Alpaca British Alpaca Society bi-monthly magazine ISSUE 94: SEPTEMBER/OCTOBER 2022 www.bas-uk.com The fibre breed British Alpaca Society
bringing art to the science of alpaca Artworkwww.artworkalpacas.combreeding.Alpacas,MillsFarmHouse, Rogate, West Sussex, GU31 5EQ, UK T: 07785 258740 E: alpacas@freivokh.com ARTWORK ALPACAS Snowmass Bronze Royalty of Artwork weanlings……
Chief Executive: Steve Wright Chief Operating Officer: Phil Weeden Managing Director: Kevin McCormick
GRAPHIC DESIGN Jo Legg 07306 482166 jo.legg@flair-design.co.uk
PRINTING Precision Colour Print
Cover photo: ©Ingrid Weel
Prolonged drought has left paddocks looking bare and brown with little or no grass growth. We ask Cotswold Seeds if owners should consider re-seeding this autumn? 20
Photographer Ingrid Weel, who has worked at the BAS National and the Spring Fiesta, tells us about her visual project celebrating breeders, alpacas and fibre. 38 Close encounters Lydford Gorge Alpacas is a tourist attraction on the edge of Dartmoor National Park where Helen Markou ensures everyone can have a close encounter with these “inspiring” animals. 38 permissionPlanning brings certainty Matt and Vicki Webb faced an uncertain future until they finally received planning permission to build a permanent home on their land. 42 Show results 46 Letter from Poland Heaven Alpacas has brought together top genetics from leading US and New Zealand herds to establish a core breeding herd of 49 alpacas.
SOCIETY c/o Grassroots Systems Ltd, PO Box 251, Exeter EX2 8WX. Tel (within UK): 0845 3312468 Tel (Overseas): +44(0)1392 437788 Fax: +44(0)1392 437788 Email: info@bas-uk.com
36 A bigger picture
EDITORIAL Editor: Liz alpaca.ed@kelsey.co.ukMason
26 New business for family farm Craig and Katriona Hyslop are determined to keep working their family farm and build a successful alpaca business after winning a grant from the Rural ProgrammeDevelopmentforEngland to help fund a café, and craft workshop space.
12 A class of their own In the first of a two part feature Ron Condon, a founding member of the Australian Alpaca Association, takes us on a journey to Peru where he meets legendary breeder Don Julio Barreda from the renowned Accoyo herd.
Marty McGee Bennett has been working with alpacas, llamas and owners for more than forty years. In this interview she explains how CAMELIDynamics can lead to a better relationship with animals and humans.
50 BAS spotlightregional The Suri Network (UK) Group.
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Alpaca
34 Fibre and weaving
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One of the real pleasures of weaving is working with the fleeces of alpacas from your own herd, says Caroline Oakes, who tells us about the Clivewood project which brings together an alpaca herd, weaving studio and minimill.
MANAGEMENT
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TB monitoring Monitoring for bovine tuberculosis to detect and contain infection is important in preventing the disease and can seem like a challenge but free advice is available.
16 Alpaca chat After more than 20 years experience as a breeder and BAS judge Liz Barlow has a wealth of knowledge. She is also still passionate about these wonderful animals 18 Should re-seed?you
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Alpaca #94 3 CONTENTS
8 Sharp increase in rural crime
Subscription Marketing Director: Gill Lambert
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camelidsUnderstanding
30 Fibre processing –a guide Emma Taylor, co-owner of East Anglia Alpaca Mill (EAAM), advises owners to think ahead as forward planning will help you achieve an excellent end product and the best return from your processed fibre.
BAS CHIEF EXECUTIVE Dr Duncan Pullar Tel: 07496 578781 Email: ceo@bas-uk.com
T h e education programme run by BAS has seen good uptake in the last couple of years at all levels, Introductory, Intermediate and Advanced. Prompted by lockdowns the Introduction to Alpaca Assessment course was converted to four two hour webinars with fleece samples posted to delegates and this format has been run six times.
elcome to the September issue of Alpaca magazine. The days are shortening and the temperatures are beginning to drop after a sweltering summer that has seen heat records broken and drought across most of England but as I write we are still waiting for rain. So what does this mean for alpaca owners as we move into autumn? In this issue we get advice from Cotswold Seeds technical advisers on the need for reseeding scorched paddocks. This may mean waiting until later in the month to see if much needed rainfall, particular in the south and east, will allow grass to recover. In the first of a special two part feature we travel to Peru with Ron Condon, a founder member of the Australian Alpaca Association, and one of the few breeders privileged to be allowed to select alpacas from the renowned Accoyo ranch home to the legendary breeder Don Julio Barreda. Our thanks to Ron for taking the time to write such an interesting feature for the magazine.Ourthanks must also go to former BAS judge and breeder Liz Barlow and Marty McGee Bennett, CAMELIDynamics founder for their interviews for the magazine. Liz offers some insights into her life with alpacas, and some advice for new owners while Marty suggests owners can establish a more rewarding › Liz Mason CEO
NOTES...
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The fibre breed British Alpaca Society relationship with their animals by adopting her proven handling methods. We also travel to Poland to visit Heaven Alpacas where alpacas from some of the world’s leading US and Australian studs have been brought together in state of the art facilities to establish an elite breeding herd. The alpacas are looked after by a team including a vet technician to ensure high health and welfare standards as our feature highlights.
Our regular veterinary feature, from Olivia Franks from the Hampden Veterinary Hospital, also emphasises the need to ensure herd health here in the UK and underlines the need to adopt proactive monitoring for bovine tuberculosis (bTB).
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Badger proof paddocks are one measure to help prevent bTB and at Yana Alpacas owners Vicki and Matt Webb have made sure this was part of their set up. Planning permission for a house has secured the couple’s future while planning permission has also been essential to establish a business at Wolfridge Alpaca as we hear from owner Craig Hyslop.
On the plus side it certainly makes the course accessible in a different way from the one-day event in a village hall, or on a host farm, because geography is not a problem – although internet connection speed is a factor! On the negative side delegates miss out on the chat with fellow delegates that adds so much to these days. We have recently run three of the face to face courses and had good attendance but having a mix and match approach will make sense for the future.
The Intermediate and Advanced courses do need hands-on sessions with delegates getting to see and touch alpacas, so they can’t really be delivered as a webinar. Thanks to Covid-19 we have had a bit of a demand backlog, but we have been working through that and now are back to “par.”More courses will be advertised through the autumn and winter so if you are thinking now might be the time to advance you knowledge of conformation and fleece characteristics then please do make the most of these opportunities.
Alpaca #944
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FROM THE EDITOR
Duncan Pullar: ceo@bas-uk.com
With halter and fleece show results and an insight into a high welfare Suri trekking herd at Lydford Gorge as well as advice from Emma Taylor, co-owner at East Anglia Alpaca Mill on fleece processing I hope you find something of interest in this issue of the magazine. Thank you to all our contributors and please send in your ideas for future issues.
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Di was delighted to be named this year’s winner and the award follows an extremely successful show season for her Alpha Alpaca herd. Di from Bridport in Dorset was nominated in recognition of her work over many years on behalf of the South West Alpaca Group (SWAG).
ongratulations to Di Davies who has been awarded the Felipe Benavides Trophy in recognition of her contribution to the camelid community. The trophy is awarded each year by BAS, the British Llama Society and British Camelids Ltd to a person who has made a notable contribution to the camelid industry.
Alpaca #946 FELIPE
wners have paid tribute to Jean Field, a former chair of the BAS fibre committee, who passed away peacefully at home in August. Jean kept a small herd of alpacas based in the West Country and made her own hand spun and hand dyed yarns. She was appreciated in the fibre and hand spinning world for her skill, knowledge
NEWS C
TROPHYBENAVIDESWINNERJEANFIELD
A former colonel in the armed forces Di has organised successful shows across the south west for many years including the North Somerset Show, the Ellingham and Ringwood Show and more recently the Somerset County Show. Many new owners have also benefited from Di’s extensive knowledge of alpaca husbandry and welfare gained from more than 20 years experience as an owner and breeder.
Felipe Benavides was an award winning Peruvian ecologist whose work prevented the vicuna, a cousin of the llama highly valued for its fibre, from being hunted to extinction. As a result of his work a national reserve was established in Peru and vicuña numbers rose from 5,000 to 20,000. and enthusiasm and she taught many owners how to skirt fleece and hand spin. Jean gave talks, spinning lessons and fibre workshops across the country and was a craft show judge. As a spinner, knitter and weaver she specialised in both Huacaya and Suri fibre and over the years encouraged many owners to make use of their fibre.
Alpaca #94 7 www.csalpacas.co.uk Julia Corrigan-Stuart Yeat Wood Farm, Wootton Underwood, Bucks HP18 0RL Mobile: 07803 726464 Email: julia@csalpacas.co.uk “RealisingtheDream” LookingforQualityGenetics,choice ofcolour,well-trainedalpacas? Looknofurther... • Alpacasforsale • Agistmentservices • Adoptanalpaca • Alpacaexperiences • Alpacawalks • Handknitted alpacaproducts
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cost the UK an estimated £40.5m in 2021 Most areas saw a fall in rural crime costs, but figures for Scotland jumped by over 50% - however, its baseline figure was lower than many other parts of the UK and recovery rates of stolen agricultural machinery have been strong. The Midlands and South East also missed out on the national decrease, with costs in these regions rising Althoughslightly.areduction in the cost of crime is welcome news, the pandemic period has been an exception and it appears that the relative respite from rural theft will be sadly short-lived. While there have been significant decreases in costs - 19% in 2020 and 9.3% in 2021 - the trend is starting to reverse and the threat of rural crime is once again returning. Initial estimates from our 2022 claims figures indicate a cost rise of over 40% in the first quarter of the year, and experts warn of a return to pre-pandemic crime levels.
NEWS
The figures show: * rural theft was an estimated £40.5m across the UK * rural crime is a concern to 50% of the rural community * 49% of respondents said fuel theft is the rural crime they are most concerned about * theft of Land Rover Defenders cost £2.6m –a rise of 87% on the previous year.
Alpaca #948 SHARP INCREASE
New advice on protecting rural property to avoid becoming a victim of rural crime is being made available to country people in NFU Mutual’s 2022 Rural Crime report and the insurer’s latest advice videos.
LIVESTOCK THEFT COST £2.4M An increase of 3.7% on 2020
Matching last year’s figures despite the wider drop in rural crime costs LAND DEFENDERROVERTHEFTCOST£2.6M
Rebecca Davidson, Rural Affairs Specialist at NFU Mutual, said: “Our latest claims figures warn that rural theft is quickly gathering momentum as criminals make up for time lost over the past two pandemic years. We’re advising rural people to review their security, to help prevent crime and disruption. “With prices of essential farm equipment such as tractors and quads rising fast and the cost of diesel soaring over the past year, there’s little doubt that criminals will be trying to steal from“Wefarms.alsoknow that essentials of rural living like heating oil tanks will only become more attractive to thieves as costs rise. A recent poll by NFU Mutual reveals that 89% of respondents believe inflation will lead to an increase in rural crime.“Crime in the countryside causes high levels of anxiety and disruption, with many farmers and rural home owners feeling vulnerable due to their isolated location. The knowledge that determined thieves are scouring the
Rebecca added: “As each farm or home is different, every property needs a different approach to keeping thieves out – and there’s an armoury of measures to help do so, from traditional fortification, to technology using movement sensors, to community information networks.”
GPS THEFT COST £1.5M A 47% decrease from 2020 thanks to targeted support for police operations
The latest crime wave has prompted the insurer to issue urgent advice and launch a series of videos to help farmers take action to protect their property.
Rural home owners and landowners are being urged to protect their property as insurers report a sharp rise in rural thefts.
second-hand cars and replacement parts saw thieves stealing the iconic British four by four vehicles and stripping them down. And although NFU Mutual saw the cost of stolen quad-bikes and all-terrain vehicles (ATVs) fall 11% to £2.2m in 2021, almost half of those thefts took place from September to December. As shipping delays and the effects of Covid-19 and Brexit contributed to low supply and a rise in demand, thieves turned their sights back onto these easily portable, “hot-ticket” items to capitalise on growing waiting lists and soaring market values.
The number of fuel theft claims received by NFU Mutual fell from 2020 to 2021, but with record high prices for diesel and heating oil, NFU Mutual claims data from the first half of this year indicates the frequency and cost of fuel theft claims have more than doubled compared to the same period in 2021.
“NFU Mutual is responding by helping those living and working in rural areas to put in place effective security measures and by continuing to provide major support to enable dedicated police resources to tackle crime.”
A rise of 87% on the previous year
In a new poll of the rural community by NFU Mutual, almost half of respondents (49%) said that fuel theft was now their greatest crime concern.
Land Rovers targeted
QUAD AND ATV THEFT COST £2.2M A fall of almost 11% from 2020 TRAILER THEFT COST £1.75M An increase of nearly 5% as thieves again set their sights on larger equipment 2021 IN NUMBERS 8 IN RURAL CRIME
countryside looking for targets, and returning to carry out night-time raids can lead to sleepless nights for people in remote areas.
VEHICLEAGRICULTURALTHEFTCOST£9.1M
Meanwhile, the financial impact of each incident is hitting farmers even harder and at a time when global food supplies are under pressure. So while there may have been fewer thefts in 2021, the average claim cost rose over 11%.
uel and kit, including Land Rovers and quad bikes, are among the items being targeted by thieves as the cost of living crisis hits the countryside and figures suggest “a worrying return to pre-pandemic crime levels”. Latest figures released by rural insurer NFU Mutual in its 2022 Rural Crime Report, indicate a cost rise of over 40% in the first quarter of the year, as thieves travel more widely and make up for lost time following the Covid-19 pandemic.
