Alpaca Issue 95

Alpaca

Alpaca Society

The fibre breed

www.bas-uk.com

THE BRITISH ALPACA SOCIETY

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Dr Duncan Pullar

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EDITORIAL

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CONTENTS

8 The Accoyo legacy

We see how a chance meeting led Ron Condon to Peru to select alpacas from the renowned Accoyo herd.

20 Mamacha supports Peruvian women

34 Community enterprise

After years of leading creative workshops, lifelong animal lover Lara Armitage launched an animal assisted activity and crafting centre.

24 Inspiring sculptures

12 Made in Britain

Scotfield is a family business producing quality British alpaca knitwear made from fleece supplied by leading herds.

Animal sculptor Tanya Russell combines a passion for animal welfare, bronze and alpacas on a Carmarthenshire hill farm.

38 Making yarn

Some guidelines to help achieve smooth, strong and lustrous yarns which can be used to make beautiful products and good returns.

40 You're gorgeous

26 Alpaca chat

14 Perfect for creating yarn

Alpaca yarn is just perfect for creating yarn to weave, knit and crochet into soft, garments that customers can’t resist hugging.

16 Snouts and tails

The ethos of West Wight Alpacas has always been to sell what is close to their heart.

18 Enchanting designs

Debbie and Paul Rippon breed champion alpacas and offer popular walk and talks at Barnacre Alpacas where they keep more than 300 alpacas.

28 Blown away by experience

Stuart Woolley and Cathy Darcey run Woolley Animals Alpaca Walking and Farm Park in North Devon a thriving business and “a little piece of heaven” which began with three alpacas and a dream.

Gorgeous Alpacas is a yarn business focused firmly on good animal welfare and sustainability.

Cover

19 All things alpaca

A wide range of alpaca

Christmas gifts can be found at The Alpaca Shop.

31 Magical Christmas

Christmas at Lower Bush Alpacas is a special time where the alpacas are joined by Santa and his elves to create a magical Christmas experience for children and families.

42 Winter care

With shorter days and cooler temperatures, we need to prepare for the winter ahead and ensure alpacas have the best care through winter.

44 Winter management

We offer some practical tips to help maintain good winter health.

46 Wildlife benefits

Sarah Carpenter explains how alpacas are the perfect addition to the family’s smallholding, providing the opportunity to balance an interest in conservation with financial viability.

FROM THE EDITOR

Welcome to our Christmas Special. In this issue we show how alpacas can help to create some Christmas magic - whether it’s through Christmas experiences and walks or thoughtful gifts made with care from one of the world’s softest and most sustainable fibres.

Our issue also celebrates the creative talent of owners who do so much throughout the year to promote and support alpacas and their wonderful fibre – thank you to everyone who has shared their skills, and experience. I hope you enjoy reading their stories.

We include just some of the many people producing fabulous alpaca knitwear including Scotfield, a family run business based in Berkshire, producing a range of fabulous high quality British made jumpers, ponchos and accessories. We also feature Mamacha, a small business set up to empower Peruvian women by working with them to produce gorgeous, ethical alpaca knitwear.

Closer to home Phil Allen, Two River Mill offers some guidelines to help you produce quality yarns and in our ‘alpaca chat’ interview we learn how Debbie Rippon and her family make hand knitted items for sale at markets, an online shop and the Barnacre shepherd’s hut.

As well as creating beautiful items for sale working with alpaca fleece can be a joy and taking time out to work with alpaca fibre can benefit our wellbeing as our › Liz Mason

contributors’ stories demonstrate.

At Free Range Fibre Kath Shearer loves working with alpaca yarn and explains that for her crochet is a form of therapy, while At Birkhill House, a Community Interest Company (CIC), on the Scottish Borders the aim is to improve mental health through crafting workshops and animal assisted therapy. In her feature Emma Adeane, from yarn company Gorgeous Alpacas, champions knitting to improve mental health.

We also learn about the work of animal sculptor, Tanya Russell from Epoch Alpacas who has a studio on a remote Welsh hill farm. Tanya has a passion for animal welfare and a love of alpacas that inspires her work and brings balance to her life. And Sarah Carpenter, Bell Farm Alpacas shares her love for wildlife and explains how keeping alpacas can help bring conservation benefits.

Simply being around alpacas is hugely rewarding and we hear from owners at Woolley Animals and Lower Bush Alpacas whose alpaca experiences are helping families to have fun and enjoy the festive season. We also feature some topical management tips to ensure your alpacas stay happy and healthy this winter.

And finally… thank you to everyone who has worked with me on the magazine during my time as editor. I have enjoyed it very much and wish you all a very Happy Christmas.

CEO NOTES...

Duncan Pullar: ceo@bas-uk.com

The National Farm Open Days in the first weekend in September demonstrated again how popular alpacas are with members of the public. Creating the opportunities to meet alpacas is integral to many BAS members' businesses and it is pleasing to see how well BAS members do this in most cases. I think this is because most of these businesses have started with owners who love alpacas and are very focussed on their alpacas' welfare.

Through the summer BAS did have to deal with a few cases of overheating alpacas, which had not been shorn, and who were resident

in attractions open to the public where the managers clearly did not understand the needs of the alpacas for whom they were responsible. Many thanks to the BAS members who stepped in to help sort out the problems which were (mostly) resolved satisfactorily.

This edition of the magazine will be the last edited by Liz Mason. I would like to thank her for her hard work on Alpaca magazine for the past six years. Liz has done a fantastic job consistently producing a high quality magazine with a great mix of entertaining and informative articles. Well done Liz.

Become a BAS member www.bas-uk.com

The fibre breed British Alpaca Society

DEPENDENT ON VOLUNTEERS

Wi th another year coming to an end and the annual general meeting (AGM) almost upon us I thought it would be good to give our readers some information as to the activities that have taken place within the Society this year, writes BAS chair Sue Loach.

Apart from CEO Duncan Pullar managing our activities, the Society is largely dependent on the member volunteers who do much of the work on our behalf. We are fortunate in having members who do so much, from organising and running our alpaca shows and education & training programmes through to welfare and industry development.

The BAS magazine and Yearbook is a case in point with many of the articles being written by members. Liz Mason has resigned as editor, and we should thank her for her great work and commitment. Thank you so much Liz for all your efforts.

BAS Board members are all volunteers and give up a sizeable amount of their time to attend Board meetings and to work with Duncan to carry out actions that the Board believes to be in the best interests of the membership and the alpacas they own. This year this has included supporting members with alpaca welfare queries, the delivery of education webinars and training events, producing Estimated Breeding Values (EBVs), running the Open Farm Days and dealing with government agencies and the media.

We had great success with our subsidy for vet training with 23 vets enrolling for the course and 21 completing it. This means there are now another 21 alpaca competent vets for us to call on and we are continuing to offer this subsidy for 2023. Details of Claire Whitehead’s veterinary course will be released shortly, so please let your vets know.

Future plans

We have another set of our series of ‘Winter Webinars’ starting shortly so keep your eyes out for them; remember they are free to BAS members.

New regional groups are currently being set up so hopefully we will have a regional group covering every area giving new members a local source of welfare help and a local network to draw on.

Plans are underway for the National Show at Telford next March and running alongside it will be a new incentive ‘The World of Alpacas’ that will hopefully give everyone an overview of the versatility of these lovely animals as well as providing valuable welfare Information and resources

I remain optimistic for the UK alpaca industry and believe we are well positioned to grow and develop the market opportunity for UK alpacas both for breeding and bloodstock with the UK having the finest genetics in Europe and the potential for the use of alpaca fibre within the textile industry. Alpacas continue to prove themselves as great attractions in farm diversification with alpaca walking or trekking continuing to expand across the UK.

Since the last AGM your board members’ roles have been: Emma Taylor – fibre and education; Judith Newman – show organisation and show rules; Ian Mitchel – treasurer; Sue Loach – chair, member communication and welfare; Paul Hetherington – breed development and Estimated Breeding Values; Ken Freivokh – National Show and marketing; Clara Boulton – young members and marketing; Elaine Clarke – marketing and magazine; and Kate Brookes – education and tuberculosis (TB).

Feel free to message any of us, or CEO Duncan Pullar at ceo@bas-uk.com

> Putjade Alpacas

Photo: Steve Taylor

THE ACCOYO LEGACY

In the second of a two-part feature we see how a chance meeting led Ron Condon, a founding member of the Australian Alpaca Association, to Peru to select alpacas from the renowned Accoyo herd.

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.

I quickly discovered Don Julio spoke very little English (although I suspect he was more fluent than he let on) but he was able to write answers to some of my questions on a paper lunch bag. We spoke about our friends in common, Roger and Clyde Haldane. Clyde had visited Accoyo some years previously and had formed a strong friendship with Don Julio, who held the brothers in high regard. Eventually, I summoned the courage to ask if I could visit Accoyo to buy alpacas. After much consideration Don Julio responded that he could satisfy my request to buy Huacayas and Suris but I would need to arrange my own exportation as the sole quarantine facility in Peru was for

the exclusive use of an American partnership.

With my foot in the door so to speak, I formed an agreement with alpaca buyer Alan Hamilton that we would visit Accoyo together to select alpacas for one of his shipments. My only stipulation was that I receive alpacas in lieu of money. Alan was able to bypass the American monopoly of the existing quarantine facility by working with Grupo Inca to build a new facility to accommodate alpaca exports to Australia, Europe and the UK. This was by no means an easy feat. At every opportunity, bureaucrats moved the goal posts. At one stage, a fire even threatened to destroy the newly built facility.

Finally, with a secure quarantine facility in place, Alan and I made the long awaited journey to Accoyo, nearly five years after my chance encounter with Don Julio. Don Julio and his daughter Elena warmly greeted us with breakfast before we made our way to the alpaca corrals. Alan had initially planned on selecting 16 alpacas but as we walked down to the corrals and caught sight of the first group of females, Alan whispered in my ear: “We’ll buy sixty!” On previous buying journeys, we were used to seeing alpacas with fine bone,

> Tulaco Peru

> Tradition, son of Juanita

poor coverage, primitive heads and open fleeces with no structure. We had never seen such a large group of exceptional quality before— each one well proportioned with strong and compact frames, dense bonnets and rippled muzzles. (See photo of group of Accoyo females).

Selecting the best

As we reached the corrals, Don Julio turned to me and said, in his thick Spanish accent: “Ron (rolling the R of my name), you can have anything but my soul”. Eight simple words that changed my life. Alan and I were given the opportunity to select the very best. Over a period of several days, Don Julio brought in his entire herd. This was quite overwhelming as buyers were normally only shown a pre-selected group of alpacas. It did not take long for Alan and I to see why Don Julio had gained a reputation as the best alpaca breeder in the world. The quality of his Accoyos was outstanding. They were fine, exceptionally dense and like peas in a pod.

The alpacas were presented in age groups. For each group of 100 or so animals, we had to point out which ones we wanted brought in for closer inspection. With only two alpaca wranglers, it was a very slow process. As we were going through the first group of females, Alan asked if we could move onto the next group and revisit these females later as we realised we still had many groups to view and only a limited funds to buy. We were told yes but we never saw that group again – at Accoyo you were given one bite of the cherry.

Within Don Julio’s herd he maintained a family line for the sole purpose of producing herd sires. These ‘Plantel’ animals produced high fleece weights with very fine micron counts. Many of the females we saw were from the Plantel line, they were truly magnificent to look at. Each one was stocky with solid bone and eye-popping fleece. Quite a number had two wrinkles behind their nostrils, which we later learnt was a trademark passed down from the great Shere Khan. We still see nose wrinkles today in our Shere Khan descendants.

