Alpaca World - Spring 2016 by Steve Flanders

MAIN HEADING

Spring 2016 £7.50 where sold

Magic numbers

A commercial alpaca fleece scorecard

What is a “SNUG” Suri?

Growing to recognise their commercial potential

A dream come true

A vet clinic just for camelids

A close shave SPRING 2016

ALPACA WORLD

CONTENTS

Classical Publishing Ltd © 2016 Issue 56 Spring 2016 ISSN 1477–7088 Editor: Rachel Hebditch Vulscombe Farm, Pennymoor, Tiverton, Devon, EX16 8NB Telephone: 01884 243579 Mobile: 07540 748803 Email: rachel@alpaca-uk.co.uk Advertising: Heidi Hardy Telephone 01598 752799 Email: heidi@ alpacaworldmagazine.com Copy deadline for the next issue: 17th June 2016 Design and Production: TRG Design Telephone: 01392 279371 Email: info@trgdesign.com www.trgdesign.com Printed in England by: Advent Colour 19 East Portway Ind. Est., Andover SP10 3LU

WELCOME

The only independent magazine reporting on the international alpaca industry. Distributed by subscription worldwide and through country stores across the UK, Alpaca World Magazine reaches the largest readership in its market.

IN THIS ISSUE we hear from our friends in Spain, Sweden and France who reveal the goings on in their alpaca worlds. Some good news from the British Alpaca Society who have set up a steering group to investigate setting up an Estimated Breeding Value programme in the UK. Australia and the USA already have such programmes for alpacas as do cattle and sheep in the UK. These are basically massive databases that are used to identify the animals who are above average in relevant commercial traits and are a way to accelerate genetic gain in the UK alpaca industry. Those of us who have been around for a very long time - the ancients - have wanted such a scheme for ages, not to mention a helping hand for the commercial fleece industry. I was reminded of how long we have been around at the Fibre Day held recently at Stoneleigh Park where just the mention of a fibre co-operative sent a shudder through Rob Bettinson, Chas Brooke and I, all of us having witnessed the cash devouring entity rise up and collapse thrice.

CONTENTS Spring 2016

The material contained in Alpaca World Magazine is compiled by the publishers for information purposes only. Although the material included has been obtained from sources believed to be reliable, no guarantees are given as to its accuracy or completeness. Readers are reminded that expert advice should always be sought in individual cases.

Whilst every care has been taken in the compilation of the material contained in this issue the publisher does not accept responsibility for any loss arising out of such changes or inaccuracies nor for any other loss suffered as a result of information contained in this issue. Notice to Advertisers: It is a condition of acceptance of advertisement orders that the publishers, Classical Publishing Ltd, do not guarantee the insertion of a particular advertisement on a specific date, or at all, although every effort will be made to meet the wishes of advertisers; further the company does not accept liability for any loss or damage caused by any error or inaccuracy in the printing or non appearance of any advertisement, or if we decide to edit or delete any objectionable wording, or reject any advertisement. Although every advertisement is carefully checked, occasionally mistakes do occur. We therefore ask advertisers to assist us by checking their advertisements carefully and to advise us by the deadline given should an error occur. We regret that we cannot accept responsibility for more than one incorrect insertion and that no republication or discount will be granted in the case of typographic or minor changes which do not affect the value of the advertisement. Cover photo by Suzanne Coldham, AlpacaArte in Andalucia

48 NEWS 4 Plans for EBV programme in UK 5 “Alpaca Fever” 5 AAFT sponsor Alpaca Fibre Trials 5 New show rises in the East 6 BAS National Show 6 Heart of England Spring Fiesta 8 Hapert Show 8 NWAG Show REGULAR ITEMS 36 Letter from France: Back to Reality 44 Ask the Vet: A vet clinic just for alpacas! 62 Breeders directory

24 FEATURES 12 So what is a “SNUG” Alpaca? – Suri Focus Group 18 A Brush with Royalty: Royal Alpacas, Sweden 24 A Close Shave: A focus on Shearing 28 Magic Numbers: a Commercial Alpaca Fleece Scorecard 32 UK Alpaca Fleece Collection 42 Céline Seban: The Adventure of Alpacas 48 Spanish Steps: AlpacaArte in Andalucia 54 What to do with Beserk Males (pt 2)

www.alpacaworldmagazine.com SPRING 2016

ALPACA WORLD

NEWS

If you have news of events or developments within the alpaca industry which you would like to share with others please send it to: The Editor, Alpaca World Magazine, Vulscombe Farm, Pennymoor, Tiverton, Devon EX16 8NB, United Kingdom Email: info@alpacaworldmagazine.com

PLANS FOR EBV PROGRAMME IN UK THE BRITISH ALPACA SOCIETY has set up a Steering Group in to pull together a proposal to implement an EBV programme for the UK alpaca industry. The steering group consists of Mary Jo Smith, Nick Harrington Smith, Jay Holland, Libby Henson and Susan Myerscough. EBV stands for ‘estimated breeding values’ and is a way of speeding up genetic gain in the national herd. Similar schemes already exist in the alpaca industries of the USA and Australia and in most farmed livestock. The steering group is putting together a project plan with a timeline to identify the work which needs to be done, what expertise will be needed and finally to draw up a budget and costs for presentation to the Board. At the moment the genetic merit of an alpaca is evaluated by way if its pedigree, data like

histograms, evaluation of progeny from appearance, show wins and recommendations from other breeders.

GATHERING DATA EBVs provide objective tools by building a database of thousands of alpacas and then estimating the average difference between them. Most alpaca schemes concentrate first on fleece traits but can include traits like birth weight, growth rates, ease of birthing and so on. The EBV gathers in the data from histograms that are submitted to the company that does those measurements. As the database grows, it becomes clear which animals are producing better than average fleece traits so that selection can be done by genotype which is highly accurate and promotes maximum genetic gain. The performance data does have to allow for environmental

differences so the calculation, commonly known as BLUP, best linear unbiased prediction, is - a complex matrix of simultaneous equations that discounts or removes the effects so that the EBV of a particular animal is an approximation of its true genetic merit. It also incorporates information from all known relatives and uses a matrix that accounts for relationships among relatives in a herd or breed. Genetic improvement involves a number of things: Genetic variability: gains can be made when there is sufficient variation in a trait that exists in the gene pool. Selection intensity: replacement animals must exhibit improvement in traits of interest. Selection accuracy: traits under selection pressure must be heritable and you must be able to differentiate improved phenotype.

Generational interval: the more quickly a new generation replaces the previous the more rapid the gain.

GENETIC MERIT EBVs are expressed as deviations from the average population value, e.g. +0.5kg fleece weight or -1.6 microns AFD. They allow you to compare the genetic merit of animals for a specific trait so that the difference in EBV values is what is of interest. The accuracy depends on how heritable the trait is, the number of records used from the individual, relatives and progeny used in the evaluation and the level of genetic connectedness, relatives in different herds. Data needs to be collected each year on breeding females, stud males and their progeny so that the EBVs can be adjusted with the new information. This can make the accuracy very high.

EBVs allow you to compare the genetic merit of animals for a specific trait

THANK YOU to Shauna R Brummet, PhD, for the use of her slides on the EPD programme in the USA, first presented in the UK at the Alpaca Classic 2015. Shauna is the owner of Hobby Horse Alpacas, has served three terms on the board of Alpaca Registry Inc. and is President and CEO of BioHio Research Park at Ohio State University.

ALPACA WORLD

SPRING 2016

NEWS

“ALPACA FEVER”

Jane Powell of Alpacas of Spain warns of the dangers of streptococcal infections in alpacas. I RECENTLY IMPORTED eight alpacas from the UK, all were in perfect health and passed fit to travel as a requirement of TRACES documentation. They were transported from the UK with horses as is a common practice and as this was my third importation of alpacas from the UK. I was not expecting any problems. The other two imported groups of alpacas are here and doing very well. Delivery was on 5th March and all appeared to be well until the morning of Wednesday 9th March when to my shock I found a suri male dead in the field. A post mortem exam was carried out and tissue samples sent to the laboratory, streptococcal infection was found to be the cause of death. The eight alpacas were in quarantine paddocks unused for some eight weeks prior to delivery and I have never had a streptococcal infection nor have I ever kept any other livestock or horses in ten years. Thankfully, I have had no further streptococcal cases. The shock and distress this caused has been immense and not just to me. Determined to find out why a perfectly healthy alpaca used to transport, albeit not of this length, should die I contacted APHA and sent the post mortem report. A senior veterinary inspector at APHA replied that as qualified

veterinarians had passed the alpacas fit to travel and transporting with horses was perfectly legal there was nothing they could do. It was suggested Alpaca Fever may be to blame - I had never heard of it.

STUDIES Thank God for the internet, I found a study on Alpaca Fever by Matt Meisner DVM, MS, DACVIM and Meredyth Jones, DVM, MS, DACVIM and quote two short extracts. “Suspicion of S.equi.ssp. zooepidemicus should occur when there is acute death in llamas & alpacas where no clinical signs of illness existed prior to death.” “It is currently not known if horses may serve as a source of this bacterium to camelids or if camelids may serve as subclinical carriers. Until more is known about the epidemiology of S. equi spa. zooepidemicus in camelid herds, limited species mixing, quarantine of new animals and fomite disinfection are strongly encouraged.” Further investigation revealed that horses and streptococcal infections are no strangers and perfectly healthy horses can carry the bacteria in the nasopharynx. Obviously, I sincerely wish I had been better informed prior to transporting alpacas with horses and very much hope that other alpaca owners may learn from my misfortune.

AAFT TO SPONSOR ALPACA FIBRE TRIALS DURING THE 2016 BAS Fibre Seminar, Paul Vallely of AAFT announced the fibre testing firm had allocated GBP1,000.00 towards research to evaluate the benefits of pre and post natal nutrition of pregnant female alpacas. Paul stated the merino wool industry had found the strategy had profound benefits for fleece quality and density for the lifetime of consequent progeny. While there is now evidence this is the case for alpacas, the full benefits will only be achieved through alpaca specific research. Paul said he is now looking for other financial contributors to the project.

SPRING 2016

I wish I had been better informed prior to transporting alpacas with horses and hope other alpaca owners may learn from my misfortune ALPACA WORLD MAGAZINE ASKED BRITISH VETERINARIAN CLAIRE WHITEHEAD FOR HER COMMENTS ON THIS CASE: “Strep equi ssp zooepidemicus has been known to cause numerous deaths in alpacas. In all cases that I have been aware of, either through published literature, discussions with colleagues or personal contact with clinical cases, there has always been some documented contact with equids. It has been associated with contact with zebras in quarantine and also contact with other equines. “Strep zoo” is a commensal organism of the equine upper respiratory tract, meaning that it is a bug that is normally found there and does not cause clinical signs in horses. Transmission to alpacas (and humans) is thought to occur via the respiratory tract due to aerosol transmission. Strep zoo will then cause disease in exposed camelids: generalised

infections may cause signs of abdominal and/or respiratory problems and may be fatal. Most cases of disease in humans are also associated with contact with horses. In fact there was a very recent case of death in a human in the US. If asked about keeping alpacas with horses, I would typically warn people about the risk of Strep zoo transmission (including over fence-lines) as well as the more obvious risk of potential injury. I have not specifically heard of people shipping alpacas with horses before now, but I would not recommend it on the basis that these animals will be sharing the same airspace in pretty confined quarters and potentially for an extended period of time. This case certainly suggests that it is not to be recommended.”

NEW SHOW RISES IN THE EAST THE EASTERN ALPACA GROUP, one of the newest regional groups, is holding its first ever show on Friday 29th and Saturday 30th July 2016. This is a fleece show which will be held at the East Anglia Alpaca Mill (www. eastangliaalpacamill.co.uk) hosted by Emma Taylor and Chris Dell. Jay Holland of Pure Alpacas will be judging the fleeces on the Friday, assisted by Apprentice Judge Viv Darcy. On Saturday 30th July anyone can come to see the winning entries and listen to a talk from Jay about the qualities that judges look for in show

fleeces. There will be demonstrations of how to skirt a fleece and how to prepare and handspin alpaca fibre. A raffle, an exhibition of birds of prey and a limited number of places on tours of the Mill are also on offer. As well as the usual classes and championships there will be a special award for the best fleece from a current EAG member. Entries are through the BAS Pedigree Registry and fleeces need to be delivered to Hilly Ridge Alpacas www.hillyridgealpacas. co.uk by 25 July 2016. For more information contact Jo Bridge on hillyridge.alpacas@yahoo.com Telephone 0770 3005447.

ALPACA WORLD

NEWS

National’s grand in Telford FOR ANY ALPACA BREEDER there is always an air of excitement and anticipation surrounding the National Show, the 2016 UK National was no exception. The morning of March 4th arrived and Facebook came to life with photos of loaded trailers and show ready, if not mud free, alpacas. The UK’s alpaca breeders were headed to Telford. Having negotiated the odd snow storm and traffic jam arriving at the venue revealed the makings of a most prestigious event. The Telford International Centre is an impressive venue which lends itself well to a larger scale alpaca show. The hall accommodates the alpaca penning, two show rings, trade stands, fleece show, craft show and the all-important coffee vendors with ease. Having so much activity in the one space grants the show a sense of atmosphere and buzz befitting of a National Show. It also allows even the busiest of exhibitors to participate in the full National Show experience. The judging kicked off early given the large number of alpacas to be judged. The Huacaya ring was presided over by UK judge Mary-Jo Smith and AOA accredited Judge Jude Anderson. It was obvious both in and out of the ring that the judges were of like mind in their approach, which was both methodical and well-reasoned, leaving everyone with the sense their alpacas had been fully and fairly evaluated during the judging process. The Suri show saw UK judge Jay Holland and AAA accredited judge Angela Preuss take to the ring. Whilst the numbers may not have been as great the Suri ring was still a lively affair with some beautiful examples of the suri on display. Again the judges worked well together and offered breeders an insight into the exhibits before them. A credit to both judges and exhibitors alike was their ability to function in the somewhat Arctic conditions. The fleece show is also a big part of the National Show. This section had been judged the previous weekend by UK Judge Tim Hey and Jude Anderson.

ALPACA WORLD

The eventual Supreme Champion Huacaya Fleece was awarded to Houghton Master General owned by Houghton Hall Alpacas. Reserve Champion went to Snowshill Romulus II of Snowshill Alpacas. Romulus II also took Best British Huacaya Fleece. Supreme Champion Suri Fleece also went to Houghton Hall with Houghton Maddox. The reserve champion went to Pinkney Dragon of Pinkney. Pinkney Dragon also took Best British Suri Fleece. There was also the opportunity to see many of the wonderful creations people have produced using alpaca fibre. As the end product is all important it was wonderful to see such a broad array of uses on show both through the craft exhibits and some of the trade stands. The Gala dinner took guests back to the 1970s with Basil and Sybil Fawlty joining them for dinner, not to mention the delightfully dim Manuel! The evening in a nutshell? Guns were fired, congas danced and Ken Freivokh of Artwork Alpacas was quite literally served up on a platter. The big screen was also new to the National Show this year. This was first seen at Showtime in the autumn and they kindly offered to sponsor it at the 2016 National Show. It was a wonderful addition to the event and certainly added a touch of pizzazz to the look of the ring. Of course more importantly it does make the judging more interesting to spectators, whilst you certainly can’t judge key traits such as fineness and density, for example, you do get a sneak preview of what the judge is seeing as they open that fleece. The Supreme Championships in both the Suri and Huacaya saw an impressive group of alpacas take to the ring to vie for the respective titles of Supreme Champion Suri and Huacaya. It was a credit to the British industry as a

Suri Supreme Champion Popham Suri Carlos

Huacaya Supreme Champion Alpaca Farm Eggnog

whole to see such a diverse range of breeding and ownership represented in both line ups. In the Suri ring the coveted Supreme championship was awarded to Popham Alpacas and their male Popham Suri Carlos who was also the Champion White male and Best of British Suri. Attention then turned to the Huacaya ring. This saw the

Champion White Female Alpaca Farm Eggnog, owned by The Alpaca Farm, take the top accolade of Supreme Champion Huacaya. Eggnog was also awarded Best British Bred Huacaya. With the Supreme Sashes in place and the photographs taken the British Alpaca Society National Show 2016 was brought to an end for another year.