Fuel price hikes
Land Rover Defender owners battled a barrage of crime as the rocketing value of
34% of someonepolledpeopleknow Region or Country Cost in 2021 Cost in 2020 % fromChange2020 £6.6m£8.3m£8.0m£3.8m£2.1m£1.7m£7.4m£5.3m£1.6m £40.5m £44.7m Estimates based on NFU Mutual claims statistics, costs rounded to the nearest £100,000. Percentages changes are based on exact figures. The 10 worst affected counties by cost in 2021, based on NFU Mutual 7 Lancashire £1,134,391 £1,484,103 -23.6% Alpaca #94 9 TOF T S TU D EST. 1997 Let us inspire you with the complete alpaca experience. Pets, studs, breeding stock, livery and workshops. www.toftalpacastud.com Rob & Shirley Bettinson Toft Manor Lodge, Dunchurch, Warwickshire, CV22 6NR | shirley@toftalpacastud.com | 07970 626245 Celebrating 25 years of alpaca breeding.
I have been helping to look after the alpacas at Heyes Farm for four years as the owners asked someone to come along and help once a week. I'm now there three or four mornings a week, looking after the alpacas and doing ground work, like mowing, fence repair and walks with the public.
seriously for seven years now, having stopped once I left school in 1988. Why alpacas? I love them. I have always painted animals, and Star Wars characters – adding myself and making them humorous is a recent development which people seem to like.
Alpaca #9410
I'm autistic so this works great for me, the alpacas have become a huge part of my life, and definitely helped with my social skills. I have fulfilled a childhood dream of being a zoo keeper. I love painting, it helps me relax and focuses my mind. I've been painting Andrew Goodfellow’s paintings are inspired by his love of alpacas. More recently he has included himself in these humorous images, as he explains.
If you have some alpaca artwork you’d like to share send to: ✉ ceo@bas-uk.com
NEWS
INSPIREDALPACASBY
A CLASS OF THEIR OWN
Some months later Cherie Bridges, who became the first secretary of the Australian Alpaca Association, advertised alpacas for sale in South Australia.
Dianne and I jumped in the car and drove all night, deciding we would buy two. But when we saw the alpacas it was love at first sight so we borrowed more money from the bank and bought six. Within a year of buying our first alpacas from Cherie, we discovered Alan Hamilton and Roger and Clyde Haldane had a large shipment of alpacas quarantined in New Zealand waiting to be imported to Australia. I flew to New Zealand for a look and decided to buy another six.
BREEDING
My wife Dianne and I first saw and fell in love with alpacas in the late 1980’s. We had a farm on the outskirts of Melbourne and had been breeding angora goats for the best part of a decade when fellow goat
In the first of a two part feature Ron Condon, a founding member of the Australian Alpaca Association, takes us on a journey to Peru where he meets legendary breeder Don Julio Barreda from the renowned Accoyo herd and selects “heart stopping” alpacas for the Shanbrooke Alpaca Stud.
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breeders Geoff and Nancy Halpin imported a small group of alpacas from Alaska— the first alpacas to touch Australian soil since Charles Ledger’s failed introduction in the mid 1800’s.
Travelling eight hour days through rivers and over boulders sometimes perched precariously on the side of a mountain wondering which track to take. You are 5000 metres above sea level, the view is breathtaking and so is the air. Each day is exhausting but you continue on, determined to find that illusive alpaca, the one that makes your heart stop.
eru’s Altiplano is a harsh and barren place but its rare beauty is etched in my heart forever. My travels across the countryside have taken me to places few outsiders have ever seen. Along steep mountain ranges by roads no more than goat tracks.
Alpaca #9412
Our foundation alpacas were typical of those early imports from Chile, multi-coloured, long nosed and leggy. They were fine fleeced but lacking density and crimp. They were all that was available at the time but we could see their potential. (See photo of foundation Chilean female Shanbrooke I’m A TenDream).yearsof breeding angora goats taught us the importance of buying the best we could afford and breeding to a type. If you have a clear and definite direction to work towards, your breeding program will advance much faster. For Dianne and I, our vision of the perfect alpaca came from Rigoberto Calle Escobar’s book ‘Animal Breeding and Production of American Camelids’. Chapter 1 includes a photo of a stocky, well-proportioned female with a short wide muzzle and wool from her nose to her toes. She was Grand Champion Huacaya at Juliaca Fair in 1981 and to our eyes she stood in a class of her own. As Escobar describes, perfect harmony in form and function (see photo). This photo shaped the type of alpacas we would later breed. Further on in Escobar’s book, there are two reference photos depicting a group of “ideal” Suris and a group of “ideal” Huacayas. They are like peas in a pod with square frames, dense fleece and strong wide muzzles. On reflection, these alpacas were unmistakably Accoyo. As a novice alpaca breeder, Escobar’s book became my bible. With a clear picture in our minds of what we wanted to breed, Dianne and I purchased a female from Roger and Clyde Haldane by the name of Purrumbete Showpiece. As her name suggests, Showpiece was a stylish, typey female with a dense and uniform fleece vastly different from the Chileans grazing our paddocks at the time. Showpiece bred us Shanbrooke Society Lass (sired by Purrumbete El Dorado), an exceptional female and consistent producer of champions. Society Lass became a donor in our first embryo transfer program and bred us 10 daughters and seven sons who were all certified or exported as working males.
>>
> Shanbrooke I'm A Dream > Group of Accoyo females in Peru > Grand Champion Female Juliaca Fair > Alan Hamilton, Don Julio and Ron Condon
Continued on next page
Juliaca is the biggest city in the south east region of Puno and sits at just under 4000 metres (12,500 ft) above sea level, 1500 metres higher than Arequipa. I had never travelled to high altitude before and was not aware of the need to acclimatise gradually. When we touched down in Juliaca I felt my chest tighten and my lungs beg for oxygen the moment the plane door opened. The next two weeks were spent travelling the countryside feeling like I had a bad hangover. To top it off, I developed a severe case of gastroenteritis and christened just about every chook pen and hole in the ground in Puno. In hindsight I was lucky not to have been hospitalised. An introduction to Peru I will never forget. It was on one of these buying missions in the mid 1990s that I had a chance meeting with Don Julio Barreda at Ayaviri airport. I had not met Don Julio before but I knew of him from my alpaca Bible where Escobar refers to Don Julio as one of Peru’s most prestigious breeders.
Discovering Accoyo
Tulaco Peru
>
The following year, we bought another three females from Roger and Clyde, Purrumbete Sun Dial, her daughter Purrumbete Compass Rose and Purrumbete Flamingo Gold. We bred Flamingo Gold to Purrumbete Ledgers Dream and produced Shanbrooke High Society, who won Supreme Champion at the National Show in 1997 and later sold for a world record price of These$190,000.fouralpaca females transformed our herd and became the backbone of our breeding program. Their progeny won championships at every major show in the country. It was not until much later we discovered these females were from Don Julio Barreda’s famed Accoyo herd. Most alpaca breeders have heard of Don Julio’s business cards— Purrumbete Highlander, El Dorado, Inti and Ledgers Dream, who were an enormous leap forward in quality. These influential males forever changed the course of the Australian alpaca industry. Their impact was so great that their names are still evident in pedigrees today. What is less well known is that these influential males were accompanied by a group of influential females, four of which catapulted the Shanbrooke name across the world.
Alpaca #94BREEDING14
Five years into our alpaca journey, (and well and truly hooked on these magical doe-eyed creatures), I was invited to select alpacas in Peru for Alan Hamilton and Cherie Bridges. I naively jumped at the opportunity. In those days, it was not an easy journey: 40 hours of non-stop travel from Melbourne to Lima via Los Angeles and Miami. After spending six hours in Lima airport waiting for a connecting flight, I finally arrived in Arequipa. It was late in the evening and I was absolutely exhausted but still had another flight to catch early the next morning. After a brief but much needed sleep I departed Arequipa for Juliaca completely unaware of what was to come.
US breeder Mike Safley – whose admiration for Don Julio and his alpacas was, as I found out later, well deserved – also wrote of a man who, from an early age, set about redesigning the alpaca. Don Julio had a vision- 20 pounds (9kg) of fleece, 20 micron, every year, every alpaca. And after 50 years of rigorous genetic selection Don Julio was, pardon the pun, within spitting distance of his goal. In 1995, Mike published a fleece test from Tulaco a typical male from the Plantel Accoyo herd. At two years of age Tulaco cut 14 (6.5kg) pounds of 19.7 micron fleece. (See Tulaco histogram from Mike Safley). The average fleece weight for alpacas in Australia at the time would have been no more than two kilograms. Don Julio had well and truly redesigned the alpaca. This was a man I had to meet. By luck/chance/fate, call it what you will, I was waiting for a flight at Ayaviri airport when I noticed an elderly man who looked very much like Don Julio. Although I had only seen photos of Don Julio, I was sure it was him. I could scarcely believe it. I was star struck but eventually gathered enough composure to approach the man asking: “Are you Don Julio Barreda?’ His reply “yes” was the beginning of my Accoyo journey. In part two, to be published in October, we follow Ron as he is offered the opportunity to select “stand out” alpacas from the Plantel line kept by Don Julio to produce Accoyo herd sires.
> This histogram is from Tulaco, a typical male in the Accoyo Plantel herd. He sheared 14 pounds of fleece
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GARSONS FIELD Alpacas for sale We are based in North Somerset and have a small herd of friendly, hand fed alpacas. Due to retirement, we are downsizing and would love our herd to find a new happy home. Greys, browns and fawns available. Get in touch with Elaine on 07788 748675 or visit www.garsonsfield.com
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Alpaca #94 15
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With over 30 years’ industry experience, we are the insurance broker of choice for the regions’ agricultural community. As a valued client of H&H Insurance Brokers, you will have access to the widest range of policies available, meaning you get exactly the right cover for your business. Plus, with a direct line to your broker and a 98% pay-out rate on claims, you’ll get the help you need, when you need it most. Call today: 01228 406 290 Email: info@hhib.co.uk Or visit: www.hhinsurancebrokers.co.uk
Have animals always been part of your life? Yes they have. I’m a farmer’s daughter and I was born on a farm so we always had animals, mainly cattle and pigs and I had chickens as a present for my fourth birthday and I was a keen horse rider from the age of five to my early twenties.
Why did you decide to become an alpaca breeder?
We fell in love with alpacas and the idea that you could develop a business without slaughtering animals. This was something that appealed to us, as well as the fleece and breeding aspects.
After more than 20 years experience as a breeder and BAS judge Liz Barlow has a wealth of knowledge. She is also still passionate about these wonderful animals, as Alpaca editor Liz Mason finds out.
Alpaca #9416
Most people would say the minute you go and visit an alpaca you say “yes”, and that’s how it was for us. We bought two breeding females from Chile via Joy Whitehead at Bozedown Alpacas in 1999. If you looked at the pictures now you will see how ugly they were – but we thought they were gorgeous!
I was still working when we had our first two alpacas and our first two cria in 1999. I quickly realised that I was very interested in alpacas and I was fortunate to be able to engineer my redundancy. I was made redundant from my full time job in January 2000 and I became an independent management consultant. That meant I could spend time with the alpacas and work at the same time, and in summer I was able to watch out for births and be at my desk later on.
Did you have a particular type or aim in mind as a breeder?
How important was showing to achieving improvement in your herd? Showing allowed us to see the quality of animals other people were breeding. We were also able to talk to other people and learn from them, and it was fun. In those days everyone went to lots of shows just for the fun of it, and I think we were shocked when we had some success – in fact we were veryTheshocked!malewe used to produce our National Show Champion in 2004 was one we didn’t want to use on as many females as we did. Foot and mouth disease meant we had to get a special licence to move alpacas so we chose one stud male to use on three of our females whereas normally we wouldn’t have made that decision. But then we were delighted when we eventually won the National.
BREEDING T
ALPACA CHAT
here are a handful of people in the UK alpaca community with as much experience as Liz. She started the renowned Livanti herd in 1999 and went on to produce many champion alpacas, including an early Supreme Champion at the BAS National Show in 2004. After qualifying as a judge Liz judged the BAS National four times before retiring in 2021. In this interview she shares some highlights from her time as a breeder and judge. Her advice to new owners is to “learn as much as you can, have fun and trust your instincts.”
When did you start keeping alpacas and why? I left home and joined the civil service and did stints in various parts of the country. Then in 1997 Ivan and I bought a house in a village which had a small piece of land. That was great, but you think “what am I actually going to keep on that land?” Believe it or not I saw an article in the Sunday Times magazine ‘A Day in the Life of a Llama Breeder’. I thought that’s really interesting, and when I looked into llamas I found out about alpacas.
Our aim was definitely to improve the quality of the alpacas, including both conformation and fleece, and there was lots of scope! We would now call our first alpacas “unimproved”. Their fleece was poor – it was not fine and it was not dense. It was coarse and phenotypically they were not perfect. They had slightly longer backs and bigger, longer heads –they were very different to what we see now. As we were small breeders we couldn’t keep Huacaya and Suri. We bred Huacayas and our aim was definitely to improve fleece quality primarily but also to try to achieve a more compact conformation.
I was very keen to learn and before we got our first alpacas we went on a two day British Camelids course to learn all about them. It was invaluable because we learnt about husbandry as well as fleece and conformation. There wasn’t much opportunity to learn anything more, other than through a couple of courses designed for people who wanted to become a judge. I wanted to learn, but wasn’t sure I would ever go and judge, but once I’d done the courses somebody rang and said: “Well, now you’ve done these courses you’d better judge a show.” I agreed, thinking “it’s now or never”, but I loved it and it has always been a real honour.
We were a small herd when we started. We built up to 12 or 14 alpacas within a year or two but we didn’t have lots of money and we couldn’t afford to buy in many animals. We bought a few at auction, and then bought a few more expensive animals and it was one of these, a female called Octavia, whose line gave us some amazing cria. We focused on selective breeding. Good breeding decisions come from learning and looking at the traits and asking what does the female need to improve her? A cria is the outcome of a fifty fifty contribution – it’s not just about the male. You are never going to produce an absolute stunner of an alpaca without a good male and a good female.
