MAGAZ IN IAL E IC
OF
OF F
April 2016
MAGAZI NE IAL IC OF
OF F
April 2016
MAGAZIN IAL E IC
OF
OF F
Inside this issue…
COVER PHOTO: ‘Monarchs’ by Art Cattell, Chipperfield Alpacas Winner 2015 Alpaca National Show Photography Competition
Message from the President
03
Biosecurity – Everyone’s Responsibility
04
The Ethics of Selling Alpacas as Pets
08
Regional Roundup
10
From Breeding to Farming Alpacas
16
Top 10 Tips of Alpaca Nutrition
21
Alpaca Art in the Paddock
27
The Benefits of Alpacas in the Australian Environment this Century
34
Improving Drenching Practices – A Critical Need for Our Industry
39
Luscious Locks
42
National Alpaca Day
44
A Visit to Wolstorm
46
When the Vet Comes to Call
50
Advertiser Profile
54
New Member Profile
56
Greg Charteris
Chris Leach
Sue Richards
Show Convenors
David Bridson YOUR FREE GUIDE
Jane Vaughan
Ann Weir
John Lawrie
FOCUS ON
ALPACA
The latest update to the Alpaca Focus flyer is now available from Toni at AANZ HQ. As there are no major changes to the new issue we encourage members to complete distribution of the old Alpaca Focus they may still hold. The Alpaca Focus continues to be targeted at introducing alpacas to new participants as well as membership of the AANZ. We encourage members to distribute Alpaca Focus at any events they plan to hold, with the coming National Alpaca Day on Sunday 8th May an example.
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27
Stephen Mulholland
Gay & Mike Moller
FOCUS ON ALPACA 2016
04
Jacqueline Weers
Julie Taylor-Browne
John Carr
Joseph & Marina Burling
46
50
Please contact Toni by email (tonisoppet@alpaca.org.nz ) if you require copies of the Alpaca Focus!
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Editor Frith Latham magazine@alpaca.org.nz
Website www.alpaca.org.nz AANZ – All Enquiries Toni Soppet – AANZ Office Manager PO Box 6348, Upper Riccarton, Christchurch 8442 Phone (03) 341 5242. Mobile 021 368 994 tonisoppet@alpaca.org.nz or aanz@clear.net.nz
Advertising AANZ Office advertising@alpaca.org.nz Phone (03) 341 5242 Deadlines New Zealand Alpaca is produced three times per year. Deadlines for all advertising & articles for the next issue is 27th June, 2016.
AANZ Council President Greg Charteris 128 Stan Wright Road Karaka, Auckland president@alpaca.org.nz
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Treasurer Wayne Allison treasurer@alpaca.org.nz Southern Region Rep. Andy Nailard southernrep@alpaca.org.nz Central Region Rep. Neil Watson centralrep@alpaca.org.nz Northern Region Rep. Sarah Busby northernrep1@alpaca.org.nz Northern Region Rep. Vacant Liability Whilst all efforts have been made to ensure accuracy of information this Association accepts no responsibility for any errors contained in advertisements or text. Views expressed by advertisements and contributors are not necessarily endorsed by this association. Copyright All material appearing in NZ Alpaca is copyright. Reproduction in whole or part is not permitted without the written permission of AANZ.