One of the densest females we purchased was Shanbrooke Accoyo Juanita, who at five years of age cut 4.2 kg of 15 micron fleece with an SD of 2.1 and CV of 14. Juanita produced two outstanding sons, Shanbrooke Accoyo Shere

Impact ET and Shanbrooke Accoyo Tradition, whose photo hangs proudly on the walls of Paco Marca (Grupo Inca's breeding facility in Peru), as a reminder of the perfect alpaca.

Our female selection also included Shanbrooke Accoyo Taquile, who became one of our most successful breeders at Shanbrooke, consistently producing champions and was used extensively as a donor in our ET program. At six years of age, Taquile won, against all age groups, Supreme Champion Fleece at the 2004 National Show. Four years later her son, Shanbrooke Accoyo Prodigy ET, followed in his mother’s footsteps and took out Supreme Champion Haucaya at the National Show.

Proven males from the Pantel herd were given names and distinguished by metal ear tags bearing their name. Accoyo Tulaco was one of these males. He was an absolute stand out in the corrals and when I saw his name in his ear tag I added him to our selection without hesitation. Alan thought I was mad; I hadn’t even opened his fleece! But I could not believe my luck. Here was the male I had read about many years earlier in Mike Safley’s article. He was eight years old but still mighty impressive. By the time he reached Australia, Tulaco was 10 years of age, but he still produced over 150 progeny. His famous son, Patagonia Celtic Triumph (CT), had seven supreme titles to his name and like his father was a prolific producer with over 340 registered progeny. With a tendency to throw colour, CT was used extensively in coloured breeding programs. His legacy and that of his sire Tulaco lives on in pedigrees around the world.

Rasputin – last born son of Shere Khan

Tulaco was not the only named male we purchased. Our selection included, Guachiman, Oso-Balu, Gallego, George, Killawasi, Kosako and the most famous of all— Rasputin, the last-born son of Shere Khan, Don Julio’s most prized male. His presence in the corrals that day was like no other. Rasputin was heart stopping. At last, I had found that illusive alpaca. The one who makes you forget the altitude sickness, the stomach bugs, the spine-rattling car rides.

Rasputin was a rubber stamp for our breeding program, producing

Continued on next page

> Shanbrooke Accoyo Juanita Peru

Ron Condon and Don Julio Bareda with Accoyo Rasputin

replicas of himself time and time again. To this day his presence is felt, you can pick his descendants from a mile away. He produced over 200 progeny in Australia, consistently breeding show winner after show winner. His granddaughter Shanbrooke Accoyo Ruling Eyes ET, a carbon copy of Rasputin, was awarded the ultimate prize of Supreme Champion huacaya at the National Show in 2011.

At one point during selection, Don Julio’s daughter Elena, who was scribing ear tag numbers, shook her head and muttered, “he is loco”, referring to her father, who she clearly thought was crazy for letting such quality alpacas go. But I was forever grateful that he did.

It is not until you travel to Peru, the US, the UK, Europe and New Zealand that you realise the impact Don Julio’s Accoyos have had on the improvement of international alpaca herds. All leading studs worldwide can trace their success to Accoyo bloodlines. This stands true for Suris too. The Accoyo Suris Alan and I selected formed the basis of the Surilana herd in Australia and Surico in New Zealand. Again, we were given the opportunity to select named males— Icalon, Parsifal, Zosimo, T-Pito and Bulleyman.

Continuing Don Julio’s legacy

Dianne and I found Accoyos were not just predictable but consistently breed on well, so we concentrated our breeding on these lines. Our success as breeders, and in the show ring can be traced back to Accoyo. Each of our three National Supreme winners, descend from pure Accoyos. Over the years we had great success at the shows, but we never let show results sway our breeding decisions. No matter the judge’s opinion, we did not stray from our initial vision, that square stocky female with wool from her nose to her toes –a female ahead of her time and bearing all the hallmarks of Accoyo.

Unfortunately, in 2009, Dianne was diagnosed with ovarian cancer and after three years of treatment she lost her battle. After Dianne’s passing, I made the difficult decision to sell the Shanbrooke Accoyo herd, which was dispersed far and wide. In hindsight it was a mistake to split the Accoyo breeding lines. Years of genetic advancement were lost in an instant. But

I had lost my motivation and although I still loved alpacas I was tired and needed a change. I dabbled in greys and black for a while, and then in 2016 I had a moment of madness and, together with my partner Rochelle, began piecing back together my beloved Accoyo herd.

It was not an easy task but with three of my Shanbrooke bred pure Accoyos – Shanbrooke Accoyo Royal Challenge ET, Shanbrooke Accoyo Ruling Eyes ET and Shanbrooke Accoyo Protégé ET, plus Patagonia Celtic Triumph, and a dozen females line-bred to the original Accoyo import males, Accoyo Legacy was born. We named the herd in honour of Don Julio; it is his vision, his bloodlines and his legacy that drives us.

The first crias dropped in 2017. They were like peas in a pod and stamped with the trademark Accoyo look. Each successive drop has confirmed the potency of Accoyo bloodlines and brought us closer to Don Julio’s 20/20 vision, 20 pounds of 20 micron fleece, every alpaca, every year. At shearing last year, Accoyo Legacy Eyes on You, a two-year old son of Shanbrooke Accoyo Ruling Eyes ET, cut 7.8kg (17 pounds) of 18.5 micron fleece – a true production male, who will no doubt live up to the reputation of his famous ancestors.

> First generation Accoyo Legacy

> Accoyo Legacy Eyes on You Fleece

MADE IN BRITAIN

Scotfield Alpacas was started by Ray and Sue Hipkin after the couple bought a 58 acre farm with a collection of old farm buildings on the outskirts of Bracknell in Berkshire.

Ray and Sue initially kept sheep and the family also ran a livery yard. In 2006 Ray decided to keep alpacas. “He just thought alpacas were amazing and we should breed some.” explains Ray’s daughter, Lisa.

The herd started with six breeding females and one gelded male, bought from Bozedown Alpacas. As the family’s interest in alpacas grew the herd increased over a couple of years to about 30 alpacas; it now numbers 87 Huacaya and Suri alpacas with an almost even split between the two types.

At first Lisa was not involved with the alpacas as her interest lay in breeding Sport horses, but she began working with the herd when she was asked to help with head collar training.

“Ray and Sue were going to take some of their alpacas to the Bath and West Show,” Lisa says. “I had never been to a show before, it was my first time, but we had one alpaca who wouldn’t walk for anyone else but me. So, I went along and although it was nerve wracking everyone was so nice and helpful – it was such a lovely environment.”

Lisa’s show experience sparked an interest in alpacas, and she decided to learn more about alpaca husbandry and fibre. She took BAS husbandry and alpaca assessment courses and completed the first part of the BAS judge training course.

But it was after taking a fibre course run by Paul Vallely from fleece testing company Art Of Fibre, that Lisa’s interest in fleece quality

deepened and the herd’s breeding programme “drastically changed” to focus on improving fleece quality.

Lisa says: “I love to learn, and I like to go on courses. I still go on fibre courses now because I want to learn as much as I can for the benefit of our fleeces – if you are not breeding to achieve good quality fleeces it is a waste of time.”

Before launching Scotfield as a knitwear brand the family made little use of their fleece. Sue had learnt to hand spin and some fleece was processed into yarn by a mill for hand knitting. In 2017 Ray suggested they should start a commercial knitwear company and he asked Lisa to lead the business.

The original plan was to knit homeware using various yarns. “It wasn’t always going to be just pure alpaca,” Lisa explains. “We were going to knit with acrylic or merino and make household items such as cushion covers or throws, but then we decided to just use alpaca and produce knitted garments.”

Starting a commercial British alpaca knitwear company producing garments from alpaca yarn grown and spun in Britain required new skills; another learning journey but Lisa was already familiar with using yarn as a hand knitter. “I love knitting, it was my winter pursuit. I used to hand knit in winter and made hats and jumpers, so that’s where my knitting journey started.”

To make knitwear commercially Lisa first had to learn how to use a knitting machine. The family invested in a German made machine and Lisa travelled to Germany for a month of training.

Scotfield is a family business producing quality British alpaca knitwear made from fleece supplied by leading herds, including Bozedown and Artwork Alpacas, as well as their own herd of more than 80 alpacas, as Alpaca editor Liz Mason discovered on a visit to the farm.

The German machine was a fine 14 gauge machine but it proved difficult to get alpaca fleece processed to produce a sufficiently high specification yarn to work on it. “We now have an eight gauge machine so it is much easier to get yarn processed. All our yarn is made by Phil Allen at Two Rivers Mill and is a fantastic product.”

The “phenomenal” Japanese made knitting machine, which replaced the original German one, allows Lisa and the Scotfield team to make the best use of alpaca fibre and produce high quality soft garments. The range includes jumpers, pashminas and ponchos in addition to hats, gloves and scarves made on a smaller machine. All products are made at the farm.

Fleece suppliers

All Scotfield knitwear is grown, processed and made in Britain. Fleece comes from the Scotfield’s herd as well as from Bozedown and Artwork Alpacas giving a range of “stunning” natural coloured yarn. Fleece from the Bozedown herd is mainly white and light while Artwork’s is brown and fawn and fleece from both herds is excellent quality.

Lisa says: “We use about 50% of our fleece because we do have older animals and we do have Suri, which is a whole different ball game when it comes to processing. We are able to blend about 10% Suri with our Huacaya but we don’t blend it with anything else – it is 100% alpaca.

“We don’t use any dyes – all our yarns are natural colours, some of which we blend, to achieve varying shades.”

Working with a mill that understands the type of yarn and product you want to achieve is essential. “The mill we use gives us excellent advice on what we can and can’t do.” Lisa adds “Every year we make slightly different coloured yarns as you can’t guarantee the colour when you are blending. We always look forward to seeing the final yarn once Phil has processed it.”

Fleece quality is key to achieving high quality product; fleece sorting after shearing is a big task as all the fibre sent for processing must be less than 24 micron. “All our yarn is made from fleece less than 24 micron, no matter what we are knitting - It doesn’t matter what we are knitting with it the fleece must be no more than 24 micron.”

While some breeders want to achieve superfine 12 -14 micron fleece this is not necessarily the best fibre for making knitwear, as although it is super soft it is too fine for British mill machinery. “Italian mills can deal with superfine fibre - their machines are set up for 14 micron but here in the UK the machines are not.”

“Without going to Italy, because we want to be UK based, we have to use fleece that we know will work for us because we are a company using fleece grown, processed and knitted in Britain,” Lisa explains.

All the garments are made and designed in house and Lisa’s best friend Katie is the creative talent behind the designs drawn up on the knitting machine’s computer. “We can make our garments as wide or long as our big machine will allow which means our garments can be made bespoke. We are restricted to six foot in width but we are not restricted in length.”

Sales come through an online shop and from orders taken from customers visiting their stand at events. This year the family showcased their knitwear at the BAS National Show and received a fantastic response from the alpaca community who loved the modern designs as well as the quality of the garments. BAS judge Mary Jo Smith became an ambassador for the brand when she wore Scotfield knitwear at the show.

The family have also had a stand at open days at Bozedown and Lisa has found that taking the knitwear out to the public allows potential buyers to touch and appreciate the softness of alpaca knitwear. “People who walked past our stand touched the garments and then stopped, turned around and ordered because they did not expect it to feel so soft,” she says.

The family’s aim is to grow the business and continue to show what can be achieved with alpaca fibre grown, processed in Britain and made into stunning British alpaca knitwear.

PERFECT FOR CREATING YARN

Kath Shearer from Free Range Fibre explains why alpaca yarn is just perfect for creating yarn to weave, knit and crochet into soft, garments that customers can’t resist hugging.

It is always lovely when customers come back to tell us what they are making with their alpaca yarn. The thing they are most excited about is how lovely it is to work with, and I wholeheartedly agree. Alpaca yarn slips through your fingers, and crochet for me becomes a form of therapy.