I’ve been very lucky to judge the National Show four times. The first three shows were very far apart in terms of changes to the quality of the alpacas. They are still improving and evolving, in terms of improving density without losing fineness. This year the fineness, density and length of staple on the alpacas I saw was superb, and you begin to think how can they get any better? What advice would give to new breeders and owners who want to show?
One of our very first shows was a British Camelid Show with llamas and alpacas. There were only a few alpacas; we rocked up with two or three and no idea what we were doing! One of our little males did win – it was a very small show, with very small numbers and it was very early days. You wouldn’t recognise those shows now as today they are so professional and well organised.
I went to Peru when I was training and to see the different alpacas, and to train with Maggie Krieger and Julio Sumar, which was fantastic. It was also a bit scary! But it was a great learning experience because we saw how the alpacas lived and it enabled us to learn everything about alpacas from their digestive system and teeth, to assessing fleece and conformation We also saw what they ate, and I have a picture of some paddling in shallow water nibbling at rock fungus which is where their minerals came from. It was incredibly interesting and a fantastic learning experience.
Can you tell us what the early shows were like?
After judging the BAS National in 2019, and visiting the show this year, how would you say the type of alpacas bred in the UK has changed?
Learn as much as you can – learning is the key to everything. Have a plan or a goal and enjoy it. Life is too short not to enjoy what you do, and use your own judgement. Once you’ve learnt everything you can stick to your plan and use your judgement because sometimes the perceived experts aren’t always right –ask 10 breeders a question about alpacas and you’ll often get 11 answers!
Although you’re retired from judging will alpacas remain a big part of your life? Yes. I am part of the Yorkshire Alpaca Group and helped them with the Yorkshire Show last year. I am going to be their events co-ordinator, and of course I will continue to help my sister Jackie with her herd at Beacon Alpacas.
The excitement each year of having new cria was great – and of course when we were relatively new to the show ring, winning the National with Livanti Cloud in 2004 was fantastic.
> Alpacas eating minerals on Altiplano
How did you go about learning more?
What were your highlights with the Livanti herd? Were these in or out of the show ring? They were both. One of the best things was seeing the cria born each year and eagerly waiting for the fleece to grow and develop. You make a breeding decision, you wait eleven and a half months for the cria to be born, and then you can see its potential when it’s first born.
MANAGEMENT S
Over-seeding an alpaca pasture
When to sow: Over-seeding can be carried out during early to mid spring. Late spring and early summer sowings should be avoided as this will coincide with aggressive grass growth from the existing pasture. Alternatively, over-seed in the autumn, from late August to mid September, when the existing grass is slowing down. Sowing rate: We advise an over-seeding rate of 10 kgs per acre. This is a robust rate which takes into account that it’s not a complete reseed, but that new seeds are being sown into an existing sward
Prolonged drought has left paddocks looking bare and brown with little or no grass growth. Alpaca editor Liz Mason asks Cotswold Seeds if owners should consider re-seeding this autumn?
Both these mixtures will give more drought tolerance to a sward which means paddocks and fields should be able to withstand periods of drought
For those that are considering re-seeding Lizzie suggests Cotswold’s Llama and Alpaca Mix. This mix contains a variety of palatable grasses that llamas and alpacas tend to prefer and avoids using any ryegrass as this can be too high in sugar.
SHOULDRE-SEED?YOU
Alpaca #9418
better than a ryegrass sward for example.
Preparation is key to successful establishment as Cotswold Seeds’s guidance notes, from Lizzie Arnold and technical manager Sam Lane, highlight.
“If they were not able to re-seed and over-seeding was the only option we would recommend our Equine Pasture Over-Seeding mix. This mixture again doesn't contain any ryegrass and we use similar grasses to the Llama and Alpaca mixture. However, just trim it down slightly as some species over-seed better than others, Lizzie adds.
The key to successful over-seeding is to reduce the competition from the existing sward as much as possible, before introducing the new seeds. Sowing in warm conditions, just before rain or damp weather, will encourage the new seeds to germinate quickly.
> Sweltering summer temperatures and no rain have left fields and paddocks looking brown. East Anglia has been particularly hard hit
ome may consider re-seeding pasture areas if the drought has killed off all the grasses in the sward, says Cotswold Seeds technical sales advisor, Lizzie Arnold. “At the moment it is difficult to say whether or not pastures will end up recovering if we do get some rain. What we will probably find is that a lot of people over-seed pastures as this can be easier then undertaking a total re-seed of an area,” Lizzie says.
Preparation: Graze or cut hard and narrow the existing sward vigorously before sowing to reduce competition and open up new space and soil for the new seeds. Several passes with the harrows at slightly different angles may beWhennecessary.sowing the new seeds, be wary of sowing too deeply with aggressive direct drills. Sowing small seeds too deeply is the number one cause of poor establishment. Alternatively, broadcast the seed, followed by an additional harrow.After sowing, roll the area or tread in with the alpacas to lock in moisture and create good seed to soil contact. Animals can be left on the area for three to four days after sowing to further keep on top of the old sward (soil conditions allowing) but must be removed before the new seeds germinate. Before reintroducing stock, carry out the pluck or rip test: If you can pull up the new seedlings by the roots, allow seedlings further time to establish better root anchorage. The interval between sowing and leaving the new seeds to establish will normally be six to eight weeks. When the new seeds are sufficiently established, graze lightly for several days, before removing the animals and allowing the area to recover for three to four weeks. Resume normal grazing after this period, managing the grazing by splitting larger fields into paddocks and rotational grazing. Fencing off and recently grazed areas rested will help the grass recover more quickly.
Photo: Emma Taylor, East Anglia Alpacas
Alpaca #94 19
Do not fertilise areas that have been over-seeded for at least six weeks after sowing. Applying fertiliser immediately after over-seeding will only benefit the existing sward and may cause that grass to smother out the newly emerging seeds. For more information: paper-plane www.cotswoldseeds.com
Seed mixtures: For alpaca paddocks we would avoid using a ryegrass based mixture. Instead we would opt for the more traditional meadow grasses as ryegrass can have an effect on alpaca fleeces causing them to coarsen because of the high sugar levels it contains. However, the preparation before over-seeding becomes even more key because these species are less aggressive so compete less with the existing grass sward; this old sward must be reduced significantly to give these traditional species a chance to establish.
What would say have been some of your highlights or most rewarding experiences over those forty years?
Wow this is a really hard one. The thing that makes what I do so satisfying is seeing my students realise how much better, easier and more profound the relationship they have with their animals can be and how that knowledge changes the way they interact with their children, dogs, cats andThespouses.onethat always comes to mind is about an alpaca named Applause.
When I met her she was a 14 year old very pregnant imported alpaca.
Applause would typically scream, spit, and lose control of her bladder and bowels when handled in any way by humans. She was intensely protective of her babies and would physically attack anyone that tried to touch her baby. I worked with her over the course of a clinic and she never acted out at all. It was the beginning of an entirely new relationship with Shari who sent me this email:
It is hard for me to believe until I look in the mirror but this is the fortieth year of my love affair with llamas and alpacas. My first llama jumped off the back of a pickup truck and into my heart in 1981. Since then, I have devoted my professional, and to a large extent my personal life, to the wellbeing of llamas and alpacas and the education of camelid enthusiasts.
I planned to be a veterinarian in college and I have a Bachelor of Science degree in animal behaviour but I flunked physics and ended up in the army. Ironically part of what I teach now is the physics of animal handling!
Alpaca #9420
>> Continued on next page HANDLING
I have travelled over a million miles to five continents, at least twenty countries, taught in every state in the United States except Rhode Island, have worked with veterinary colleges around the world, taught over 600 clinics, was an assistant cook on a research expedition in Patagonia to collect information on guanaco births – still camelids and their people continue to amaze and delight me every single day.
UNDERSTANDINGCAMELIDS
Could you tell us how and why you began working with alpacas and llamas?
Marty McGee Bennett has been working with alpacas, llamas and owners for more than forty years. In this interview for Alpaca magazine she explains how CAMELIDynamics can lead to a better relationship with animals and humans.
For more details and to book your places go to www.SimplyAlpaca.co.uk SENIOR CONSULTANT Is your relationship with your animals all you had hoped for? How can Camelidynamics techniques help me on my alpaca journey? Camelidynamics is an approach to and collection of methods that represent the most positive, least intrusive techniques for training and managing Thisalpacas.two day handling course will change the relationship you have with your animals forever. Understand why camelids behave the way they do and learn kind and e cient methods that are science-based, for safe handling and husbandry that’s fun. Tell your vet that we have courses for them too. For those interested in nding out how this approach can inform and support your human/alpaca interactions in the therapeutic arena, we are now o ering courses for owners and professionals. Working with Alpacas in Animal Assisted Activity or Therapy. Alpaca & Llama handler training with... MARSHWOOD alpacas www.marshwood-alpacas.co.ukTel:01297678181GeoffBugler Basic Easy-Pen £297.00 + carr. & VAT Aluminium Hurdles 4ft, 6ft, 8ft and 10ft from £47.50 each Alpaca Equipment: Are you connected to the market place? Tel 01730 823256 l chris@alpacaseller.com l www.alpacaseller.com Mobile apps from AlpacaSeller for Android and iPhone
Since then I have been lucky to study with many amazing teachers all dedicated to working with an animal’s body, mind and spirit. My studies with Dr Susan Friedman have given me the scientific understanding of why certain things work and others don’t , or come with a high cost when it comes to the kind of relationship that I seek to have with animals.
I am not sure what you mean by behavioural needs exactly. I think it is safe to say that most animals have trouble with humans because the humans do not understand the principles of behaviour and how behaviour works. They see the behaviour of the animal only as either good or bad not how it serves the animal.
HANDLING<<
Alpaca #9422 “Well I had to let you know. Applause finally had her baby today. A beautiful dark brown little boy. Her attitude with this birth has been absolutely amazing. And I have you to thank. Normally when she births her baby, she is a screaming lunatic. Really! If you even came within 10 feet of her cria she would scream, spit, whatever she thought she needed to do to keep you away. This time was so different.
I had horses as a young girl and thought I knew about horses and understood them. Linda’s work was so profoundly different from the insensitive, illogical, graceless methods that I was taught as a young woman, that I knew immediately I had to learn her work and bring it to the world of camelids.
What would you say alpacas require to fulfil their behavioural needs and is this the same for males and females?
I think they need an interesting environment. Paddock size is not nearly as important as varied terrain, things to look at and other animals to interact with. A big mound of dirt can make all the difference, providing limbs and branches, spreading hay all over the place – weather permitting – instead of putting it in a feed bunk.
“She allowed me to come up and dip the baby’s navel – no screaming and biting of my hair. She just smelled my hair, no pulling it this year and no screaming at me. It really is amazing. She still didn't want me to pick him up to weigh him and so I didn't. He is healthy, active and I thought why break that trust just because I want to know what he weighs. So I will wait a few days and weigh him when she is a little less protective. He is a great size and I'm sure he is about 18-19 pounds. She even let me get under her next to the baby to strip the wax from her teats and be sure he was suckling fine – which he was. But you cannot imagine how dumbfounded I was. It was the best birthing this spring.” What prompted you to develop CAMELIDynamic as an approach to handling?
I was looking for a topic to write on for ‘Llamas Magazine’ way back in the 1980s. Quite serendipitously I saw a photo of Linda Tellington-Jones working with a camel and even though it wasn’t a llama it peaked my interest. I had the opportunity to go to a clinic and see Linda’s work with horses and write an article about her for Llamas Magazine.
Do you think problem or difficult behaviour, including aggression, results from a failure to understand their behavioural needs?
What causes 'berserk male syndrome’ and can aggressive males be rehabilitated? This is a huge issue and not one I can address very well in a short format. But the bottom line is that human beings cause this problem with inappropriate handling. I do not like the term "berserk male syndrome" at all. First it can happen with females and secondly it is caused by humans so it is better referred to as the “novice handler syndrome”. Humans who do not understand camelids or behaviour create the problem.
Halter training and teaching animals to walk calmly on a lead rope can be problematic. Does CAMELIDynamics help with this and can you halter train older alpacas? I answered this in the previous question really; alpacas are not halter trained so there is nothing for them to do except stand there. The job of introducing and putting on a halter in a way that doesn’t start a fight is the secret. The same is true with leading; the animals know how to walk. The question is can the handler teach the animal to understanding signals and feel safe enough to comply. This is a matter of the handler being clear and creating a proper set up that helps the animal be successful.Ananimal's age has nothing to do with it capacity to learn. When a 15 year old animal is sold to a new farm think of all the things they must learn to get along in their new environment. Animals learn new things every single day of their lives if the situation requires it. Do animal learn habits both good and bad? Yes they do and they can let go of these behaviours too.
NessSandhillssandhillsalpacas@aol.com07791www.tockwithalpacas.com881556Alpacas,SandhillsFarmCottage,Lane,TockwithYO267QL
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What would your advice be to new owners keeping alpacas for the first time?
• Here is also the CAMELIDynamics virtual coaching and consultancy program. If you are really keen to learn as much as you can and maybe teach others, this program will be of interest. It is a year long program that meets online every other week for two hours for interactive lessons and video coaching.
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Alpaca #94 23
Animals are behaving to feel safe in the world and to get food, mates, essentially to have control over their environment. Most handling and training issues stem from the way that we use force to accomplish things, using restraint devices, trapping animals in corners, wrestling them to get halters on, picking up babies to weigh them, picking up a foot and refusing to give it back. All of these things ignore the animals fundamental need for control and make the animal feel unsafe in its environment. Will owners have a better understanding of their alpacas as a result of learning about CAMELIDynamics?
• Attend a clinic with a CAMELIDynamics Clinician or get personal help from a CAMELIDynamics Consultant!.Online courses offer the kind of visual support and detail that you need to really gain competence with the techniques.
If someone knows my method and is good at it, the animals respond immediately. However it does take practice and commitment to learn how to use the tools and techniques well enough to have immediate success with a difficult animal. The major misunderstanding is when a human can’t handle an animal because the animal is “being” difficult. The real answer is that the animal does not feel safe and then reacts in ways humans find to be difficult. Once you know and become proficient at the methods I teach every single animal in the universe is easier to handle because of what you as the handler know and can do. You understand how to give animals control, help them feel safe and as if by magic they are easier to handle and train.