LUCK’S A LADY AT FIESTA THE HEART OF ENGLAND Spring Alpaca Fiesta was held on the 16th & 17th April at Bury Farm Equestrian Centre. Now in its eighth year and with a growing number of Exhibitors, some 300 entries produced very competitive classes. Judged by Nick Harrington-Smith, supported by Apprentice Judge Barbara Hetherington, the two days culminated in Bozedown Lady Luck taking Huacaya Supreme Champion, Best of British and Judge’s Choice. The Suri trophies were awarded to Wellow Aslans Woodland Warrior as Supreme Champion, Bozedown Shadow Dancer, owned by Miss Shirley Isseyegh, won Best of British whilst Judge’s Choices went to Bozedown Quechan.

SPRING 2016

Contact Roger Mount

on 01386 853 841 or 07711044106 Email: snowshillalpacas@btinternet.com Web: www.snowshillalpacas.com

Snowshill Alpacas,

Snowshill Hill Barn, Temple Guiting, Cheltenham, Gloucestershire GL54 5XX

Snowshill Beethoven

Snowshill Ciscero

sire: Virococha Prophecy of Anzac dam: Merungle Audrey of Anzac

sire: Eringa Park Lionheart of Cambridge dam: Silverstream Escudo of Anzac

Snowshill Maserati

Snowshill Oberon (Suri)

sire: Snowshill Orlando dam: Snowshill Felicity

Snowshill Peregrin

sire: Wessex Cosmos dam: Hermione of Willaston

Snowshill Raphael (Suri)

sire: Andean Legacy of I-Spy dam: Snowshill Letitia

sire: Snowshill Raphael dam: Bozedown Dividend

Blackmore Vale Shaston Prince

sire: Coricancha Fernando of Wessex dam: Patience

Snowshill Shadow Dancer

sire: ARU Cambridge Ice Cool Lad dam: Cambridge Chocolate Button

Snowshill Romulus II

sire: Snowshill Remus dam: Cambridge Chocolate Button

Snowshill Orlando

sire: Virococha Prophecy of Anzac dam: Snowshill Perdita

Snowshill Ramises

sire: EP Cambridge Navigator of Accoyo dam: Snowshill Alexandra

Snowshill Vivaldi

sire: Blackmore Vale Shaston Prince dam: Snowshill Abbigail

Above is a selection of our Stud Males available for services in 2016. Fees range from ÂŁ350 to ÂŁ750. Significant discounts apply for multiple matings. Progeny can be viewed. We also have a number of alpacas for sale from pet to show quality. Please phone/email for details. SPRING 2016

ALPACA WORLD

NEWS

VOLUNTEERS MAKE HAPERT SHOW A SUCCESS Marieke van Merwijk of Alpacas of the Lowlands FOR SOME TIME it was very unsure if there would be a Hapertshow 2016 in Holland . But fortunately late in 2015 it became clear that some hard working volunteers would make the Hapertshow 2016 happen. So March 19th and 20th , after some problems we couldnâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;t foresee, we made it to the Hapertshow with

six of our animals. Because of biosecurity measures the setting was different to previous years. But it all looked very professional, with large screens one could follow what the judge was seeing. The show was judged by Natasha Clark, from Victoria in Australia. She worked pleasantly her way through all the classes and explained very

clearly why number one of a class was number one! This year the organisation had changed the programme a little bit. In order to be able to show all colours both days, it was decided that Saturday was female day and Sunday would be the male day. Fortunately technology, again big screens, made it possible for us to be

ready on time with the right animals. At the end of the weekend the champions of this show were chosen, the suri AlpacaEiland Diamant and the huacaya Flanders Nike. Both well deserved. We ourselves were very proud to have won the Progeny class with our studmale Classical MileEnd Lysander ET.

CAPACITY SHOWING AT NWAG THE NORTH WEST ALPACA GROUP held its fourth annual alpaca championships on Saturday 2nd of April in Carlisle. Exhibitors from as far afield as Edinburgh and Suffolk ensured that the show had a capacity entry for BAS judge Nick Harrington-Smith and his apprentice Viv Darcy.

ALPACA WORLD

With numerous champions from the recent BAS National Show in the ring, the entry standard was high. However, despite their lack of expectation, it was new owners and first time exhibitors Fellside Alpacas who took Champion White Male, with their junior Left to right: Iain Smith with Fellside Odin, Kim Inglis with Beck Brow The Strategist, Fellside Odin. Odin also and Young Handler Rosie Chatelbell received the loudest is nearly eight years of age. Quite some debut. applause of the day, which may have been for the The Best of British Huacaya was awarded to look of shock on his ownerâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s face. Alpaca Farm Eggnog, an intermediate, who also The Huacaya Supreme Championship was took the White Female Championship. awarded to EP Cambridge Lady Gaga who is The Young Handler was judged by Jo Bridge owned by Beck Brow Alpacas of Cumbria. It was and awarded to Rosie Chatelbell, aged 8. the first time in the show ring for this female who

SPRING 2016

Bozedown Alpacas Established 1989

World Class Alpacas

Shear Excellence over 26 years

Generations of Intelligent Breeding - our sure foundation The Premier British Alpaca Breeder A wise choice for both established breeders and beginners.

World-Class Champion bloodlines for Legendary Stud Services Reliable pedigree breeding stock at fair prices.

A family-run farm with 27 years experience, caring for our alpacas and the environment

Pregnant Females Landmark Stud Males Geldings as stock protectors and fibre producers.

Beginnersâ&#x20AC;&#x2122; Day Courses throughout the year Next course: 15th June. Please see our website for details.

Bozedown Alpacas: a wise choice for both established breeders and beginners. Sales, Training, Follow-up support, Stud Services Please contact Mary-Jo Smith +44 (0)118-984-3827 +44(0)771-875-0303 maryjo@bozedown-alpacas.co.uk www.bozedown-alpacas.co.uk Just 7 miles north of M4, J12 SPRING 2016

Founding member of BAS and originating sponsor of the

ALPACA WORLD

A GOOD THING IS WORTH INSURING Armitage Livestock Insurance established since 1987, offering a wide range of bespoke insurance products to suit your needs including: Mortality Theft Public liability

Vet fees Worldwide transits Employers’ liability

Personal accident Farm buildings Equipment - Trailers

Please contact us so we can discuss your requirements Telephone: +44 1932 856486 Email: info@armitagelia.com Visit us at: www.armitagelivestockinsurance.co.uk www.facebook.com/ArmitageLivestock

Alpaca Feeds Mole Valley Feed Solutions produce two high quality Alpaca compound feeds in 3mm pellet form. Both diets have shown continuing success and now contain high levels of selenium.

The Alpaca Winter Pellets are formulated for balancing winter forage situations and are available from October to April.

Our high quality Alpaca feeds contain:

The Alpaca Grazer Pellets

• Cereals for high energy. • Sugar beet for quality fibre and palatability. • Fully mineralised to balance forages. • High levels of vitamins and trace elements for health and fertility.

Alpaca Winter Pellets

The Alpaca Grazer Pellets are available for the main grazing season.

Packed in 25kg plastic bags, these feeds are available for delivery direct to the farm in minimum 1 tonne lots or for collection from branch by prior arrangement.

For further information or to place an order call the feedline on 01278 444829

ALPACA WORLD

SPRING 2016

Australian National Show & Sale - ADELAIDE MEET THE FUTURE of Australian Alpaca as Adelaide welcomes the industry to the 2016 Australian Alpaca National Show & Sale scheduled for August 4 - 7. See, buy, sell and trade the finest elite alpaca bloodlines in the country. Connect with leading alpaca industry members from Australia and around the world, and together celebrate & build the inspiring smart future of

AAA-10015-R

Australian alpaca.

Globe Derby Park, ADELAIDE, SOUTH AUSTRALIA nationalshow.com.au An initiative of the Australian Alpaca Association

SPRING 2016

Australian Alpaca A S S O C

A T

I O N

ALPACA WORLD

SURI FOCUS GROUP

So what is a

ALPACA WORLD

SPRING 2016

SURI FOCUS GROUP

With suri alpacas being a niche market accounting for some 7-10% of the global alpaca population, people seem to think of them along the lines of Marmite…..they either seem to love them or they don’t. However, they are now starting to turn the heads of the previously stalwart huacaya breeders who are also beginning to see their commercial potential – something we suri folk already knew. Shirley Isseyegh writes.

“SNUG” Suri? Whilst still in its infancy “S.N.U.G” is keen to grow and develop through the input of suri enthusiasts

SPRING 2016

nown as “The Suri Focus Group” in a former life, a group of like-minded suri breeders would meet on equally rare occasions to discuss what more could be done to enhance the suri image. Unfortunately and for whatever reason nothing really developed despite a few ideas being thrashed about. Undaunted a band of hardened suri enthusiasts continued and agreed to meet up during the 2015 British Alpaca Futurity Show to see if there was some way to push things forward. It must never be forgotten that these regional groups are all volunteer led with their own herds to take care of along with businesses and family commitments so fast forward to the late autumn of 2015 when I was asked by the chairman, Neil Payne of West Wight Alpacas to help in getting things moving. Liaising with two leading suri breeders and judges, Nick Harrington-Smith and Mary-Jo Smith, a group charter was created which would then be sanctioned and recognised by BAS in conjunction with a bank account for the group which was to be called “The Suri Network UK Group” or “S.N.U.G” for short.

AIMS AND OBJECTIVES The Suri Network UK Group was created to promote and protect the interests of suri alpaca owners and breeders throughout the UK by: • Sharing information and experience • Keeping up-to-date with best practice • Facilitating practical self-help • Representing members’ interests. • Providing training • Promote Suri Alpacas to the benefit of the members. • To provide lines of communication to and from the British Alpaca Society Whilst still in its infancy “S.N.U.G” is keen to grow and develop through the input of suri enthusiasts and an annual membership is being offered at £20. We are also looking for volunteers who would be interested in embarking on this journey with us – the more interest we can generate the more SNUG can do for its membership and that of the Suri Alpaca in the UK. SNUG’s inaugural event was promptly devised and launched to show the commitment of the organisers to this new group. And what better way ALPACA WORLD

SURI FOCUS GROUP to get the ball rolling and 2016 off to a flying start than to plan a Suri Evaluation Weekend which would allow a rare opportunity to focus purely on suri and incorporate some obligatory networking and fun. Having put a course together led by Nick Harrington-Smith and Mary-Jo Smith it wasn’t long through the power of social media that places on the course were oversubscribed. However it wasn’t just a British contingent that braved a ferry crossing from as far afield as Cumbria and Norfolk but we also had delegates from Italy, Germany, Belgium and Switzerland; amongst them some dedicated huacaya breeders who wanted the opportunity under the tutelage of our international judges to gain more insight into these fascinating alpacas and the fibre they generate. To say we were overwhelmed by the response is an understatement and I’d like to personally thank all those who attended the course on the 6th and 7th February on the Isle of Wight. THE WEEKEND This was a course for all levels of experience, suri owners and potential owners alike with the primary focus being to gain a better understanding of suri fibre traits in order that we can all make better breeding decisions. This weekend was strongly focused on helping ensure breeding excellence in the UK/European suri herd based on substance rather than style. In addition to our main speakers we were also lucky to have Phil Allen from Two Rivers Mill give a presentation plus two representatives from the NFU, John Heather and James Osman. A group of 25 delegates convened on the Saturday morning where we were met by our tutors. Nick Harrington-Smith started the morning off with an introduction to Suri Alpacas

ALPACA WORLD

and outlined the course ahead. We were to link and rank the core fleece traits in the samples provided in a morning exercise through to full fleeces the following day. With our tutor’s experience going back some 16+ years and having some 400 Suri alpacas between them we knew we were in good hands. Nick also said that the exercise in prepping for the course was a good one, as personally he had been able to compare older fleeces from previous years to modern ones where he could see the progress made through improved breeding decisions. Which of course is what we all want as a breeder be it huacaya and or suri. We were told that by going back to basics, regardless of our varying levels of experience and knowledge that repetition lends itself to becoming second nature and thus there is a need for repetition. We were then told that Lustre has a depth to it which is indicative of a more uniform fleece which also makes it softer. Density is important as it is linked to fleece yield. Fineness is a key denominator of value and so has a buying worth. Histograms of course help us with our breeding decisions but we need to recognise the variation across the entire fleece so we need to train ourselves to use our hands and eyes across the whole animal. Nick reiterated “trust your hands, trust your eyes” as it is yield related.

We need to train ourselves to use our hands and eyes across the whole animal – Nick reiterated “trust your hands, trust your eyes” as it is yield related

A FINE YARN An interesting point also raised was that shearers apparently are not analysing animals sufficiently to determine where they start taking off the blanket to maximise the quality fibre, even though we are now seeing more uniform fibre lengths in neck fibre which is processable. With fineness dictating your yarn quality and bear in mind you need 35 fibres to create a yarn, having a

SPRING 2016

AAFT - EUROPE Alpaca Fibre Testing Specialists Vicarage Farm, Holt Green, Wimborne, Dorset BH21 7DH

Dani Allen Mobile: 07834 457782 Email: dani@aaft.com.au For booking forms, prices and information, please visit;

www.aaft.com.au

TRANSPORT LOC ALPACA Experts for the UK, Europe and Worldwide B Y R OA D. B Y S E A . B Y A I R .

