become home to a young pair of Royal Palm turkeys, the smallest of the turkey breeds and one listed on the rare breeds endangered list. The Royal Palm youngster pictured will grow into the magnificent creature (merged onto the picture) with the black band framing its proud tail feathers.

From a handful of tadpoles we now have two delightful tree frogs that provide us with good sport watching them stalk the flies that are now a large tasty part of their menu.

TIP OF THE SEASON

Ice packs to cool your caged animals especially rabbits, down on those extremely hot days will not only make them feel more comfortable but could also save their lives as heat stress can be a killer. We freeze water in 2 litre soft drink bottles and always have them on standby.

Our friendly possum further has proved the goodness of the Animal Health Elixir mentioned in the last newsletter and chose a container of water laced with AHE over the fish pond. We are finding that using this natural product during this harsh season is proving excellent at maintaining our animal�s health. Once again you can find out more about it at www.healthyanimals.co.nz. where you can order it in 20 litre drums or in 5 or 2 litre bottles direct from us.

Until next time stay safe and keep smiling

Elaine & Chris & the Warwickz Farm Team

Friends of Warwickz Farm Newsletter August 2008

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.

Spring may not be far away however winters cheerless icy grip is still keeping us close to the fireplace. Enduring the harshest winter in years with its snow and torrential rain and threat of floods has not been pleasant.

The ducks and geese though are thoroughly enjoying it especially on their new waterway that today is flowing along the once dried up ancient riverbed that crosses the house paddock.

KIDSFEST

On a brighter note the weather did prove kind to us for the 8 days of Kidsfest activities.

Over one hundred youngsters were entertained and educated by a host of feathery and furry creatures as they sat mouths agape on hay bales in the Red Barn.

Hugo our adorable new baby Flemish Giant rabbit started the fun by leading the little people along to the Barn and introducing them to the poultry and animals along the way including a short stopover to visit two new born pigeons.

Highlights of the Kidsfest included Stan the silkie rooster and Amy the aracauna hen eating out of slightly nervous young hands, Hoppy the duck flapping his way in and out of the Barn and the nursing of the ��h so cute� rabbits and guinea pigs..

It was Pablo the long haired mouse who stole the show for all except the grandma who did an astonishing vanishing act when Pablo suddenly jumped to the ground.

SHEEP SHUFFLE

The aforementioned foul weather delivered to us two black arapawa cross lambs looking for a mother. Just when we thought we might get away this year without having to supply all-weather room service to orphaned woolly guests, Jack & Jill arrived.

While we have made room for these two little tykes we are pleased to announce that we are no longer the home of Zippy the Gotland woolly jumper.(see Mays Newsletter) We were able to find him a much more suitable residence deeper in the countryside with a delightful menagerie of other eccentric waifs and strays.

GINORMOUS GUINEA BABES

Elaine decided that it was time to freshen up her guinea pig lines with some gorgeous lovely natured rex guinea pigs from the North Island.

We were delighted to discover that one female; Bella had arrived in what appeared to be an advanced stage of pregnancy. However after watching her girth expand for several more weeks we were becoming quite perplexed.

Late one afternoon out popped three of the plumpest guinea babes we have ever seen, Fudge (silver agouti pictured),Smudge (silver agouti) and Snowdrop (albino), mother and babes doing very very well.

OPEN DAY

As mentioned in the last Newsletter plans are now well underway for our Open Day in conjunction with Brenel Alpacas on October 5th 10.00am � 3.00pm. (see the website events page to read the Press Release)

The focus of this family friendly day is on education and information on alpacas and rare breed animals and how they and their products can enhance your lifestyle. There will be alpacas and other creatures for sale on the Day and a number of stalls and displays to visit and enjoy.

Bev Tilson, internationally recognized wool crafter and hand spinner will be at her wheel and Ian Sargent from Manna Farm Supplies will have a stand exhibiting his magical Animal Health Elixir.(recommended by Warwickz Farm, more on this in the next letter) The 1st Dunsandel Boys Brigade will be feeding us from their sausage sizzle and some lucky visitor will win the gate prize from Feedworld Hornby.

The Open Day will be taking place whatever the weather and we look forward to seeing as many as our �friends� here as possible.

Until next time stay safe and keep smiling

Elaine & Chris & the Warwickz Farm Team

Friends of Warwickz Farm Newsletter May 2008

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.

Winter fast approaches, the lawns are now lost in an ocean of leaves, the days are getting shorter and the temperatures are beginning their downward slide, however it is nice to watch the football and shell walnuts again in front of a crackling fire and watch the sun set over the snowcapped mountains.

We have had a busy few months entertaining a number of coach loads of visitors to a day out on Warwickz Farm. Many of these have been seniors and an absolute delight to be with and to introduce our animals to and hear their stories of long ago days and animal experiences.

Talking about animals, we have (as usual) some new ones to introduce including Sebastopol geese, Constantin the silkie rooster, Zippy the jumping Gotland Pelt ram, and some gorgeous baby rabbits. But first we have some sad news to share.