• Coughing • Lethargy and weakness Weight loss, which can be rapid
MONITORING Olivia Franks, The Farm Vets at Hampden Veterinary Hospital, underlines the importance of herd monitoring for bovine tuberculosis to detect and contain infection. Preventing the disease can seem like a challenge but free advice is available.
• Sudden death
Alpaca #9424 TB
B
ovine tuberculosis (bTB), the infectious disease caused by Mycobacterium bovis, is endemic in cattle and wildlife in some areas of the UK, and causes severe disease in alpacas. Its complex biology makes it a difficult disease to detect. However, it is imperative that alpaca owners undertake proactive monitoring for bTB in their herds. bTB infection in alpacas can take a long time to develop to the point of showing clinical signs, which can be vague and non-specific when they do appear. Meanwhile, those animals can be seeding infection through the herd, so that on discovery it is already widespread. Proactive monitoring is key to early detection and containment of infection.
Oli is a farm vet based in Buckinghamshire who enjoys all aspects of farm work, with particular interests in sustainable agriculture and camelid medicine. She enjoys the variety that camelid work offers at both the individual and the herd level.
Clinical signs
Many cases of bTB in alpacas are detected following post-mortem examination of a sick animal that has either died or been euthanased. The presence of characteristic lesions will be followed up with laboratory testing to determine if bTB infection was the cause of disease. PME can be a valuable source of information about many herd level diseases,
• Breathing difficulties
About the author
Alpacas infected with bTB can show a wide variety of clinical signs, which in turn are rarely specific to bTB. They can appear fit and healthy despite quite extensive lung disease, due to their adaptation to tolerate low oxygen conditions at high altitude. However, signs to look out for include:
•
• Lack of appetite • Enlarged lymph nodes (glands)
HEALTH
Postmortem examination (PME)
Many of these clinical signs are more often caused by other diseases, such as gastrointestinal parasitism, than bTB, but bTB should be considered as a possible diagnosis. Isolating animals showing suspicious clinical signs away from the main herd is a sensible precaution while awaiting diagnosis (with a companion for welfare reasons). Regular body condition scoring will enable early detection of animals losing condition unexpectedly.
Whether using this scheme or not, camelid owners must obtain permission from the Animal and Plant Health Agency (APHA) to test their animals for bTB (country specific rules apply). Several tests are available.
For more information: paper-plane www.tbas.org.uk ✉ info@tbas.org.uk specificity test options are used which minimise the probability of false positive results. APHA recommends that alpacas are boosted with bovine tuberculin 10-30 days before blood sampling for antibody testing, using either a skin test, or injection with bovine tuberculin only (the rules for this differ between England/Scotland and Wales). This step is recommended to boost levels of pre-existing specific antibodies to M bovis, which may otherwise be too low to detect; thus improving the likelihood of detecting infected animals. It does not induce antibodies in uninfected animals.
This term refers to tests performed on animals in whom there is no suspicion of bTB. This might be as part of routine annual whole herd surveillance, or as a pre-movement test; for example before a sale or mating.
I recommend visiting tbhub.co.uk/tb-in-non-bovine-animals/camelids/ for more information on bTB in camelids, along with detail about the different testing methods available, and regional differences in testing practices.
Preventing bTB entering a herd is much easier than eradicating an infection, but it can seem like an overwhelming challenge. The TB Advisory Service is a DEFRA funded project that offers free, bespoke, practical and cost-effective advice to all farmers of camelids in England to help reduce the risks associated with TB. The advice can be provided over the telephone or in a series of farm visits – and all it will cost is your time!
Surveillance testing
If a positive bTB result is identified through testing or suspected from PME, the animal will be culled (if applicable) and movement restrictions placed on the holding pending further testing. This can cause reluctance among keepers to test animals or submit for PME for fear of finding a ‘false positive’; however, the risk of allowing an unidentified infected animal to spread this fatal disease on a holding, or in the national herd, is arguably far more significant.
Alpaca #94 25 including gastrointestinal parasitism, and alpaca owners should consider routinely submitting animals that die for PME, especially if the death is unexplained. Your vet should be able to advise you how to arrange this.
The skin test detects infection by measuring the skin reaction to injection with tuberculin (a sterile, purified protein extract from Mycobacterium avium and M bovis bacteria). A positive reaction indicates that the animal’s immune system has already been exposed to M bovis, the M avium tuberculin being used as a control. Skin testing is usually carried out by your private vet. The skin test is considered to have a low sensitivity – that is, the likelihood that an infected animal will test positive is low. For this reason, blood tests are also recommended for surveillance.
The blood tests, Enferplex (2-spot or 4-spot), DPPVetTB and IDEXX, detect antibodies in the blood to a set of M bovis antigens. Antigens are molecules on the bacteria that stimulate an immune response from the host. Looking for a set of different antibodies improves the probability of detecting an infection and improves confidence in the result. These tests can be read and combined in various ways to improve their performance and depending on the context in which they are being used. For surveillance testing, high
Surefarm Ltd provide a voluntary private system for herd surveillance, facilitating annual testing of the whole herd, or in larger herds testing a proportion of the herd. For information on this scheme, visit www.surefarm.co.uk/camelid-diagnostics.
Alpaca #9426
NEW BUSINESS FOR FAMILY FARM
Craig and Katriona Hyslop are determined to keep working their family farm and build a successful alpaca business after winning a grant from the Rural Development Programme for England to help fund a café, and craft workshop space at Wolfridge Alpaca Barn in South Gloucestershire as Alpaca editor Liz Mason found out on a recent visit.
It was Katriona who first came across alpacas at a show in 2012. “I barely knew then what they were but we thought that there may be something in alpacas,” Craig says.
Planning permission and grant funding
hen Craig and and Katriona moved into their farmhouse in 2013 in Rudgeway on the outskirts of Bristol they wanted to develop a rural business with the potential for it to be “financially sustainable”.
The couple initially visited Cotswolds breeder Roger Mount at Snowshill Alpacas and also met Tim Hey from Inca Alpaca at the Farm Business Innovation Show at Birmingham’s National Exhibition Centre. In the initial stages, Craig and Katriona thought alpacas had potential but Craig, who had really enjoyed living on a working farm when he was younger, was also considering keeping wild boar. However, they continued their research by attending various alpaca shows and also visited their nearest breeder, Helen MacDonald on several occasions. Hearing about the husbandry advantages of alpacas, and won over by the possibility of making creative use of their fibre, the couple opted for alpacas.
After researching many different options, the couple, who have two young children, decided to keep alpacas on the land which had been farmed by Craig’s grandad. Their initial aim was to slowly develop a quality breeding herd, whilst maintaining their respective careers in the sport and leisure industry and teaching. They also had an interest in selling alpaca products online that are practical or support an active lifestyle. But the couple’s business plans took a big leap forward when they applied to the final round of the Rural Development Programme and won a significant grant to help build Wolfridge Alpaca Barn, a café, shop and craft workshop space which opened to the public in February.
“When I was young we had about 200-300 head of beef cattle and my grandad and dad built one of the first modern sheds in the area for the cattle.
“We weren’t initially looking for something to be our main income - we were looking for something that wouldn’t lose money and that had some potential,” he explains. “Our first thought was to sell goods online and I was >> Continued on next page
Local farmers came to see it because it was so big,” Craig recalls.
But like many small farmers the family found it hard to make money and after Craig’s grandad passed away, most of the land was sold. They kept a Grade II listed farmhouse along with 47 acres and when Craig and Katriona moved in they began “looking at all sorts of different things to do on a small acreage”.
Having made their decision the couple bought three black females and three castrated boys from Tim at Inca Alpaca in 2018. At the time Craig, who has a masters degree in physical activity and public health, worked for Bristol City Council helping to develop the authority’s sport and leisure strategy.
The couple chose the name Wolfridge because Craig’s grandad called his pedigree Charolais cattle herd Wolfridge Charolais. “You need a strong name in pedigree circles and when we were deciding what to call the alpaca herd we chose Wolfridge – it has a local connection as it was the name of a wood next to our farm, and it’s also nice to follow on from something my grandad did.”Craig’s family owned two farms amounting to about 150 acres in the 1980s. The land was farmed by his grandad, his great uncle and his father.
“I was interested in farming, working the land and having livestock of some sort. It was interesting to learn that as alpacas are soft footed you can happily leave them on the land all year round and they don’t poach the ground. And you don’t need much infrastructure at first to get going - that was also very promising for us,” Craig says.
W
Katriona is a teacher and is also very interested in needlefelting. Her mother is a former home economics teacher and her sister sews and knits which meant they that they could offer workshops and use the fibre. “I don’t think they would have been particularly interested in wild boar!,” Craig adds.
As part of his research to explore potential opportunities Craig made a second visit to the Farm Innovation Show in late 2019. Sitting in on a farm innovation workshop he heard the speaker warn landowners not to forget the upcoming closing date for the final round of the EU funded Rural Development Programme for England (RDPE).
Alpaca #9428 just going to put up some signs in one of our fields that is next to a busy A road,directing people to our website.” As the farm no longer had any barns or outbuildings, there was a limit to what they could realistically do on the land. Craig was keen to see if he could gain planning permission for a barn so he took advice from three planning agents who told him it wasn’t possible. Undeterred Craig tried a fourth, Mark Willis, of Willis and Co. He said it was achievable and helped the couple secure permission for a hay barn in one of the fields in early 2019.
The cafe is busy and the staff team has grown from five to 15 to keep up with demand. The alpacas have also proved popular. “People just love alpacas,” Craig says and visitors want an experience with the animals to photograph and post on social media.
It was this figure, and the huge potential for a visitor centre, that gave the couple the confidence to revise their plan and invest more in the proposal.
As part of his business development research Craig found a social media advisor to help grow a following of more than 5000 people on Facebook and 800 followers on Instagram. “We also did some Facebook advertising and went from about 500 followers to about two or three thousand and our social media following has just steadily built and is growing all the time.”
The Wolfridge breeding herd is also growing with numbers increasing to 13 breeding females. Having invested in top quality breeding females from Inca Alpaca, as well as Redens in West Sussex, Craig aims to offer the first animals for sale in 2023. “We have also invested in the fencing and initial set up of the farm to insure we have the best biosecurity measures in place. We have listened and tried to act on the great advice all the breeders we have visited have offered.” Craig and Katriona are taking a gradual approach to growing the breeding herd, as they did with their initial research into alpaca breeding. Craig’s aim was to reach 15 females before offering any for sale and they are set to achieve this target in September.
The couple submitted an initial bid to the RDPE for a grant for a small visitor centre. Their plan was to hold craft workshops and offer alpaca experiences to supplement their breeding herd. To support the plan Craig cited population figures for the greater Bristol area showing more than one million people lived within a 40 minute drive of their farm.
Having given the initial “expression of interest” a positive response the RDPE awarded the couple a grant for 40% of the capital costs for their much bigger project to partially convert the hay barn into a café, shop and craft workshop space.“We thought the cafe would support the other activities but the closer we got to opening, and after more research, we found that the demand locally was for a cafe and of course we have the alpacas as an attraction to support it.” Having both applied for funding and also managed small funding programmes in his full-time job, Craig was able to use these skills to evidence the need and demand for their proposal, and find all the relevant strategies and data to support their funding bid.
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Plans to start showing had to be put on hold as the couple have been extremely busy making sure the business runs smoothly. A show team was selected for the North Somerset Show but as the Wolfridge Alpaca Barn had only just opened Craig felt unable to leave the farm. However ,he did help to set up this year’s BAS National Show. It was his third visit to the alpaca community’s biggest and most prestigious event and Craig plans to return as an exhibitor in the future where he hopes, in time, the Wolfridge herd will compete with the best in the country.
Wolfridge Alpaca Barn was finished just in time for the scheduled opening day. Visitors can book an alpaca experience, take part in craft workshops, visit the cafe and walk round the farm on a ‘Wolfridge Alpaca Wander’ with an information sheet. A shop selling alpaca products and gifts is set to open shortly with the goods currently being sold online
“It was the last line of the workshop and I hadn’t heard of the RDPE before,” Craig says. “I went home and looked into it and decided to submit an expression of interest. As I have a background in research and strategy I was reasonably confident about the research and process involved in making an application, but we didn’t have any concrete plans or clear ideas at that stage.”
Breeding herd
Alpaca #94 29 We have a large selection of potential Stud Males, Pet Males and Breeding Females available in a variety of colours. Stud Services – we have several proven/championship winning Huacaya and Suri boys to choose from. Pre-arranged visits are very welcome. We adhere to good biosecurity practices and badger deterrent fencing has been in place since 2009. Snowshill Alpacas Snowshill Hill Barn, Temple Guiting, GloucestershireCheltenham,GL545XX Contact Roger Mount on 01386 853 841 or 07711044106 Email: snowshillalpacas@btinternet.comWeb:www.snowhillalpacas.com inin20yearsserviceservice INSTANTLY CREATE LONG-LASTING YARDS, DRIVES, PATHWAYS, PARKING AREAS AND MORE • THE ULTIMATE DIVERSIFICATION TOOL • TEMPORARY OR PERMANENT, CAN BE REPOSITIONED AGAIN AND AGAIN • CERTIFIED TO 60 TONNES+ • INERT, STABLE & COVERED BY A 20 YEAR MANUFACTURER’S WARRANTY SALES@MUDCONTROL.CO.UK / TEL: 01536 669630 FOR REVIEWS & TESTIMONIALS, FIND US ON FACEBOOK & YOUTUBE OPT OUT OF MUD! MUD IS NOW A CHOICE WITH THE BEST ECO HARDSTANDING SOLUTION ON THE MARKET DON’T BURY YOUR INVESTMENT IN CONCRETE, USE THE CARBON FRIENDLY ALTERNATIVE
advises owners to think
FIBRE Emma
help you achieve an excellent end product and the best
as forward
Alpaca #9430 FIBRE
from your processed
East
PROCESSING – A GUIDE Taylor, co-owner of Anglia Alpaca Mill (EAAM), ahead planning will return fibre.