• • • • •

Safe, stress free dedicated private charter and shared load transport All export documentation and overnight housing arranged if required Ifor Williams 511 trailers available for UK self-drive hire or with a driver Qualified, experienced and knowledgeable drivers Fully licensed and DEFRA approved

Tel: +44 (0)1306 710100 Email: info@locltd.com www.localpacatransport.com SPRING 2016

ALPACA WORLD

SURI FOCUS GROUP stronger micron would make it harder to create a fine yarn and thus micron accounts for 75-80% of the value in your processed yarn. “You don’t need a histogram to tell you which ones are good animals you need to train your eyes through repetition” says Nick. “Don’t assume that thicker fibres are guard hairs you don’t tend to see as many guard hairs on a suri compared to a huacaya so they tend to be less important in suri fibre as a whole. Fineness dictates your end use and you have to understand what you have got in your herd, sometimes trading off fineness and cutting weight. With organised fleeces tending to produce heavier cutting fleeces, learn to recognise the qualities you do have [e.g.] a fine animal with a small yield, that is within your breeding programme”. WHITE vs. COLOUR The topic of White vs. Colour in a breeding programme was raised. With white being by far the most versatile colour and the processors needing uniformity, it is this that we need as breeders to focus on regardless of whether we breed for colour or not. “We need these as objectives” says Nick “but be realistic about what is achievable. The commercial industry demands white so we need to be ahead of things and it’s not going to be easy to go back to whites from colours when prices go up”. Mary-Jo then adds “it depends on where your goals are as individuals as long as you know then it’s OK”. With Suri commanding a niche in the Alpaca industry marketplace [i.e.] 350,000 in the world if you then break this down into colours the numbers are really small so we can’t process in volume on an annual scale. “Evaluate, evaluate, evaluate” reiterates MaryJo who also says our fleece qualities according to science will stabilise by 5/6 years of age and then remain the same. “As breeders where are our intermediates and adults at? Shows aside we need to be evaluating all our animals” says Mary-Jo. This is backed up by Nick who says we need to “focus on things that give us high yields and be really clear as to why you are making your breeding decision, then you can move forward”. He continues to say “get a roadmap of where you want to go with your breeding programme but you have to work that out for yourself. The suri genetics are tighter than that of huacaya so there tends to be less of a swing in quality. Get a skill set that takes you back to the core traits. You can’t go anywhere without identifying those traits”.

on from this, we were given the opportunity of finding out how to properly skirt a fleece and thus add points to our score cards by bringing along our own bags of fleeces. Having now learned how to “evaluate, evaluate, evaluate” our fleeces and skirt them it was then time for the Two Rivers Mill to make their presentation and explain what the mill expects from us and what the worsted process is all about. Phil was able to bring along samples from the various stages of production for us to inspect and appreciate the various processes involved. The final day of the course was spent in helping us to understand and interpret the traits, balancing them against each other both on and off the alpaca. Put into groups and utilising our new found skills from the previous day we started with 1st fleece alpacas. We then moved on to intermediate and adult shorn suri evaluation, again weighting the core traits against unshorn alpacas of the same age and attempting to get it right. Having crammed a lot into the first day, Sunday was a little more leisurely in that we could use our time to also ask the tutors to revise any areas we weren’t quite sure of. Running a little ahead of time was a blessing to most of us as we were able to then catch an earlier ferry to return home and use whatever daylight still left to look at our own alpacas with our new found knowledge.

KEEP IN TOUCH

Suri Network

UK Group

S.N.U.G. will be putting on more events during the course of the year for both members and non-members. S.N.U.G. If you have any Membership only £20! suggestions Our Aims: for areas you - Promotion of Suri Alpacas - Sharing info would like to see rmation, experie nce & up-to-date best practice - Providing trai ning covered or if you - Facilitating practical self -help - Representin g member’s inte rests - Connecting like the sound of with B.A.S. the above course www.surialpaca. co.uk and would like info@surialp aca.co.uk to attend the next one please send your details to info@ surialpaca.co.uk You can also find us on Facebook and we will be putting together a website in due course www.surialpaca. co.uk Don’t forget membership is available for £20.

You don’t need a histogram to tell you which ones are good animals you need to train your eyes through repetition

EXERCISE TIME After a short interlude for refreshments the course continues with the delegates having to go through fleece samples on a number of tables, putting into practise what we had learnt from the first half of the morning. Starting with quite small fleece samples and progressing to larger ones we had to rank them in order of lustre, fineness and density. In another exercise we were asked to determine the top ranking fleece within each group of those put in front of us. Following 16

ALPACA WORLD

SPRING 2016

CME ELEGY Sire Bozedown Omen Standing at Stud

SPRING 2016

ALPACA WORLD

ROYAL ALPACAS

A BRUSH WITH

MY NAME IS SANDRA HOLMUDDEN. MY HUSBAND NILS-ARNE HOLMUDDEN AND I RUN ROYAL ALPACAS IN SWEDEN. OUR FARM IS LOCATED ON THE WEST COAST JUST OUTSIDE FALKENBERG. 18

ALPACA WORLD

SPRING 2016

ROYAL ALPACAS

The big boys at our farm: NAME FATHER Royal Chalfont Snowmass Quetzacoatl Royal Diplomat Alpaca Stud Gauthier Royal Baron Brown Snowmass Incan King Xxx Royal Crown Prince Snowmass Incan King Xxx Royal Conqueror Snowmass Invincibly Elite XX Alpaca Stud Gauthier Dovecote Jaquinto of Alpaca Stud

SPRING 2016

ALPACA WORLD

ROYAL ALPACAS

ur journey with alpacas began in 2003, I had seen alpacas on the internet, and they caught my interest. We were going to visit good friends in England and I had read that in England there were quite a number of alpacas. I called our friends, and asked if they could try to find a farm that we could visit. We had to see them, feel them and get to know more about these amazing animals. They found a man who was kind to receive us. He had many alpacas and lived barely an hour from them. We had an exciting day with the alpacas, and we got a lot of useful information. At this time we were looking for a larger farm as we had been breeding Arabian horses for many years, and we needed more land. The idea of alpacas faded in the search for our new farm. We eventually found our dream farm on the west coast, right by the sea, in Falkenberg. The idea of having alpacas came to life again in 2008, and we started looking seriously. We travelled to the USA and Australia to look at alpacas and took in as much information that we could. We wanted also to return to England and the man we visited several years earlier. Only one problem! What was his name? After searching on the internet, I found a picture of him from an Alpaca show in USA. Oh, he was a judge! Nick Harrington-Smith remembered that special couple from Sweden, and their English friends that took up an entire day for him five years earlier. The males in the morning

ALPACA WORLD

PEDIGREES I started to study pedigrees and we made many trips to England to find the group of pregnant females, that would be our start. We were also looking for the right male for our breeding programme. The male that we chose was Alpaca Stud Gauthier, a son of Dovecote Jaquinto of Alpaca Stud. A choice that has been a success for us. Today we have 30 alpacas, we are investing in breeding alpacas of high quality. We want to provide good support and help to our customers. We have a conference area on our farm, where we can run courses ourselves, but also bring in lecturers. Our choice of male, Alpaca Stud Gauthier, has meant a lot to our successful breeding program. Our own breeding Royal Baron Brown, the son of Snowmass Incan King Xxx, is also the father of very nice offspring. We exported alpacas to Lithuania last year and a fine male by Gauthier was included. We are happy that Gauthier’s genetics live on in a new country And we are very happy what we have done so far, with relatively few alpacas. We have received numerous class winners, multiple reserve champions and multiple Champions in both Halter class shows and Fleece shows. A very special moment was last year when we came 1st with Alpaca Stud Gauthier and 2nd with Royal Baron Brown in the progeny class. It´s all in the breeding!

Royal Emir

Royal Florett

THE FLEECE CHALLENGE We are passionate about breeding, we have bred Arabian horses for many years. To make it even more complicated by bringing in additional component “The fleece” in the breeding work was a challenge. There is much to learn about the alpaca fleece, and I have spent many hours with Nick & Terry at The Alpaca Stud, learning about breeding, birthing, shearing, skirting, and looking at fleeces, and so much more. Nick has been a good mentor for us. Another good way to learn is to process the fleece yourself, then you understand and experience the fleece various grades, the handle, fineness, lustre. I have always loved knitting, but after starting work with alpaca fleece, it got a whole new meaning. My daughter Evelyn and I are now spinning yarn, knitting, crocheting and felting. Creating products from our own alpacas is such a big reward, and acknowledgement, that the breeding programme is on the right path. To knit small samples and show them to people, who don’t know anything about alpaca fleece, so they can feel what an incredible difference there may be in really fine yarn quality, and it becomes like a Aha experience for everybody. I bought my first alpaca yarn many years ago, I thought it would be so soft, it was not a nice yarn. My geldings give me 100 times softer yarn now. We also run Agerörs Bed & Breakfast and the alpacas are a joy for our guests. It’s a known fact

Royal Conqueror

SPRING 2016

ROYAL ALPACAS

that if you look at an alpaca it puts a smile on your face! The interest in alpacas in Sweden is increasing. The breeding has progressed with great success. We can see that clearly in our shows. But there is still much to do to increase the knowledge about alpacas, how to take care of them, but especially about the fleece. The desire to learn more is big among many alpaca owners, and that is very positive. And we invite highly skilled lecturers and top judges to our shows. We are partners in an expansive construction company where Nils-Arne works. The company is building several hundred houses and apartments per year. In the near future the company will go public. That gives Nils-Arne the possibility to within a few years work less and work more at the farm. We have an employee on our farm, Åsa Nyström. She has worked with Arabian horses, and has a great feel for animals. Åsa had never been in contact with alpacas before, but she was soon in love with them and they with her. We also breed Arabian horses under the name Sandra ArabianS. Currently, we have only two horses at our farm. Our Arabian horses, mares and fillies, are in England, where they will be bred and trained to be shown at shows in Europe. We also have a stallion that is being leased to Italy during 2015-2016 THROUGH THE SEASONS Now spring is coming, but in the north of Sweden it is still below zero, and a lot of snow. We have a barn with free access for our alpacas, so they

can choose whether they want to be outside or inside. When the temperature rises, they choose to be outside even at night. During the coldest time in winter they like to go inside and then we close them in at night and also when it is raining and very windy. We shear our alpacas in May, and in May and June, we want our crias to be born. A Swedish summer may be amazing with temperatures between 25-30 degrees. Our location right by the sea makes that we always have a nice sea breeze that sweeps into our yard. Our alpacas have great fun with their lazy days in the sun. When autumn comes, we have the disadvantage that it can be really windy, but then the alpacas can take shelter in their cosy barn. We rarely get really cold temperatures during the winter, but -20 maybe, for a few weeks and some snow. Alpacas do not mind the cold and snow. We give them extra hay and pellets, so they don’t lose weight during these cold months. We have a large barn with 10 horse boxes and we always have the young ones in during the night, when they leave their mothers at the age of six months. Then we have good control of their eating, and can check that they put on weight as they should. We also take time to train them to walk on the halter. We bring in all alpacas into the stable when we weigh them, trim the toenails, vaccinations and when we breed them. We use the software Alpaca Manager and enter all the data for each individual. We have 50 hectares of land. We grow various grains and also hay for our horses and alpacas. The rest of the land is divided into paddocks for horses and alpacas.

The females

A DESIRE TO LEARN A register for Swedish alpacas is working now. Everything is done on a voluntary basis, so takes a little more time. Nowadays there are some spinning mills that we can send our fleece to. We live in a very long country, so there are long trips for us alpaca breeders if we want to meet. More regional groups are necessary to make it easier to develop and help business go forward in Sweden. I want to send a big thank you to all those enthusiasts who are working on, to put Sweden on the map of the Alpaca world! There have been many trips to England for us after we started with our alpacas, and we have been to many wonderful shows. A special memory was the first time I showed an alpaca, it was at The British Alpaca Futurity, I was so nervous. I knew nothing about how to show an alpaca. I thought I will never fix it. But Nick said, you are used to dealing with Arabian stallions, and this is like taking a walk in the park. Oh yes it was! It is so much easier to work with alpacas than horses. It is a great joy I feel when I get to show alpacas, I love it, and I learn so much when I can see and hear what the judge is saying. And to take part of the fantastic breeding England has today, to look and feel the fleece on one champion after another. But of course, I still love my beautiful horses. We have made so many wonderful new friends in England, and we constantly learn new things about this very special animal that we all love so much. We always look forward to our next trip to England!

Royal Elisabeth

Our beautiful Arabian stallion Rohara Bacara

Swedish National Show 2015

ALPACA WORLD

SPRING 2016

RO AE

H – 7X CHA SMIT M

PI O N!

! ON PI

5 AOA GRAY C 201 HA

SPRING 2016

S– NI

ALPACA WORLD

SHEARING

By Rachel Hebditch.

It is that time of year again, the culmination of a year’s work and a chance to maximise your fleece yield. To do that you need to skirt the fleece as it comes off the animal and remember that with shearing different coloured animals – cleanliness is next to godliness. Remember, you are in charge of the shearing, it is your crop, and you should discuss with the shearer how you want the animal shorn and how you are going to run the shearing shed. Why do we shear? It is all about the production of quality fibre, a financial return for the owners and the health of the alpacas as their fleece has no natural growth stop. First book your shearer, second wheel in all the helpers/volunteers you will need for shearing and skirting the fleeces. Next get all the equipment you will need. This will include a brush, a hoover, skirting table, scales, bins, rubbish bags, absorbent towels, bale bags, polythene bags for the fleeces, fibre sample bags, pens and pre-printed labels. If the shearer is not providing it, super glue for any cuts, antibiotic spray, teeth trimming equipment, toenail clippers and any medication. Don’t forget a first aid kit for the human team along with plenty of cold drinks, tea, coffee and lunch.

ALPACA WORLD

SPRING 2016

COLIN OTTERY One of The Original Alpaca Shearers Alpaca Shearing Since 2005

Having worked with animals all of my working life, I started alpaca shearing in 2005 and regularly teach on alpaca shearing training courses, including training in Norway last year. Over the years, Iâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;ve developed my own technique and continue to work on improving and honing my skills. Alpaca shearing should be about technique and being in tune with the animal, I strive to create a calm shearing experience for the animal and owner!

Colin Ottery: The Alpaca Shearer Alpaca Shearing Since 2005 Please telephone for a friendly and professional service with competitive rates 01884 38782 / 07773 440354 Email: alpaca2shear@yahoo.co.uk SPRING 2016

Last year I was honoured to be invited to undertake the first ever alpaca shearing demonstration at the Devon County Show which was very successful and drew large crowds. This year I have also been invited to carry out alpaca shearing demonstrations at the Bath and West Show. I travel to France, Belgium and Norway to carry out alpaca shearing. In this country my shearing patch covers from Lands End to Birmingham and includes many alpaca breeders. I have many loyal customers whose alpaca I have shorn each year since 2005 and like to think this is testament to the quality of shearing service that I provide. Teeth and toenail trimming are included in the shearing price. I am also able to provide ultrasound scanning for pregnancy in alpaca, out of the shearing season. If you are looking for an experienced and established alpaca shearer, please contact me.