We have a smallish herd of Huacaya and Suri wether (castrated) boys on our 80 acre farm in Suffolk. The aim from the very beginning of our alpaca journey was to concentrate on creating yarn that we can weave, knit and crochet into cardigans, jumpers, hats, gloves, scarves and other accessories. A few years ago, we started to sell our makes and our fine two ply and double knitting (DK) yarn at a weekly farmer’s market just down the road. Recently, we have also found a way to turn our fibre seconds into felted soaps.

We have always loved making things and the idea of being able to work with our own, home grown fibre really appealed to us. As we have such a small herd, we know which individual animals have grown which balls of yarn. I often find myself talking about hats and scarves as Glen’s scarf or Sky Thunder’s hat; customers love this too and often come back for more yarn from a particular alpaca.

Alpacas can grow one of the softest fibres in the world and this softness is why we often find customers to our farmers market stall hugging the items for sale. They are always embarrassed, but I reassure them that it is important to feel alpaca to really appreciate it. A lot of customers also start by saying that they can’t wear wool, and this is when we get to talk about the natural hypoallergenic properties of alpaca and how they will most likely be able to start wearing hats and scarves again.

Felted soaps from natural materials

I am realistic, however, and I know that not all our alpacas produce fibre as soft, or as uniform, as I would like it to be. We have chosen not to breed, and therefore I also appreciate that as our boys get older the quality of their fibre will most likely decrease. This is where the felted soaps come in. Any fibre that doesn’t quite make the grade for our yarn can be washed, carded and wet felted around bars of soap to create a flannel and soap in one! Alpaca is perfect for this task as it has natural antibacterial qualities.

The soaps are becoming increasingly popular as customers are thinking more about the environment and the desire to use natural materials and avoid packaging where they can. The ecofriendly nature of alpaca fibre, in all its natural colours, is another of its many strengths. People are always amazed by the wide range of natural, undyed greys, fawns and browns. One of the things I enjoy most is working these natural colours together to create patterns in our accessories.

We are finding that once people discover alpaca there is no going back. There is a very loyal fanbase growing and the word is spreading. More and more people are coming back to the stall with new ideas for how alpaca yarn can be turned into just the thing that they were looking for, either for themselves or as presents for friends and family. So much so that we are now looking locally for beautiful fleeces to add to the processing batches that we send to East Anglia Alpaca Mill each year. Long may it continue!

SNOUTS & TAILS

W

e have run a shop at West Wight Alpacas since 2011 originally in a small way to complement our open farm and for years it's been at the back of our café and a bit of an afterthought, writes Michelle Payne.

After lockdown when we were first allowed to re-open the farm and shop but not the café, Neil dragged everything out from the back room, and we made people walk through the shop on the way into the farm. This was so successful the shop turnover tripled almost overnight, and we felt a bit daft that we had not paid this sort of attention to it previously.

We had planning permission for a while to convert part of our barn into the shop and a new farm access, so we decided that at the beginning of 2021 now was the right time. The name for the shop ‘Snouts & Tails’ was conceived by our shop manager and family over a few drinks. Why Snouts & Tails? Because we go from the very front to the very back of course.

Our ethos has always been to sell what is close to our heart, whether its handmade goods imported from our artisan friends in Peru or buying British brands to support livelihoods and families across the UK and we delight in working with Island crafts people – creative, artistic, unique and local. Finally, we are proud to work with Fair Trade companies who abide by the 10 principles of Fair Trade; we like knowing that every sale is doing something good for an individual or community.

So, what do we have? Everything alpaca and llama (of course) and

much more! Our alpaca hats, socks, scarves and jumpers are our best sellers because of the wonderful properties we all know about; warm, hypoallergenic, antibacterial and super soft. We have locally handknitted fingerless gloves, hats and headbands all made with British yarn. We have our own fabulous Suri yarn, which is really sought after, and people love the ethos that it is straight from paddock to shelf via the mill of course.

The shop has a range of unusual soft toys and a large collection of wooden toys, we stock finger puppets and puzzles to name a few.

We have some great gift ideas for that special Christmas purchase or just for people to treat themselves. We have stunning natural soaps, notebooks, lightboxes, pop-up cards, handmade applique cushions, wheat bags, lamps and many more interesting and individual items, all available online as well as in the shop.

We also sell vouchers that can be used to book an alpaca trek; these make brilliant gifts and can be emailed directly from us to make last minute gifting easy!

We make online sales worldwide and Snouts & Tails has gone from afterthought to a really important and integral part of our business here at West Wight Alpacas. We have not been shopping to Peru for a year or two now but hope to go back there soon to carry on looking out for that something different so watch this space.

ENCHANTING DESIGNS

Marta Kwaśniewicz, Alpacappella Jewellery introduces her unique collections.

The Enchanted is a one of a kind collection; the original colours of the yarns are the work of a talented artist from Oxfordshire. Customers can choose between the shades of timeless emerald green and the combination of energetic fuchsia with Very Peri – the colour of the year 2022 (Pantone).

The enchanted pendants are made by an artist from Turkey who covers the formed shape with a layer of silver and gives it an antique character. All metal elements of the necklace are made in a similar way.

Children’s collection

The perfect gift for a little one; these hypoallergenic children bracelets are made of British baby alpaca yarn (not itchy; not allergenic; no lanolin) and have cute beads made of surgical stainless steel.

Personalised items

Personalised jewellery makes the most amazing gift. Our customers can hold cherished memories with an engraved name or initials of their loved one(s)!

Bracelets with the Morse Code (an alphabet or code in which letters are represented by a combination of long and short signals) are very popular and using this code we can easily engrave a name, word or initials on the bracelet.

All our products are expertly made and ethically produced, fully respecting the animals during the process. We use only the highest quality Britishsourced yarn in all our jewellery, which has been processed in local spinning mills and/or dyed by local artisans.

We take great care in knowing the history of the yarn, to ensure that it fits with our commitment to sustainability and ethical practices. Each piece of jewellery is traceable back to the alpaca.

ALL THINGS ALPACA

The shop, which runs alongside Butlers Farm Alpacas, is a long standing family run business founded in 2012 by Liz Giblin Butlers Farm was established in 2006 along with the first alpacas. Sadly, Liz is no longer with the family but her passion for alpacas and alpaca products continues to keep them hard at work to continue to grow the business she started.

The shop specialises in “all things alpaca” under the brand ‘Everything Alpaca for Everyday Living’. Products include items made with alpaca fleece and fibre, as well as those related to alpacas.

The family design and make products from their own fleece and stock other UK made alpaca products. They also work with Peruvian suppliers to bring fairtrade alpaca goods to the UK.

The shop stocks soft toys, hats, gloves and scarves, blankets and throws as well as clothing and accessories; best sellers are a wide range of British made socks and bedding.

Items can be bought through the online shop, by telephone or postal ordering, and are showcased at events and fairs throughout the year.

A wide range of alpaca Christmas gifts can be found at The Alpaca Shop, based in the heart of the Essex countryside.

MAMACHA SUPPORTS PERUVIAN WOMEN

Mamacha was set up in 2008, as a business venture to provide a reliable and fair income to women living in Lima, Peru. The enviable knitting skills passed down through generations of Peruvian women caught the eye of Amy and James Mathey, who had travelled and worked in Peru, as Amy explains.

We wanted to forge a business that allowed Peruvian women to express their creativity, designing alpaca knitwear for customers in the UK, whilst simultaneously building an opportunity for them to make a living in a sustainable way.

I studied Spanish and Latin American Studies at the University of Nottingham and spent my gap year in Trujillo, Peru. I then gained a work placement at the British Embassy in Lima and later met the knitting group through a Peruvian friend in 2008. I felt there was a missing link between the women’s skills and a potential market in the UK and beyond. With a background in sales and marketing, I knew I could create a sales plan that would bridge the gap between knitter and customer.

The knitting group had mostly been using acrylic to knit clothing and homewares for the local market. They didn’t use alpaca because of the high price, which was unaffordable to them. However, I had spent enough time in Peru to know I wanted to make the most of the country’s beautiful natural resource. I had always been drawn to knitwear and was inspired by the silky soft fibre. It is such a good insulator that alpacas can live in freezing cold conditions at altitudes of 5000 metres in the Andes mountains.

I set about sourcing the highest quality alpaca fibre in a range of colours and started buying from the well regarded Peruvian company Michell. The women knitted the new designs feverishly and in those

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OF&G organic approved & safe for breeding mothers

We weren’t happy with the worrying amount of man-made chemicals given to animals on a daily basis. So, we herbalists, we created a completely natural range of ways to support animal intestinal hygiene. And we’re really

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Organic and made from 100% natural active ingredients, Verm-X Original can be fed to your camelids all year round and is safe for breeding mothers.

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A herbal supplement to restore and maintain gut vitality

al herbs

early days it took some trial and error before eventually a range of products started to take shape. After a few hurdles (hats too small for the average Englishman’s head and legwarmers that were so tight they wouldn’t go past your ankle), the first few shipments started to arrive in the UK. Nothing can quite prepare you for the excitement of a delivery arriving – it’s like Christmas every time!

Today, the range includes knitwear for both men and women: hats, gloves, scarves and snoods, jumpers, waistcoats, ponchos, legwarmers and socks. Most of the products are available in a variety of thirteen colours, so customers can create a set of hat, scarf and gloves all in a matching colour of their choice.

The products are sold online via www.mamacha.co.uk and also on Etsy at www.etsy.com/shop/MamachaUK. The hats and gloves make perfect Christmas presents and I will be extra busy in the next few weeks as I personally wrap and post each order. Customers are always pleased to know that all the packaging is recyclable and plastic free.

James sells the products at his regular pitch at Herne Hill market in Brixton and Alexandra Palace markets in north London, where he has a loyal following. He also sells at Christmas Fairs around London and will be at the Cirencester Autumn market in October.

Knitting brings benefits

The Peruvian ladies benefit from congregating at the community centre to knit together, where they make new friends and support each other. If they prefer, they can collect the alpaca fibre and knit from home. Working for Mamacha has given them a sense of pride and improved

their self-confidence. They are delighted that the pieces they have hand knitted are now sold in the US, Europe and all around the world. Some of the women have told us that the work has been life changing for them as they feel valued for their skills, and it has improved their self-esteem. The tags we have created for each product have the name of each knitter written on them, adding to this sense of self-worth for women who live undeniably challenging lives.

I never haggle on the price the ladies set each year for their work. There is a mutual understanding and respect for the need for the business to thrive in order to continue supporting the 50 or so ladies and their families, as well as paying wages in the UK. The cost of alpaca is ever increasing. However, the benefit of being a small business is that it can move quickly to adapt to new challenges – and I know that a top-notch quality product hand made with integrity will always have a loyal customer.

We feel that the virtues of natural fibres over manmade fibres will come into focus during the energy crisis this winter. Alpaca is incredibly warm, breathable, durable and fully biodegradable. It also really does not need washing very often as the fibre naturally repels moisture and therefore doesn’t soak up odours. So, while it might cost more to purchase, it will ultimately save the savvy consumer their money.

After 14 years of hard work, we are still incredulous every time a delivery arrives at the house in north Herefordshire. Each beautiful item has been knitted in the sprawling outskirts of Lima where homes are built by migrants arriving from the mountains and rural areas in search of work and a better life. We were always passionate about charity work and building a business with a humane ethos really is our dream come true.

> Amy and James

INSPIRING SCULPTURES

Animal sculptor Tanya Russell combines a passion for animal welfare, bronze and alpacas on a Carmarthenshire hill farm shared with her husband Charles.