DIAMOND

It was a gorgeous early Autumn morning, the sun a golden yoke in the egg blue sky. Chris was organising the buckets of pellets for the playcentre children to use to feed the alpacas on their arrival in another 5 minutes. It was then that he noticed Diamond, Warwickz Farms very first alpaca and the matriarch of the herd lying down peacefully in a corner of the paddock.

After a cheery "Good morning Diamond, we have visitors" failed to achieve the usual response of twitching ears and stretching legs he crossed to her and discovered that the ageing Diamonds peaceful rest had been her last. Minutes later Chris & Elaine managed to switch on their happy faces and were busy greeting their smiling, enthusiastic young visitors.

After the sudden shock of losing Diamond had subsided we realised that we now had an orphan to focus our attention on. The beautiful black 3 month old Jewel mentioned in our last Newsletter stared up at us in hunger and confusion with her mothers elegant face and deep soulful eyes and made our hearts ache. Fortunately due to her age it was only a matter of weeks of bottle feeding before she was able to fend for herself and she is now a totally healthy happy and independent young lady who enjoys an occasional cuddle.

While Diamonds spirit lives on through Jewel, it was interesting to note the impact of our loss on the rest of the herd. For a period, whenever we needed to move the alpacas to the yards or to another paddock confusion would reign as they looked for Diamond to lead the way and take command and she was not there which left them meandering off in groups in all directions. They have now however elected a new leader, Ruby, Jewels much older sister and order has been restored

Farewell Diamond, we miss you.

BRUCE BUILT CONSTRUCTIONS

Having received many favourable comments on the dozen or so chook houses that make up Poultry Lane and receiving requests for similar ones Bruce is now constructing them for sale. (see our website For Sale page).

Made out of recycled materials these henhouses and rabbit/guinea pig hutches combine functionality and security with pleasing design and attractiveness. Best of all, made out of recycled materials they are affordable.

Created to order, Bruce Built Constructions are all one-offs and can be customized for particular requirements. Anyway, enough of the advertising lets go and meet some animals.

LUCY & SEB ASTOPOL

As we head into the colder months and our unpleasant and unwanted visitors (wild cats, rats, stoats, weasels and ferrets) get hungrier and braver the safety of our animal friends becomes an issue.

Having discovered that geese make wonderful guard dogs with their loud honks of alarm and run off intruders, we have welcomed Seb & Lucy two elegant Sebastopol geese to Warwickz Farm. Sebastopol are the breed that exhibit the �bad hair day� look of ruffled breast feathers.

Once they are a little older they will be let out at night to patrol Poultry Parade to enable both us and our feathered friends to rest easier.

On clarifying the ability of geese to protect themselves, their previous owner admitted that one he sold had fatally lost an encounter however, it was with a visitors Bull Mastiff and the fierce battle raged for 20 minutes before the brave goose finally

CONSTANTIN the ROOSTER

Constantin, or Stan as he is affectionately known is a Chinese Silkie and was adopted in March from a lady who had hand reared him and is fast becoming a favourite with our visitors.

It is not uncommon for Chris to greet a coach load of tourists with Stan inquisitively perched on his shoulder like the proverbial pirates parrot. He is also happy to pose for classic photos sitting on baseball capped heads to the delight of their owners.

ZIPPY the GOTLAND PELT RAM

Zippy is a superb example of a Gotland Pelt ram with a luxuriant fleece, wonderful conformation and a friendly personality who produces outstanding lambs. So when the opportunity arose to give him a home we were delighted.

However, Zippy has wanderlust and a wondering eye for any shapely woolly bleater and has honed some excellent athletic skills that enable him to clear standard sheep fencing from a standing start.

Currently he is playing football with the tyre he is tethered to around the paddock. This is not an ideal state of affairs so we have reluctantly decided he needs another home ideally with deer fenced or similar paddocks. So if anyone can offer Zippy a home please let us know.

KIDSFEST 2008

Warwickz Farm is participating once again in KidsFest the school holiday events programme sponsored by TV2 and the local Council during the July school holidays 7th to 17th July.

Our Feathers Fur & Fun events will give young people an opportunity to experience a variety of small animals and birds (also some larger ones depending on the weather) close up, learn about them and how to care for them and have some fun along the way. Cost is $5.00 per child (caregiver free). Details will be on the website soon and also in the KidsFest promotional material that will be distributed through the media closer to the event. We look forward to seeing some old friends and making some new ones over the 8 sessions.

We will leave you with a farewell picture of our autumn rex rabbit babies who are real little characters and are fast finding new homes for the winter with absolutely delighted little people.

Until next time stay safe and keep smiling

Elaine & Chris & the Warwickz Farm Team

PS

In our next Newsletter we will have details of what should become an annual event the Alpaca and Rare Breeds Open Day held in conjunction with Brenel Estate Alpacas.

This day will be held in October and will be a family oriented fun day with the emphasis on introducing alpaca (and their products) and rare breeds to people who would like to know more about them. There will be a number of interesting stalls and a sausage sizzle and lots of interesting things to discover.

Friends of Warwickz Farm Newsletter February 2008

Hi Friends,

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,

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 fianc� 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