ALPACA WORLD

SHEARING PREPARATION As shearing approaches try and keep the alpacas protected from vegetation and environmental contamination. Do not put them in fields where grass has recently been topped, absolutely no bonfires as they are bound to roll in the ash or sandpits. Keep the animals dry as if you shear them wet, you will then have to dry the fleeces. Give some thought to the shearing area layout and flow to maximise efficiency and reduce any stress for the alpacas and make sure the floor is solid, smooth and free of debris. Plan to keep children and pets clear of the area and do a risk assessment of possible hazards. Try and use mechanical cleaning equipment to remove any chance of cross fibre contamination. Do not use blowers. Arrange your alpacas so that shearing goes in colour order, white through to black, and if possible age order so that the youngsters go first. This will help in removing cross contamination and reduce the amount of between-alpacas clearing up. Always clean up between animals and clean up even more thoroughly when you change colours. Remain calm and respectful to the alpacas and release them back to their group as quickly as possible. Be conscious that a shorn alpaca has lost his or her thermal blanket and that very hot or cold, wet weather may mean the animals need short term housing. Most specific alpaca combs have a lifter built in to leave some fleece remaining. Shearing sheds and equipment can pose a breach in biosecurity management by offering an increased risk of disease or parasite transmission. The shearer should have thoroughly disinfected his equipment. It is much easier to take a mid side fibre sample before shearing the animal begins and once the animal is restrained. Take enough fleece so that you can divide the sample in half, sending half

ALPACA WORLD

off to the lab, keeping the other half for yourself. It is a good way to learn what that particular micron count feels and looks like once you have the results. ASSESSMENT Make sure your shearer assesses where the alpaca’s prime saddle fibre areas stop. If he starts too low much more skirting will be required. The shearer should take off the saddle fleece first which should be removed to the skirting table immediately. To avoid second cuts the shearer should not go back and ‘tidy up’ the animal until the saddle is off. Neck fibre must be bagged separately from the saddle. The neck fibre from younger animals is often of high quality and long enough for processing. But older animals may well have shorter neck fibre and if it is less than three inches long is not usable in yarn production. Exactly the same criteria apply to the saddle. If it is coarse, over 26 micron, and short it is not suitable. Chest, belly and leg fibre should be bagged, not thrown away, as it is used to make duvets, pillows and cushions. Ideally all the white and off white fleeces for the duvet department go together and all the colours in another bag. If you skirt as you go, the fleece will be much more saleable. When unskirted fleeces are bagged,

coarser fibres from the edges of the blanket are likely to contaminate the better areas of the fleece and down grade it. When you skirt you are trying to present to the buyer or processor a consistent, uniform fleece with coarser edges removed and any very obvious contamination. That might be poo, hay or straw. It is better not to pick through the fleeces trying to remove every tiny bit but to just remove the area that is contaminated. Good luck, enjoy, and if you want to sell your fleece, please contact UK Alpaca on 01884 243579 or info@ukalpaca.com

SPRING 2016

ALPACA WORLD

FLEECE SCORECARD

As the American alpaca industry works toward commercialisation of fibre into a legitimate livestock industry, it is worth reminding breeders and growers where the commercial fleece buyers focus their interest and pricing models. By Ian Watt of Alpaca Consulting USA.

MAGIC NUMBERS

A COMMERCIAL ALPACA FLEECE SCORECARD

t is clear that showing alpacas in the US is becoming less and less attractive as a business model, which is leading to more activity in the non-pedigree expansion of the industry. Shows are declining in numbers, the number of exhibitors seems to be flattening out and registrations falling every year. Add to these flags the increasing number of alpacas being offered to terminal markets and the widening acceptance of alpaca meat as being a friendly addition to red meat consumers with its low cholesterol, low fat, high iron and tastiness, and it is clear that commercialisation is happening before our very eyes whether we want it or not. So we have an industry based on fibre production, an increasing demand for volume purchases, an increasing understanding of better processing practices â&#x20AC;&#x201C; and a very large number of breeders and growers who have been brought up on halter and fleece shows but with little understanding of what a commercial industry is looking for. COMMERCIAL BREAKS Developing a way to illustrate what commercial buyers look for led to the creation of the National Commercial Alpaca Fleece Show several years ago where fleeces were evaluated on processing criteria. This year the show will have a Scorecard for the first time so growers will get a written evaluation for their fleeces while to prize-money will be

ALPACA WORLD

allocated on dollar value as in the past. The aim of the show is to reward different classes of fibre and not have different fleeces (by fibre diameter, for example) competing against each other â&#x20AC;&#x201C; the only reward a grower gets is the value a buyer places on the fleece and this value is determined by market demand, supply and opportunity. Breeders and growers need to understand that buyers have no interest in where the fibre comes from, what the animal looks like, what the breeding goals of the breeder are, how the bales are filled or what the adjusted fleece weight looks like - all they are interested in is what the grower is offering. If we are looking at what traits a commercial buyer looks for in a fleece, weight is not one of them. Weight is what they pay for, not what they look for... The problem with weight is that most (if not all) shows make an adjustment for weight based on 365 days of growth when the commercial buyer has no interest in that number. If a grower chooses to shear at 340 or 380 days, it matters not one jot to the buyer, as it is the growers choice to shear at whatever days growth they want. Accordingly, there are no points for fleece weight on the scorecard. The characteristics that determine value include micron, length, uniformity (Standard Deviation) while contamination (colour and vegetable matter (VM) ), tensile strength with variation in length, colour and micron creating pricing penalties. SPRING 2016

SPRING 2016

ALPACA WORLD

FLEECE SCORECARD FINENESS Micron usually determines price paid and that is driven by popular demand and individual product demands. It is worth noting that lower micron fleeces, when not of good length, off dense alpacas is often not as financially rewarding as some stronger descriptions.

The standard AFD (Average Fibre Diameter) as measured along the whole of length (OFDA 2000 or minicore Laserscan or OFDA 100) is the arbiter of fineness. Classes are defined by this measurement.

20 POIN TS

UNIFORMITY OF MICRON There is a substantive argument that uniformity is best expressed in SD (Standard Deviation), CV (Co-efficient of Variation, micron) or SF (Spin Fineness) and all three measurements (calculation in the case of CV and SF) are supplied on test histograms. The question of which is moot on a scorecard will draw criticism/approval whatever the choice – in this card Spin

Fineness has been identified as the selection for uniformity, a number buyers are already familiar with in the wool industry; the higher the difference between AFD and SF, the more uniform the fleece. Uniformity in micron is highly sought after by high-end buyers who are driven by excellence in yarn manufacture, and by default, high-end consumers.

UNIFORMITY OF STAPLE LENGTH The oft-overlooked staple length contribution to value is due to a number of factors: • the weakest points in a yarn is a fibre end so longer fibres create stronger yarns, fewer ends create stronger yarns and fewer fibre ends reduces pilling in the finished product • modern processing mills can handle longer staple length

using the worsted system • uniform lengths allow for finer yarns and a tighter twist • length is also a major contributor to weight and so influences financial returns. It follows then that uniformity in length is an important buying metric.

COMFORT FACTOR As the premium market preference is fibre with a CF of better than 95% it is important to recognise that pricing point preference. Fleeces with a CF of 90 and under would attract a penalty of 10 points making each 1% drop in CF from 100 a 1-point penalty.

Buyers are acutely aware of Comfort Factor, especially when the end-product is intended to be worn close to the skin – Numbers under 95% will certainly attract a solid discount in the price offered for those fleeces.

TENSILE STRENGTH The ability of fibre to withstand the strains imposed by the processing machinery is a very important consideration of buyers – after all, who would buy fleece only to have the

finished yarn show abnormal loose ends and not withstand normal wear and tear on the end user?

COLOUR CONTAMINATION Uniformity of colour (purity) is of paramount importance – stray off-colour hairs require overdyeing and so an added cost in production, which is usually/always passed back to the grower as the producer of an inferior product. Over-dyeing

also produces an inferior product for which the fleece was acquired so there is a double whammy for the buyer.This is particularly so in white and black where overdyeing becomes necessary with even the slightest trace of contamination.

BRIGHTNESS OR LUSTRE Brightness or lustre (the two terms are not usually interchangeable) are indicators rather than an important objective measure – the degree of each trait are indicators

of uniformity of micron, scale height, lack of soil and VM penetration and alignment (itself a measure of density).

TOTAL I am sure this card will ignite a spirited conversation between fleece show supporters and alpaca breeders and growers alike …. Please, remember it is 30

ALPACA WORLD

20 POIN TS

10 POIN TS

POIN TS

100 POINTS an attempt to put selection pressure on economic traits for growers who want a positive financial return on their alpaca investment. SPRING 2016

www.camelidcompletefeed.co.uk

08456 076 559

Camelid Complete Feeds The winning formula The only UK Company specializing in the Nutrition of Alpacas • • • • • • •

Developed in Association with Experienced Camelid Veterinary Surgeons Advanced formulation of Minerals and Vitamins (Rich in Selenium & A, D & E) Natural Goodness from First Grade Non GM ingredients Maximises Health and Fleece Production Designed to complete a Forage Rich diet Breeding & Rearing Formula allows for a forage intake of 85%+ Low Sugar Content

Stocked by: Aberdeenshire Berkshire Cheshire County Durham Cumbria North Cumbria Derbyshire Devon / Cornwall Dorset Gloucestershire Isle of Wight Kent Lincolnshire Norfolk Northern Ireland

Longleys Country Stores Scotfield Alpacas Barlows (Henbury) Teesdale Alpacas Greenside Alpacas Askerton Castle Alpacas The Alpaca Partnership Trekeek Alpacas Marshwood Vale Alpacas Atkins Alpacas Bathingbourne Alpacas Court Farm Animals Ltd Homefield Alpacas Alpacas of Norfolk Amberley Alpacas

01771 619035 01344 459289 01625 422489 07976 423258 01539 567922 01697 73332 01298 813323 01840 212212 01297 678181 01453 731023 01983 863537 01233 750528 01507 450804 01263 861541 02885 548138

North Wales Oxfordshire NE Scottish Borders SW Scottish Borders Shropshire S. Ireland, Co Meath South Wales Staffordshire Stirlingshire Wiltshire Worcestershire North Yorkshire NW Yorkshire Belgium Normandy, France

Vistacell®

ImprovIng rumen effIcIency

Bio-mos®

prebIotIc promotIng a healthy rumen

Sodom Alpacas 01532 720382 Sapphire Alpacas 01295 721320 Lavender Bee Alpacas 01361 882426 Gilmour Bank Alpacas 01387 811625 Jupiter Alpacas 01939 235056 Westwind Alpacas 0868 526300 Welsh Valley Alpacas 01792 781070 Trentbridge Alpacas 01543 474920 Mr Brian Frew 07974 916969 Ashwood Alpacas 07977 889262 Temevale Alpacas 01584 781352 Moorside Alpacas 01751 432677 Daleside Alpacas 01423 712990 Alpaca Tumulus 0032 (0) 47 57 71 819 Lypiatt Alpacas 0033 23 35 90 358

Feed Camelid Complete Breeding & Rearing Formula and SEE thE DIFFERENCE For further information - telephone 08456 076 559 or contact your local stockist

SPRING 2016

ALPACA WORLD

UK FLEECE COLLECTION

Bring ’em all in

Rachel Hebditch reports on a new fleece collection initiative in the UK.

Alpaca has set up a number of fleece collection centres around the UK. Breeders who would like to sell their fleece should contact the centre involved by phone or email to book their delivery. UK Alpaca manufactures a range of hand and machine knitting 4-ply and double knit yarns that are natural or dyed and have full provenance. Breeders who sell their fleece to UK Alpaca can buy back yarns at wholesale rates with no minimum order quantity. The fleece is sent to Vulscombe Farm in Devon where it is hand graded by colour and fineness before being sent to the north of England for processing. There is no waste as coarse, short fleeces and leg or belly are all sold to duvet manufacturers in the UK or Europe.

Skirted fleeces attract a higher price at £12 a kilo plus VAT for baby grade white, £8 a kilo plus VAT for fine grade white; £8 a kilo plus VAT for baby grade colour, £5 a kilo plus VAT for fine grade colour and 0.45p a kilo for 2nds, 3rds, fleeces that are less than three inches long and those that are over 26 micron. We buy huacaya fleece in all colours apart from multicoloured animals. The fleece should be dry and free of moth infestation. Baby grade is likely to be 22/21 micron and under and fine is likely to be 22 to 26 micron. All grading is done by hand and by handle and it is the feel of the fleece that will determine its grade. The fleece length needs to be a minimum of three inches. This is a requirement of the worsted spinning process. Short and coarse fleeces, short neck, shearing

waste and skirtings can be used and should be bagged together by colour. The blanket fleece should be presented in clear plastic bags with the neck bagged separately and the bags labelled clearly with your name and address. As we grade in colour order it is much easier for us to group the bags in a particular colour if the bag is see through. Breeders will be given a receipt for their fleece by the collection centre. Once the fleece is graded, a grading sheet is sent detailing the fleece weights and grades and monies owed. The breeder should then invoice UK Alpaca for the relevant amount. If none of these collection points is convenient please get in touch on 01884 243579 or email info@ukalpaca.com

UK ALPACA COLLECTION POINTS 2016 Name

Postcode

Location

Phone

Liz Giblin / The Alpaca Shop

CM5 0QL

Ongar

liz@butlersfarmalpacas.co.uk

01277 896565

UK Alpaca Ltd

EX16 8NB

Tiverton

info@ukalpaca.com

01884 243579

Jay & Hilary Holland / Pure Alpacas

GL19 4EU

Tirley, Gloucs

jay@purealpacas.co.uk

07789 257222

Linda Lyons / Clover Park Alpacas

NG16 5HJ

Nottingham

williamlyons@btinternet.com

07976 961376

Nick Harrington-Smith / The Alpaca Stud

RH20 2LP

Pulborough

nick@alpacastuduk.com

07979 651742

Jenny MacHarg / Fowberry Alpacas

YO60 7PQ

York

info@fowberry-alpacas.com

01653 618100

Chris Deakin / Charnwood Forest Alpacas

LE12 9YB

Charley

chris@pukapacas.com

075977 03492

Sue Myerscough / Alpacas of Wales

SA44 4PX

Llandysul

susan@alpacasofwales.com

07796 678637 or 01545 590361

Garry Naish / Oakview Alpacas

GL12 8PQ

Wotton-Under-Edge

oakviewalpacas@aol.com

07785 116211

Phil Allen / 2 Rivers Mill

BH21 7DH

Wimborne

phil@tworiversmill.com

07802 442228 or 01202 639294

THERE IS NO WASTE AS COARSE, SHORT FLEECES AND LEG OR BELLY ARE ALL SOLD TO DUVET MANUFACTURERS IN THE UK OR EUROPE 32

ALPACA WORLD

SPRING 2016

Friday October 7th and Saturday October 8th Breed Judge: Natasha Clark Fleece Judge: Kate Mander

Canterbury Show Grounds – RDA Building Christchurch, New Zealand

Join us for New Zealand’s largest and most prestigious Alpaca Show • National Breed Show • National Fleece Show • Gala Dinner & Auction • Trade Sites • Public Activities and More…

The website www.alpacaexpo.co.nz is the best place to find out all the info. Updates are being made regularly.