Tanya never dreamed she would open her heart to 50 alpacas and a remote hill farm in Wales, writes Charles. After apprenticing with her parents (both sculptors) for seven years, she set up the Art Academy in London. Now, she sculpts from her Carmarthenshire studio.

After passing on the reins at the Academy, Tanya fell in love with a studio miles away, which overlooked the Black Mountains. But the perfect place on the hill also came with 37 acres, and we had to decide what to do with it. We began with renting it for grazing. But it broke Tanya’s heart to see sheep dying on our land. Everyone here has second jobs, some quite some distance away, and the farmer just couldn’t always be around when a sheep needed them.

Tanya isn’t a stranger to animals in need. She remembers her sculptor parents were often rescuing animals and providing them with a home. They also had furred or feathered ‘guests’ in the house while they sculpted: birds of prey, donkeys, otters, foxes and rescue fighting cockerels. There’s a big photo in the bathroom of a sheep in the bath. Two rescue mice went to school inside her sleeves, although she remembers her teachers as being “quite nice

about it, actually.”

While Tanya was teaching students to sculpt at her college, she adopted her first dog Asha, after seeing her at Battersea Dogs and Cats Home. She created a sculpture of Asha, prompted by that first “heartbreaking memory of her sitting against the cage, resting her big head against the bars”. Soon Tanya was volunteering at an animal rescue sanctuary, initially helping to clean and feed the wild animals, and later with rehoming the dogs.

Creative inspiration

This lifelong interest in animal welfare fuels Tanya’s artwork; her sculpture is about our relationships with animals. She tries to ask “how can my work better the lives of animals? How can I support nature, habitats and welfare through my art?” In addition to trying to inspire respect for animals with her sculpture, she also donates 10% of all the sales proceeds from her sculptures to animal rescue charities.

Tanya says her alpacas really help her to “get out and be in the beautiful world that I choose my sculpting subjects from. It is too easy to get stuck

> Tanya at the early stages of sculpting a mum and her cria

inside with work and stop seeing the wonders; stop thinking about the other creatures that share our world with us.

“The necessity of going out to feed the animals twice a day, rain or shine, really brings a balance to our lives.

“We looked for a long time at which animals might do well here, in the Welsh hills. Alpacas were one of the few that, when bred, we could be confident we could sell to really nice homes and wouldn't enter the food chain. Alpacas also fit really well with our environmental ambitions and meadow conservation grazing.”

“I am sculpting a piece depicting one of my lovely alpaca mums and her cria at the moment, which I am really enjoying. Alpacas are such wonderful shapes and have such character.”

Tanya takes on bespoke animal sculpture commissions from clients internationally, and her time is most often taken up with work for clients, “although I would love to sculpt alpacas life-sized one day! She gets commissioned by companies, private clients, and organisations.

“It’s really rewarding for me, to share the life of an animal personally, or through the memories or experiences of my client. And to draw on that inspiration to create my artwork in clay.”

How they are made

Does it take long to make her statues? “Yes, I first do loads of research on my subject, then create a composition I think will capture the subject, also getting to grips with the anatomy involved in the chosen pose. It can then take up to a month to sculpt a piece in either clay, or wax for smaller pieces. After that, the sculpture has a rubber mould taken of it. This mould actually destroys the clay but will allow me to take an edition. This mould goes to a foundry or to a resin caster, where it is used to cast an identical copy of the original sculpture over 12 to 18 weeks.”

“The final material will either be the classic foundry bronze metal, (poured as molten metal), or alternatively a more affordable substitute called bronze resin.” Both are beautiful indoor and outdoor materials, she says. “And while the method of casting metal has been around largely unchanged for 3,000 years, it allows so much detail it can capture the lines in a sculptor’s fingerprint.”

Epoch Alpacas

“We have 50 alpacas here on the farm. It is hard as an artist not to love the different colours. I find it really rewarding and fun to try and breed animals with wonderful colour variety, whilst still improving fleece quality, and retaining the best conformation and character traits for health and welfare. It has been really exciting this year to breed my first appaloosas and multis and improve my lovely solid colours. It’s always exciting, as you can never know with alpacas exactly what you’ll get!”

“With breeding, I find each conversation with someone who is thinking about buying is an opportunity to talk about the welfare of these beautiful creatures. With enquiries from new owners, I’m likely to be still on the phone an hour later, discussing fascinating topics like poo sampling! If they’re not that interested, I likely won't sell to them.”

While there are a number of established breeders in Wales, alpaca breeding is still not so widespread compared to other parts of the UK. “This year BAS is looking at setting up two regional groups to cover Wales. In our area, it’s the South Wales Regional Alpaca Group. In welsh, the letter ‘w’ in SWRAG can be pronounced like the ‘oo’ sound in boo,” she says.

Tanya has volunteered to be the new welfare officer for Wales. She is also SWRAG’s secretary. “It's really exciting to have a group for South Wales and we are hoping for lots of members, so we can support each other, and provide resources and varied talks and events. Our activities are shared on our Facebook page.

We are also planning to take some animals to show for the first time ever to the Welsh Alpaca Show. “I’m really nervous, but we’ve had so much encouragement and support from breeders who have been showing for years, that we thought we’d give it a go!”

ALPACA CHAT

Debbie and Paul Rippon breed champion alpacas and offer popular walk and talks at Barnacre Alpacas in Northumberland where they keep more than 300 alpacas. They also sell knitwear handcrafted by Debbie and her family. In this interview Debbie tells us more about the business.

Why did you and Paul decide to keep alpacas?

I saw alpacas on Michael Palin’s Full Circle where he spent a couple of days with a subsistence farmer in Peru and knew immediately, I wanted to research these amazing animals further.

Did you know anything about them before you started?

No, we knew nothing about alpacas. Paul and I grew up on housing estates in Nottingham and the biggest thing we’d looked after was a cat from the RSPCA, so I spent the next three years researching them, “accidentally” bumping into alpacas and their owners to learn all I could about them. We also went on a couple of courses and learnt from our vet who grew up with llama’s and has a camel!

Many owners say owning alpacas is addictive do you agree and how difficult is it to breed champions?

Alpacas are definitely addictive; their huge Disney eyes draw you in and you’re soon hooked. Breeding alpacas is a slow process and breeding champions can be even slower as you learn what your boys and girls can produce. It’s always so much more satisfying when you breed a champion from your own breeding decisions.

What are the best bits about being an alpaca owner and your own high points?

The best bits are being immersed in all things alpaca 24/7. Highs are breeding, winning championships and seeing the enjoyment other people get from our alpacas and helping other people begin their alpaca journey (everyone knows I’m not very good at parting with them)! I also love seeing the enjoyment and interest our knitwear story creates, from the initial mating decisions to birthing, shearing then creating the piece.

How did you go about building a business at Barnacre?

We started with three breeding females which quite quickly grew to 11. I knew from the start I wanted to use their fleece to create bespoke knitwear and items from our herd, so the knitwear started on a small scale after the first year of shearing. Our alpaca walking venture began by accident really when a family came who were thinking about getting alpacas and I suggested they walked the boys whilst we chatted about their requirements. That was about 13 years ago now!

Can you tell us why you decided to start making knitwear and how difficult was it to have your fleece processed into yarn?

I’ve always loved creating things, so I know I wanted to use the girls fleece to produce things. I was introduced to a lovely old lady who taught me to spin my fleece, but I soon worked out this was very time consuming, so most get processed at The Border Mill and we liked what John and Juliet did so much that we became partners with them. I still love spinning and it’s usually my treat to myself at Christmas.

Did you have any knitting experience before you started?

When we got our alpacas I couldn’t knit, so that was a steep learning curve – YouTube is great for things like that. All of our knitwear is produced by me, my mum, sister-in-law and a couple of friends.

What makes alpaca fibre special?

Alpaca is known as the ‘fibre of the Gods’ and is a smooth fibre without lanolin (oil), so not only does it feel exceptionally fine and soft it is classed as hypoallergenic. We only use the best of our 300 alpaca fleeces for our knitwear and yarn business and all of our natural coloured items come labelled with the name of the alpaca who donated their fleece for that item. There’s a use for all the fleece though, so we also use the lower quality fleece for different things too, whether it’s bird nesting material or in our little resin alpaca mementos we sell.

We have a lovely purpose built shepherds hut made from reclaimed oak on the farm which we display and sell our various creations from, and we also attend a few local craft markets with some of our alpacas and knitwear so we can show people where the knitwear comes from.

The bulk of our knitwear sales come from our website –www.barnacre-alpacas.co.uk – which is predominately driven by our fantastic social media following of more than 27,000 followers on Twitter and nearly 10,000 on Instagram, so we like to show the world what we produce and sell on these platforms which has always worked well for us.

What would you advise owners wanting to make and sell products from their fibre?

We would always say decide what niche you want, only use the right fibre for things you are going to create.

Is there anything you wish you’d known before you started keeping alpacas?

I wish I’d realised how addictive alpacas were, in my head I thought we’d have 20 to 30 alpacas, and we have over 300 now!

What are your future goals for the business?

We have a cottage on the farm that we want to renovate and turn in to a luxury holiday let to join our existing two holiday lets. We also have our eye on a stud male who we hope will be able to come and join our stud line up, just need to convince his owner; they know who they are!

Photos: Charlotte Bull

BLOWN AWAY BY EXPERIENCE

Stuart Woolley and Cathy Darcey run Woolley Animals Alpaca Walking and Farm Park in North Devon a thriving business and “a little piece of heaven” which began with three alpacas and a dream, as Cathy explains.

It all started in 2015 when our lambing season was hit by Mr Fox, we only lambed a few ewes but lost several lambs that year. Back then Stuart was managing an organic farm in West Sussex, and I was a property director at a hospital, lambing for us was just a pastime.

We were planning to move to Devon and were told alpacas would protect our livestock, we’d never heard of that. We had the space to keep some and Stuart is an experienced livestock farmer – how hard could a few alpacas be? To coincide with our plan, I was gifted ‘A Walk with an Alpaca experience’, who knew such a thing even existed? I came back from the ‘experience' and was blown away. I said to Stuart – we’re going to do this for a living, he said “don’t be stupid, you’re crazy!” Seven years on and it’s now our life.

By mid 2016, we had relocated to North Devon with a dream. We planned to get a few animals, a few sheep, chickens, goats. We found a little house with under two acres and developed a business using our surname 'Woolley Animals', well you would wouldn’t you...?

The alpacas arrived two weeks after we moved in; three beautiful boys and three more followed soon after – they are endearing creatures, addictive and we were hooked. We invested in Swiss Valais Blacknose Sheep and a few goats. The alpaca boys were tame, and halter trained which made it easy to complete the next step. The neighbours came and helped with training and with public liability in place we took a big leap of faith. Our first visitors walked in October 2016, and it took off from there. A refreshment stop in our house kitchen and a walk round our garden to feed goats completed the ‘experience’ and our fledgling business took off from there.

Overcoming TB

We entertained many alpaca walking visitors and very quickly the original three boys grew to 12. Then, in May 2018 tragedy struck, one of our alpaca boys died suddenly just before a walk, the vet suspected he had tuberculosis (TB). Intervention by government vets followed and over the next few weeks

we had to cull three more boys; these weren’t just our business, these were part of our family, we were devastated.

Our business on hold and no way forward, I gave up physically and mentally and at times didn’t want to carry on. We were under strict instructions from DEFRA and the remaining boys were in isolation while testing continued, we did everything they instructed. Stuart hatched a plan, he suggested we buy a ‘new team’ keep them elsewhere, train them to walk and restart the business. With the right measures in place, DEFRA agreed. We had to collect the animals each day and relocate them to a new walking route courtesy of amazing neighbours. The farming and alpaca communities were extremely supportive.