Message from the President Welcome to the March edition of our AANZ Magazine, as we prepare this edition of our magazine we are nearing the end of the show season, the weather is cooling and the days are noticeably shortening. It seems no time since we were welcoming summer and now we are looking into the oncoming Autumn. Despite the predictions of country-wide drought this year, it appears large parts of NZ experienced higher rainfall combined with very hot conditions, all of which is a great climate for our old foes, intestinal parasites and facial eczema. The latter appears to be confined to the more humid Northern regions and is always a concern to farmers in general. This year, despite the perfect conditions for spore development we have not heard of any real problems in the farming community and this may be down to better management of pasture and livestock grazing. For those of you who have not encountered facial eczema it would be a good subject to discuss at your cluster groups as education and pre-summer preparation are the best protection against this challenging summer problem. With the summer show season drawing to a close we look forward to our bigger events such as Colourbration and our National Show. Every year there is concern that our summer A&P shows are declining and there are certainly signs that our A&P societies are struggling to compete in this modern era with all the other social entertainment that is available today. All breed societies are seeing a decline in the number of animals being shown and one wonders if it is the rural sector in general that is facing challenging economic times. One North Island show that is hugely successful and showing no signs of decline is the recent annual Kumeu show held in North Auckland. This show is thriving and a wonderful showcase for alpacas. The Kumeu show certainly attracts the most genuine alpaca interest of any other North Island show and is a fantastic showcase for our breed. It also seems to be going against the trend and is maintaining its “road blocking” successful attendance. Alpacas were on display for two days and it was very pleasing to see the number of breeders keeping animals for the duration of the show rather than leaving as soon as the initial day of showing is over. I believe that we as breeders and the AANZ in general need to put additional effort into promoting our breed to the many serious farmers who attend these shows and to foster a commercial interest in alpacas as a genuine rural alternative. The best opportunities we have to promote alpacas as a serious breed are our major agricultural events in the North and South Islands. There are plans to have a serious alpaca promotion at Mystery Creek in Hamilton this June. Along with the animals we will have fibre, meat and hides to be promoted to the farming sector. Apart from our show circuit this is the most important area that AANZ should be concentrating on to transform our breed from a “novelty” into an accepted farming alternative. The recent Taumarunui show which featured alpacas for the first time was run by one of our most successful commercial alpaca farming families Neville and Leonie Walker and their daughter. The Walkers are a great example of what we need the industry to grow toward and it was very interesting for those of us staying in Taumarunui to get the opportunity to see the Walker farming operation first hand. I extend my thanks to the Walkers for their efforts, ingenuity and dedication to the farming of alpacas.
alpaca meat and hides. We involved Ian Frith from Australia who has been a leader in the development, processing and marketing of Alpaca product in Australia and has a huge pool of intelligence in this market. There was genuine interest by our own industry leaders to examine this further and do some trial processing here in NZ. While the AANZ can’t be involved in the commercial side of this development we are keen to assist industry in any non-commercial way possible to see this potential developed for our industry. We understand the sensitivities around the development of a meat industry from some membership quarters but if we don’t take this step we will reap the results of a stagnating breed. As we write, China exports are still in a holding pattern while we wait for the export protocol to be finalised. There are a number of potential export enquires sitting with breeders throughout NZ and time will tell if these develop into actual export sales. One thing is certain, while there will be opportunities, the animals required will be of a client specified quality and prices will be modest. On its own live exports will not be the saviour of the industry but it will be another key element in growing our industry. However, breeders need to bear in mind whether it is fleece, meat, hides or livestock you are looking to sell, quality is the key to success. Anyone who has hopes of selling a whole bunch of aged, skinny alpacas to the market will be disappointed. There are existing outlets for older culling animals but breeders need to be continually increasing their stock quality. The genetic quality we have in NZ is now second to none and there are excellent opportunities to improve your herd at reasonable cost. The one thing I am confident of is - alpacas have a bright future in NZ. The Walkers are living proof of this and as long as we have the courage to move forward and develop all the available opportunities for our be breed, we will see this industry grow, rather than decline like the many of the naysayers will often predict. On a final note, we have our AGM looming and the annual voting on four National Council positions. This year we have two Northern region seats, the position of Treasurer and the position of President all being re elected. For those of you who feel you would like to participate in the operation of AANZ, give something to the industry or learn more about the industry, now is the time to put yourself forward. For those who feel NC could do things better, this is your opportunity to participate and lead the industry in the direction you think it should go. I would encourage you all to seriously consider this as our society will grow if it has an intelligent and enthusiastic National Council leading it. Best wishes to you all, hope you all have plenty of winter feed stacked away.