SPRING 2016

ALPACA WORLD

ADVERTORIAL: AANZ

National Alpaca Expo 2016 Christchurch, New Zealand, 7th & 8th October 2016

ALPACA WORLD

xcellence will be on display at New Zealand’s premier alpaca event, the 2016 National Alpaca Expo, to be held in Christchurch in the beautiful South Island of New Zealand. It will be held over two days on Friday the 7th October & Saturday 8th October. It is New Zealand’s largest alpaca event on the national calendar and brings together all facets of the industry under one roof. Supremacy will certainly be highly sought after amongst the cream of competition in both breed and fleece classes in the National Show, while many sites and displays showcase both the current usage and potential of the wonderful alpaca product. The Alpaca Association New Zealand Inc, extend a warm invitation to you to attend this premier event. We look forward to being your host and taking the opportunity to garner alpaca enthusiasts from around New Zealand, and indeed all over the world, in a modern purpose built venue with a generous floor area of 3200 square metres (80m x 40m) for a celebration of “all things alpaca”. The first National Show was held in 2004 and the on-going focus has been in promoting excellence. This year’s event is expected to attract over 300 breed and 150 fleece entries as the SPRING 2016

ADVERTORIAL: AANZ

The feature this year is the Creative Alpaca 2016 display with a side heading of ‘for the love of all things alpaca’ best of the best compete for National honours. As the quality improves year upon year, a new generation will be looking to take their best shot at glory against the current Champions and established elite. On site and bringing alpaca product to the public will be a vast array of very compelling trade stands and displays. There will also be continuous commentaries, entertainment, food and beverage and a host of other activities to entertain all. The feature this year is the Creative Alpaca 2016 display with a side heading of ‘for

the love of all things alpaca’. The format is an open entry criteria, meaning anyone may enter. There is no process limit and no size limit. It truly is an opportunity to let the imagination and inspiration take control and pronk its way into a new dimension. The evening’s entertainment revolves around socialising, starting with a casual sausage sizzle on Thursday evening. It provides an opportunity to catch up with friends both old and new, speculate on the days ahead and see what is happening in the New Zealand industry. Friday evening features the

National Show gala dinner for formal dining with exquisite food and company. Sponsorships are still available in many categories such as; the National Show, the evening events, Creative Fibre 2016, and more. How better to maximize your return on investment than by becoming a sponsor at New Zealand’s largest alpaca show? What other event or advertising brings together such a targeted audience for two action packed days? With a more positive mood emerging in the economy and within alpaca circles, alongside huge potential for the future, now is the perfect time to promote your alpaca stud farm in a positive and cost effective way. So, how about it? Why not treat yourself to a well earned break, maybe with a group of like-minded friends and combine your passion with a wonderful South Pacific holiday? Take the opportunity to see how it’s done down under and chat with equally passionate alpaca folk striving to produce the best of both alpaca and its associated products. The spectacular scenic backdrop of the South Island of New Zealand is merely a bonus! For more information please visit www.alpacaexpo.co.nz

SPRING 2016

ALPACA WORLD

LETTER FROM FRANCE

Letter from

FRANCE

It has been a busy time at the farm over the past few months, write Nigel and Ginny Cobb of Europa Alpacas

Ginny with Lili post op and Coralie

ALPACA WORLD

SPRING 2016

LETTER FROM FRANCE

Back to REALITY V

eterinary assistance, sales and a holiday for us. Sounds like nothing really, but it has been hectic and we could not have managed it all without the excellent support of Christopher Sands. He and his friend David came to look after the farm, alpacas, dogs and cats whilst we had a fabulous three week holiday discovering Thailand and Zanzibar; he has since stayed on. I say ‘discovering’, which is slightly misleading as we spent most of the time on two lovely beaches or by our pool watching the world go around. But it allowed us to recharge our batteries which was wonderful and much needed. The French agricultural department still seem intent on taking no notice of alpaca and llama breeders whilst they set up a compulsory registration – called a ‘decret’ – supposedly to safeguard the public from disease. Those having to deal with DEFRA will know how difficult it is dealing with agricultural civil servants, but the French system seems to have taken absolutely no notice of those who know what they are talking about – not even AFLA the main association in France. But it may well be ‘much ado about nothing’ as there seem

Reana Regis’s farm in winter in the Italian Alps

to be no powers in the legislation to fine, or even behead, transgressors! However our advice is to register all alpacas already in France or coming this way, with LAREU. This is not a breed registry, like the BAS; it is just a basic registry that can only be accessed by the owner of the alpaca. Of course for the serious breeder this is not much help, but is better than nothing. PLEASED TO MEET YOU We have met some great breeders recently and sold many of our females to them. One of them is Reana Regis who owns a lovely farm in Northern Italy nestling in the Alps. She now has some great genetics from our herd. She bought some 20 females and cria from us. Negotiations took four months and she collected them in January. We have dealt with wonderful people in developing our business and Reana is certainly up there with the best. It is also great to deal with someone who knows what they want, and happily we could supply. We are looking forward to a visit to her farm later in the year, when birthing our alpacas allows us so to do. Céline Seban runs a farm in the foothills of the Pyrenees, sort of between Toulouse and Bordeaux. An ideal location for alpacas. It is wonderful to see her enthusiasm and commitment to these animals. A couple of years ago she bought a stud male from us and this time we delivered four pregnant ladies to her in March. We are really excited with what she has achieved in this short time. Please take time to read her story.

SPRING 2016

ALPACA WORLD

LETTER FROM FRANCE COMING BACK TO LIFE On our farm we have had a number of quite exceptional events. As many already know, Godswell Poppy was born on 3rd April 2015, just over a year ago as we write this. She was born at 3.1 kilos, the smallest cria of the 100 odd that we have birthed in the last five years here in France. Only two have survived when weighing less than 4.0 kilos at birth, so it is a remarkable story. Her first week was traumatic and she was on oxygen for four days. She had peritonitis, pericarditis and a number of other problems including septicaemia. Many different antibiotics and three plasma transfusions were needed. Those who know us will not be surprised to learn that she was in our bed for most of that time. She needed care on a minute by minute basis. She stopped breathing nine times in her first 36 hours and nine times Ginny gave her mouth to mouth resuscitation. And nine times she came back to us. Gradually she managed to gain strength and weight with the care she received. Clearly her mum could not look after her, so we knew we would have to bottle feed her until weaning. A lot of work, but that is the life of an alpaca breeder. Gradually she became more independent and part of the class of 2015. During this period we were fortunately helped by our lovely ‘workawayers’ – Artur and Krete, Jessica

and Sarah who all kept us smiling and motivated through those stormy weeks. Now Godswell Poppy is a yearling and weighing in at 43 kilos. She is wonderful, independent and just takes us for granted. Those who don’t know about her would not see anything special in her – except a lovely yearling with a good fleece and excellent conformation. But to us she is extremely special and will always have a place in our hearts. Maybe later in the summer we will introduce her to a stud male but for the moment she can enjoy the spring grass, her mates and the frequent hugs from us. We have an old girl, Sita, who is past her breeding days and has gone blind in one eye. The other eye was getting bad and after many different ‘lotions and potions’ we called in one of our vets, Dr Matthieu Cremoux – he is an eye specialist, especially equine, and frequently operates on eyes in Toulouse with the veterinary clinic there. He diagnosed Immune-mediated Keratitis, a condition that requires drugs into the eye twice a day for her life. An implant has been developed by an American university which slowly releases the drug called Cyclosporine, so a couple of these have now been surgically implanted into her ‘better’ eye. Sita now seems much better – also we don’t have to stress her twice a day.

SHE STOPPED BREATHING NINE TIMES IN HER FIRST 36 HOURS. NINE TIMES GINNY GAVE HER MOUTH TO MOUTH RESUSCITATION AND NINE TIMES SHE CAME BACK TO US

ALPACA WORLD

Godswell Poppy at 43 kg

Godswell Poppy with Jessica, our workaway from Los Angeles

SPRING 2016

LETTER FROM FRANCE

Sita’s implants in her eye

LILY’S STORY The third major event involves an eight month old cria who belongs to a lovely French family. They live in the hills just north of Limoges. They bought three castrated males from us in 2012. In 2014 they added to their small herd by buying a beautiful female of ours, Coralie and her male cria. In 2014 we mated Coralie to Godswell Manot, and she gave birth at their farm to a dark brown female, Lili. Sadly the owner contracted breast cancer and the family found themselves unable to look after their alpacas. We rescued their five remaining alpacas. The three boys are being looked after by Jane Kimmings, who has started a rescue centre for alpacas near Perigueux whilst

Coralie and Lili are with us. Lili unfortunately came to us with a severe case of rickets and was almost unable to walk. X-rays showed that we could try surgery as well as intensive drug treatment, to help correct the damage done by her vitamin deficiency. Ginny was very concerned that she would always be in pain, so at the beginning of April we took her and her mum, Coralie, to an orthopaedic surgeon, Dr. Karine Pader at a horse clinic near Toulouse. Dr Claire Whitehead kindly gave our surgeon Karine telephone help and at the time of writing, she is recovering as well as can be expected. It was certainly far from plain sailing as you can read in the surgeon’s report.

SURGEON’S REPORT

Chris loaded up on our faithful golf buggy

Lili unfortunately came to us with a severe case of rickets and was almost unable to walk. X-rays showed that we could try surgery as well as intensive drug treatment, to help correct the damage done by her vitamin deficiency. SPRING 2016

Lili is an 8 month cria that was referred by Dr Cremoux on April 5th 2016 for surgical correction of bilateral carpal valgus. Physical examination performed upon arrival revealed bilateral carpal valgus. The rest of physical examination was within normal limits. April 6th, 2016 a catheter was placed in the right jugular vein and antibiotics (ceftiofur) and anti-inflammatories (flunixin meglumine) were administered intravenously. Lili was placed under general anaesthesia in right lateral recumbence. A transphyseal screw of 3.5 mm was placed on the medial side of each distal radius to slow the growth and correct the carpal valgus. A small piece of the ulna was then taken using rongeurs on the lateral aspect of the bone. The procedure went without complications. At the end of surgery, Lili suddenly stopped breathing. Since an orotracheal tube was in place, regular breathing was insured through the balloon. She started swallowing and was then extubated. However, she stopped breathing again and had to be re-intubated immediately. She was given atipamezole and doxapram to resuscitate her. She was placed on IV fluids throughout surgery and the recovery. Normal breathing pattern returned and the rest of her recovery was uneventful. Lili was kept on fluids throughout the night and her glucose level was checked several times. The next day she was much brighter. Radiographs of her carpi were taken to ensure appropriate screw placement. The surgical wounds were dry and clean and bandages were placed on the limbs. A long term catheter was placed in the right jugular vein so that medications can be administered at home.

Lili’s post surgical x-ray showing the screws designed to halt growth

ALPACA WORLD

LETTER FROM FRANCE An incredible thing happened at the moment Lili stopped breathing. If I hadn’t seen it with my own eyes I would find it hard to believe – I (Nigel) was walking Coralie around the beautiful grounds of the clinic while her cria. Lili, was in the operating theatre. She suddenly nearly pulled me over. She ran back into the building, through the hospital and to the doors of, and into, the operating theatre. How did she know where that was and that something bad was happening to her daughter? This was when Lili stopped breathing. The theatre staff allowed her inside in the hope that her presence would stimulate Lili somehow. Coralie stood there and hummed and clucked to her but remained inconsolable until they were back in their stall together a couple of hours later. If any breeders need orthopaedic surgery for their alpacas then do consider Dr Karine Pader. She has worked in America and this included operating on alpacas. We can also provide assistance if required. Lili is now safely enclosed in a pen with her Mum and able to see her friends. Not quite bed rest, but as close as we can achieve to that. The screws that have been inserted will be removed in a few weeks hopefully, when we hope the growth in her legs will have repaired the damage caused by a poor diet.

ALPAGA ATTITUDE Good news on the show front – Gillian Howard Evieux has organised a show near Lyon at the end of April with Nic Cooper doing the judging. We will be taking some of our ‘lovelies’ (though not Poppy or Lili). Gillian has also started a new association Alpaga Attitude which runs a news web-site and now a show (www.alpaga-attitude. fr). Brilliant news for the rather beleaguered alpaca breeders in France who seem to get the short straw from AFLA, run rather secretly mainly by llama enthusiasts. Let’s hope this is the start of a new beginning for alpacas in France. Sadly we were not able to attend the German show in Buchloe, nor Hapert nor the Belgium show. Some of France has Blue Tongue 8 and even though we can vaccinate animals going to shows, the organisers were not prepared to take the risk. Add to that a case of BVD in 2015 and French alpacas appear to be lepers. Sad, but it is a fact of life here in Europe that some breeders are terrified of alpaca diseases which is one reason why the UK finds it difficult to do business with Western Europe. So we move forward to the summer with more potential clients coming to our doors and somewhat fewer alpacas from which they can choose.

LILI IS NOW SAFELY ENCLOSED IN A PEN WITH HER MUM AND ABLE TO SEE HER FRIENDS. NOT QUITE BED REST, BUT AS CLOSE AS WE CAN ACHIEVE TO THAT.

Coralie worried for her baby, Lili

ALPACA WORLD

SPRING 2016

UK Alpaca Ltd

Supporting British Alpaca Breeders

2016 Fleece Collection

UK Alpaca will buy ALL your huacaya fleece including leg and short neck. All grades of fibre have value and we are pleased to say that all your fleeces are used to make a variety of yarns in Britain with the lower grades going into cushions and bedding. Keep British fleeces in the UK. Support us in developing a reputation for supplying the best high quality British alpaca yarns into the wholesale and retail markets. Prices paid for the 2016 clip will be as follows. Contact us for your copy of our shearing guidelines including tips to maximise returns from your clip. Grade

Colour

Skirted Price/kg excl VAT

Unskirted Price/kg excl VAT

Baby

White

£12

£10

Baby

Coloured

£8

£6

Fine

White

£8

£6

Fine

Coloured

£5

£3

Skirtings, short neck, coarse and shearing waste

All

£0.45

Please do not consign your yearling necks to ‘waste’. They should be bagged separately and if the neck staple is more than three inches long will go into the top grades. UK Alpaca specialises in British alpaca yarns with full provenance and aims to support alpaca breeders by maintaining our reputation for high quality product. If you sell us your fleece you are entitled to buy back stock yarns at wholesale prices with no minimum order.

For more information contact Chas Brooke or Rachel Hebditch on 01884 243579 or rachel@alpaca-uk.co.uk UK Alpaca Ltd, Vulscombe Farm, Pennymoor, Tiverton, Devon EX16 8NB

SPRING 2016

www.ukalpaca.com

ALPACA WORLD

THE ADVENTURE OF ALPACAS

The alpaca and me: a beautiful story that started three years ago. First of all the decision day: it was time to change. I am CĂŠline Seban, a new alpaca breeder in the Pyrenees, France, and I embarked on my journey with my willing family and ready to live...

THE ADVENTURE OF ALPACAS

ALPACA WORLD

SPRING 2016

THE ADVENTURE OF ALPACAS

Frederic, my husband, a computer man during the day and gentleman farmer at night - indeed the rest of the time ... our children are also part of the adventure, perhaps future breeders, who knows? We found a lovely home, Bidemoulié, north of the Gers, in a beautiful area. That was in July 2012 when it all started. Away from the cities, a spacious place, a mature vegetation, tranquillity and meadows, many meadows. The real campaign. A river runs through the property. The Auroue, a tributary of the Garonne, through the fields, and it is natural that our future breeding name takes its name - Les Alpagas de l’Auroue. Over the last five years we were gradually getting away from towns and closer to the country, echoing both a deliberate desire but also the prospect of a future conversion of our way of life, personal and professional. Having found our heaven, it only remained to complete the career plan that would lead to our dreams. The idea of breeding was very important. So we invested some time assessing different routes. We knew in any case that we did not want to have animals that we would have to slaughter or have specific constraints, milking for example. We were looking for an original animal, exotic and whose growth in our region still allowed us to create a building block. The noose was tightening slowly around the alpaca. This animal amazed us during our early

research and more during our first meetings. That was it, the magic had worked. We fell under the charm of these beautiful and sweet animals; there was no possible way not to have them! You will see for yourself: once you’ve seen one, imagine for a second a very soft Bambi, you are smitten, the battle is well and truly lost. At this stage, I needed to acquire the necessary skills on breeding techniques and enrich my knowledge of the agricultural world. So I went to school to get my degree of responsible farming. I did my classes amidst the alpacas, I was consumed by this project, more and more and got my diploma. Happily my enthusiasm is contagious especially to my various peers of the Chamber of Agriculture of Gers who support me. So my project gets permission to start this littleknown activity and I am eventually recognized as a young farmer. Wow. But the road is still long. Today, our greatest pride is to offer our animals an appropriate environment for their development. To offer our customers high quality alpacas and good genetics with a starting livestock purchased from the best French and British breeders - amongst others are Europa Alpaca where we had wonderful meetings with Nigel and Ginny Cobb with Chris Sands, and earlier EP Cambridge. Our alpacas are sheared every year and thanks to them, we can offer a range of fibre of alpaca with varied and natural colours, as well as various accessories, all 100% from our own animals and Made In Gers!