TB carries a huge stigma, but we faced it head on, and we weren’t afraid to admit we needed whatever support we could get from anywhere. The hard physical work, financial struggle, animal losses and difficult times almost broke us but fortunately living with a resilient farmer makes you realise there’s always another way.

We needed to safeguard our income and not rely on alpaca walking as much, we had big plans and knew we would continue but also wanted holiday lets and other income. Securing a bigger place gave us the opportunity we needed. Finally in May 2019 two weeks after getting the TB all clear we were able to move to Venton Farm to restart our dream.

Like most people who are developing a business we sacrificed our free time, holidays, social events and family but we also experienced animal births, new life, new species, created great memories for people and we’ve developed a place that we can now love. We’ve learned a hard lesson and we voluntarily TB test our animals each winter, something which isn’t compulsory in alpacas, but we think is the right thing to do.

Continuing to thrive

We've had lots of returning visitors who tell us how unique our offer is and

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Indoor barn for bunny cuddling

Daily demos

Pygmy Goat World

CHRISTMAS ON THE FARM

why they love visiting us again and again. Since 2019 we’ve continued to thrive, we developed our walking route, ran social media campaigns, supported charities, visited care homes and provided opportunities for educational visits, in fact we’ve never stopped working.

Then in 2020, Covid-19 hit and we were forced to close like everyone else. Fortunately, we were able to sell a few livestock and run holiday cottages (with a few restrictions). I also had a job in management consulting while Stuart ran the day to day farm activities so our income was stable. We thought this was enough for us, but the next step came naturally. We had lots of phone calls during lockdown asking, “can we just come and see the animals?” We lost count of the number of times we said, “sorry we don’t do that”, so many times in fact that there was a lightbulb moment, we looked at each other and thought why not? We used the time during the Covid-19 lockdown to develop our offer – we already had the infrastructure in place, a small tearoom, toilets etc. How hard could it be?

So, in April 2021 we took the alpaca experience further and opened the farm park for public admission. You can come along, pay a small fee and enjoy our beautiful animals at your leisure. For an additional charge, we offer our alpaca walking around pastureland, lake and woodland or you can just hand feed the animals. We give you the opportunity to get up really close to our beautiful animals. This year we introduced a tractor ride round the lake which whole families enjoy. We bought some beautiful birds (rhea), introduced a hot food and specialty coffee offer. You can just chill out with animals and make family memories together without being too commercial. Some people visit on holiday, but some locals visit again and again.

We haven’t done this alone, from running the business ourselves we now employ around 20 wonderful staff who help us make it happen and we are very grateful. Without them we wouldn’t have had the success to date.

Our walks are by appointment and guests get to choose which alpaca they walk. If not alpacas, we also have miniature ponies, donkeys, sheep, goats, pigs, chickens, rhea, ducks, rabbits and guinea pigs for cuddling. We’ve built

‘Pygmy Goat World’ where you can watch them play on platforms and a trampoline. We do demonstrations of goat milking and include our six dogs in a daily dog display. One thing we are passionate about is giving everyone the opportunity to spend time with animals, so we don’t have any play areas – we have limited space and it’s reserved just for the animals!

We found a little piece of heaven in North Devon and we filled it with our animals and now we share our Woolley family with others. Would we ever do anything else... possibly, who knows? Would we be as happy, I doubt it?

MAGICAL CHRISTMAS

Lower Bush Alpacas started as a business offering walks and experiences three years ago after a friend bought Jemeela a voucher for an alpaca farm visit. She went along with her eldest son Harry, who was just two and a half, and was captivated. “I came home and made a very flippant remark to Jon about how wonderful alpacas were and how I needed an alpaca in my life!”

While she had ridden horses when she was younger Jemeela had not grown up around animals, other than cats and dogs and although she was initially nervous around the alpacas they had a calming effect almost straight away. “I was quite wary of bigger animals but when I met the alpacas, although I was nervous at first, I immediately felt at ease around them even though they were fairly big.

“Harry was just weaving in and out between them and they were

sniffing his head – they were really curious and lovely. The other thing I can’t really explain but have since experienced time and time again with people who visit the farm, is that I felt calm and grounded, and very much in the moment. It was a lovely experience in the midst of working for the NHS and caring for a two and a half year old; it didn’t happen very often!”

Jon had grown up on a smallholding owned by his dad within walking distance of their home and while he was familiar with sheep and horses he had not thought about keeping alpacas but he decided to research the idea. “I was intrigued and after looking online I said, ‘let’s go back and have a look at them and if we like them let’s go ahead and get some amazing pets for our kids.’”

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Christmas at Lower Bush Alpacas is a special time where the alpacas are joined by Santa and his elves to create a magical Christmas experience for children and families. But it is a place to relax and enjoy the alpacas at any time of the year, as Alpaca editor Liz Mason found out in an interview with Jon and Jemeela Savage.

A growing business

The first three alpacas came to Jon’s dad’s smallholding in July 2019 and the couple’s business “snowballed” from there. Jon had read about alpaca walking and thought it could offer a potential part time business. He was working as a print manager but as the demand for walks and experiences grew it has become a full time occupation and a hugely rewarding outdoor lifestyle for the couple. “Our business was never a big leap it just snowballed over time and probably will continue to do so,” Jemeela explains.

After the alpacas arrived there was a huge amount of local interest as people asked to come and see them and within a couple of months the couple were spending every evening after their son had gone to bed booking visits into the diary.

As there was a cost to the couple they then made a decision: “We set up a booking website, which was brilliant, and people did our basic experiences and to earn money off season we added other experiences. People asked if we could do other things – we said yes as long as it was good for the animals and safe for the people,” Jemeela adds.

“The demand for walks, meets and other experiences far outstrips the capacity we have. If we had more land and more alpacas we could be busy seven days a week, but we don’t want to overburden the alpacas or ourselves.”

Lower Bush Alpacas has grown to 10 boys and Jon is training another five young boys, the couple bought recently, using Camelidynamics. When they are ready they will join the rest of the herd taking part in walks, experiences, picnics, birthday parties, weddings and school visits.

Another aspect of the business is a therapeutic experience for people who may not feel comfortable in big groups. Jemeela is a psychologist and while she no longer works for the NHS she offers a small amount of animal assisted therapy based around her clinical work but in a different and more accessible environment.

Walking is hugely popular, and walks are fully booked until the end of the year. These take place once a day three days a week but there will be no walks in December as the farm opens three days a week for its Christmas experience.

Meeting different needs

Jon and Jemeela offer alpaca experiences to suit different people’s needs and ensure their ‘meets’ are suitable for adults with mobility issues and children with special educational needs. They also aim to have affordable experiences available for families with low incomes.

School visits where children can learn about wellbeing through mindfulness is a rewarding part of the business. “Schools come because it is

> Jon Savage

> The Savages

a nice school trip, it is exciting for the children but there is also an educational element in terms of how you can use mindfulness to manage your wellbeing every day,” Jemeela said.

Yoga for children takes place in the summer, and includes mother and baby yoga, pre-school yoga and family yoga for children and parents of any age. Yoga classes are led by Jess a local teacher from Little Yoga Warriors and include story time with an alpaca book.

Jemeela said: “We also run a holiday and food scheme with the local council in the summer holidays which is funded by central government to pay for activities and food for children who would be eligible for free school meals in term time. We had yoga with Little Yoga Warriors and the children had packed lunch and did crafts.

“The children are from families who couldn’t afford to bring their children to the farm, or from families where the children have special educational needs and it would be difficult for their parents to facilitate this kind of experience for them.”

Seeing the benefits alpacas can offer children is hugely rewarding for both Jon and Jemeela. Jon said: “I watched one of our big alpacas, called Sir Davos interacting with a little boy who had ADHD (attention deficit hyperactivity disorder). He was quite hyperactive but watching him calm down around Sir Davos was amazing.

“He got down on his knees to take some pellets from the little boy’s hand and when he reached out to hug him Sir Davos leant into him – it was just amazing. That for me was incredible to see.”

The couple also work alongside local autistic children’s charities and in October offered pumpkin bowling on the farm. “We set this up mainly for the charities but have since opened up to anyone – it’s just a bit of fun,” said Jon.

The couple are now looking forward to more fun at Christmas and creating a special ‘magical’ Christmas experience with a decorated Santa’s grotto, elves and presents for the children to take home.

The children feed the alpacas as part of their visit while their parents enjoy a glass of mulled wine and a mince pie. “It’s a really magical experience and everyone has enjoyed it each year we have done it. We have a good photographer who takes time to get good pictures and our Santa is amazing!” Jon said.

The entire family, including Jemeela, Jon, his mother and sister, as well as local volunteers are 'roped in' as elves and it is “a really lovely atmosphere”, Jemeela added.

“People always say there is such a personal feel when they come to our Christmas experience because we are all family or friends or have worked together in the past – it is just a lovely time.”

> Jemeela Savage

COMMUNITY ENTERPRISE

After years of leading creative workshops, lifelong animal lover Lara Armitage launched At Birkhill House CIC, an animal assisted activity and crafting centre in the Scottish Borders. The support and engagement of her local community, coupled with recent grant successes, have encouraged her to continue the enterprise started in 2019 despite the challenges brought by Covid, as Lara explains.

When I was little, I wanted to be either an artist or a pet shop owner so it’s no surprise really that I have ended up launching a project like this!

Creative endeavours and connections with my animals have always been my two guiding lights in terms of maintaining positive mental health and a balanced outlook on life and I have always wanted to share that balance.

The focus At Birkhill House CIC is very much about wellness and mindfulness; taking a moment out to be compassionate and nurture creativity.

Situated about 30 miles south east of Edinburgh city centre and with a rich equine history, the Birkhill estate is now a busy nine-acre smallholding that I share with my husband Andy, a veterinary surgeon, and our two children.

The animal residents include Huacaya alpacas, rare breed Castlemilk

Moorit sheep, Pygmy and Golden Guernsey goats, 14 domestic Ragdoll cats, a gaggle of small dogs, a plethora of hens, many runner ducks and a friendly pair of peacocks, Herman and Marguerite, who are currently raising their four babies.

Initially, we offered a mixture of modern and traditional crafting opportunities ranging from pewter casting to embroidery, stained glass to paper making, slate mosaic to botanical plaster casting – and everything in between. We have since expanded our repertoire to include fleece and fibre based learning.

All of our workshop providers are local and we feel positive and passionate about supporting creative members of our community while providing opportunities for people of all ages to engage with mindful, creative pursuits.

Groups and individuals are also invited to Birkhill for animal assisted activities and experiences, including tea with alpaca sessions or meet and

Linking to crafting and its part in improved mental health...

A recent report published by ww.craftscouncil.org says that craft can “alleviate the symptoms of anxiety, depression, loneliness and even dementia”. In addition, the sense of wellbeing achieved by producing something can release natural endorphins associated with happiness (Riley, Corkhill & Morris, 2013). It boosts mental wellbeing in individuals and also brings people together.

greets, but mainly our alpacas are left to roam the paddocks freely. Our sessions tend to be non-directive and casual so that connections between humans and alpacas can occur more naturally and unfold in unique ways, ungoverned by harnesses or hurdles.

Benefiting the community

More recently we have also started offering horticultural opportunities for groups and individuals. I felt that many of us were already feeling disconnected from our communities when Covid-19 struck. The pandemic further fractured our capabilities to feel included and valued in real life face-to-face encounters. More than ever, as we restructure our patterns after lockdowns and restrictions, we all need to make sure that we are clearing space to reflect in calm, compassionate ways and lots of local individuals and groups really benefit from visiting us – whether through crafting, animal assisted activities or getting their hands in the soil.

When I first launched the venture in 2019, as a non-profit social enterprise, I was still fairly new to owning alpacas. But Andy and I had met plenty over the years and, charmed by their quirkiness and open, curious nature, we knew we were destined to go down the alpaca path.

