Lardy, lardier, lardiest.

Another general herd check day today.

They were all rounded up and given a thorough going over.

I am a little paranoid about the health of our alpacas at the moment and want to be the first to know if there is anything wrong with any of them. We had a couple of pre-birth Lambivacs to do so it seemed like a good time for a check up.

Condition scoring, jawline checking, ears, eyes, teeth and toes all had a close examination.

Conclusion? A right old bunch of fatties.

That's right the Patou herd is a bit lardy. A bit too lardy in places. A bit too lardy indeed.

As a result, all feeding, bar camelibra, has been stopped. There is obviously enough fresh green lush grass out there to fill up their little tummies and get them putting on the pounds.

We use the 1 to 5 condition score and reckon that a pregnant female (after weaning) should be a good 3. Well let me tell you there are a few out there that left 3, way, way behind. As I went through the herd one by one Sue wrote down the facts.

The good news is that no-one, not even the habitually skinny ones scored less than three. For the first time as far as I can remember there were no 2 and a half's. That's great for the skinny ones who are now scoring 3.

However, there is a certain portion of the herd, and I will say that it is a small portion (is portion the right word here, I think not) that is positively lardy. Two of the matriarchs of the herd were challenging the top end of a 1 to 5 scale............................ seriously.................. they are fat.

As for the boys, Jake in particular, I was even more shocked. I held Jake, our big 'scaredy cat' wether and reached under and patted his huge stomach. It was a familiar sound.

Now I know that some people say that pet owners, be it dog cat or whatever can start to look like their pets, I have even seen photographs that back up this claim. Well here in Patouland I think the reverse might be happening.

I have a sneaking suspicion that the Patou herd is starting to look like me.

The first sign of a bald head out there and we are in big trouble!