It is possible to take samples from a shorn fleece once you are experienced but you may simply guess at the correct location and the results, while accurate for the sample taken, may be an inaccurate representation of your fleece.Your fibre results will indicate average micron, uniformity and staple length, as well as other figures, which are all important factors to consider when processing. For best possible results batches of fleeces need to be matched in micron, staple length and uniformity (or Standard Deviation (SD) on your results).
The finer in micron the greater the choice of product. A general rule of thumb is that fleeces upward of approximately 26 micron (µ) should be in a heavier weight of yarn (possibly double knit if SD is low, more often aran or chunky). Before sending fibre to the mill it is a good idea to have some form of communication ahead of time, especially if you are either processing for the first time or wishing for your yarn to be knitted or woven by them or elsewhere. Manufacturers will have specific weights of yarn suited to their machines that they will need passing to us, the spinning mill, to create. That is not to say that standard yarn weights (2 ply, 4 ply, DK, aran and chunky) cannot be used domestically or commercially but you need to have done your research.Contact us and manufacturers well ahead of shearing and you will get sound advice from knowledgeable experts of alpaca fibre and spinning.
Alpaca #94 31 A ny owner thinking about processing fibre needs to start preparing well ahead of shearing. As part of your monthly herd health routine, and about six to eight weeks ahead of shearing, take fibre samples while the fleece is still on your alpacas to ensure a consistent evaluation of your fleeces.
Please be aware that East Anglia Alpaca Mill, as the name suggests, only processes Huacaya and Suri – we do not process any other species and we do not blend any other fibre – just 100% pure alpaca.
Let us return to shearing – armed with your fibre test results you can earmark the fleeces best suited to your project and ensure they are sheared in an appropriate manner – blanket off first, removed from the shearing area on a suitable board and skirted before being bagged to ensure coarser fibres do not contaminate the whole blanket. This will happen if you simply ‘stuff’ a bag with the fibre. Finding the geography of a fleece is important if skirting is new to you.
The better attention paid to matching fleeces and the lower the SD, combined with great skirting, the better the end product and return. Of course, some may simply want their lovely alpaca fleeces processed for their own use and not to sell rather than to continue on and create end products.
>> Continued on next page Save up to 30% on your fleece testing Setting new standards in fleece measurement For information call us on 01286 678097 or email info@wtaeurope.comwww.wtaeurope.comOFDA 2000 Laserscan OFDA 100 VM Determination Colour testing2000OFDATESTINGNOWAVAILABLE 1850 British Wool WTAE advert AW.indd 1 11/02/2022 10:06
I should say at this point that the alpaca’s primary purpose is as a fibre producer and that there is a use for all fibre, of all grades – you just need to know what can be done with each grade. This article will discuss processing specifically. Micron matters
Appropriate shearing and bagging
Skirt as thoroughly as time allows (for details see our website www.EastAngliaAlpacaMill.co.uk) and either noodle the blanket or mushroom it with cut side outermost – the cut side is like velcro and will attach itself to the other cut side. Clearly mark your bag; we use name, year, B for blanket and C for cria if applicable. Appropriately bagging your fibre when you do not skirt at shearing, is a must. There are numerous YouTube videos on noodling and skirting, including a BAS webinar dedicated to fibre as well as our specific EAAM workshop which will run again after the summer. After shearing, weigh and record. Be consistent – use either pre- or post-skirted weights rather than a mix of the two. Now recheck your skirting.
Individual orders
Expected yield
So now you have your skirted fibre which needs to be sent to us, hopefully having previously already made contact. You need to send a completed order form with your fibre so that we know who the delivery is from and how to contact you as well as your requirements. East Anglia Alpaca Mill does not have a quiet period and the mill works six and a half days a week. Processing is a labour intensive multi-stage task so please be patient. Our express service is available but needs to be pre-booked and has a maximum incoming weight for that service. Most mills charge on incoming weight so skirting thoroughly is beneficial though we are able to find time to skirt some fleeces if required. Be assured even the best skirted fleeces have occasional bits that we continue to pick out as we go.
We produce fluff for hand spinning, stuffing or felt projects, batts, slivers and rovings as well as yarns and felt. Yarn for weaving has more twist than knitting yarns: hence our need to know the intended use. All yarns we produce are balanced using a mathematical calculation. Just ask us and we will happily help without obligation. It is our job to help and for customers to achieve the best products from the fleeces provided in an ethical and sustainable way.
As stated previously yield is an important factor and one we are asked about all the time. No two fleeces or batches process identically but a well skirted and uniform batch of good quality fibre should only lose a very small percentage during processing – our aim is always to achieve the best product from fleeces provided.
Contact Emma Taylor: paper-plane www.EastAngliaAlpacaMill.co.uk �� Call/text/WhatsApp 07762439923 ✉ info@alpacamill.co.uk creating a yarn (or fluff or rovings) from a not so great, higher micron fleece. Creating batches is more economical although we are more than happy to process fleeces individually. We process client runs not colour runs, nor do we batch clients’ colours together to process. Each and every fleece or batch has total provenance through the entire process in our mill and each is returned with a processing sheet and comments to help you going forward.
Grit is the major loss both in tumbling and scouring, guard hair in carding, gilling and spinning, and if your fleece has been out on a skirting table larger particles will have already been lost and guard hair removed equating to less percentage loss.
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Alpaca #9432 Be thorough – the aim is to create a uniform batch of clean fibre –uniform in micron, staple length and colour. Clean means free of vegetation, not washed. If fleeces are for your own use and your alpaca is white with a black, brown or contrary colour spot, you may choose to leave this in. If you want to create a large batch of white yarn then you would be best advised to remove it. A white yarn with random black fibre is not ideal. Be mindful that buyers of white fibre, yarn or product want white. Greys often have brown and/or black spots and for processing again the choice is yours. We leave spots in as a uniform colour will be created by the mill processes and those spots will blend with other coloured fibres and not look out of place. Appaloosa and multi fleeces will blend to one colour too in the mill; if you want a spotty yarn then hand spinning is the route to take. We are working on ‘ombre’ yarns with a colour fade.
We charge processing by the kilogram and it is possible to say that on average each 100g ball costs approximately £7 to create based on recent figures from clients processing with losses as low as just 1%.
Alpaca is a beautiful medium to work with and create from; there is huge potential to expand buyer awareness and with provenance and ethics increasingly driving sales, there is no better time to get your alpaca processed and your products noticed.
You need to be mindful that mills have set prices for set weights of yarn; heavier yarn takes slightly less time to spin and is slightly less costly. Two ply yarns can take a whole day to ply even at top speeds with special order yarns requiring specific gearing and calculations making them more expensive. Be aware too that the cost of processing a great fleece is the same as
“Thoroughly recommended. The alpacas clearly find the Grass-tastic and Grass Pellets delicious. Definitely the most liked grass product on the market.” Nikki Hayton, Faraway Alpacas. Grass-tastic –a so and nutritious, palatable grass feed. 100% pure, short-chopped grass
I have continually progressed my learning in weaving attending numerous courses (actual and online) and working directly with internationally
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One of the real pleasures of weaving is working with the fleeces of alpacas from your own herd, says Caroline Oakes, who tells us about the Clivewood project which brings together an alpaca herd, weaving studio and mini-mill.
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Inspired design
My background, experience and interests have come together in the Clivewood project and there is a huge focus on fibre and weaving. If you track way back to my childhood I have always been interested in weaving. An early Christmas present started my interest, a Spears children’s set, awkward to use but teddy and doll's clothing were woven in those early days. That original set now has pride of place in the Clivewood weaving studio.
It is a big jump from a child’s weaving set to Clivewood Farm so where did alpacas creep into the story? I had always liked alpacas, finding them really appealing and the fibre always produced an excellent end product.
y husband Ian, and I own Clivewood Farm set in stunning countryside at Clive just north of Shrewsbury, Shropshire. We purchased the Grade II listed farmhouse, sizeable outbuildings and 60 acres of grassland around the farmhouse in 2014.
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Alpaca #9434 FIBRE
Clivewood Farm came with a beautiful potential weaving studio. We arrived at the farm with the four pet boys we owned at that stage. The plan was to build a herd of 40-50 alpacas and progressively achieve a high quality herd through a breeding programme concentrating on the quality of the fibre. The variety of colours within the herd is also a great pleasure. Following conversion work, a two room weaving studio came into existence in 2015 and I had the opportunity to set up and work with large floor looms producing rugs and fabrics. Smaller looms are also used and there is a real range of capability in the looms and what you can achieve with them.
In 2018 the group met at the Tate Gallery where they were holding an Anni Albers exhibition. Anni was a weaver who trained at the Bauhaus in Germany before World War Two – a truly expert weaver. While at the exhibition I saw some pieces that inspired me to come home and design a piece based on the herd of 2018, which at the time was 36 animals. Every animal is included, and for once quality of the fibre was not taken into account as this was a wall hanging. The design is a double weave so every animal is in the warp and the weft and also travel from back to front.
One of the real pleasures of weaving is working with the fleece of the alpacas you own. The connection is important and visitors always enjoy the link. But if you have a small herd and only a few fleeces you either have to process yourself at a very artisan level (very time consuming and you don’t get much weaving done) or you have to find a mill to process it for you. So to cut a long story short, Ian purchased Belfast mini mill machinery from two retiring couples and in 2018 converted an old Dutch barn to give a professional, environment controlled, home to the refurbished kit. From early 2019 The Mill at Clivewood has been open to process our own fleeces and for customers to process their fleeces. We welcome approaches from those who have not used a mill before and happily process small quantities. We often have long discussions with customers to make sure they know what they are going to get at the end of the process and are confident about leaving their fleeces with us. We maintain traceability throughout: to the owners of small herds that connection, as we know ourselves, is very important.
recognised weavers to improve my skills. I am a member of my local spinners, weavers and dyers guilds and also Complex Weavers – a global group that brings together talented weavers from around the world.
The Mill at Clivewood
I enjoy running courses and handing on some of my passion for weaving. Attendees on the courses typically arrive with no experience and at the end of the day are guaranteed to leave with an alpaca scarf.
Woven products from scarves to shawls and throws through to rugs and wall hangings are all produced in the studio – almost always with alpaca but occasionally with silk, cotton, wool and linen. Items are produced for pleasure but also to generate items to sell in the shop to visitors who arrive to walk the alpacas or indeed to course attendees.
We completed an extension to the weaving studio in 2020 , doubling its size. This is to allow specific space for the courses and also give a shop for selling yarn, woven alpaca products and acting as a showcase for the looms. People are increasingly interested in demonstrations as part of a loom purchase. The shop also acts as a reception for the alpaca walkers.
Reflecting on eight years of huge progress after arriving with four pet boys in 2014, the first thought is that Clivewood is a big team effort. Becci, our mill and herd manager, and her team are critical to our success. The weaving studio, The Mill and the alpaca herd – all separate areas of focus but all integrated too. At Clivewood, an alpaca can be born within 10 metres of the weaving studio and The Mill – so fleece to product is zero miles and is very environmentally friendly.
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Photographer Ingrid Weel, who has worked at the BAS National and the Spring Fiesta, tells us about her visual project celebrating breeders, alpacas and fibre.
A BIGGER PICTURE
Alpaca #94 37 S ince 1994, my entire adult life has revolved around working with cameras. My photography business covers the usual weddings, family and corporate – but I often add the statement that I am “somewhat known” in the alpaca world. Years ago, my great friends at Backyard Alpacas started their herd and joined in competing with fellow breeders, becoming active in the Heart of England Alpaca Group. Through them I started covering their annual Spring Fiesta and this year photographed at the BAS National Show. Who would have thought that these strange squeaky camelids would win me over so much? I now fling around terms like Suri, Huacaya, density and lustre like a proper armchair expert and look forward to showing season with fondExcitement,anticipation.competition, rosettes, trophies, and titles make up these show days. Success makes the animals desirable for breeding and networking among the owners improves bloodlines. And the one thing that is noticeably clear to me is that the quality of the animal’s fleece nails a win! I am a great believer in sustainability and eco-friendly living. After describing myself as “known in the alpaca world” in the next breath I follow this up with the environmental virtues of their fleece. Alpaca fibre is one of the most sustainable products on the planet used as a material for clothing and bedding. Any fur used in garments or homeware comes from alpacas that have died naturally and clothing made from the wool is extremely durable, incredibly warm and hypo allergenic. Whatever the subject, I love using my camera and every now and then I get an idea to create something (hopefully) meaningful. It struck me while shooting at the BAS National Show that the relationship between the competition (halter classes) and the practical benefits of the fleece needed celebrating. Over dinner, I floated the idea of creating images portraying breeders and their animals and the idea seemed well received.
for their behaviour.
Unit 4A Pie Hatch Farm Brettenham Road, Buxhall Suffolk IP14 garvo@animalsfirst.uk3DZwww.animalsfirst.uk premierMid-Cornwall’salpaca herd is fed by Animals First Nigel and Margaret Retallack A PACAS CHECK OUTOUR WEBSITEFOR THE PRODUCTS!LATEST winter.
herd has great genetics and Animals First helps them to achieve their full potential. Animals First
The
straight feeds to bulk up their rations in the autumn and winter.Higher Carpalla Farm
for
About the author Ingrid Weel is a photographer based in Surrey. She photographs weddings, families, businesse and alpacas. paper-plane www.ingridweel.com
and
are
Lulu Oliver of Lusi Alpacas in Northamptonshire also runs the alpaca
clothing business Softly Softly. Val Scane is the owner of Little Acres Alpacas, a small breeder in Oxfordshire. Both these exceptional ladies are highly active in the Heart of England Alpaca Group, and I have known them for years. We three got together aided by enthusiastic newbie handler and part-time human light stand Lucie Bourne to create these images during the Heart of England Alpaca Group Spring Fiesta in April, 2022. Breeder, product and alpaca – I am so pleased with the results of this visual exercise – I hope the alpaca community appreciate the meaning of theseAlpacaphotographs.productsand breeding deserve appreciation and value in our society. There is a lot more to these creatures than being exceedingly adorable! Carpalla supply Garvo alpaca food as well as beet pulp, Hartog Lucerne and Hartog grass nuts and other smallholder feeds. Plus Green Mile bedding! What not only their physical health, but also Carpalla feeding plus also www.carpallaalpacas.co.uknigel@nigelretallack.co.uk0797401726StFoxholeAustell338580796792
Good animal feed is truly important.
animals eat is crucial,
their herd 6006 alpaca
Alpaca #9438
“Having a large herd of boys under the age of five means it can be like managing a bunch of teenagers at times but they seem especially careful, quiet and gentle with people who have special needs.