We fell under the charm of these beautiful and sweet animals; there was no possible way not to have them!

SPRING 2016

ALPACA WORLD

ASK THE VET

ASK THE VET...

CLAIRE E WHITEHEAD BVM&S MS MRCVS Diplomate ACVIM (Large Animal)

RCVS Specialist in Camelid Health & Production. Director, Camelid Veterinary Services Ltd www.ukalpacavet.com

A DREAM COME A VET CLINIC JUST FOR CAMELIDS!

ALPACA WORLD

hen I first left academia for private practice back at the end of 2010, I couldn’t be quite sure what the future might hold. Since completing my residency at The Ohio State University in 2005, I’d thought that my future would be in academia with all the resources that academia brings – resources in terms of facilities, the variety of expertise available for collaborations and the potential for doing valuable research. Certainly, while this might be the case overseas, unfortunately in the UK, farm animal medicine appeared to still be viewed as something that could be done in the field or a barn with a pair of wellies and bare arms as if we hadn’t progressed since the days of James Herriott. Although the collaborative aspect of working with other specialists was great, barriers proved difficult to overcome. Funding to develop a Camelid & Farm Animal Service had been dangled in front of my nose like the proverbial

carrot but apparently vanished into thin air and I worked in cold, poorly maintained barns without the facilities or resources afforded to my equine and small animal colleagues. It’s difficult and embarrassing to try to offer high quality medicine under those circumstances. When the opportunity presented itself to leave the Royal Veterinary College, whilst being a leap into the unknown, it was an opportunity to develop something special, something that I could do without having to worry about anyone else’s agenda or budget. It would be my baby, my responsibility. I bought a corner of a field back home in Southeast Oxfordshire with money from my severance package and dreamed of building a Camelid referral practice. Initial explorations into acquiring planning consent were somewhat depressing however since I had bought land in an Area of Outstanding Natural Beauty. Possibly not the most sensible move I guess? So some time was invested at the drawing board… SPRING 2016

ASK THE VET

Fig 1. The site before development began

TRUE

area, both for aesthetics and to convince the Council for planning consent, so I designed a structure that might easily be found on a farm and would not look out of place. A timber-frame barn seemed like a good idea. The planners were very concerned about the number of windows, in case I wanted to turn it into a house, so I tried to minimise the number of windows facing the road. I also wanted the building to be as “green” as possible and not cost a fortune to run. A sustainable construction consultant helped me organise triple-glazed windows, a serious amount of insulation with an airtight construction and 10kw of solar power on the roof. The clinic is organised in a very straightforward way and progresses from dirty to clean areas (Figure 2): the “dirty” end has three alpaca-sized stalls and a consultation/examination area. You pass through double swing doors into a clean theatre and from there into a lab. The lab has its own door on to a corridor that connects the “working end” to the office and teaching area. This end also incorporates a kitchen and two lavatories. Having spent nearly eight years working in referral level university facilities, I’ve had a fair amount of time to think about what would be necessary in a camelid-specific referral clinic. All animal areas are therefore constructed with biosecurity in mind. The floors are non-slip, non-porous resin over concrete and the walls of the stalls and working area are lined full-height with UPVC sealed panelling that can be properly disinfected between patients (Figure 3).

THE OLD BARRACKS The little corner I had bought had previously been part of RAF Woodcote Headquarters Site, an Equipment Dispersal Depot during the second world war with most of the buildings on my patch of land having been barracks, stores and the airmen’s dining room sited where the clinic currently sits. The site was mostly dismantled in 1959 but some of the old Turners’ Huts remain on the site immediately behind the clinic. I have named my clinic “The Old Barracks” in an attempt to preserve some of the history of the site. Figure 1 shows the site before any development took place. I wanted my building to Fig 2. Clinic Floor Plan complement the surrounding SPRING 2016

Fig 3. An alpaca inside one of the 3 available stalls. The walls and floors are non-porous resin and UPVC respectively ensuring optimum biosecurity.

LET IT ALL OUT As you arrive with a camelid patient, you can reverse up to a fenced-in holding area to unload (Figure 4). If it’s a routine case (ie not an emergency), your precious cargo can then have a pee and a poo in a grassed holding pen while you complete the paperwork formalities. One of the problems I’ve found in doing reproductive examinations by rectal ultrasound on camelids that have spent a while on a trailer in transit is a large urine-filled bladder and a rectum full of poop! Standing around on a halter does not appear to be particularly conducive to emptying these compartments, so my hope is that this process will encourage natural evacuation instead of necessitating my assistance.

Fig 4. Concrete unloading area and grassed holding pen at the entrance to the clinical end of the building.

ALPACA WORLD

ASK THE VET Fig 5. Examination area with camelid-specific restraint chute – stalls in the background.

For patients presenting for breeding soundness examination or infertility evaluation, patients will be evaluated while held in a custom-built camelid-specific “chute” (Figure 5). This enables most diagnostics to be performed without sedation while ensuring maximum safety for the patient. The chute can be used for other diagnostic purposes too – basically, any time restraint would be desirable. When the chute is not required, there is a large open space for evaluating camelid patients in a safe, temperature-controlled environment. The theatre has been equipped with some standard equipment such as an anaesthetic machine and operating light (a mobile one so it can be moved into the work area too), but some equipment has had to have been custom-built to accommodate the size and weight of camelid patients such as our camelid operating table. Our lab is equipped with laboratory-standard furniture and is capable of accommodating several staff at once as we develop our services (Figure 6). When I first left the RVC, I realised that there wasn’t a single lab in the country capable of offering herd faecal screening services for camelids using a test that was optimised to improve the level of detection of parasite eggs known to cause significant problems in camelids. The RVC Diagnostic Lab was the only one offering the Modified Stolls test at my instigation but they didn’t have the capability for processing large numbers of samples in an efficient timescale. Therefore, I decided to offer this service to fill a void. I ask for laboratory submissions to be accompanied by data (such as age, gender,

body condition and groupings) that allows me to offer meaningful interpretation and advise on treatment options where necessary. No other faecal testing service is able to offer this level of customised service from a specialist camelid vet. A lab technician performs the laboratory work with myself providing interpretation and advice. We have started adding laboratory services, and also offer other faecal diagnostics such as fluke testing and staining for certain pathogens such as cryptosporidia, cria IgG testing and in the coming months, we intend to start offering microbiology services (bacteriological culture and sensitivity) as well as some molecular diagnostics. PCR tests are a type of molecular diagnostic tool and can be used to detect a wide variety of diseases such as BVD. Another application for PCR testing is for crias with diarrhoea: there are a number of differential diagnoses and accurate diagnosis is essential to properly direct treatment and herd disease control. We plan to be able to offer screening for a number of infectious causes such as viral causes of diarrhoea, cryptosporidiosis and giardiasis. Going forward we are also planning to use the lab to perform research into diseases affecting camelids and to investigate genetic conditions and predispositions to disease. In short, we will become a one-stop shop for camelid diagnostics. One of the most impressive parts of the new Clinic is our reception area and this also functions as a teaching area. This room has vaulted ceilings, along with pretty good acoustics I’ve discovered, and beautiful oak beams just like you’d find in a traditional old barn (Figure 7). LOCATION, LOCATION, LOCATION Being centrally located in the South of England, Camelid Veterinary Services is ideally located close to main motorway links (M40, M4, M3, M25) to enable efficient travel to and from all regions of the country by road, and to enable patients to visit us for evaluation. Rail travel permits me to make reasonably priced farm visits to locations where road travel would be too costly and where minimal equipment is required, such as for herd health visits. Having London’s airport network close by also allows me to travel by air internationally for teaching and herd visits.

Some equipment has had to be custom-built to accommodate the size and weight of camelid patients In addition to the clinical and laboratory services offered by Camelid Veterinary Services, we also offer a range of adaptable packages to provide advice and support services to owners and breeders of camelids and also to your vets in the form of our Camelid Health Packages. The packages are designed to provide owners with timely advice when required without generating concern over how much a particular call is going to cost. In this way, costs can be spread out over the course of the year and permit easy budgeting for specialist camelid-specific veterinary advice. By the time this article goes to press, we will have had our official Grand Opening on the 23rd April 2016. My former residency advisor Dr David E Anderson is coming to present educational seminars for those attending the free event where there will also be the opportunity for tours and other activities. Also, Henley MP Mr John Howell will be attending and planting a tree to officially open the Clinic. Having this new clinic and its facilities means that I can improve enormously the services I am able to offer and provide a really unique service to you, the camelid owners of the UK and your vets. Due to the services that I currently offer which may take me away from the clinic, most of the clinical referral casework that I am able to see is reproduction-related, but in the future I plan to recruit and train another vet so that I can make maximum use of the clinical facilities that I have developed and admit referral medicine cases too. I hope that you will come and visit us. We’re here for you! For more information about any of our services, or to find out more about us, please visit our website at www.ukalpacavet.com or call us on 01491 680313.

Fig 7. The teaching area - a lovely place for learning!

Fig 6. The lab has plenty of potential for expansion of our services. Now that we have such fantastic facilities, we will offer an increasing number of camelid-specific diagnostics.

ALPACA WORLD

SPRING 2016

Outstanding alpacas for luxurious fibre www.aabach-farm.de

Breeding of Chilean and Peruvian alpacas Stallions from Australia, Chile and Peru

akas ?

Alp Warum

Dr. med.

Angelika

Freitag

Warum Alpakas?

Manufacture of exclusive alpaca fibre products

The comprehensive book of alpacas in german language by Dr. Angelika Freitag.

SPRING 2016

ALPACA WORLD

ALPACAARTE IN ANDALUCIA

Finca El Esparragal nestles into the hillside above the Guadiaro Valley with sweeping views across to the historic town of Jimena de la Frontera with its castle - dating back to the time of the Moors - dominating the skyline. As the crow flies the finca is 24 miles from the coast of Morocco but despite being this far South, in the late Autumn through to May or June - given sufficient rain - it remains much greener than the provinces further east. The â&#x20AC;&#x2DC;Rio de Guadiaroâ&#x20AC;&#x2122; snakes through the valley making a distinct line with its banks of non-indigenous eucalyptus trees. AlpacaArte in Andalucia by Suzanne Coldham

Finca El Esparragal

ALPACA WORLD

SPRING 2016

ALPACAARTE IN ANDALUCIA

SPANISH STEPS

SPRING 2016

ALPACA WORLD

ALPACAARTE IN ANDALUCIA

he valley floor is dotted with groves of oranges, lemons and avocados. These are interspersed with pasture where the chestnut coloured cows graze, their bells making a deep resonant sound. The hillside is also filled with the high pitched tinkling of the goat bells so synonymous with a Mediterranean country, croaking of massive toads, birdsong, cries of the Booted Eagle and the Griffon Vulture, and noisy crickets to name a few. The finca is on a migration route – currently 100+ red kites are circling on the thermals. Swallows are already nesting in the barn. My foray into alpacas started with the import of three males from Bozedown to go with a dark brown male purchased from Alpacaspain. These males gave me valuable experience in terms of their management and in ascertaining the suitability of this land. Only our track leads up to our finca, the land rises up from the Guadiaro valley and drops back down the other side into a smaller valley – spectacular views abound. Keeping the tackle on four males is not sensible and does not lead to harmony. I subsequently had three of the males castrated – much to the consternation of the two big strapping farrier lads who were here at the time. I think that day they achieved a record time in shoeing in their haste to get away in case they were next! The two larger alpacas were sold to a ‘Granja’ near Madrid and Alonso and McVitie, so named as he has a ginger nut, quickly became more relaxed and every day bring much joy and amusement to our lives. They are cheeky, inquisitive boys who sunbathe by the pool and rarely miss an opportunity to take advantage of open doors. The alpacas share the finca with my two horses, three Border Terriers, a Deerhound, five hens and the biggest cat you have ever seen. In 2015 I attended the BAS National Show on the Sunday with my good friend and mentor – Jane Powell. It was already in full swing but we caught a few halter classes. As a championship dog show judge I found the verbal critique very refreshing and certainly explained their decisions. If dog show judges had to do the same I think you would see some very different results – or an exodus of judges. The alpaca breeders we talked to were full of enthusiasm, very friendly and happy to share knowledge. This was an excellent opportunity to see some of the cream of British alpacas at their best and the first time I had seen ‘greys’ in the flesh or fleece. My enthusiasm was reignited and I knew it was only a matter of time. FLEDGLING HERD Later in the year I made the decision to take things more seriously and after much deliberation, hours and hours of researching into phenotype and genotype, I finally made an approach to Ken and Liz of Artwork Alpacas with the intention of buying two females. Many emails and telephone conversations later, four females were selected and subsequently travelled to Spain - my fledgling ‘AlpacaArte’ herd has been born. 50

ALPACA WORLD

They are cheeky, inquisitive boys who sunbathe by the pool and rarely miss an opportunity to take advantage of open doors

My four females are all related in some way which gives me a sound basis on which to build. The solid mid brown Meon Valley Aphrodite (CME Tulaco Centurion x Bozedown Aleaka) brings maternal experience to the herd. She has had three stunning offspring previously and is currently pregnant to Snowmass Puna Sky. She is a quiet, unassuming gentle female who has a calming influence in the herd. Her granddaughter - Artwork Aurora – (Lillyfield Jack of Spades of Inca x a Snowmass Incan King daughter) is a heavily fleeced strong female pregnant to Snowmass Golden Legend. She is another gentle female, actually a bit of a wimp, who likes to follow Aphrodite. Artwork M.L. Alaska is a well grown young female by Snowmass Midnight Legend and carrying a true black fleece. Her white feet and

Cheeky boys open door

McVitie on arrival 2012

Carrying a soft bright fleece Artwork G.L. Amber is every bit the catwalk model. She stole my heart in an instant. SPRING 2016

ALPACAARTE IN ANDALUCIA chin will make her an interesting prospect in terms of colour breeding. She is the baby of the herd and attaches herself to Amber. Last but certainly not least is the young female – Artwork G.L. Amber (Snowmass Golden Legend x MV Aphrodite). Carrying a soft bright fleece she is every bit the catwalk model. She oozes character and struts her stuff as soon as she hears the camera click on. She stole my heart in an instant. I will say that these ladies are all halter trained, well-handled and know all about standing on the scales quietly. It makes a massive difference to respectful handling and something I will continue with their own cria. SOUTH HORIZON Living as far south as we do gives us much warmer weather throughout the year. It last snowed in Jimena in 1953 and in the depth of winter in the valley there is the occasional frost. The sun rules here though and we don’t have many days without a glimpse – most days are clear blue skies. We get two winds here – the Poniente which is a westerly wind blowing in from the Atlantic and the more prevailing wind known as the Levante – a hot south-easterly wind. There are others and it is not uncommon to find everything covered in Saharan sand. Winter tends to be short-lived though there is often torrential rain in February and March. Spring is a delight and our farm is covered for weeks in beautiful flowers including wild orchids.