Greg Charteris President, AANZ
National Council recently convened a meeting of resident industry experts to chair discussions on the merit and challenges in the development of the market in NZ for 3
BIO SECURITY EVERYONE’S RESPONSIBILITY by Chris Leach
Living on a couple of relatively small islands in the middle of the Pacific does have a couple of drawbacks when it comes to dealing with the rest of the world but one significant plus is that our isolation has meant we have been protected from a myriad of highly infectious exotic diseases such as Foot and Mouth, Bluetongue, West Nile Virus and Rabies. Our health status is the envy of many countries around the world because having such good animal health provides us with relatively easy market access to many countries for our agricultural products. The Ministry of Primary Industries invests heavily in protecting our boarders; their job is to help prevent the incursion of exotic diseases and pest by monitoring our airports and shipping ports. However, there are a couple of health and pest issues we face within New Zealand and as animal owners there are a few simple things that we can do to help protect the health of our animals and those belonging to others. When it comes to biosecurity we are talking about the prevention or spread of unwanted pests, diseases and weeds. Biosecurity is everyone’s responsibility and if we all do our part we can minimise the risk. 4
Simple steps to biosecurity OBSERVATION If you see anything unusual, a new plant, a bug you have never seen before or if your animals are showing strange symptoms, tell-someone. Not only is it the right thing to do to protect you and your animals, it is your legal responsibility. Talk to your vet and/or call the MPI pest and disease hotline on 0800 80 99 66. The incursion of a new pest or disease could be crippling for our agricultural or horticultural industries or in some cases may even have far reaching human health consequences. Identifying the risk and acting quickly to contain that risk is essential. INTRODUCING NEW ANIMALS TO THE FARM Animals coming on to your farm could have potentially been exposed to a range of different pathogens, weeds or parasites. The use of a quarantine area is a simple and effective way of allowing animals time to pass weed seeds and provide time for you to observe the animal’s health before they join the main herd. Where practical, confining animals in a small paddock for 10 days post arrival is sufficient. This doesn’t mean complete isolation which causes stress, having another animal as a pen mate or nose to nose contact with other alpacas across a fence is fine.
Keep a close eye on your quarantine area and spray decaying dung patches to control germinating weeds, this will reduce the risk of introducing new unwanted weeds onto your property. If you are adding to your herd by purchasing animals, ask around and buy from a trusted source. Arrange with the vendor have the animals health checked and wormed with an effective wormer before they leave their property. SELLING OR TAKING YOUR ANIMALS OR TAKE ANIMAL EQUIPMENT OFF YOUR FARM If you are selling animals, particularly if you are selling to new breeders, ‘do your bit’ to ensure that you are not passing on any issues with the animals. As part of your sales agreement include a health check, worm and vaccinate the animals before they leave your farm and provide a record of what you have used and when. Likewise if you have females heading away for mating, worm them with an effective anthelmintic before they leave. If you are taking equipment or have soiled boots/overalls clean them before you leave the farm, soap, water and sunlight will reduce most bugs. The use of anti-viral agents such as “Citrox” or “Virkon” adds another level of assurance and should be used if you have a known risk on farm.
TAKING ANIMALS TO SHOWS In New Zealand risk of disease transfer at shows is minimal as animals are penned separately. Simple rules apply here; check your pen to make sure that the bedding is clean and that there is no dung left from animals that may have previously occupied the pen. Take and use your own feeders and water troughs.
Chris Leach, Co-owner of New Zealand Alpacas is an importer and exporter of animals. He set‑up and ran the Niue Alpaca Quarantine Station in the late 90’s and worked for a number of years as a Part Time Quarantine Inspector for MPI (Then MAF) at the Hamilton International Airport.
Bovine Tuberculosis commonly known as Tb has historically been a concern often mentioned in relation to shows and showing. The association’s voluntary Tb monitoring scheme and lack of evidence of reported cases of Tb in alpacas has proven that risk of Tb to alpacas in New Zealand is negligible at worst. (In fact the need for continued monitoring of Tb in alpacas in New Zealand is questionable to say the least – a topic for another day). PURCHASING FEED AND BEDDING Hay and straw are two commodities that provide a risk with regard to the introduction of weeds. Both are harvested when pest grasses and other weeds have fully formed seed heads making the potential to import unwanted weeds a real concern. Talk with your supplier and if possible go to see the standing crop before it is baled and if feeding hay stay vigilant and control weeds before they become established. Common sense prevails with pelleted feed. The use of animal products in stockfeed is not permitted in New Zealand which eliminates most risks but just make sure that the feed you purchase is fresh, smells sweet, is not musty and has no signs of potentially harmful mould. Store it in a dry covered area and control vermin. The bottom line – no need to panic, but stay vigilant; if you see something new or odd tell someone, implement the simple practices above and continue to enjoy these wonderful animals in the knowledge that you are doing your bit for New Zealand. 5
WELCOME NEW MEMBERS OF THE AANZ On behalf of the membership of the Alpaca Association of NZ, National Council and the Editorial team, we would like to extend a warm welcome to the following new members of our association. Sonja Jenkins, Auckland Stef Zeestraten, Wanaka Kim Greenfield, Temuka Marian Wakelin, Taupo Nadi O'Neal & Andrei Djoulai, Kaiwaka Lynda & Tony Trimboy, Havelock North Peter Spinks, Tuakau Joseph & Marina Burling, Masterton Ria Van Den Berg, Masterton Lorraine Rowlands, Wellington Cindy & Adam O'Sullivan, Dannevirke Helen Smith, Palmerston North Suzanne & Greg Down, Darfield Derek Cookson, Auckland Davina & Bruce Keen, Hikurangi Jenny Morrow, Oamaru
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THE
ETHICS OF SELLING ALPACAS AS PETS by Sue Richards – Surico Alpaca
Surico Alpaca is dedicated to breeding quality suri alpaca and developing the suri industry. It is a family run business involving Brooke and Sue Richards, in partnership with their daughter, Hermione. They were first involved with alpacas in 1998 purely as a hobby. Since then they have developed it into a successful business. At Surico Alpaca they now have approx. 150 suri which we run on a 33 acre block between Tauranga and Rotorua, in the North Island of New Zealand.
