New Baby reindeer to my herd

Thank you wolf for all your comments.. They were lovely and yes I do have 3 that are prone to overeat (different things). BORIS is a huge food store raider when he is in Home Paddock (I think I posted at least one video early last year of him raiding apples and maybe also his lifting the lid on auxiliary feed store and munching though contents). Katya has to have all of the winter (frozen and thawed fruit - she uses her antlers to make sure nobody else gets any) and the really sad thing is Hector, who I have had to stop children feeding him lichen, as although he is very gentle whilst eating his treats from their hand, once they run out of supplies he rubs his head against them for more and quite vigorously.
A few photo's of today attached
and as an aside 1) The girls bellies are looking good
2) I think Hector is now responding to his name and "come" command... Hubby thinks I am dreaming but he hasn't seen...Tried it 3 times today... Waited till he was grazing, crouched down, called his name and come and he came to me.... Crouch down is from puppy training so as not to be a scary person... BUT crouch down to Hector may be different (chance to Goose!!!). We'll see will repeat for a few more day and then try standing up??

 

Wow, how do the reindeer not get their antlers tangled up in the branches? Referring to last pic specifically.

 

Baw, it is very strange. They push in the trees (or anywhere - my coats included) but they untangle themselves very gently. All I can say is that their antlers are part of them, so they are part of their life... Would say it is like us getting our hands or ears tangled BUT it isn't as no nerve endings involved... Maybe if we grew our fingernails to several feet and went picking blackberries, then that is the nearest analogy...

 

I'm impressed, it seems they are very smart in that regard.

 

Great photos as usual - I love the different aspects in each. Very interesting that there are different favorite foods among the group.

 

Karen - it has been a looooong day and this is still a favorite stop of mine. I love your stories and the photos.

 

Happy Valentine's Day from my big boy Boris... Sloppy kisses to you all!!! xxx

 

Happy Valentine's Day to you and all your "sloppy" kissers!

 

Not a super photo, but an educational post... Here in the UK we have finally had some cold weather but my little Munchins have decided to start their moult. They don't shed evenly like most animals BUT in clumps, hence a warning that in a few weeks they will start to look "moth eaten" and neglected but in fact, the more you groom them the worse they look...
Picture shows a tuft on Mishca's neck but Katya has been shedding "lumps" for several days and she is already looking patchy in colour.

 

Tis the season?

 

(Previous days post) I have been putting off laying blocks and mortar to mount new water troughs (my excuse was temperatures may drop below freezing)... It seems temperatures are rising, so I no longer have that excuse....
I am posting to make sure I do it tomorrow...
It is so long since I mixed concrete, laid bricks etc.. To be honest, probably scared of messing it up but have to remind myself that it isn't the Taj that I'm building!!!!! Hold me to posting a picture, of at least the first plinth..
(And yesterday's post)
Ta Dah!!! Well nobody will be asking me to build an extension but it should serve it's purpose.
Brilliant day all round, a friend's husband laid some slabs for me to site another trough on in Long Meadow. Trough now plumbed in, so back to at least one paddock with auto drinker. Still a lot more work on the other two paddocks but now forging ahead!
Don't look too close as it is far from perfect and I'm aching from head to foot... and still another of these to build once another base has been laid!!!
This reindeer herding isn't just about reindeer cuddles unfortunately.

 

Now isn't that a relief!

Well done, looks good to me

 

You will be so pleased when the auto water tanks are finally installed in all your fields. It will make like so much easier. Will they be heated or insulated so they don't freeze in winter?

 

PNP I installed auto drinkers in all paddocks from the onset but didn't realise the ones I purchased should not run off mains water pressure (which I had installed but kept pressure low once I realised my mistake). They worked well for a couple of years then water was spurting out everywhere. Could have just purchased new valve, washers etc... but decided to go for a longer plan, but new drinkers can't be attached to fence posts and with reindeer, can't be on the ground.. so it is causing lots of additional problems. New ones are far deeper so shouldn't freeze as quickly but no heating... will always have to cart water when weather is really bad... but not often in the UK..

 

Congrats on all your hard work Karen, the fact that your efforts will undoubtedly be a priceless long term benefit for your herd (and less work and worry for you) has to be extremely gratifying for you. Now every time you walk by one of your auto waterers you can smile smugly and say I built that!


PS...
I'd love to have that kind of auto waterer set up for all my animals... so next time you are in California and have the time, you're hired, lol

 

Where (approx) in California are you? I lived in SF for a couple of years in the early 80's, hubby was from SD and we married in Santa Barbara... Some fun memories but was pleased to come home to the green fields of the UK - not a city girl!!

 

I'm at the base of the Sierra Nevada Foothills, now... near Grass Valley (way up at the Northern end of the Sacramento Valley). But I am originally from Ft Bragg (which is up the coast from SF, about a 4 hr drive). Most of the Northern Cali Coast is my old stomping grounds... with ocean out my front door, and the redwoods out my back door. I covered/explored most of it on horseback while growing up. I really really miss the ocean/beaches, and even the fog pretty badly. Now I live 2 doors down from He**, and it's always beyond miserably hot here in the summers. Sigh... I am soooo homesick .

 

Looks good to me Karen! You are very handy to be able to build that; I can't even seem to nail something straight!

GuineaUp - How nice to grow up with the ocean and redwoods - bet you have awesome memories!

 

Guinea
Never got chance to go north beyond the Wine Country or Lake Tahoe but remember the fogs of SF Bay, some very happy memories!!

Today's video... not a great one (artistically, as have exposure problems when I am in barn and looking out and it all came to a halt when Hector breathed on the lens, as usual) but it shows that Hector is happier playing with me than eating. You might also see that Mischa is looking particularly "chunky" so fingers crossed..
Another interesting point to look at in these and future postings is the stripes in coat... I used to think they were their ribs changing the pattern in coat (so maybe a little under weight) but in several the stripes continue to their hip bone, so it can't be ribs and must be a camouflage strategy.... The stripes don't continue to hips on all but Mischa shows stripes at the moment and is VERY chunky, any other species and I'd put her on a diet!

 

Tummy watch 2016!!!!