I was keen in the planning stages – even before we found Birkhill – to incorporate alpacas and other animals into a programme to help visitors improve their mental health. To that end, I completed my diploma in animal assisted therapy theory in 2017, a year before our three foundation girls, Jessie, Dolly and Agatha, arrived from Sheriff Alpacas.

That same year we bought the Birkhill Estate, leaving behind our one-acre property nine miles to the north and embarking on a mammoth whirlwind of renovations. We repaired and modernised the entire seven-bedroom home, which had stood empty for two years, as well as the external courtyard and outdoor spaces, four of the 12 stables, which are now the current workshop spaces, and a holiday cottage on the property.

Once all that hard work was done, more hard work began! I was able to throw myself into consultation with local community members, groups and support organisations to figure out how I could best help them and how to structure a programme here. Their feedback and encouragement has been invaluable in crafting an offering that benefits as many members of our community as possible.

>> Continued on next page

Linking to horticulture and its part in improved mental health...

The American Society of Landscape Architects (ASLA) has amassed a comprehensive database of articles and reviews relating to the link between being outdoors and improved health. In adults, conditions such as Alzheimer’s, dementia, asthma, respiratory disorders, cognition, depression, heart issues, obesity, PTSD, stress, stroke, type II diabetes and general wellbeing have all been documented as being improved through time spent in nature. Where children are concerned, conditions such as ADD, ADHD, autism spectrum disorders, cognition, depression, nature deficit disorder, obesity, stress, type II diabetes and general wellbeing have been documented as improved through outdoor time as well.

Since its inception, At Birkhill House CIC has welcomed three part-time staff members: a fleece and fibre development officer, a creative kit coordinator/marketing officer and an animal care assistant. We also have a large volunteer base, all of whom help either with animal duties or in the preparation of workshop and kit materials.

Additionally, two fleece and fibre interns are invited from the textiles department of local Heriot Watt University each summer. It’s really starting to feel like a family which was always the intention.

Lottery grant for fleece and fibre workshops

In March of this year, At Birkhill House CIC was awarded a National Lottery Community Grant to support the development of our fleece and fibre programme, which has enabled us to offer a host of workshops that place emphasis on traditional hand-processing techniques such as scouring, skirting, picking, carding and spinning.

Making the most of connections with local fibre artisans, we offer workshops in knitting, crochet, weaving and felting as well. We also stock kits with patterns specially designed by local makers for At Birkhill House CIC, alongside kits that make use of donated and upcycled textiles. We use everything… nothing goes to waste here!

To date, the Lottery grant has enabled 58 hours of workshops and we have welcomed over 90 participants through the door. We hosted a dedicated ‘Fibre Week’ in July and in that week alone we had 41 people turn up to attend ‘Creature to Creation’ days as well as demonstrations and workshops teaching picking, carding, art batt creation, drop spindling and wheel spinning. There were even drop spindle workshops for children, who then learned to weave with the fibre they had spun up into yarn. It was fabulous.

At around the same time as the National Lottery grant, At Birkhill House CIC was also awarded a significant amount through the Scottish Government’s Mental Health and Wellbeing Fund in support of the establishment of a natural dye garden.

The project kicked off in April of this year and is being run in conjunction with the Scottish Borders Rape Crisis Centre. We have service users coming along each week who have sowed seeds in the polytunnel, nurtured them, planted them out into the garden and are now learning to dye with the resulting plants and flowers.

It is so gratifying to see the impact of that success empowering the women who have been involved. Our plan is to continue to develop the garden, opening the project up to other groups, and also to provide more opportunities for dyeing onto our own homegrown fibre in a series of workshops that are now in development.

Alongside the workshop programme, we have launched an ambitious range of kits and products, including natural dye sachets, solar dye jars and one pot dye sets. All our items are now listed in on our Etsy shop and we are doing a fair bit of business through that portal, which is great.

All revenue generated equates to more subsidised workshops here and more opportunities to spread the fibre love. We are firm supporters of ‘slow fashion’ and are proud to be part of the movement to refocus attention back onto British wool and the proliferation of wool craft.

So many big dreams have come true At Birkhill House CIC and there are so many more waiting on the horizon – watch this space!

Grass-tastic

and

“Thoroughly recommended. The alpacas clearly

the Grass-tastic and Grass

delicious.

the most liked grass product on the market.”

Hayton, Faraway Alpacas.

MAKING YARN

At Two Rivers Mill we make worsted yarns from alpaca fibre and alpaca blends. They have been used successfully by commercial weavers and knitters to make beautiful products with good returns for all involved. They work equally well as hand-knitting yarns for personal projects or retail.

There are two elements to making our high quality alpaca yarns.

First, we start with good fibre. In our experience this comes from just the blanket area of the fleece not the neck or elsewhere. It has a soft handle and a staple length of nine to 12cm (for those interested in numbers, aim for 18-24 micron average fibre diameter and a Standard Deviation (SD) of five or less). We also expect not to find guard hairs, neck or leg hair, colour contamination or much vegetable matter.

Second, we use the worsted process which is the traditional method for working with long staple, lustre fibres like alpaca and mohair. I’ve described this more fully on our website and in previous articles but there are many stages involving lots of blending to improve the yarn evenness then combing to remove the remains of vegetation and short fibres that lead to yarn faults. The end result is a clean, smooth, strong and lustrous yarn.

If you want us to make yarn for your project, then follow these straightforward guidelines for success:

• Work back from the finished product to help us decide what type of

yarn you need. Different manufacturing methods need different yarn specifications in terms of weight, fineness, strength and evenness. Knitters and weavers can advise you and we have lots of experience from working with commercial and craft makers.

• Decide whether your fleece is suitable for our process. Again, the main requirements are on our website but most importantly you should check whether you have enough (we need 10kg of sorted fleece per batch passing through the machines so you may need to add more fleece or different colours and fibres) and if the staple length is enough (9cm to 12cm which should be one year’s growth). We can help with this.

• Prepare your fleece for the mill. It will involve getting hands on, becoming familiar with your fleece and is best done at shearing time by you, not relying on the shearer to make a judgement on your behalf. With practice, all it takes is five to ten minutes work at the right time to prepare the fleece to an acceptable condition for our mill. We only ask you to separate out the blanket part, make sure there’s no neck, leg or belly hair contaminating it and that the worst of the vegetation is removed (just the big bits really). Be careful not to gather up other parts of the fleece, other colours or toenail clippings with the blanket. Put the individual blankets, in a dry condition, into individual clear strong plastic bags (not bin bags or potato sacks), seal the tops and the job is done.

Phil Allen from Two Rivers Mill offers some guidelines to help achieve smooth, strong and lustrous yarns which can be used to make beautiful products and good returns.

Rest assured that any attempt you make at preparation will improve the fleece

A few words about fleece quality

It is well worth taking the time to learn about fleece quality. We are always happy to chat through the basics and if you come to the mill with some sample fleeces, we can show you how to assess them. We don’t expect show quality and ‘average’ fleeces can make very good yarn. The basics of grading fleece can be learned fairly quickly, and you will improve rapidly with practice.

‘Handle’ or how soft the fleece feels to touch is easy to recognise, especially if you compare hair from different parts of the body. Ask yourself if you would want to wear that fleece against your skin?

Have a gauge (or ruler) handy to check the average staple length and learn to visually recognise the difference between 5cm and 10cm.

Our best yarns are made with fleeces with average fibre diameter of 18-24 microns and if they have good staple length then there are many spinning possibilities.

If your fleeces are generally coarser than 25 micron then for worsted spinning they will benefit from blending with a lustre wool. The resulting yarn will be softer and more cohesive than if it had been spun as 100% alpaca.

If your fleeces are generally finer than 18 micron then they can be spun to very fine yarns, but not by us. Italian mills have the necessary skills.

You get better, more consistent yarns by blending more fleeces together – that’s one reason we like to have more than 10kg in a batch. You also get better results from a batch of fleeces if they are not too different in fineness and staple length.

After all this effort we may still receive part or whole fleeces which we cannot work with because they are too short, coarse (often from older animals) or contaminated with guard hair, sweepings or worse. You may have paid to ship the unusable fleece then have it create cost for us in sorting time and disposing of waste fibre, which we must pass back to you. If we reject fleece, it can have a big impact on the amount of yarn that you get back for your project and may make it uneconomic for us to proceed, but it’s what we leave out that makes the difference.

Don’t worry too much – we will work with you to make great yarn from as much of your fleece as possible. We are all always learning so try your best and ask us for help if you need it.

Photo: Matt Austin

Retallack

YOU'RE GORGEOUS

Gorgeous Alpacas is a yarn business set up by Emma and Henry Adeane focused firmly on good animal welfare and sustainability as life long knitter Emma explains.

In 2016 we decided to turn some of our Cambridgeshire garden into a field and looked into what animals might happily live on just under an acre of land. We went on a training course to find out what kind of care alpacas need, and then bought three male alpacas: Jazz, Tor and Caesar. It turned out there was not quite enough grass, so we now rent neighbouring land from the local farmer. But from too little to too much! The alpacas were getting fat, so we had to buy two sheep to keep them company and they are now all the best of friends and inseparable.

The first couple of years continued to be quite a learning curve, and I was always researching the next stage in an alpaca year. After discovering the huge amount of fleece that comes from just three alpacas, we sent the fleece off to the Border Milll, in Duns in the Scottish Borders, who now annually spin the fibre into our 100% Limited Edition yarn.

Building a business

I have been a knitter since my mother taught me at six, but there was just too much yarn to get through, and there is a limit to how many friends were prepared to be gifted such high quality yarn free of charge. So Henry bought me a Silver Reed LK150 knitting machine, from which I made about 150 hats and designed some basic knitting kits. All were ready for the Ely Cathedral Christmas Fair where we launched our business as Gorgeous Alpacas. The business has grown to an online store specialising in yarn, and knitting & crochet kits. We have a small team of designers and a part of our home is given over to workrooms. We now sell yarn produced from other UK farms and a small range of ready-to-wear hand-finished products.

Why do people love alpaca yarn?

I soon discovered that alpaca yarn is popular with knitters because it is so soft, and also because of the growing value around sustainable textiles.

Alpaca is considered one of the most sustainable textiles for many reasons, starting with the alpacas themselves who, unlike sheep, don’t pull up grass from the roots when they graze, but simply cut off the top, leaving the root system to continue to grow and preserving the top soil.

Alpaca fleece requires fewer chemicals in the production process. It’s natural antibacterial properties and hollow fibres mean that it doesn’t absorb smells easily, and it is also stain-resistant. The yarn is naturally water-repellent and wicks away rain and sweat to keep you dry and comfortable. Even when it does get absorbed, the fibre can absorb about 30% of its dry weight before you’ll feel wet on your skin. Why is all this sustainable? Reducing the use of washing machines saves on water and power. And synthetic waterproof fabrics use water-repellent coatings containing chemicals.

Alpaca yarn is also known to be very soft, durable, luxurious and silky. It is both strong and fine, and the best quality fleece creates a textile that is smoother than silk and softer than cotton. Because of the unique nature of the alpaca fleece, developed by alpacas over hundreds of years to cope with the intense heat and extreme cold in the Peruvian Andes, the hollow fibre is both warmer than goosedown, and more breathable than thermal knits. Because it is water-resistant, dog walkers and cold water swimmers are particular fans. While it's similar to sheep’s wool, it is warmer, not prickly, and has no lanolin, which makes it hypoallergenic.

But knitters and crochetiers just put it more simply: basically it is beautiful to knit with. Customer feedback is fairly uniform, with comments like: the

yarn is “gorgeous to work with”, “Lovely soft yarn in gorgeous colours”; “perfect to knit in summer and will be so warm and cosy to wear in the winter”; “beautiful colours lovely to knit with”.

