Glendrick Roost Animal Welfare Centre

The boy rabbits that went to the vet school to be castrated are all doing well though poor Tulip [ tiny grey Netherland dwarf ] was probably the one with most problems . He seemed very sore after the operation. He and Coltsfoot will go back to the volunteers to be looked after until such time as we have our new premises.

Our first big show today - Drymen . The weather was wonderful - sunshine and blue skies all day . The crowds were out and we had a very success ful day - or they did I COULDN’T GO - don’t ask ! Why shouldn’t I go to these places too . The public would LOVE to stroke my lovely nose and scratch beneath my BIG horns . I am very gentle with them . I NEVER use them - on humans anyway . Mingerlay and Monachyle have to watch out sometimes if they tease me too much .

The four dogs were all working at different times and enjoyed lots of cuddles . Yodi is SO good she hardly moved when a little girl stood on her tail as she passed . Hazel - the dwarf lop rabbit and her two babies went too along with Puisicain the cat .

Four Degus have been handed in to our care . These are unusual animals from South America and we have spent the three days since they arrived trying to see how many ‘ animals ‘ we can see in them . They have chinchilla ears; squirrel faces and noses ; gerbil feet and claws ; their tails look a bit ratty but they have hair on at the end and they squeak like baby birds . They are very cute ! . They were quite stressed when they arrived and remained out of sight for much of the time but they are becoming much braver and come out to see what is going on . As yet we don’t know what sex they are and are hoping they are all the same as they have lived together for six months .We will have to check their sexes now they are a little less upset and separate if necessary .

Boss been very busy this past week having gone to Hessilhead twice - once with a tiny starling and once with a family of five baby buns [ probably one to two days old ] . She was also on her own with the animals quite a lot of the time having mega problems with the electric fences ! ! ! We have four energisers and batteries and of the four three decided to play up this week ! The only one that is being good [ touch wood ] is the one at Tammys - and that isn’t on ! ! ! Two trips to get them sorted and another one tomorrow and then hopefully they will be good . At this time of the year when the grass is rich and long ; strip grazing is the only way to prevent animals getting too fat . Obviously this means occasional hungry tums if they have eaten all the ration for the day - they KNOW the grass on the other side is tasty .

The boy buns are being operated on today and will hopefully come home tomorrow .

There was another trip to Hessilhead today - this time with a baby bun . Boss was asked to go pick up a damaged duck enroute , but when she got there the poor duck had already died . The baby bun arrived safely and will be monitored and re hydrated before anything is done .

The Chickens went outside into a large Ark coop this evening . This will give them more space and allow them to pick at grass , weeds etc . Chickaroo [ the little bantam with a crossed beak ], though small appears to be getting enough to eat and is definitely a sprightly wee thing . She always flies out when the lid is opened and sits on whoevers hand is there .

Ok here comes the Boss again with MORE wire for the fence and has put it right round the edge of the field [ does she think we haven’t seen the 4 metres that ISN’T fenced cos she ran out of wire !!! ] We will stay put ......FOR NOW .

The baby buns have their eyes open now and all SIX are adorable .we thought there were only five . I do hope we can find suitable homes for them all .

The remaining three boy buns are going to the Veterinary School to be castrated tomorrow . It will mean we should be able to never have one animal on its own as the boy buns will be able to mix with the females once the ‘’ aviary style ‘’ pens are provided again .

Well the electric fence seems to be working for the pigs so ........reckon WE need to break out - here goes.......*..I will follow Monachyle ... my horns are through .... !...* ... There .. . - gosh Jean has LOADS of lovely grass in her garden [munch munch ] Mingerlay is muttering in the paddock but WE are having a WONDERFUL feed . Oh .. Oh here comes the Boss . And she has a halter ! Oh well will have to follow Monachyle and go back into the paddock . He He here I go again .... and I am through before Boss has even got into the field !  Don’t think she is amused ! Now she has put that white tape round OUR field too . ! ! !