We ran out of young pet males early in the season and have been referring prospective buyers to others close by or to breeders in their area. This has sparked some interesting discussion and I have heard some really good tips for delivering good after sales service. I like to keep in touch with people we sell to so they know they can at least give us a call if they have any problems. Shearing is always the most daunting problem for someone with only a few alpaca. For a start they don’t have transport, so need to have their alpaca picked up or have the shearer visit them. We pick up many alpaca we have sold around the district for shearing, they are given any shots needed, toenails clipped and an experienced eye can pick up any problems. We charge for this service, our own clients get a good discount. Any small block owner approaching us from somewhere too far for us to service, we usually refer to another breeder from that area, that I know will look after them. Unfortunately I have recently had a couple of phone calls from new owners enquiring about shearing (it’s the end
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of February at the time of writing). On questioning them about where they heard of me we find that the vendors of their very recently purchased, cheap, unshorn alpaca had kindly told them to contact us about shearing. As our shearing is done in October by an out of town shearer, all I can do is give them the name of a guy who shears a few and will probably cost as much as what they paid for their alpacas. When we sell pets we ensure the price is enough to cover our “after sales follow up” or we wouldn’t still be in business. We sell 3 young males 8-12 months for $1500, this allows a year back up after which our new owners generally know the ropes. We keep the price high enough to cover expenses and this year we haven’t had enough of our own alpacas to fill demand. Selling too cheaply to cover any follow-up and expecting others to do it for them is not on. The industry does not benefit from this behaviour. Some people buying alpacas at “bargain basement” prices do not value them and treat them accordingly,
soon losing interest in them and their welfare. We need to take time to build a relationship with the new owners, making sure the new home is a suitable property and the people are aware of their responsibilities in owning livestock – don’t scare them just let them know you are there when needed. One breeder told me about their followup protocols, they give new owners a folder with the dates of last vaccinations, ADE, any worm treatment etc. They had even recently swapped a pet boy that developed staggers at the new property, quite a scary situation for newbies without any facilities for getting them
off grass. All part of the service. Also a few tip sheets don’t go amiss for ADE administration, worming, FE regimes. Add in a few business cards for shearers, vets, hay suppliers, hard feed suppliers. Copies of Paddock Cards from AANZ website are a good resource too. Another breeder sends out a newsletter with reminders for shearing, ADE, treatment, starting Zinc treatment for FE. These are all very simple low cost things to do to keep a good reputation for you and the industry as a whole. The industry is measured by its members. We all bought alpacas because we loved them or were mesmerised by
them. To literally dump now unwanted alpaca, whether because we have no more room on our property, they are too old, or have developed some bad habits is unacceptable, irresponsible and giving the industry a bad name. There is a vibrant pet industry out there and we should all be taking advantage of it. Talk to your fellow breeders, discuss it at your cluster groups, chat at the shows to get ideas of co-operative marketing and collaborative field days for pet owners in your area. Share shearing days and run husbandry clinics. Let’s make this industry one we can be proud of!
QUEENSTOWN & GOLD COAST
At BONZ Queenstown and Gold Coast we sell many handknitted Alpaca sweaters and jackets. Our Alpaca garment sales far outweigh those made in Merino. We are always on the look out for more Alpaca products, so if you have something you think may be of interest to us that you wholesale, then please give us a call on 03 442 5398 or email bonnie@bonzgroup.co.nz
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Regional
Roundup Here is a peek into some of our recent regional shows, from those that have been going for years to one that’s brand new to the calendar. They’re organised by wonderful volunteers who put heart and soul into making each show a success. These shows are a great way to introduce your animals to the public and get valuable feedback from the judge but most of all they are fun! For new members thinking about showing there’s always help on hand, the stewards will make sure you are in the right place in the ring and while the judges look very professional they’re always friendly and relaxed. If there happens to be a social gathering afterwards, then join in – you’ll meet the loveliest people. Thank you to the convenors for giving us an insight into these shows.