Summer is long, dry and hot. The grass disappears and the entire landscape, with the exception of the fruit and olive trees, turns into a dust bowl. From June through to October we are feeding hay and alfalfa in the paddocks. During July and August my horses and alpacas spend from 11am through to around 9pm in the barn in the shade. I am fortunate to be part of a ‘shearing’ co-operative in Andalucia. Aussie James Dixon who has many years experience, arrives in May and works his way through our herds before heading into Portugal and away into France and beyond. A health plan here is really no different to the UK – clostridia vaccinations, wormers, parasite control, vitamins etc – some of the timing is a little different. According to the Spanish authorities TB does not exist here but…. pasteurella is in the soil and it is necessary to be in control of clostridia vaccinations for the herd. We do not

Spring is a delight and our farm is covered for weeks in beautiful flowers including wild orchids

have free movement here. Whether you want to move your alpaca 20 minutes up the road for a mating or a few hours further afield it is necessary to obtain a ‘guia’. To obtain the guia the animals must be tested for TB and Brucellosis before the permit will be issued. That is all that is required for movement within Andalucia – currently – but when I sold the two males to near Madrid it was necessary to also have them tested for Blue Tongue. Each farm has to be licensed and here is where the fun starts. A project must be put together to show how you will support the needs of the animals, their management, feed, accommodation, health plan, poo disposal etc. The pioneers of alpacas in this country have my complete admiration and sympathy but even despite their ‘conquering of the frontier’; there remain some Ministry vets in the OCA office (Oficina Consejaria de Agricultura) who want to classify alpacas as zoo animals. Unfortunately each province is autonomous. I was the first person to apply in the Cadiz province and it took much persuasion to obtain a farm licence for them. When I moved to Finca El Esparragal the same vet still insisted they were zoo animals. Luckily common sense prevailed but these things take weeks, many sleepless nights, weekly visits to the local office, much bad language and many bottles of wine for consolation. Fortunately the male vet representative in our local office is fairly easy on the eye.

Artwork Aurora

Alonso on arrival in 2012...

Inquisitive Amber

Above the Valley

...and after some good fattening up!

SPRING 2016

ALPACA WORLD

ALPACAARTE IN ANDALUCIA NO SHOW There are currently no shows in Spain and due to the movement restrictions a halter show will be no easy task. Alongside the costs of entry and transport, the exhibitor will also have to bear the cost of tests for each entered animal in order to obtain a guia. Fleece shows are more realistic and with the importance of fleece to the very purpose of an alpaca I believe these should be actively promoted. There has been success from Spain with fleece shown in the UK and this is something I aim to do. The current number of alpacas throughout Spain is somewhere around 1,000. There are two associations for alpacas – the one in the South is The Asociación Española de Alpacas (AEDA). The current President and powerhouse behind AEDA is Jane Powell, AlpacaSpain. Not only has she been driving alpacas forward here in Andalucía, she found the time to write a book entitled ‘Alpacas in Spain A Simple Guide’ which has been published in English and Spanish. As well as doing an update to this book she is passionate about colour genetics and has on many a boozy evening patiently instilled into me white spot, dark spot, BEW, recessive, dominant, dilute... hic... Promoting the alpaca here in Spain is on the top of the agenda for AEDA though demand currently outstrips supply. Whilst farmers are looking to diversify they are certainly not willing to part with thousands for an animal. Purchasers appear to be willing to pay 1500 euros for a female and 500 euros for a male – a long way short of the average prices in other European countries. In Andalucia alpacas are sought after for their

land clearance capabilities. The mountainous hilly terrain seems to suit them very well and we rarely have to trim their feet outside of the annual shearing visit. A very important law in Andalucia is the five metre fire break that is necessary round the boundaries of your land. The alpacas help in this respect and the terrain does not challenge them. Herd guarding is another strong selling point – my two boys have on many occasions demonstrated their protectiveness with our hens – even from us. Our resident mongoose family were persuaded to move further towards the perimeter of our land. A BETTER FUTURE What does the future hold - which direction am I going to ‘herd’ my alpacas in? I have planned a return to the UK in April – kicking off with the BAS two-day Fibre Workshop as this is an aspect I have much to learn about. I plan to visit a few herds to further boost my knowledge and to be better informed with regard to future breeding. No doubt I will have to battle to keep my purse firmly in my bag. My trip will culminate just after the Heart of England show. Breeding is not new to me – out of my four dogs, three are multi champions. I have a six generation female tail line to my current dogs – the latest bearing an uncanny resemblance to my UK Champion made up in 1999. That is breeding to type. Breeding alpacas is going to be a very enjoyable challenge – conformation and fleece improvement with colour inheritance thrown into the mixing bowl. I truly believe that unless you are going to improve on what you have got

Who is leading who?

then don’t breed at all – my maxim in breeding my Border Terriers has always been ‘fit for function’. I am fortunate to have been able to purchase four well-bred females and now I have to rise to the challenge of improving them. If based in the UK I would not consider keeping males initially but movement restrictions and a small genetic pool here dictate otherwise. I am therefore on the hunt for an experienced herdsire – something I should have considered when I purchased the girls – hindsight is a wonderful thing. Hopefully when I get on the ferry back to Spain I can while away many hours dreaming of a luscious male.

Breeding alpacas is going to be a very enjoyable challenge – conformation and fleece improvement with colour inheritance thrown into the mixing bowl

ALPACA WORLD

SPRING 2016

Mid-Cornwall’s premier alpaca herd Our breeding aim is to maximise fibre production and improve fibre quality generation upon generation, with a view to providing the ultimate fibre for yarn production.

We are a family run farm in Warfield, Berkshire, breeding high quality Suri and Huacaya alpacas. Stud services available from Champion brown Huacayas and a Champion Fawn Suri. Pregnant females, young males and wethers sometimes for sale. Full after sales support and husbandry training. Fleece and yarn available. Sue Hipkin and Lisa Batup Scotlands Farm, Warfield, Berkshire RG42 6AJ

alpacas usually for sale. Higher Carpalla Farm Foxhole St Austell 01726 338580 07974 796792 nigel@nigelretallack.co.uk

a pacas Nigel and Margaret Retallack

01344 459289 • 07770 455533 www.scotfieldalpacas.co.uk

The Pennybridge Herd and Alpaca Stud

‘Love The Alpacas’ • • • • •

Starter Herds & Starter Herd Agistment Champion Stud Services Both Mobile & Drive-By Pretty Pets & Sheep Gaurds Free Advice & Support

www.pennybridgealpacas.co.uk Contact Joy or Peter joy@pennybridgealpacas.co.uk 01256 764824 • 07801 132757

Based in North Hampshire near the Surrey/Berkshire Borders. Less than 5 mins from M3 J5. Close to Ports & Airports.

SPRING 2016

ALPACA WORLD

BESERK ALPACAS

What to do with

alpacas (PART 2)

By Julie Taylor-Browne of CamelidSense In part one of this article (AWM Winter 2015/16) I described how to identify a berserk camelid, and the preliminary steps of clicker training (positively reinforcing) the behaviour you want, such as turning their heads away from you. If they are looking away from you, 54

ALPACA WORLD

aggressive animals are much less likely subsequently to spit at you, rear up or barge through you. They should also have learned about the benefits of reward based training, which promotes the release of dopamine, one of the â&#x20AC;&#x2DC;feelgoodâ&#x20AC;&#x2122; neurotransmitters. SPRING 2016

BESERK ALPACAS

n this article I would like to focus on how to take more control and become your alpaca’s leader. I will also cover how to build on your newly opened channels of communication with your previously confused alpaca and how to teach it new skills, such as being haltered, led and worked over obstacles. Although it sounds unlikely, we can turn their desire to be with humans to our advantage and it is perfectly possible to have a well-trained, people focussed alpaca - although I would never recommend creating a berserk alpaca in order to get one! There are much easier ways for example, see my article on Raising Babies on my website, www.carthveanalpacas.com. At the end of the last article, we had reached a stage when we had trained our alpaca through positive reinforcement to turn its head away from us, thus significantly reducing the chance of unwanted behaviours. I had also stressed how important it was to set up a small pen, for example 1.5m x 1.5m (5 ft x 5 ft) so that you are able to interact with the alpaca within ‘protective contact’ i.e. a safer environment. To get the animal into the pen I prefer to use bribery i.e. tempt them in by putting feed into a feeder. You can time your training sessions to coincide with feeding time. Feed them in their pen and whilst they are eating you can shut them in. It may take a few times of feeding them in the pen with one side of the pen open, for them to feel comfortable with you moving near them shutting them in. You may take your dustbin lid into the field whilst you do this (see part 1 for an explanation of why and how to use it). So what is next? Although you may be satisfied with your improved safety and your animal’s better behaviour, it might be a shame not to use this great opportunity to progress further. If their early experiences have led them to want to be with humans but they haven’t yet learned the rules of being around them, I suggest that you take them through a training programme to teach them these rules. HALTERING YOUR ALPACA In my experience, putting a halter onto a beserk camelid is usually straightforward because many of them have been haltered as youngsters and they are not frightened of human contact (in fact, rather the opposite). Once again, though, keeping SPRING 2016

yourself safe is the priority, as they may view your proximity, or your hands on them, as threatening and may rear. If you have set up a small pen, you can probably halter them whilst you on the outside of the pen and they are inside. Catching them with a wand and the catch rope is the ideal way to do this. It is important to halter your alpaca in a way that doesn’t involve you putting your hand over their midline and grabbing their necks. Make sure you are working alongside them and not in front of them. In this way you are minimising the risk of your alpaca rearing or chest butting you. Don’t forget to regularly reinforce (reward) the alpaca when its head is turned away from you. Work gently (without force) and keep them physically balanced as you do so. If you are clear and confident in what you do, this will transmit itself to the alpaca. The techniques I use, and teach, involve a Catch Rope or a Handling Helper fastened around the neck, thus avoiding the need to hold onto the alpaca with your hands. All of these points are discussed further and are illustrated in my article on my website: Haltering Alpacas for the first time. You may remember from the first part of this article and from previous ones (e.g. ‘A Tale of Two Alpacas’) that I am fond of using Fabulous Flying Feeding Dish (FFFD) for delivering food rewards whilst training. However, I have learned that it is also a remarkably useful tool for deterring an alpaca that is threatening to spit, rear or attack, because you can use it like a shield while you stand your ground and say ‘no’ or ‘stay back’ very firmly. Trying to halter, while holding a FFFD, can be tricky, so one of my techniques is to punch a hole in the FFD and have it on a long bit of bailer twine around my neck. Just being able to see it seems to remind the alpaca about the behaviour expected of it. LEADING YOUR ALPACA Once your camelid is haltered, you can clip the lead rope onto the side ring, because you will need far smaller and lighter signals and using the side ring (the one closest to the end of the nose) will mean that your signals will be much clearer to the alpaca. If you confuse your alpaca with heavy or imprecise signals you are missing the opportunity to improve your communication with it. When you start to lead your alpaca your aim is to get

Haltering from outside the pen

To get the animal into the pen I prefer to use bribery i.e. tempt them in by putting feed into a feeder ALPACA WORLD

BESERK ALPACAS Marvel and I go ‘on the road’.

Alpacas are bright and will understand as long as you are clear and consistent as to what you are are communicating them to pay attention to you closely… and in this way you will build a better relationship - one in which you are the leader. Keeping your FFFD with you at all times, including whilst leading, will also protect you while you are outside the pen, as well as being able to use it to reward your alpaca for keeping its head pointing forward whilst being led. Alpacas are bright and will understand as long as you are clear and consistent as to what you are are communicating. When I initially lead an alpaca, I use a long lead and a wand (a long schooling whip) because: a) I can use these to show the alpaca very clearly in which direction to go, b) they enable me to keep the alpaca at a safe distance, and c) they can be used to give corrective signals. I also keep my clicker-training pouch (of food rewards) with me at all times so that I can instantly reward the behaviours I want. The more positive reinforcement you are able to use, the quicker the animal will gain in confidence and understanding and the more they will enjoy working with you. In my experience I would say that, initially, Being led on an interesting walk

ALPACA WORLD

it is inadvisable to lead an berserk alpaca in its own field, because of the potential for it to guard its field and/or any companions. In part one I introduced Marvel, a rescued berserk male. When I first took Marvel out of his pen and his field, he was so interested in what was outside, that rearing and biting immediately slipped down the list of priorities. It had been such a long time since he had been out of his field that all he wanted to do was to get ahead of me and explore. My job, though, was to slowly and gently get him under control, and behind the wand as pictured, so that we could go in any direction that I wanted to go. After some give and take, I was able to take Marvel to places he had never been before and to visit animals he had never seen before. In the picture above you can see me persuading him to come with me. For more information on teaching leading have a look at the article on my website on this topic. Occasionally he remembered that he was ‘beserk’ and would try to rear at me, but a combination of bringing him down using the lead rope, showing him the FFFD to keep his head forward and rewarding him for keeping all four feet on the floor led to these behaviours becoming less and less frequent. Finally, at the end of the session I handed him over to his handler to lead and she took him back to his pen where we took his halter off without any drama. We opened the door of the pen and he just wandered back to his field. I recommended that initial interactions with him should start with him in his pen, then he should go out of his pen and field on a halter and lead, and any further work e.g. injecting, toenail trimming should take place away from his field. In these circumstances you can establish new routines more easily. In ‘A Tale of Two Alpacas’, I described how I worked with Kira, who not only reared but also spat and how I used the wand and two additional techniques to keep her at a safe distance from me, and to ensure that she didn’t turn her head towards me as we walked. You can learn about the

Using the ‘Peacock’

Using the wand and lead to keep Kira at a distance from me

SPRING 2016

To be certain of obtaining future copies of Alpaca World Magazine fill in the subscription form below and return it to the address on the form. The only way to be sure of receiving every issue of Alpaca World magazine is by subscribing. The annual rates are: UK £30, Europe £40 (approx. €56) and the rest of the world £50 (approx. $78). Subscribe now by doing one of the following: 1 Using your credit card at our website: www.alpacaworldmagazine.com 2 Fill out the form below and post to us complete with your cheque or credit card details 3 Complete the form below and fax back to us with your credit card details I would like to subscribe to Alpaca World Magazine for the next 4 issues at an inclusive rate of UK £30, Europe £40 (approx. €56) and the rest of the world £50 (approx. $78).

Please use my Credit/Debit Card

[Tick]

Amount to be debited £

Amount Enclosed £

[Tick box as appropriate] Maestro Issue No.

Name

Card Holder Name

Address

Card No.