Discovering joy and purpose

Over the years, there has been a range of research conducted on the impact of knitting on physical and mental health. On top of this, Gorgeous Alpacas has had feedback from customers who started knitting during the first Covid-19 lockdown in 2020. People who were suffering from feelings of isolation, loneliness and lack of opportunity to plan or achieve much in their life. They found that knitting had helped them get joy back from learning a new skill (or re-learning a half-forgotten skill). They were tapping into their creative genes, and knitted together with friends online. They had a purpose, and the process of knitting or crocheting helped them feel less anxious about the future, about which so many of us were frightened and unsure.

One of our customers had long term insomnia and found knitting helped them relax and not worry about sleep deprivation, which helped them achieve their goal of sleeping!

The formal research conducted by mental health organisations, universities and trade organisations supports this. For the statistics and the detail on this research, you might want to look at www.gorgeousalpacas.co.uk, but a quick summary of the evidence is that it reduces depression (Cardiff University found that 81% of knitters said they felt happier during and after knitting, and 54% of the respondents who were clinically depressed said knitting made them feel happy); that knitting and crochet improve cognitive skills and reduce memory loss (Mayo Clinic, 2011); that it helps with relaxation and stress reduction (the Craft Council found that 94% of knitters say their skill helps them to relax and 80% say that it helps reduce stress); and that these skills can even lower the heart rate (by an average of 11 beats per minute, according to the Harvard Medical School, Mind & Body Institute in 2001).

For more information:

www.gorgeousalpacas.co.uk

emma@gorgeousalpacas.co.uk

So even post-lockdown, knitting remains popular and knitting kits are now popular as gifts. This year Gorgeous Alpacas will be at the Burghley Christmas Fair and at the Sandringham Christmas Fair. They sell online too, and readers of Alpaca magazine can get 10% off any kit by using the code ALPACA22 on the checkout page.

WINTER CARE

Alpacas are adapted to life at high altitudes in the mountainous ranges of South America which means they tend to find our UK winters relatively mild, but there are several aspects of husbandry to think about to make winter that much easier.

Shelter and turnout

To help your alpacas cope with autumn and winter you will need to make sure they have a suitable environment. A good shelter is vital to protect them from wind and rain – a barn or three-sided field shelter is ideal; it should face away from the prevailing wind and there must be enough space for the whole group to get inside. Extra bedding (such as a thick layer of straw) will also help to keep your animals warm in cold conditions. During wet weather your alpacas will need somewhere where they can get out of muddy conditions, this may mean moving them to higher ground or installing an area of hard-standing or woodchip to use when the ground is poached. It is worth checking your fencing and buildings for any weak areas and finishing maintenance jobs before the winter weather sets in.

Diet and hydration

Most of your alpacas’ diet should be made up of forage – either grass or hay is best; this is particularly true during cold conditions when digestion of fibre helps generate heat. During the winter extra forage supplementation will be needed while grass growth is poor, especially if the ground is icy or covered with snow. They should also have supplementary concentrate feed to ensure a proper balance of vitamins and minerals; this must be specifically formulated for camelids. All animals should be regularly condition scored and feeding adjusted as needed – remember that pregnant, lactating or growing animals will have higher energy requirements. It is vital that any diet changes are made gradually to avoid upsetting the gut.

Alpacas should always have access to fresh, clean water but they may be more reluctant to drink it when the weather is cold. Dehydration predisposes to problems such as colic, so water

intake needs to be monitored carefully. Water buckets and troughs should be checked at least twice daily to ensure they are clean and any ice is removed. Adding warm water, electrolytes or a little fruit juice as well as providing a salt lick can encourage your animals to drink more.

Vitamin D supplementation

Ultraviolet (UV) light is needed for the skin to produce Vitamin D and can also be obtained

through the diet. Camelids are adapted to much higher levels of sunlight than we get in the winter, this means that during shorter daylight hours they can become deficient in Vitamin D so will need supplementation.

Lack of UK vitamin D can cause problems in young growing animals and pregnant females in particular but can impact all ages of alpacas. Rickets in young animals is a common consequence of low vitamin D levels causing deformed limbs, lameness, hunched posture, poor appetite, weight loss and stunted growth. In older or pregnant animals lack of vitamin D can cause issues with immunity, abnormal foetal development and problems with mammary tissue.

Vitamin D can be supplemented using oral paste or given by injection, any injectable drugs must be obtained from your vet. As a general rule dosing should be repeated every six to eight weeks from October until March but this depends on weather conditions, the product you are using and individual animals. It is important to accurately weigh your animals and check dosing with your vet as it will vary according to the product you use; overdose can cause severe illness.

Routine healthcare

Good general husbandry and healthcare is vital year-round, but it is worth checking your animals are all up to date before going into the winter. They should be sheared during spring/early summer; make sure this is done early enough to allow the fleece to grow back sufficiently before temperatures drop.

About the author

They should also have their toenails checked regularly and trimmed as needed to prevent any problems – this is something you can do at home, if you are unsure get your vet to demonstrate first.

All camelids should be vaccinated for clostridial disease, after the primary course they should have a booster vaccine at least once per year. You should also be performing regular faecal worm egg counts (including checking for fluke depending on your area) to determine the need for worming treatment, particularly in young animals – check with your vet if you are unsure on timing for this.

With shorter days and cooler temperatures, we need to prepare for the winter ahead and ensure our alpacas have the best care through the winter months, writes Georgie Hodson, Haven Vet Group.

Georgie graduated from the University of Nottingham in 2019 and started work as a mixed vet in East Yorkshire soon after. She loves the variety of mixed practice and has a particular interest in cats, camelids and donkeys! Outside of work she enjoys exploring the countryside with her Fell pony Bertie and spending time with her rescue cat Wini.

but

protect

WINTER MANAGEMENT

Keeping your alpacas healthy over the winter needs a bit of planning. Every field and alpaca is different, so understanding what your alpacas need and then considering how you will meet those needs is essential.

Let’s start with nutrition; 85%-90% of an alpaca’s nutrition should come from grass or hay/haylage to keep their gut healthy. Alpacas are often reluctant to eat hay that has been lying around on the ground, they select the best bits and then don’t want to eat the remainder and can even become too skinny if the hay is undesirable to them in any way. Refresh your hay regularly and, if using haylage, make sure it is not rotting or fermenting in the hay rack.

All alpacas need hay, but alpacas in higher needs groups (underweight, late pregnancy, lactation, growing etc) should be provided with the best hay. You can get hay analysed at your local agricultural merchant, so you can really see what nutrition you are giving them.

The requirement for a camelid specific mineral supplement doesn’t change during the winter; it is providing most of the minerals and vitamins that are readily available in the Andes, but not in the UK, but check you are not using one with a high molasses content or significant amounts of wheat or corn

(maize), as these can also cause digestive issues. Feed intended for chicken, sheep, goats or cattle is unlikely to meet your alpaca’s needs and could be harmful, especially over a longer time or in larger quantities. Also check the quantity you are feeding, often the supplements are only required to be fed in small amounts and can be harmful and expensive if too much is given.

Extra calories may be needed over winter (or if hay or grazing is poor) but the only way you are really going to know that is by feeling your alpaca to establish its body condition score (BCS). Ideal BCS is 3-3.5/5. Once you know your alpaca’s BCS you can then feed them appropriately to help them maintain a healthy weight. You may also need to do further checks with underweight alpacas to see if there is a cause other than insufficient nutrition, such as gut parasites or disease. It’s hard to slim down an overweight alpaca, so try not to overfeed them unnecessarily.

For the skinnier alpacas and those with extra needs you will need to give them additional hard feed. Sugar beet residue is good (but avoid the varieties with added molasses). It still has plenty of calories, some fibre, it’s reasonably priced and is readily available. Micronised rolled flaked peas are also a good source of calories and they provide good levels of protein too. Introduce any

Christmas is coming, the goose is getting fat. But how are your alpacas doing asks Kate Brookes of Mullacott Alpacas? In this article she offers some practical tips based on experience to help maintain good winter health.

new feed gradually over a couple of weeks. Some alpacas prefer their food dry, some soaked. If you have an alpaca that regularly coughs after eating dry food then you may need to soak it. There are also conditioning products available, usually made for horses, that are suitable for alpacas These can be fed with their supplement to increase its calorific value.

Alpacas always need clean water to be available. They drink significant amounts, especially when their diet is mainly hay. In freezing weather water points may need to be cleared of ice several times a day. Alpacas also seem to like their water warm, try offering a bucket of warm water in their shelter.

Alpacas should also always have shelter available, some head for it the moment a spot of rain is felt, others seem to prefer to stay out in all weathers. Locating a hay feeding point in the shelter may encourage them to stay in, during poor weather. Try feeding your alpacas in the shelter to get them used to going in, but in general they cope pretty well if they choose to stay out in the rain and they hardly seem to feel the cold at all. Many is the time I’ve seen alpaca shaped patches in the frost and frosty (or

even snowy) alpacas wandering around the field, where their insulation is so good that they manage to not melt the frost on their backs.

Generally, alpacas don’t need to wear coats. The main exceptions are winter born cria, especially in the first couple of weeks, and some elderly, unwell and/or underweight alpacas. Keeping warm, in cold weather, uses significant amounts of their food intake, so a coat may help an underweight alpaca maintain a good body condition over winter.

Your alpacas need dry ground to stand and lay on. If your fields become too waterlogged, consider keeping the alpacas off them completely or restricting their access to a few hours a day. This will preserve the grass and let it get off to a better start in spring. Meanwhile your alpacas will be eating more hay, which is probably more nutritious than the winter grass, so make sure it is readily available and a more dominant one is not preventing a smaller/submissive one from accessing it.

If you want to learn more about caring for alpacas, the British Alpaca Society have affiliated trainers running practical courses all over the UK. Enjoy your alpacas this Christmas!

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WILDLIFE BENEFITS

Sarah Carpenter, Bell Farm Alpacas, explains how alpacas are the perfect addition to the family’s smallholding, providing the opportunity to balance an interest in conservation with financial viability.

Had someone said to me 10 years ago that I’d be living on a farm with alpacas, sheep, pigs, geese, ducks and chickens – I’d have questioned their sanity! We moved to Bell Farm, a derelict grade two farmhouse with 13 acres in 2015 and we knew from the outset we were embarking on a major restoration and renovation project. On our second viewing, the kingfishers ‘sold’ us the farm after courting and displaying in front of us while we walked the length of the river across the farm - I was smitten. So, we bought a caravan and started major repair and restoration works on the house.

With work on the house in progress, and a well-timed baby on the way, we started to think about what we would do with the farm. It had previously been home to a small dairy herd but hadn’t been an active farm for some time and had fallen into disrepair.

The farm benefits from 520 yards of river frontage, flood plain, hillside, grassland, two streams and woodland – such a varied landscape providing different habitats for wildlife, flora and fauna.

What a responsibility! Knowing that we are merely custodians for a small period of time, I have always had a keen interest in conservation, and we wanted to make sure we added value and supported the wildlife we had here.

We started looking into what might work on a smallholding – we already had chickens, and Chris wanted to get some pigs – but I also wanted to do something a little bit different and edge towards supporting rare breeds at the same time. The option of alpacas came up and as they appeared to have little impact on the landscape compared to other livestock, especially on the flood plain which could get rather soggy we started to do some research.

We spoke to several breeders and started to think they could be a good option – I even mentioned it to our local farm vet when she asked me what we were planning to do with the farm. Eight weeks later she called to say that she had a client who was looking to rehome a small herd of eight girls following a bereavement and could put me in touch if I was interested. They wanted to guarantee that the girls would stay together. By then I was on maternity leave – so yes, why not add a herd of alpacas to the mix, with a small baby and major restoration project – makes perfect sense! And so, it started... our smallholding began to take shape.