Briarlands Family Funday today ! The display looks good - Bron ,Peter and Peggy set it all up and Emma and Henrietta got the ponies ready to give rides later on in the day . Boss says Glendrick Roost wouldn’t survive if she didn’t have help from all the volunteers who give up their free time to help all the animals - she also sez Thank you to you all . The day went well . Lots and lots and lots of people came to see the wee furries and have cuddles in the cuddle corner . Children love animals and it is very important to get them to care for animals when they are young . Then they will be caring adults.

Pony rides were as usual very popular and Echo and Wispa worked hard giving rides up and down the grass . The children mostly had big smiles on their faces .

The ponies and donkeys are all settling into their summer homes and some of the wee furries went to Briarlands.to stay there for the summer . Tomorrow is the open day and more wee furries will go to be on show. A phone call this evening meant boss had to go to Hessilhead with a baby starling . The animals and birds taken to the wildlife hospital are given a chance to live .Any animal or bird that stays still to be caught has a problem and needs attention fast . Baby birds rarely survive if left to their own devices and are often dehydrated when rescued

When Boss and Emma went to do the Shetlands in Fintry today they found a fledgling Corvid ie Rook ,Crow , Raven ,Jay , Magpie or Jackdaw This one was a Crow though it was found by a Rookery. Boss goes to the wildlife Hospital at Beith - Hessilhead , on a regular basis especially during the spring and summer when there are so many baby birds needing help. Unfortunately this one didn’t make it and died .

The electic fence was switched on just before the ponies came in tonight . This was to allow Wee Dinky Doo to learn to respect it . It is a hard lesson to learn but an essential one . As we don’t want any accidents until she has learnt to respect it we need to be on hand to sort out any mishaps as she learns . She touched the fence and didn’t run backwards as most do she ran into it and through to the other side . So - boss had to sort it all out and try again . Next time Dinky Doo got tangled up in it . Fortunately Helen turned it off so she didn’t get too many shocks before we untangled her . NOT the most successful lesson but Dinky Doo did seem to be watching the horrible fence more closely . Hopefully she is going to be better tomorrow . Boss is going to put them out at lunchtime and hope all goes well .

A lot of activity at Briarlands today as everyone prepares for the Funday on Sunday .

Boss and Henrietta fitted up another electric fence to strip graze the paddock at Briarlands cos it is quite big and the ponies don’t want to get too fat . Being too heavy and eating too much rich grass can cause a painful condition of the feet called Laminitis . The ponies have so far been out for a few hours each day and then come in over night and stayed in during the morning eating hay to fill up their tums before going out onto the grass . This will hopefully prevent any problems .

Henrietta  had a ride on Patches and then both Shetlands - Echo and Wispa . The ponies were fine but when Patches was being ridden Pumpkin was a wee monkey . Patches bless her was very good no faults with her it was the Hooligan .! She decided to run alongside or infront and kick up her heels . What a monkey . Boss said she has a lot of lessons to learn this spring/' summer . Oooops ...... look out Pumpkin ! ! !   

OUCH ... THAT FENCE STUNG US !!! see what Boss meant now ! it is what is called ‘’ LECTRICK ’’ . Don’t know what it means but do know it hurts us . How can she do that to us - we only want to help the pigs eat all their goodies ! !

Tiggywinkle has once more come into season and once more has decided to go on the lookout for a boar. !! We saw her this morning starting to push her way out of the paddock and mooed and mooed to let Elaine know she was leaving .  

 Elaine lives in the house opposite. Don’t know if she heard us but on her way to work she saw her leaving and was able to ring the Boss who came and spent hours and hours fetching her back and securing the fence... YET AGAIN . Boss said something about it would keep US OUT TOO .Not sure what that meant ... she has put a thin white tape on that clicks - can’t see that stopping us pushing the pig fence down !!! 

The weather has been lovely for quite a few days now . We spend a lot of our time sunbathing , chewing our cud and watching the world go by . .Ebony - Shetland mare and Jet her three year old son have also moved to their summer grazing . It is a lovely paddock down by the river Endrick but not big enough for more than two ponies . The rest of the wee ponies and donkeys have settled in at Briarlands farm and hope lots of people go see them over the summer months [www.briarlandsfarm.co.uk ]