Sunday, February 24, 2008

Work, work, work . . .

Well time is getting on and most of those jobs that we were sure we'd have done by now are still unfinished and some not even started yet! So much for a carefully thought out winter maintenance plan.
One job that is largely completed is our woodland tidying; much of the woodland hasn't been touched for years so there's lots to do but most of this winters' work has been done thanks to a group of friends who came down for four days from the 15th February and sawed, clipped, pruned, felled, trimmed up, brushed down and polished (did they really polish??) an area of woods until it looked to be in fine fettle.
A special mention should be made to the boys (Rhys, Ed, Jamie, Jamesy and Andrew) who were very helpful between bouts of camp building, warring, camp destroying, rolling down hills on your side and frog catching - mind you there wasn't much time to work after doing all that!.
The girls (Frances and Lara) confined themselves to doing boyish things better than the boys, they were certainly dirtier and Frances' clothes are still being soaked 5 days later.
Very big thanks to the Reaveleys, Tresizes' and Browns.
Lots of other smaller jobs are nearing completion and if the weather stays goood we should get all of the important things done by the time we open on Good Friday. The last ten days or so of clear, dry weather has been good for all of the animals and it seems to have put some of them (especially the ducks) in the mood for love.
We've seen great interest in and around nest boxes as they are inspected by potential occupiers; the deer and wallabies seem to have an extra spring in their step too.
The otters are all fine; we still don't see very much of Hilda but from signs in the pen we know she is there. If she doesn't have any cubs she'll be going back in with William soon. The rest of the otters have all got smiles on their faces, they don't seem to mind the winter very much but I think they are detecting the slight rise in temperature and are enjoying it.
The Asian Otter cubs are 13 weeks old today (Sunday). The females (as yet unnamed but we are open to suggestions) are still very small, probably no larger than 400 to 500 grams. One of them is very active and surprised Denis at feeding time the other day by coming out and demanding her own food portion just like the others but the other one is rather retiring and scrawny looking. We took her out yesterday to check her for any obvious problems and she seemed strong and alert so maybe she is just a slow starter.
The boys, Biggy and Smalley, are still at home with us and generally doing well. Both weigh in at 1300 grams+ almost three times their sisters weight! They are getting quite bold and are very inquisitive. They still swim at least three times a day (in tepid water, if its too cold they just get out!) and we were taking them to work every day so that they could have some freedom in a secure pen however, Smalley has developed a worrying problem with at least one of his legs which means he is having some difficulty getting around unless he is swimming, when he appears fine. He's been to the vet and is on a course of treatment so we'll see how he gets on.
That's all for now, John.

Friday, February 8, 2008

The Return of the Fox

Well, from the title you've probably guessed that the fox has been back; on Tuesday morning we arrived at work and saw a bunch of peacock tail feathers on the path next to a fence. We did a brief search and about 20 metres away was the half eaten body of the peacock, a superb bird with his courting plumage almost completely grown. All of our peacocks can fly and generally roost high in the trees before coming to earth for their breakfast at around 8am. I wonder if the fox knew that too and was waiting for him when he landed.

He hadn't been dead for very long and I suspect that as we drove into the car park we had probably scared the fox away.

It was obviously time for a security review to find out where the fox was getting in but with well over a mile of ring fencing to check that was easier said than done. There are three parts to our ring fence, a 2 to 2.5 metre tall deer proof fence, inside that a 1.2 metre tall vermin fence and a three strand electric fence outside them both to deter climbers.

It took four people five days to check and repair! That's an awful lot of time to keep out just one fox and the worry is that he will find another way in sometime in the future.

The Golden Pheasant has been in the wars, he turned up this morning and was bleeding from his right foot. Because he's so friendly he was easy to catch and examine; he'd lost the tip of the claw on his middle toe somehow and it was bleeding freely. A quick bit of avian first aid was given and we'll keep him in the barn over the weekend to make sure he's recovering; as for how he'd done this we couldn't fathom but he does get himself into quite a few pickles because he's so nosey.

We have two Fallow Deer bucks here. The elder statesman, 15 years old in June, is Nigel, a splendid, friendly old boy who rules the roost and keeps the herd in order. He must also be one of the oldest Fallow on record and we have to keep an eye on him to make sure he eats properly because his teeth must be well worn by now. We also have a young pricket who is only 8 months old and starting to get quiet confident around the keepers. If two doe's are being hand fed he will often squeeze between them and pick up whatever they drop, not bold enough on his own but progressing nicely.

The British Otters are all fine and Hilda has disappeared into her holt for the last few days. We know she's in there but she has become very secretive. The last time she did that we thought she was pregnant but in the event she wasn't. It is possible that she is pregnant or has given birth but we've decided not to disturb her for the time being and see what develops. It may be that she is just missing her partner William, who we moved out a few days ago.

The Asian Otters are all fine too but Zephyr does look tired. She has developed a squint and looks her age (12 Years) but that might be because of the pressures of motherhood. The two female cubs with the Family are doing fine. They are still quite small but taking part in Family activity several times a day. As we approach them we hear them squeak and one of the others, usually Tilly comes and comforts them and then drags them to somewhere they don't want to go to but she thinks they should be. They all forget about us as we look on and a battle of wills begins which Tilly always wins because she's much bigger and stronger than them. We have seen the cubs in the pond but I don't think they are swimming just yet - would you want to swim in a pond in February??

The male cubs (we can't think of suitable names for them but are calling them Biggy and Smalley for the moment) are getting big too. They've been moved out of their crate in the utility room to a large cage in the kitchen which they seem to like; they roam free whenever we're at home and can now climb the vegetable rack, raid unguarded cupboards and sneak from room to room like two little brown commando's. And don't leave any buckets, mops or bowls of water anywhere that they can find because that is a shortcut to an otter flood; at least the culprits are easy to find because they leave a water trail wherever they go.

Their routine is well established and they know when its bath time or cuddle time and make different noises if they want to let you know that they want something. They get very excited at bath time and its fair to say that they are "mad for it". Both are now accomplished swimmers and divers but you'd better make sure that water's warm enough because if it isn't they'll let you know by trying to jump straight out. They will come when called and are particularly responsive to Mandy, making a bee line for her and jumping into her arms for reassurance if something gives them a scare and sometimes just for a cuddle if they are tired, especially Biggy - the big softee!