Wildlife and conservation grazing

We approached the Avon Wildlife Trust (AWT) who gave us advice on conservation grazing and encouraging a wildflower meadow on our hillside. They cleared some brambles and completed a wildflower count with some volunteers. The sheep now graze there in autumn and winter and move to different pastures in spring and summer to allow the wildflowers to flourish and lay their seeds.

The AWT also helped us plant a new orchard with varied traditional fruit trees, blossoming from February to June appealing to a range of insects.

We’ve also been working with the Bristol and Avon River Trust (BART) creating seasonal scrapes (shallow depressions) along a section of the river and planting more than 260 native trees as well as wildflower areas. Besides increasing biodiversity, the wetland sites also aim to help reduce flood risk by storing water in the landscape and improve water quality by plants filtering out pollutants and sediment, as well as storing carbon by increasing trees and other vegetation.

We monitor mink along the river in conjunction with BART. While rather beautiful, mink are a disaster for native wildlife, so we monitor and trap to help control the population. We’re lucky enough to have otter too – we’ve managed to film (albeit poorly) a mum and three kits, and we’ve filmed the dog otter on his own – such a privilege.

It’s always exciting to see wildlife on the farm. The deer are a delight. We have roe and muntjac and I was thrilled to spot a fawn in the woods earlier this year. Although, there are some animals we share the land with who are a bit of a double-edged sword – wonderful to see, but risky at the same time. The fox is a classic example – fabulous to see leaping about trying to catch voles in the long grasses on the hillside, but I’d rather he kept away from the cria, chickens and ducks!

Thankfully, the alpacas are very good at seeing off the foxes and they provide a bit of a guard for all the birds. Of course, there’s the badger – a delight, but also a tuberculosis (TB) risk. We’re lucky to have ‘clean’ badgers and we hope it stays that way – in theory, any travelling or diseased badgers will be dissuaded from settling by our local population.

We harrow and roll our hayfield, making our own hay using a very old Massey 35 tractor and Jones’ baler. We don’t use fertiliser or pesticides, and it does sometimes feel like we’re battling against thistles and of course the weather. It is quite a stressful time, especially when the weather changes or the baler decides to throw a spanner in the works, but it is incredibly satisfying when the hay crop is brought in and the alpacas love it too!

To help manage parasites, we have a poover (poo hoover), which was a fabulous birthday present a few years ago. I’ve asked Father Christmas for a microscope this year so I can analyse the alpacas poo samples, as I’m going on a parasitology course soon! One of my other gadgets is an

acorn picker upper. Acorns contain toxins and on a mast year it can be hard work stopping the alpacas having a munch! It works well on flat ground but it is more tricky on an uneven hillside.

More alpacas

Alpacas are a little addictive it seems, and we decided to breed some of our girls, and have taken on a couple of others who needed rehoming. Needless to say, I now have 25 alpacas – along with 11 sheep (including six Herdwicks to aid the conservation grazing), two Oxford Sandy and Black pigs, 15 Saxony ducks, 12 Emden and Chiltern geese, 35 random hens, two cockerels, one very fluffy cat, three gorgeous dogs as well as a wonderful daughter and overworked (and lucky) husband.

Life on the farm is always busy. The ‘list’ is never completed, and there really is no such thing as a day off. But, while doing all the daily jobs on the farm today, I was serenaded by flocks of long tailed and blue tits, admired the kingfishers zooming up and down the river, watched a red kite circle overhead and discovered a pale tussock moth caterpillar (which is amazingly coloured compared to the moth itself). I also spotted two slow worms, got distracted watching a treecreeper working its way down a tree trunk, with a nuthatch doing the opposite all with the gentle humming of the alpacas in the background.

The alpacas are a perfect combination. They are endearing, attractive, calm animals with relatively low maintenance (although poovering does take quite a while) whose soft-padded feet neither poach the fields nor hurt too much if they do kick.

Two years ago, I launched my alpaca experience business offering walks, meet and greets and picnics with the alpacas. It balances my core desire to conserve our landscape for generations to come with financial viability. Our guests slow down, spend some valuable time with endearing creatures and experience our idyllic, varied landscape and all that access to nature brings, revitalising the soul.

I think it’s just wonderful.

Note: BART funding was through the Green Recovery Challenge Fund under the 'Chew Reconnected’ project as part of a river enhancement scheme. AWT grassland management advice was provided through the B-Lines Project (a pollination project supported by Buglife to improve/enhance quality grassland and connect sites at a landscape scale).

THE HOEAG FLEECE SHOW

The Heart of England Alpaca Group (HoEAG) Fleece Show took place over two days in September and the results were announced via zoom on Sunday 2 October, writes show organiser Julia Corrigan-Stuart.

The judges were Barbara Hetherington, judging the brown, fawn and light Huacayas on day one and the light and white Suris on day two. Mary-Jo Smith judged the grey, black and white Huacayas on day one and the grey, black, brown and fawn Suris the following day. Both did a fantastic job, assessing around 190 entries and commented on the high quality of the fleeces entered. Covid-19 unfortunately made an appearance again, meaning we were

down several helpers on the day, but the rest, including quite a few newbies, but also some of our established stars of the task, helped make the days run smoothly and were a thoroughly enjoyable group to work with – thank you very much, as the show could not be what is without you all.

Results

• The Supreme Champion Huacaya Fleece was awarded to Brillbury Alpacas for the third year running with Brillbury Eros. Eros was also awarded Best British Huacaya and Judges Choice.

• Capital Camber, owned by Capital Alpacas was awarded Reserve Supreme Huacaya.

• The Supreme Champion Suri Fleece was awarded to CS Alpacas with CS Alpacas Benedict Cumberbatch.

• CS Alpacas Magic Mike, owned by Ashford Alpacas, was awarded Reserve Supreme Suri.

• Best British Suri was awarded to Springfarm Blizzard.

• Judges Choice was awarded to CS Alpacas Magic Mike.

The HoEAG Special Awards were given again this year and the results of these, as well as the colour champions can be seen on the HoEAG website so please visit heartofenglandalpacagroup.co.uk and take a look.

So, a massive thank you to all the exhibitors, helpers and Judges who continue to support our Show – we are very grateful. We look forward to getting together in 2023 to do this all again. Take care and stay warm and safe this winter.

> Judges with Supreme Huacaya breeders > Judges with Supreme Suri breeder

SOMERSET COUNTY SHOW

What a fabulous alpaca show we had at Somerset County, writes Paula Winsor, on behalf of the South West Alpaca Group (SWAG).

Saturday was dedicated to the serious business of judging, carried out by Barbara Hetherington who perused her way through the Suri’s and Huayaca’s providing informative and constructive appraisals for breeders and members of the public alike.

Huge thanks to everyone who entered and congratulations to our Supreme Champion winners. Lane House Belle of the Ball won Suri Supreme, and Artwork V.V. Roxanne was awarded Huacaya Supreme Champion.

We were delighted that most exhibitors stayed until Sunday to engage with show visitors. Hourly sessions of meet, greet, touch and learn about alpacas were held, with assisted and carefully managed alpaca walking for children and a few adults! By the afternoon word had got round and children were queuing around the show ring for their mini alpaca experience and

essential alpaca selfie. Entertainment was delivered throughout by Tom Scott, Dark Sky Alpaca who provided informative and entertaining commentary which had exhibitors and members of the public laughing out loud.

The fleece show stand attracted a lot of interest, and several exhibitors presented their alpaca products for sale which kept the steady footfall of visitors occupied with a little bit of alpaca shopping.

Lots of educational conversations were held, with a level of interest and engagement we’ve not seen at shows before. A small group of alpacas were set free in the show ring at the end of the afternoon to allow a demonstration of Alpaca husbandry and a very clever catching, penning and containment system. Thank you to everyone who took part - what a great show.

Note: The SWAG halter show was organised by Paula Winsor and Di Davies; the fleece show was organised by Judith Newman and judged by Jo Bridge.

Alpacas for sale

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!

TEL: 01303 870527

EMAIL: office@alpacaannie.com

WEB: www.alpacaannie.com

SOUTH EAST

ALPACA EVOLUTION

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: Nick 07979 651742 & Alexandra 07795 843790

EMAIL: enquiries@alpacaevolution.com

WEB: www.alpacaevolution.com

PENNYBRIDGE

ALPACAS

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

A list of BAS members who are breeders and advertising their alpacas for sale

SOUTH EAST

LIGHTFOOT ALPACAS

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.

TEL: 07802 263589 WEB: www.alpacabreeder.co.uk

EMAIL: graham@alpacabreeder.co.uk

BRIDE VALLEY

ALPACAS

MORALEE FARM

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.

TEL: 07809 731164

EMAIL: claire@moralee.farm

WEB: www.moralee.farm

SOUTH WEST

DARK SKY ALPACAS

A proud family run business who love and cherish each and every one of our beautiful, happy and healthy, prize winning alpaca.

Providing the highest quality service for all your needs...

• Alpacas for sale • Coloured Alpaca • Males and females

• Halter Trained • Backup Support • Suit your budget

• Agistment Services • All BAS registered.

TEL: 07554 675543

WEB: www.bridevalleyalpacas.com

SOUTHERN ENGLAND

SCOTFIELD ALPACAS

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.

TEL: Sue Hipkin 07770 455533

Lisa Hipkin 07770 455534

WEB: www.scotfieldalpacas.co.uk

KING GARTH

ALPACAS

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.

WENDY: 07712 136949TOM: 07825 105530

EMAIL: tomandwendy@darkskyalpacas.com

WEB: www.darkskyalpacas.com

SNOWSHILL ALPACAS

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: 01386 853841 or 07711 044106

EMAIL: snowshillalpacas@btinternet.com

WEB: www.snowshillalpacas.com

NORTH WEST

POTTERY

ALPACAS

Located on the Solway Firth, in Cumbria, King Garth Alpacas is a family-owned herd where we aim to breed beautiful, happy, healthy and friendly alpacas with top show winning genetics.

We have alpacas to suit everyone and all budgets; from pet boys to starter herds, elite females and stud males. We offer full support and advice before and after sales.

Please feel welcome to get in touch and chat about your alpaca needs.

We also offer stud services, alpaca experiences, luxury alpaca products.

TEL: 07762 286050

WEB: www.kinggarthalpacas.co.uk

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!

Herd Reduction Sale

MARK: 07540 115329 AMANDA: 07882 456084

EMAIL: mark@potteryalpacas.com

WEB: www.potteryalpacas.com

King Garth Alpacas

CENTRAL ENGLAND

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.

offer: • Quality breeding stock

2 hour alpaca experiences

Starter herds

Stud services

Alpacas for weddings and events

Luxury range of hand knitted alpaca garments and accessories using our own fleeces

TEL: 07950 671672

EMAIL: info@faerietalealpacas.co.uk

www.faerietalealpacas.co.uk

Faerie Tale Alpacas

WEST MIDLANDS

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. 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: Shirley 07970 626245 / Rob 07973 123008

EMAIL: shirley@toftalpacastud.com / rob@toftalpacastud.com WEB: www.toftalpacastud.com

Fibre

and

HOMESTEAD FARM SUPPLIES

Everything you need for 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 selection for your other animals, including dogs, chickens and horses, as well as a range of farmhouse items and gifts, including our famous home cheese-making kits.

We are alpaca owners ourselves and we are always happy 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

M.R.HARNESS

M.R.Harness

1995

time for

engineer and

to

Mary herself is a

and their

Company policy is to test as many of the

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

Sire: Snowmass Bronze Royalty Dam: Inca Incognito Inca Memphis

Inca LewesdonInca No Strings