“They are so intelligent and the fact that they can get to know their names and learn commands is amazing. I have even taught one of my boys, Joker, to sit down for injections and have started teaching him his colours.” After coming across alpaca trekking in 2009, and seeing that alpacas were
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“It is just beautiful and one of the reasons I bought the property was because I was determined to walk the alpacas from the door.”
Lydford Gorge Alpacas is a tourist attraction on the edge of Dartmoor National Park where owner Helen Markou ensures everyone, no matter what their needs, can have a close encounter with these “inspiring” animals.
Her decision to start an alpaca herd is, she says, a “a planned mid-life crisis” after not being able to realise an initial dream of becoming a vet. She saw her first alpacas in Tasmania in 2008 and realised then what incredible creatures they are.
“One of my most rewarding moments was seeing a 14 year old boy lead a trek with my boy Bubbles – he had never done anything independent before and struggled to communicate. What he did do though was hum, and Bubbles replied with his humming – so they were having some secret conversation across two miles of moorland!”
Helen offers small group treks limited to six animals across spectacular scenery. “We walk trek for over two hours across a variety of moorland tracks, some lowland and some high up on a ridge with views of some spectacular tors and the iconic Brentor church. Due to the length of the walk, the terrain and needing to manage a large animal, I can only take children aged 12 years andTheup.”on farm experiences are however suitable for any age and are especially popular with people who have a variety of needs as they are exclusive to each party. “I use the tagline ‘you can be just you’ – there is no judgment, crowding and who would want to share the alpacas with anyone anyway?”
elen realised “a deep seated longing” to work with animals when she started her business in early 2019 and she found the ideal location near Lydford Gorge, a popular beauty spot owned by the National Trust.
Step free access to the paddocks, and paths with hard surfaces also enable people in wheelchairs to have a close encounter with the alpacas. “They are
Helen manages the herd on her own and wanted to make sure the treks are not stressful for her or the animals. “The animals are really relaxed. They walk straight from their field onto a short bridleway and onto the moor and it makes them feel like it is an extension of their home.”
“I have a huge amount of people, particularly with autism, come to visit. Call it ‘Alpacas with Autism’ if you will but alpacas really seem to be the ideal therapy animals for this need.
such amazing creatures and I just wanted everyone, whatever their needs, to have access to them, and be able to get up close to them no matter what their ability.
Before buying her first alpacas in 2019 Helen researched alpaca keeping and took part in several husbandry courses over a period of seven years. “It is a long term commitment and I wanted to learn as much as I could, especially considering they are not native animals and need a fair bit of care to keep them really healthy,” she adds.
Helen has fallen for the Suris’ gentle nature as well as their stunning looks and co-owns Winsaula Joker, a triple Supreme Championship winner and working stud male. Helen describes Joker as “the golden alpaca” because he has a perfect temperament which is passed onto his cria and shared with his three brothers who she also owns.
“It’s a hugely challenging, complex business to run, and I am still learning every day, but intimately understanding your alpacas' behaviour is absolutely key so you can tell when they are stressed and you know when to rest them. Managing a whole heap of young boys through various growth stages and hormone cycles keeps me right on my toes!”
Finding herself sitting in a field on a sunny morning with an alpaca asleep with his head resting on her shoulder is priceless and with a spectacular moorland landscape on her doorstep Helen says there is nothing she would rather be doing than working with these truly inspiring creatures.
“I want to have a good lifestyle, and I never want to hire people. I want to keep the business at a manageable level for myself and my boys as I want them to always have time to just be alpacas . We even have an employees charter that is stuck to religiously called ‘Our Paca Principles’.”
“I was very lucky to find Paula at Winsaula Alpacas. Her animals are incredible with the best temperaments and I am now 100% Suri all the way,” Helen says. The Suris are very different in temperament from her Huacayas. “This could be down to the individual temperament of the animals but in my experience my Suris are much more confident, relaxed, tactile and make good trekkers. But this could be just that my particular Huacayas are like grumpy old men who don’t believe in trekking!”
She met some owners at the Devon County Show and decided to buy from them. Helen first bought three Suri boys from Paula Wiinsor at Winsaula Alpacas as well as two Huacayas from another breeder. Just one day after they all arrived she also took on two stud boys on livery from another breeder for the winter and the herd then just spiralled, growing quickly to 12.
Winning Suris
happy to walk with people, she fell in love with the idea. But her aim is not to make as much as money as she can from her business but rather to have a high quality, high welfare tourist attraction that is easy to manage.
Starting the business just a year before Covid-19 hit was a challenge as lockdowns meant the boys’ routine was heavily disrupted before they had really got started. The cost of living crisis is now also an issue but Helen is certain she made the right move when she decided to realise her dream.
Helen trained all the boys for trekking and makes sure they are all happy to work – any not wanting to trek are rested and other members of the team can take their place. Treks take place three days a week maximum and Helen makes certain her alpacas are not overworked.
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40 Alpaca #94
NEW MEMBER
Matt and Vicki Webb, as well as their two young children and their alpacas faced an uncertain future until they finally received planning permission to build, permanent home on their land, as Vicki explains.
e are a husband and wife team who live in the beautiful Surrey countryside in the peaceful village of Ripley, along with our two children, two dogs and our stunning herd of 31 Huacaya alpacas, writes Vicky Webb.
As well as the alpaca enterprise we also run a groundworks business which proved beneficial when it came to setting up the infrastructure on the farm. We were able to build our own agricultural barn, log cabin, field shelters and badger proof fencing which really helped the viability of our business and the success we have experienced.
Over the last few years we have realised even more what gentle and inquisitive creatures alpacas are. They all come with their own individual personalities which we have had great fun getting to know. They are great with children and so therapeutic to be around.
Our alpaca journey started in 2017 when we got up close with alpacas for the first time and immediately fell in love with their quirky faces, graceful movements and their big dark eyes! This kick-started our passion for these beautiful animals and we immediately set on hatching a plan to include alpacas in our lives. After a lot of research, we made the decision to specialise in black alpacas, with a goal of creating a herd of carefully selective pedigrees. We are passionate about producing high quality alpacas who strive in colour, conformation and fibre quality. In 2018 we purchased 11 pregnant females from Inca Alpaca, and since then we have had 29 crias born to Yana Alpacas. In April this year we were finally granted planning permission to build a permanent home on our land. The planning process took much longer than expected and was full of hurdles for us to overcome, so it was stressful to say the least. After four years of living in our temporary home facing an uncertain future for our family and our alpacas it is incredible for us to know for sure that Yana Alpacas is here to stay, and that we have now successfully ensured a viable long term agricultural future for our farm.We feel very blessed that our two young children can now continue to grow up with the alpacas being very much a part of our family life. They love to get to get stuck in with feeding them along with other farm jobs –our daughter's second word was even 'alpaca'!
Bottle feeding babies and cria
So far our alpaca journey has been a real combination of very hard work, coupled with amazing moments and a true sense of achievement. We have both laughed and cried many times, but mostly we are so proud of how far we have come and how much we have learnt along the way.
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From the moment we embarked on our breeding enterprise we have felt so welcomed by other breeders and have made some brilliant friendships along the way: being a part of such an amazing community was such an unexpected bonus.
We are so grateful that we have had Tim Hey as our mentor every step of the way. He has been there for us right from the very beginning and has coached us through every aspect of alpaca ownership and care: his guidance and advice has been invaluable.
Never did we imagine that at the same time we were bottle feeding our own babies would we also be down in our barn in the middle of the night bottle feeding a cria!
For now our main focus is developing our breeding programme and continue improving the genetics of our herd year on year. However, going forward we are interested in expanding the business further and using alpacas as therapy animals in different care settings.
If this five year journey has taught us one thing it is that to achieve your dreams you really do have to work hard, take risks and make sacrifices.Weare so excited that we can now finally embark onto the next chapter of building our family home with our magnificent alpacas.
The third Cornish Fleece Show was held in West Cornwall, at Alpacas of Cornwall, Carn Tremayne Farm, Praze with far reaching views to St Ives and Carbis Bay, on a very hot day, writes Cornwall Camelid Association (CCA) chair Sandra Muriel.
explaining where some extra points were gained or lost and kindly did a workshop on two fleeces brought but not entered at the end, when we were joined by other CCA members keen to learn more about fleece assessment.Theteam of CCA member stewards including myself (Crewenna Alpacas) Ros (Sampford Alpacas) and Nigel (Carpalla Alpacas) worked tirelessly in shifts during the day, to keep the flow of entries carefully placed on the tables ready for judging and ensuring all were repacked with the correct score cards and samples.
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It was good to see a few entries from owners new to fleece showing and we hope that they enjoyed receiving their fleeces back with their score cards and hopefully a rosette. Barbara made constructive comments
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Alpaca #9442
B y mid-morning the fans were on to keep stewards and judge Barbara Hetherington cool and the fleeces flowing on and off the tables. It was tight scoring for the top sash, won by the Champion White Fleece Teifi Soul Man scoring 88 points, only pipping the Reserve Champion White Fleece Castlings Emerald White by half a point scoring 87.5 points. It was exciting to see such high scoring fleeces. The light and fawn champions all scored over 80 points, all colour group champions were awarded having scores over 70 points. In the Suri section, Dark Sky El Nino scored 83.5 points, Champion Light Suri, the Supreme Suri Fleece and Judge’s Choice, while Cadbury Junior scored 83 points to win Best of British Suri Fleece. Judge Barbara Hetherington commended the high quality of the entries.
Nina (Powwow Alpacas) and Lin (Linberry Alpacas) were a brilliant partnership on the scoring and computer, to ensure the results and comments were captured, score cards printed successfully and results sent swiftly to Grassroots. So, it was a wrap after a very hot day, for the first fleece show of the 2022/23 calendar and I hope we see some of the champions at the 2023 BAS National Champion of Champion Fleece Show. See results opposite.
• Champion Huacaya Fawn: Dark Sky Toranga – 81.5 points (Dark Sky, Tom and Wendy Scott)
The show was organised by Harley Laver and fleeces were judged by Roger Clarke with entries tested by Paul Vallely from Art Of Fibre.
• Reserve Champion Huacaya Black: Crewenna Giselle – 73 points (Crewenna, Sandra Muriel)
• Champion Huacaya Brown: Snowshill Juno Moneta – 75.5 points (Nero, Paul and Kathryn Shrimpton)
EAGANTRIMSHOWFLEECE SHOW
• Reserve Champion Suri Light: Cadbury Junior – 83 points (Cadbury, Miss C Brockwell)
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Best Fleece from a Newcomer was won by Simjest Akia Sheer Glory. Best Skirted Fleece was Castlings Eddystone Rocks onwed by Rebecca Block. EAG members closed the show by thanking everyone involved including volunteers and show sponsors.
• Supreme Champion Huacaya Fleece, Judge’s Choice and Best of British Huacaya: Teifi Soul Man
• Champion Huacaya White: Teifi Soul Man – 88 points (Teifi, Susan Myerscough)
The next EAG show is the halter show, judged by Jay Holland, which takes place at Beechwood Equestrian Centre in Chelmsford on Sunday 9 October.
• Reserve Champion Huacaya Fawn: Dark Sky Gigi (Dark Sky, Tom and Wendy Scott)
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• Supreme Champion Suri Fleece and Judge's Choice: Dark Sky El Niño
• Champion Huacaya Black: Nero Black Nordic – 75.5 points (Nero, Paul and Kathryn Shrimpton)
After what organisers described as “a whirlwind of judging, stewarding and fibre testing” the Supreme winners were announced. Supreme Champion, Best British Bred Huacaya and best fleece from an EAG member was Hilly Ridge Pure Imagination owned by Joanne Bridge.
• Reserve Champion Huacaya Brown: Castlings El Condor – 72 points (Castlings, Rebecca Block)
Supreme Champion Judge’s Choice and Best British Bred Suri was Beck Brow
Results
T he Eastern Alpaca Group (EAG) held its fleece show at the Essex Young Farmer’s Centre with classes for senior alpacas, best skirted fleece as well as a special award for fleece showing superior commercial traits.
• Reserve Champion Hucaya Light: Apple Vale Liberty – 81 points (Apple Vale, David Bearman)
• Best Of British Suri: Cadbury Junior • Champion Suri Fawn: Wellow Destiny’s Child – 76 points (Sheriff, Caroline Barugh)
orthern Ireland Alpaca Group member Lee Kane brought three alpacas to the Antrim Show with help from Geraldine Stringer (grey jacket) and Jane Kidd. A fabulous day was had by the crowds who came to visit the alpacas and ourselves. The crowd enjoyed seeing and talking about all things alpacas.
• Champion Huacaya Light: Lime Tree Tommy – 81.5 points (Lime Tree, L Verill)
Spirit of the Industry Award went to Snowshill Caviar owned by Roger Mount and Mrs Mary Mount. This award, kindly donated by Alpaca Evolution was made to the fleece that "exemplifies the qualities that will most benefit the British fibre industry as it strives to maximise the potential of British alpaca fibre”. Judge Roger Clarke was looking for “a demonstration of superiority in commercial traits in particular, fineness, uniformity of all traits, density and weight”.Winner of the Silver Senior Award was Hillend Grace owned by Rebecca Block from Castlings Alpacas. The award was presented to the oldest alpaca achieving a high scoring fleece – eligible alpacas needed to be more than 72 months old.