I enclose Sterling Bank Cheque drawn on UK Bank made payable to Classical Publishing Ltd

Card type: VISA

Mastercard

Maestro

Expiry Date Mo Yr

Post Code

Country

Start Date Mo Yr

Security Code (last 3 digits on reverse of card)

Contact details in case of query: Telephone

Signature Date

Email address

POST TO: Alpaca World, Vulscombe Farm, Pennymoor, Tiverton, Devon, EX16 8NB, UK FAX TO: +44 (0) 1884 243514. ENQUIRIES TO: info@alpacaworldmagazine.com

Receipt required?

[Tick]

No VAT is included or charged on subscription rates

www.alpacaworldmagazine.com SPRING 2016

ALPACA WORLD

BESERK ALPACAS techniques (and others!) on one of my advanced camelid courses. WORKING OVER OBSTACLES By working as a team you are teaching your alpaca that good and interesting things can happen with a human being. You can exploit your camelid’s natural curiosity to good effect by taking it on interesting walks and teaching it to cope with new situations and challenges. For example, I took another ‘beserk’ male I worked with recently, around his owner’s house, across the patio, and all the interesting places we could find around it. Finally, we finished up in the horses’ sand school where we were able to set up some cavalletti as small jumps and make other obstacles from old tyres and bales of hay. It turned out that this alpaca was the obstacle king and within minutes he and his owner were happily jumping over everything. He didn’t have the time or the inclination to be difficult or dangerous as he was having far much too much fun. It also changed the way his owner felt about him. Working over obstacles or doing an agility course is a great way to build a new relationship, as well as mentally engaging your alpaca and taking it out of the habit of guarding and other aggressive behaviours. Leading your alpaca over different surfaces; tarmac, sand, paving slabs, stone chippings, chipped bark, wood and plastic etc teaches it to adapt more easily to other new circumstances. In this picture Rosetta, one of my

alpacas, is learning to walk over plastic sheeting. CONCLUSION In the examples I have described above the training did not consist of one session. Long-term improvements can only be achieved through progressive steps. Are beserk alpacas trained in this way always going to be 100% safe? I don’t know that we can ever be 100% sure about anything, doubly so where animals are involved. I do know however, that none of the animals I have trained have been euthanized and that their owners felt more confident, albeit still careful, about dealing with them. In the case of two other animals I have retrained, one now treks with all (human) age groups, and another is owned by people who run a holiday complex where he is stroked and fed carrots by visitors (with a fence in between them). There has been no return of the problematic behaviour, however I recommend that contact with strangers and children should always be supervised.

By working as a team you are teaching your alpaca that good and interesting things can happen with a human being

You can find out more about courses with me, training DVDs, halters and equipment from my website, www.carthveanalpacas.com or email me for more information: taylor.browne@clara.net. You can follow me on Facebook: Camelid Sense. My thanks to Annette Conn for her help with editing both parts of this article.

Rosetta cautiously approaches new surfaces

ALPACA WORLD

SPRING 2016

The only exclusively Camelid Vet Service in the UK! Offered by Claire E Whitehead BVM&S MS DACVIM MRCVS

Camelid Veterinary Services Ltd 14 Years of Camelid-Specific Veterinary Experience Help & Advice •

•

Medical, reproductive and herd health issues

•

Farm visits possible

Camelid-specific Diagnostic Services

NEW Clinic & Laboratory

NOW OPEN!

Grand Opening 23rd April 2016 Guest speaker Dr David Anderson. Ask for an invitation!

•

Faecal testing using the most recommended test for Camelids

•

Fast results given with guidance

•

Cria IgG testing

Reproduction services •

Breeding Soundness Evaluations

•

Infertility Workups

•

Embryo Transfer

Courses •

Owners/breeders and vets

•

Everything you need to keep your animals healthy and breeding!

For further information or advice, contact Claire on +44 (0) 1491 680313 or email claire@ukalpacavet.com

www.ukalpacavet.com Camelid Veterinary Services Ltd, The Old Barracks, Lady Grove, Goring Heath, Reading, RG8 7RU

SPRING 2016

ALPACA WORLD

Meon Valley Alpacas Leading Herd of Prize Winning Huacayas

drum carders  for   The Perfect Carder ,ibre  For Alpaca and All Fine Fibres preparation

www.classiccarder.co.uk  Tel: 01746 714130   Email: info@classiccarder.co.uk  60

ALPACA WORLD

Snowmass Collection

Superb collection of Snowmass and home produced multi- champion studs for mobile and drive-by services

Sales within the UK & Europe Breeding stock and field pets

Client Support & Advice

Sharing our 16 year’s experience with on-going courses and training

www.mvalpacas.co.uk

info@mvalpacas.co.uk +44 (0)7913 247144 Droxford, Hampshire, England

SPRING 2016

MARSHWOOD VALE

ANIMAL NUTRITIONISTS & VETERINARY SUPPLIERS

alpacas

PREMIUM BRAND

Due to the increasing demand for alpaca equipment and our wish to retire from breeding alpacas, we have a herd of approx. 60 alpacas for sale in groups of two or more. NO REASONABLE OFFER REFUSED. Beautiful mothers with cria, pregnant females, and open females eagerly awaiting a male of your choice. Adult males, plus we have two magnificent potential breeding males for sale and starter herds can be arranged.

Send for a full brochure/order today at www.osmonds.co.uk or your nearest Osmonds stockist

Also alpacas for pets and males to guard lambs/chicken are available. Friendly help and advice given before and after sales.

Home of the Alpaca Easy-Pen and Aluminium/Galv. Steel Hurdles! Please see website for details.

Geoff and Brenda Bugler

Marshwood Vale Alpacas

Dorset Tel: 01297 678181 www.marshwood-alpacas.co.uk Alpaca breeders since 1998

ALPACA & LLAMA

Contains high levels of Sodium, Chloride and Potassium to assist in the replenishment of lost salts, fluid and energy.

A premium colostrum supplement containing essential nutrients for optimum health and vitality in the new-born.

Specifically designed to deliver balanced nutrition and help maintain performance in Alpacas & Llamas.

ELECTRO-PLUS

COLOSTRUM SUPPLEMENT

DRENCH

Bradeley Green, Tarporley Road, Whitchurch, Shropshire, SY13 4HD Tel: 01948 668100 Email: info@osmonds.co.uk

www.osmonds.co.uk

Everything for your smallholding from Countrywide Countrywide is the leading supplier of products and services to the rural community. Living and working within our local communities we appreciate not only the rural way of life but the needs of our customers. Our products and services span Farming, Smallholder, Equestrian, Rural Business and Country Home sectors. In all aspects of our business we aim to deliver a personal service, share our knowledge and expertise whilst looking to the latest products and innovations â&#x20AC;&#x201C; to shape a future as vibrant as our 100 year heritage.

Shop In Store call 08708 352352 for your nearest store Shop Online www.countrywidefarmers.co.uk

SPRING 2016

ALPACA WORLD

BREEDERS DIRECTORY

BREEDERS DIRECTORY Book your space in the Alpaca World Breeders Directory now by telephoning Heidi Hardy on 01598 752799. An entry is priced at just £35 to cover FOUR issues.

BEDFORDSHIRE

GLOUCESTERSHIRE

Rushmere Alpacas Jo Parker & Neil McAndrew, Little Cuppers, Rushmere, Leighton Buzzard, Bedfordshire LU7 0DZ. Tel: 01515 237416. Fax: 01525 234068. Email: j.parker101@btinternet.com Website: www.rushmerealpacas.co.uk Quality herd on the Beds, Bucks and Herts border offering a superb service to new and experienced breeders. Pregnant/maiden females, stud and pet males. Free training and 24/7 support.

Pure Alpacas Jay & Hilary Holland, Torsend House, Main Road, Tirley, Glocs. GL19 4EU. Tel: 01452 780327. Email: jay@purealpacas.co.uk Web: www.purealpacas.co.uk A family-run herd of both huacaya and suri with a range for sale from pets and guards to elite breeding stock. Sensibly priced and all backed by professional, unrivalled support and advice. Our herdsires are all proven and available for outside services. We run a variety of courses which cater for all levels of experience. Exports to Europe a speciality.

DEVON Classical MileEnd Alpacas Rachel Hebditch & Chas Brooke, Vulscombe Farm, Pennymoor, Tiverton, Devon, EX16 8NB. Tel: 01884 243579. Mob: 07970 415638. Email: rachel@alpaca-uk.co.uk Website: www.alpaca-uk.co.uk Professional breeding farm with 18 years alpaca experience. Show winning herd sires with British, Australian and American genetics available for outside stud servicing. Wide selection of quality alpacas for sale as pets or breeding stock. We maintain rigorous management of on farm biosecurity including full farm perimeter wildlife fencing. Excellent customer support and training with visitors welcome by appointment.

Snowshill Alpacas Roger Mount, Snowshill Hill Barn, Temple Guiting, Cheltenham, GL54 5XX. Tel: 01386 853841 / 07711 044106. Fax: 01386 854791. Email: roger.mount@btinternet.com Web: www.snowshillalpacas.com Breeders of prize winning Huacaya and Suri alpacas in Gloucestershire. We usually have alpacas for sale, from pet to show quality. Stud services available from a wide selection of proven sires. After sales support and advice. We also have fabrics for sale, all made from our own alpacas and spun, woven and finished in the UK. HAMPSHIRE

DORSET Alpha Alpacas Di Davies, Woodstock, Mapperton Lane, Melplash, Bridport, Dorset, DT6 3UF. Tel: 01308 488661 / 07739 382483. Email: didavies@alpaca.fsnet.co.uk Web: www.alphaalpacas.com A small elite herd of Huacaya alpacas where top quality fibre, biosecurity and supporting our clients is paramount. The quality of our herd has been confirmed by their superb show record. Stud services available, breeding stock (male and female) and pet males for sale.

ALPACA WORLD

Pennybridge Alpacas Joy & Peter, Pennybridge Farm, Greywell Road, Up Nately, Hook, Hants RG27 9PJ Tel: 01256 764824 / 07801 132757 Email: joy@pennybridgealpacas.co.uk Web: www.pennybridgealpacas.co.uk The Pennybridge Herd & Stud. Alpacas for sale. Most colours available, even the rare appaloosa. Quality starter herds, proven and potential stud males, stud services, pets and sheepguards. Free advice and after sales support provided.

Watership Alpacas Keith Taylor, Greenacres, Thruxton Down, Andover, Hants SP11 8PR Tel: 01264 889206 Email: info@watershipalpacas.co.uk Web: www.watershipalpacas.co.uk Watership Alpacas invites you to visit and meet our prize-winning alpacas. We have all colours of BAS registered huacaya breeding females, young males, potential studs and pets for sale. Inexpensive stud services all with full support and guidance. NORFOLK AzSu Alpacas Nikki Lenk, The Low Farm, Letton, Thetford, Norfolk, IP25 7TB. Tel: 01362 820097. Mob: 07798 522178 Fax: 01362 821333 Email: nikki.lenk@azsualpacas.com Web: www.azsualpacas.com Norfolk’s largest breeder offers potential and existing owners a friendly and complete service. High quality studs; breeding females and wethers for sale; practical training; caring agistment; fleece conversion; sound advice on all aspects of these magical animals. SOMERSET Tai Wind Alpaca Stud Lynn Pepper, Staffords-Mead Stables, Lower Rudge, Frome, Somerset, BA11 2QE Tel: 07790 674334 Email: lynn@lynnpepper.orangehome.co.uk Web: www.taiwindalpacas.co.uk Show quality black alpacas. Fast forward your genetics with our stud males. We have a selection of pregnant females and young stock for sale from our show herd. Import, export.

WARWICKSHIRE Toft Alpacas Rob & Shirley Bettinson, Toft Manor, Toft Lane, Dunchurch, Warwickshire, CV22 6NR. Tel: 01788 810626. Fax: 01788 522347 Email: shirley@toft-alpacas.co.uk Web: www.toft-alpacas.co.uk Alpaca Stud Farm, est 1997. Pedigree stock for sale in all colours. Superior stud services. Stud males for sale or lease. Pets for sale. Introductory and advanced husbandry workshops. Fleece and fibre workshops. 24/7 advice and support. Holiday cottage on farm. Luxury alpaca products online and on-farm shop. WILTSHIRE Pinkney Alpacas Jay Holland, Pinkney Court, Malmesbury, Wiltshire, SN16 OPD. Tel: 07789 257222 or 07778 020153 Email: jay@purealpacas.co.uk Web: www.pinkneyalpacas.com Home to multiple supreme winning stud ‘Pinkney Dragon’. We are long established breeders of superb suri with an enviable reputation for supplying show quality stock from unrivalled genetics. YORKSHIRE Fowberry Alpacas Jenny MacHarg, Crambe Grange, Barton Le Willows, York YO60 7PQ. Tel 01653 619520. Email: info@fowberry-alpacas.com Web: www.fowberry-alpacas.com Supreme Championship winning herd, including the overall Championship winning Huacaya Sire of the biggest show in Europe (2012). We offer super-fine genetics; correct conformation and happy healthy alpacas; knowledgeable advice and after-sales assistance; regular introductory and advanced courses; on-line shop and as importantly, our support to achieve your alpaca goals.

SPRING 2016

Over 3000 Alpacas worldwide ales g Fem

lin Wean

from e l b a il

eac 0 0 5 1

Ava

Atlantic Herd Clearance Sale Don’t Miss this Opportunity

******AMAZING PACKAGE DEALS****** Packages available starting from £850 each depending on numbers purchased. Elite genetics with many females pregnant to our Australian imported males.

ies

eals

gd n i z a Am

SPRING 2016

Lad c i t n a l re At

atu

re m o m n o

For Further Details Contact: Matthew or Catherine 07710576559 or 07894568331 Baydon, Wiltshire. epcambridge@btconnect.com

ALPACA WORLD

Incredible Incredible natural natural fibre fibre bedding, bedding, for for naturally naturally incredible incredible sleep. sleep. Here at Penrose Products, it’s our aim to become Here at Penrose it’sofour to become Europe’s leadingProducts, producer allaim natural fibre Europe’s producer all naturalrange fibre bedding. leading And, thanks to ourofoutstanding bedding. And, thanks to our outstanding range of products and dedicated people, we believe that of products and people, we believe we’re well on ourdedicated way to achieving that goal. that we’re well on our way to achieving that goal. Our UK suppliers provide us with some of the best Our UK suppliers provide us but withwe’re some always of the best quality fibre in the world, on quality fibrefor in preferred the world,suppliers but we’re always on the lookout with equally the lookout for preferred suppliers with equally incredible fibre available – or as we call them incredible fibre available ‘Penrose Preferred People’. – or as we call them ‘Penrose Preferred People’.

To discuss To discuss work with work with

how your Alpaca how your Alpaca Penrose Products, Penrose Products,

fibre business could fibre business could simply get in touch: simply get in touch:

i n fo @ p e n ro s e p ro d u c t s . c o m i n fo @ p e n ro s e p ro d u c t s . c o m

0 8 4 51 2 57 2 2 2 0 8 4 51 2 57 2 2 2 w w w. p e n ro s e p ro d u c t s . c o m w w w. p e n ro s e p ro d u c t s . c o m

The natural way to sleep The natural way to sleep