• Reserve Champion Huacaya White: Castlings Emerald Wight – 87.5 points (Castlings, Rebecca Block)
• Champion Suri Light: Dark Sky El Niño – 87.5 points (Dark Sky, Tom and Wendy Scott)
Just A Tease owned by Kim and Stuart Murray from Capital Alpaca.
• Champion Suri White: Dark Sky Loveday – 71 points (Dark Sky, Tom and Wendy Scott)
Judge’s Choice Huacaya was awarded to Ashwood The President owned by Steve and Chris Powell.
SHOWS
Breeders of both Supreme Champions had a successful show; Inca Alpaca swept the board in the black, grey and brown championships while Lane House Alpacas won four colour championships. Junior handler As well as halter classes the show included a junior handler class judged by BAS judge Tim Hey of Inca Alpaca. Explaining the judging Tim told the handlers he was looking for their alpacas to walk around the ring at the correct speed to allow him to assess the animal’s gait. He also spoke to the entrants to make sure each handler had some
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• Huacaya Champion Fawn Female: Pinnacle Elegance (Pinnacle – Tony and Hilary Monkcom)
• Huacaya Champion Brown Female: Inca Prada (Inca Alpaca Ltd)
• Hucaya Champion Black Female: Inca Panache ( Inca Alpaca Ltd)
• Huacaya Champion Brown Male: Inca Patriot (Inca Alpaca Ltd)
Faced with the final line up of champion Huacayas Shirley said choosing a Supreme Champion was a difficult decision as she needed to weigh up many different factors including age, fleece quality and conformation. However after making a final inspection Shirley awarded Supreme Champion to the senior black male Inca Law Enforcer jointly owned by Inca/Urcuchillay herds.
• Suri Champion Light Female: Lane House Belle of the Ball (Lane House – Mrs Diane Lane and Jodie Lane)
The South West Alpaca Group (SWAG) returned to the Ellingham and Ringwood Show after a three year absence for a short fleece show organised by Di Davies of Alpha Alpacas. knowledge, including age, sex, colour of their alpacas and when they were weaned. Tim added that he was also looking to see if the youngsters were checking their alpacas as they walked and making sure they were calm. Each entrant was awarded a rosette, and Tim acknowledged their ability, but the class winner was Di Davies’ niece Izzy Ashton-Wickett who paid “particular attention” to her alpaca. Closing the show Di Davies thanked Shirley, Reg and Rob as well as the team of stewards led by chief steward Mark Steele. This show was Di’s last as organiser as next year’s event will be run by Vicky Walters who was this year’s set up and inspection steward.
• Huacaya Champion Grey Female: Inca Grey Pretoria (Inca Alpaca Ltd)
• Suri Champion Grey Male: Faraway Scarlet Fever (Nikki Hayton)
• Huacaya Champion White Male: Snowshill Protus (Snowshill – Roger Mount and Mrs Mary Mount)
• Suri Champion White Male: Caprhianna Casper The Casanova (Lane House – Mrs Diane Lane and Jodie Lane)
udge Shirley Bettinson did a sterling job giving detailed reasoning for her placings in sweltering August heat while husband Rob provided ringside commentary. On hand to help Shirley throughout the day was ring steward Reg Pengelly.
Shearing dates were included in the show catalogue with most exhibitors shearing in early May giving Shirley about three months regrowth on which to base her fleece assessment and placings.
BAS show rules describe a short fleece show as “a conventional halter show with a reduced minimum fleece length requirement.” For Huacaya fleece this is 25 mm (1 inch) and for Suris, the minimum length is 50mm (2 inches), although this does not apply to Suri junior classes.
Announcing her decision Shirley commended the stud male for retaining a fine, dense fleece on a “fantastic frame”.
• Huacaya Champion Black Male: Inca Law Enforcer (Jointly owned Inca/Urcuchillay herds)
• Huacaya Champion Fawn Male: Lane House Standing Ovation (Lane House – Mrs Diane Lane and Jodie Lane)
• Huacaya Champion Grey Male: Inca Grey Omaha (Inca Alpaca Ltd)
• Huacaya Champion White Female: Lane House Joyous Quest (Lane House – Mrs Diane Lane and Jodie Lane)
Suri Supreme Champion was awarded to the intermediate light female Lane House Belle of the Ball owned by Mrs Diane Lane and Jodie Lane. Announcing her decision Shirley said: “This female exhibits a lovely silky fleece – you can feel the coolness and see the high level of lustre.”
Results
Alpaca #9444 SWAG FLEECESHORTSHOW
he cria were named by the public following a competition on social media attracting hundreds of followers. Suggestions were shortlisted to four options by staff: Hopper and Haycock, Margam Castle’s architects; Burty and Sheeny after Welsh actors Richard Burton and Michael Sheen; Taffi and Gwyn; and finally Buzz and Woody.
A statement from Neath Port Talbot Council said: “The three adult alpacas will later return to Penrhallt Farm towards the end of the year, once the young have settled into their new home. During this time a third baby alpaca will join the herd.” Before their arrival an alpaca enclosure was prepared on the Farm Trail and the Park’s estates team received full training. Set in 850 acres of parkland, Margam Country Park offers natural beauty, history, wildlife and a wide range of fun activities, facilities and events, making it one of the most popular visitor destinations in Wales.
One of Wales’ most popular visitor destinations has welcomed its first alpacas, including three adults and two cria named Taffi and Gwyn –Welsh.
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toffee and white in
FIRSTFORPARK
Scotfield ScotlandsScotfieldAlpaca.co.ukFarm,Warfield,BerkshireRG42 6AJ alpaca@scotfieldalpaca.co.uk 01344 486969 Clothing and accessories designed and made here on our family run farm. Made with 100% alpaca yarn Totally natural, hypo allergenic, no dyes & no blends.
The alpacas arrived at Margam Country Park in Neath Port Talbot on loan from Penrhallt Farm in the north coast of Gower. The family run farm agreed to loan the adults, including two mothers and an auntie, for a few months to allow for a smooth and caring transition for the babies which join the Park’s Farm Trail. The alpacas joined the Farm Trail in July.
Visitors to the Green Flag awarded Park can also see welsh pigs, peacocks, pygmy goats, Glamorgan Cattle, donkeys, a Shetland pony plus much more on the Farm Trail.
Building design for easy management
The building as well as the animal pastures have been designed to simplify management when working with the animals. The building has
Currently, the farm has animals from the following herds: Stoneleigh, Shamarra, Snowmass, Sun Star, AV Benz, Godswell, Flying Dutchman Alpacas, KB Alpacas, The Alpaca Group, Amber Autumn, Crescent Moon Ranch and Fairytale Alpacas.
Heaven Alpacas has brought together top genetics from leading US and New Zealand herds to establish a core breeding herd of 49 alpacas. Careful selection and careful management
More information about Heaven Alpacas can be found on their website: paper-plane heavenalpacas.com
Heaven Alpacas breeding started its operations in 2019. Initially, alpacas were imported from Germany from AV Benz and Fairytale Alpaca lines. A core herd was established and quickly expanded with the progeny of the imported animals.
“in the best possible conditions” are key goals to ensure high welfare and top quality animals, writes Joanna Kapustka, Department of Animal Ethology and Hunting, University of Life Sciences in Lublin (Poland).
POLANDFROM
In the following years, 12 alpacas – eight females and four males - were brought to Heaven Alpacas from the renowned Stoneleigh Alpaca Stud in New Zealand. The next step was to enrich the herd with 18 females from
eaven Alpacas is a place created by someone called David for whom animals have always been a passion and a way to de-stress after many hours of tiring work. However, these are not ordinary animals - David’s goal has always been to breed the most unusual and rare animals. That is why on his farm you can find hyacinth macaws, zebroids, black swans, micro donkeys, micro ponies, Walliser sheep, servals, Manchurian cranes among many others.
The alpaca adventure began with his daughters, who for a long time had a strong attraction to alpacas. One day he surprised them and bought a few alpacas from Germany; at the time, he did not know how much it would change his life.
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The core herd consists of 49 individuals, 34 females and 12 male Huacayas and two Suri females and a Suri male. Many of them have titled, show winning ancestors in their pedigree, and have been successful in shows themselves. Up to 20 cria are scheduled to be born this year. The primary goal of our breeding policy is to constantly improve the quality and genetic purity of our alpacas through careful selection of animals for breeding in the best possible conditions that ensure a high level of welfare for the animals. It is important to take care of the entire herd, as well as each alpaca individually.
Alpaca #9446 LETTER
the American line Snowmass Alpacas LCC.
Staff team includes vet technician Regular inspection of the herd is the key to their health. Heaven Alpacas has a veterinary technician permanently on staff to ensure the health and proper condition of the herd. In any breeding, cria are especially valuable, so each one has a blood sample taken and tested for antibody levels. This helps determine whether the cria have taken in the right amount of colostrum and acquired the necessary immunity. The body weight of the cria in the first weeks of life is monitored daily. Regular faecal examinations are performed for the presence of parasites in the entire herd. There is no preventive vaccination programme for alpacas in Poland, so Heaven Alpacas has developed its own programme.
Being aware that the best results can be achieved by cooperating with the best, Heaven Alpacas has permanently established cooperation with the Omni-Vet veterinary office, specialising in the treatment of alpacas, and the University of Life Sciences in Lublin dealing with issues of breeding, raising, welfare and use of alpacas in Poland. Heaven Alpacas promotes research and the dissemination of reliable knowledge regarding alpacas. Heaven Alpacas is a breeding farm created with passion, where alpacas of the highest quality are kept with attention to the welfare of the animals.
In the same building there is a feed room with silos, simplifying the storage of feed and its preparation for the animals. Hay is distributed in nets, which reduces its spillage on the floor. Concentrated feed and supplemental feed are dispensed in feed pans. The watering system is automatic and the animals receive filtered water. The floor in the stalls is made of concrete and is additionally lined with straw. An interesting solution to minimise mess was the placement of a litter box for alpacas in the place where they set up a latrine. The litter box is sprinkled with sand, which makes daily cleaning much easier. In addition, mechanical ventilation has been installed in the building, which greatly improves the removal of dust and gases. It is not a standard solution in alpaca houses in Poland (gravity ventilation is most common – but it's less efficient). Next to the boxes there is a weighing scale.
Heaven Alpacas sells alpacas in Poland, as well as abroad, and rents males for mating. The breeding grounds include a separate building for females coming for on-site mating. The herd has several outstanding sires of both Huacaya and Suri breeds, with excellent pedigrees, superb fleece quality and body conformation, as well as a friendly disposition. The males come from various lines characterised by high purity and genetic diversity.
KW Animal Services_Alpaca_JB.pdf 1 23/09/2020 12:39 Are you looking for or in need of a little extra help with your animals and their routine husbandry tasks? KW animal services offers that extra pair of hands. Jobs include: Shearing of alpacas | Vaccinations | Worming Halter training | Foot trimming | Microchipping I can also offer advice and help with a range of other issues such as matings, birthing, common husbandry problems and paddock management. Reasonable rates Why not contact me to discuss your requirements Tel: 07748 613771 | Email: kwilde1@yahoo.com PARASITE CONTROL MANAGEMENT FOR ALL GRAZING ANIMALS An independent testing service for faecal egg worm counts by a Qualified Medical Laboratory Scientist. AMTRA trained RAMA /SQP following BVA guidelines. Worm Counts 2 WORMFREE COUNTS Worth £40 for NEW BAS members then 25%OFF Worm Counts after that* *Terms and conditions apply ✓ FREE Royal Mail Postal approved Testing Kits. ✓ Fast accurate results using species specific testing. ✓ Detailed analysis & reports providing a superior well-informed targeted approach to worming. ✓ FREE Help and advice on worming programmes. ✓ Discounts available Please contact us now to see how we can help. Tel: 07779 sarah@wildwoodanimalhealth.co.ukwww.wildwoodwormcounts.co.uk667798NEWTESTSFOR2022Clostridium • Rotavirus • Giardia • Cryptosporidium Ectoparasite & Fungal testing ContactBritishdirectinAdvertisetheONLYmagazinemailedtoALLmembersoftheAlpacaSocietyadvertsales �� 01732 448748 ✉ Wendy.King@talkmediasales.co.uk Alpaca British Alpaca Society bi-monthly magazine ISSUE87:JULY/AUGUST2021 The fi breed BritishAlpacaSociety
Alpaca #94 47 modular cubicles for females and males with movable partitions on wheels, allowing the cubicles to be reconfigured as needed. The area of all boxes is 125m2, which gives an average of 2.5m2/alpaca. Between the boxes for males and females there is an office, so that the animals of both sexes are not directly next to each other. This reduces the risk of males trying to get into females and avoids various conflicts.
In the 2021 Fleece Show organised by the Polish Alpaca Breeders Association alpacas from Heaven Alpacas breeding received very high marks, being placed among the top, which also proves the outstanding quality of the animals.
The building has five automatic doors to facilitate the free movement of animals. Adjacent to the building is a pasture of two hectares, divided into seven sections connected by a passage corridor leading from the alpaca house. Grazing is carried out in rotation providing the grass with the opportunity for regrowth. A grazing mixture dedicated to alpacas has been sown over the entire area. There is 24 hour monitoring across the farm: this provides constant control of the herd and the possibility of rapid response in emergency situations.
The breeding herd includes alpacas with a variety of coat colours from white and fawn to brown, grey and black. Each alpaca in the breeding herd has a pedigree. Fleece samples are sent for evaluation to the lab and our breeding alpacas have a fibre thickness of no more than 18 microns in the first fleece and a high comfort factor reaching up to 100%.
DARK ALPACASSKY
HEREADVERTISE Your booking will include an online listing in the Alpacas for Sale section on the
TEL: Nick 07979 651742 & Alexandra 07795 843790 EMAIL: enquiries@alpacaevolution.com WEB: www.alpacaevolution.com
The PennyBridge Herd and Stud. One of the first alpaca farms set up in the South of England, still producing show winners from champion stock. Good quality starter herds, proven and potential stud males, fancy grazers and sheep guards available. ‘Home of The Alpaca Experience’. Situated in North Hampshire, close to the Surrey and Berkshire borders with good access to ports and airports, less than five minutes drive from both J5 and 6 of the M3.
TEL: 01256 764824 or 07801 132757 EMAIL: joy@pennybridgealpacas.co.uk WEB: www.pennybridgealpacas.co.uk
Alpaca #9448 Alpacas for sale A list of BAS members who are breeders and advertising their alpacas for sale
Lightfoot Alpacas are situated in Hawkhurst in the Weald of Kent. We have been breeding alpacas since 1997 and have over 250 Huacaya. Lightfoot is a closed herd, we believe that the bio security and health of our animals is paramount to their breeding and care. We have a range of colours and ages, mainly Huacaya and some Suris. Our animals are known for being friendly as we spend time with them and know them individually. We provide after sales advice and back up services when we sell our animals. Whether you are looking to improve or expand your herd or just thinking of alpacas as pets, why not contact us to arrange a visit.
CENTRAL ENGLAND SOUTH WEST
TEL: 01386 853841 or 07711 044106 EMAIL: snowshillalpacas@btinternet.com WEB: www.snowshillalpacas.com
ALPACASPENNYBRIDGE
ALPACAS Moralee is a family-run alpaca farm in West Sussex. We care for a herd of high-quality Huacaya alpaca with award-winning genetics. Our mission is centred on breeding for improvement –focussing on white and light-coloured alpacas with fine fleece in a gentle and caring environment. All our alpaca are kept in small groups, so are used to human contact and receive lots of attention. Our services include: the sale of Females for Breeding, Drive-by Stud services and Male-Field Pets.
ALPACA ANNIE Breeding quality, friendly alpacas on the Romney Marsh, we pride ourselves on the relationship we have with our animals and our high welfare standards. Many of the herd have been halter trained and are great walking companions. We can help you find anything from a fleecy friend to a show winning fleece. For new keepers we have well bonded starter herds available with a full support package including – training with our head herdsperson, home visits, shearing, ongoing phone/ face-to-face support and a ‘Home for Life’ guarantee as standard. So please come on down and meet the herd!
FAERIE TALE ALPACAS Faerie–Tale Alpacas is a small family run farm based in Kenilworth in Warwickshire J15 of M40. We focus on breeding sound, healthy, friendly, elite alpacas with gorgeous fleeces and top class genetics at very reasonable prices. We know each alpaca and have most colours available from blue black to dazzling white. Whether you are new to alpacas or wish to expand your herd we have an alpaca to suit you! Prices to suit all budgets and with full after sales support given. We offer: • Quality breeding stock • Starter herds • Stud services • 2 hour alpaca experiences • Alpacas for weddings and events • Luxury range of hand knitted alpaca garments and accessories using our own fleeces TEL: 07950 671672 FACEBOOK: Faerie Tale Alpacas EMAIL: info@faerietalealpacas.co.uk WEB: www.faerietalealpacas.co.uk
Located in rugged and beautiful North Cornwall, we focus on Suri and have a herd of elite alpacas with some of the best and varied Suri genetics in the country. Alongside our own animals we have invested in top quality alpacas from specialists in the UK and New Zealand. Our farm has been ‘custom made’ for alpacas, with biosecurity and welfare of paramount importance, and we love and care for the herd ourselves. We offer full stud services and in particular Suri starter herds, quality breeding stock and luxury alpaca products.
Shirley and I have been qualified BAS judges for a great number of years and have judged throughout the UK and Europe. We run regular alpaca husbandry workshops every month throughout the year. We have been breeding alpacas for 25 years and are dedicated to sharing our extensive experience to guide you towards realising your own alpaca aspiration whatever that maybe. Please ring to book.
TEL: 07809 731164 EMAIL: claire@moralee.farm WEB: www.moralee.farm
EAST
EVOLUTIONALPACA
Herd Reduction Sale MARK: 07540 115329 AMANDA: 07882 456084 EMAIL: mark@potteryalpacas.com WEB: www.potteryalpacas.com
SNOWSHILL ALPACAS
WENDY: 07712 136949TOM: 07825 105530 EMAIL: tomandwendy@darkskyalpacas.com WEB: www.darkskyalpacas.com BAS website.
Established in 2002 and situated on the North Cotswold hills close to the picturesque village of Snowshill, the current herd numbers over 300. We breed both Huacaya and Suri alpacas (approximately 80% are Huacaya). Although our breeding programme is biased towards the darker colours, we do also have superb quality whites and beige alpacas. Full range of alpacas for sale, attractive pets to top show quality breeding girls and stud boys. Large choice of stunning stud males available to service your girls. Also offering natural alpaca fabrics made in the UK from the fleece of our own herd.
TEL: 01732 448748 EMAIL: Wendy.King@talkmediasales.co.uk
Located in Buckinghamshire, between Milton Keynes and Buckingham, Alpaca Evolution offers a full range of alpacas for sale from our high-quality herd of 700 plus alpacas, both Huacaya and Suri, including stud males, breeding females and pets. We also offer a range of learning opportunities for all levels of experience both on farm and via webinars. With our unrivalled experience we pride ourselves on the support we offer to our clients and the high standards of herd welfare we maintain. We welcome visitors by appointment.
TEL: Sue Hipkin 07770 455533 Lisa Hipkin 07770 455534 WEB: www.scotfieldalpacas.co.uk
SOUTHERN ENGLAND
ALPACASLIGHTFOOT
We are a family run farm in Warfield, Berkshire, breeding high quality Huacaya and Suri alpacas from show winning sires. We would like to welcome you to Scotlands Farm to see our wonderful herd of both white and coloured animals. We are happy to discuss your requirements, be it for pet males, stock guards, or breeding females to suit your budget but with no obligation to purchase. We have over ten years of experience with these adorable animals. Give us a call and let us see if we can help you.
SOUTH SOUTH EAST SOUTHERN ENGLAND
SCOTFIELD ALPACAS
TEL: Shirley 07970 626245 / Rob 07973 123008 EMAIL: shirley@toftalpacastud.com / rob@toftalpacastud.com WEB: www.toftalpacastud.com
Pottery Alpacas are a family run farm located in Blackburn, Lancashire, we focus on breeding high quality animals from elite bloodlines. We have a wide range of alpacas for sale, with everything from Pet Quality males and females to Stud males and show quality stock. We offer first class support and advice with every purchase and are more than happy to discuss your requirements with no obligation. We are here to help you every step of the way on your alpaca journey!
TEL: 07802 263589 WEB: www.alpacabreeder.co.uk EMAIL: graham@alpacabreeder.co.uk
TEL: 01303 870527 EMAIL: office@alpacaannie.com WEB: www.alpacaannie.com
ALPACASPOTTERY
WEST MIDLANDS NORTH WEST
MORALEE FARM
TOFT ALPACAS Based in North East Warwickshire we offer over 120 pedigree alpacas in all colours, ages and price ranges. We run a number of prizewinning stud males and offer on farm and mobile mating services. We are confident that our prize winning herd will live up to all your alpaca expectations.
FARM SUPPLIES Everything you
MembersBASexclusive
Checkout these and many other offers on The My Society page on the BAS website by going to the moving carousel on the home page and clicking on the My Society link www.bas-uk.com The British Alpaca Society cannot be held responsible for any issues regarding products, offers or services offered under the My Society scheme. All offers can be withdrawn or changed without notice. The British Alpaca Society does not endorse or recommend any of the companies listed under the My Society *Scheme.Fullterms and conditions of the My Society offers can be seen on the BAS website. www.bas-uk.com BAS Members get free membership to My Society and can benefit from a number of exclusive offers. Here are a few: 20% Safe4disinfectantOFF Terms andapplyconditions The Professional Solution Free bag of Camelibra NG2 (worth £28 & free delivery) Terms andapplyconditions 10% OFF AGRI Shelter® www.ellipsefabrications.co.ukTermsandconditionsapply 5% OFF ALL www.medisave.co.ukproducts Terms andapplyconditions Medisave Microchips*DiscountedPriceson Terms andapplyconditions 2 FREE worm counts worth £40 for NEW BAS members then 25% OFF Worm Counts after that* Wildwood Animal www.wildwoodanimalhealth.co.ukHealthTermsandconditionsapply
as a range of farmhouse items and gifts, including our famous home cheese-making kits. We are alpaca owners ourselves and we
HOMESTEAD need for selection well are happy
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your alpacas delivered to your door! We are a one-stop-shop for alpaca supplies, including headcollars and leads, vitamins and nutritional supplements, healthcare and welfare supplies, colostrum, coats for cria and adults and microchipping equipment. We also have a good
to help with your questions and enquiries. Order direct from our website or by phone. You can expect fast, friendly service and advice. TEL: 01295 713188 EMAIL: homesteadfarms@btinternet.com WEB: www.homesteadfarmsupplies.co.uk
Alpaca #94 49 Fibre Processors and Retailers PROCESSORS OF FIBRE –MINI MILLS AND OTHER ANIMAL HEALTH RETAILERS/WHOLESALERS IN BRITISH ALPACA PRODUCTS JG HEALTHANIMAL High specification organic chealated nutritional supplements suitable for all camelids. • Premier Camelid Drench • Premier Mineral Supplement • Premier Mineral Bucket • A, D3 & E Paste TEL: 07866 607466 EMAIL: jganimalhealth@aol.com WEB: www.jganimalhealth.co.uk M.R.HARNESS M.R.Harness was founded in 1995 after existing part time for a number of years. Mary herself is a qualified engineer and is well placed to assess materials and their useage. Company policy is to test as many of the webbing designs as possible before release, as each item is unique to the animal it is designed for. This has led M.R.Harness to become the supplier of choice for headcollars, leads, coats and harness for all the various smallholding animals, but specialising in alpacas and llamas, and working ponies. All items are hand crafted ‘in house’, in England, so you can be assured of good workmanship and quality products that last. So please come and try the ‘Choice of Champions’. TEL: 01299 896827 EMAIL: mary@mrharness.co.uk CARDERCLASSIC Classic Carder produce a full range of British, handmade drum carders for fibre preparation. Featuring our unique interchangeable drum system which allows quick and easy drum change for carding different fibres. TEL: 01746 714130 EMAIL: paulbrittain@mac.com WEB: www.classiccarder.co.uk Single membership – £84 per annum Joint membership – £105 per annum £10 discount for direct debit payers Herd registration fee – £25 Become a BAS member www.bas-uk.com
However, it became clear that the group may have been a little ahead of its time with several people apparently commenting that the group was exclusive given the number of Suri breeders and could lead to a divide. Unfortunately, while this was never the aim of the group it did affect the thinking and the group slowly wound down. Over the intervening years the numbers of Suri and Suri breeders have grown significantly with more people becoming interested and even more previously Huacaya only breeders getting involved. This, and other factors, resulted in approaches from several breeders to the previous committee for the group to be resurrected as it was felt that the time was now right.
all-inclusive group, recognised as a BAS regional group, despite its national coverage, and is open to everyone who owns, has an interest in or simply wants to know more about Suri. We already have a new website –www.surinetwork.co.uk, a sizeable number of new members, as well as some projects up and running. Recently we held a well-attended seminar on Estimated Breeding Values (EBVs) via Zoom. This looked at how we can use scientific extrapolation of certain genetic data to improve our breeding decisions and make quicker progress in the quality of our herds. As a direct result, many members agreed to collaborative groups using their EBV data between herds to expedite this even further across the Suri gene pool with an on-going commitment to improvement of the breed.
We are hoping that there will be exciting things that come from the group which we will share with the BAS membership through the newsletters, magazine, and various Facebook pages but we are hoping that you might want to become involved and gain the benefits of membership by joining us!
BAS
The group ran a highly successful education weekend hosted by the then chairman, Neil Payne with both Nick Harrington-Smith and Mary-Jo Smith providing the syllabus and their expert knowledge. This event attracted many overseas visitors as well as those from the UK and resulted in several hardened Huacaya only breeders buying into what Suri could offer. Jay Holland
The Suri Network (UK) Group
paper-plane www.surinetwork.co.uk
Collaborative approach
SPOTLIGHTREGIONAL
The impetus was enough that an annual general meeting (AGM) was arranged and held on June 9. Neil believed the time was right to stand aside in favour of a new chair of the Suri Network (UK) Group. I was proposed, duly elected and accepted the task. The members present discussed the future of the group and gave me a remit to revamp and reinvigorate the group to the benefit of the Suri breed, the members, and BAS. The “new” Suri Network Group is an
The group was originally formed in 2015 with the core remit of promoting, preserving, and protecting the Suri within the UK.
Obviously, these last seminars will be of interest to all breeders of alpacas and places will not be restricted to Suri owners or members of SNUG, but members will be prioritised for places!
✉ chair@surinetwork.co.uk �� 07789 257222 DESKTOP www.surinetwork.co.uk
In addition, since our revival, we have had approaches for the long-term supply of Suri fibre and are operating a co-operative fibre purchasing scheme offering uplifts in value to members.
SURI(UK)NETWORKGROUP
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A s I am sure, BAS members will have seen from the newsletters, there has been a re-emergence of the Suri Network (UK) Group (SNUG), writes Jay Holland.
With some exciting things to start already, other educational seminars and days being planned on some thought provoking subjects, such as the use of progressive technology to determine the DNA markers for colour within our alpacas and options as to how we can scientifically measure the density of fibre adding yet more “tools” to our breeding decisions, we’re hoping that we are already well on our way.
Please look at our website and use the contact us button if you would like to know more or simply ask for a membership form.
incaalpaca.co.uk
Sire:
Blue Grass Bollinger Dam: Lillyfield Matilda Inca MemphisInca LewesdonInca No Strings