Banks Peninsula Competition at Banks Peninsula A&P Show is fierce and not just between alpaca exhibitors. It was all on this year with the alpaca section convenors going head to head with the wool section convenors, who were determined to out do the eye catching fleece displays presented in the alpaca show. We realised the wool guys would be a force to reckon with when Pete and Giles proudly strutted into the big hall with NEW DISPLAY BOXES, not to mention the life size sheep cut outs! But, the wool section could not match our 100 strong alpaca fleece entries and the gorgeous selection of colours in both Suri and Huacaya exhibited at this year’s show.
Canterbury The Canterbury A & P Show is the biggest A & P show in NZ attracting an annual visitor entry of between 100,000 and 125,000. Held in November, the show is spread over three days - the alpaca breed judging is held 10
on Thursday and Friday with fleece classes judged earlier in the week and fleeces on display in the Wool Section. Alpacas are judged adjacent to the Cattle judging rings right bang in the centre of the show grounds so plenty
of opportunity for lots of spectators. Alpaca exhibitors are provided with their own ringside marquee (with help yourself free tea, coffee and nibbles throughout the show), inside penning and ringside penning.
Our Section has a unique nonchampionship class called the Breeders Team with the following criteria: Open to breeders (suri, huacaya, fancy breeders can enter a group from each breed). Their team must contain a minimum of three and a maximum of five exhibits. Team exhibits must all carry the same stud prefix and belong to the same owner. All exhibits must have
been either shown in a championship breed class at this show, or, in the case of a team of fancies, have been entered in the non-championship classes at this show. The team can include both male and female exhibits that do not have to be related. Sashes/rosettes are also awarded to the Best Presenter Handler/ Exhibit, Best Alpaca Trade Exhibit and Best Presented Alpaca Pen.
Some of our more memorable moments: • A visit from Frank Horley and the TV One breakfast team during judging with some great footage appearing on TV One the next morning. • Kit and Sheryl Johnson winning the Ambassador of the Year in 2011 providing them with a free ticket to an overseas A & P Show with the proviso they gave a presentation of their trip to the A & P committee on their return. • Silverstream Czar winning Supreme Champion Exhibit in Show in 2007 Alpacas are part of the Cattle section which means I meet frequently with fellow Cattle Committee members; I am also a member on the Wool Committee and the General Committee. Membership of these three section committees enables me to have a really good working relationship within the A & P and its Event Managers – Tenth Dot, and together we all have a real understanding and respect of how each section works and the benefit of a strong support network.
Franklin This year the alpaca show at Franklin A&P show was held under perfect weather conditions. Lovely blue skies and lots of sunshine, just as well we have such a lovely shady spot under the trees for our show ring.
All in all it was a really relaxed and casual show that was enjoyed by everyone. On Sunday Diane joined us again and local herd owners could bring
back animals for her to give them an appraisal of them and advice for future breeding. Those that brought animals certainly benefited from her advice.
The pens, arena and everything else were set up two days before by a willing team of locals so all was ready on the day for the exhibitors. They all started arriving early except for one exhibitor who had some anxious moments stuck in traffic on the motorway but just as they were starting to panic the traffic cleared and they also made it on time. We were off to a great start and by midmorning were well into the judging with time to spare so we decided to have a morning tea break. This was quite unexpected but well received. As our judge Diane said “This is a first ever.” The rest of the day went smoothly and after the final judging and presentations we all relaxed with a BBQ, beer and wine along with lots of chatter and catch up time with exhibitors. 11
Hawkes Bay In 2015 and for three consecutive years Hawkes Bay A & P show has had Royal Show status. Planning for the show began earlier than usual as Royal status requires everything to be bigger and better than before. The alpaca section was given a new venue, in a quadrangle which gave a natural ring side effect and positioned us nearer to the mainstream livestock. Being classed as mainstream livestock
is something we aim to achieve in the future but at the A&P show our new position brought some positive and some negative challenges. The weather turned on a fine day, sometimes our spring show can be a bit wet and windy, but in 2015 it was sunny. Angela Preuss from Australia was our judge and she created a very happy and relaxed atmosphere. From time to time
the commentary from the sheep shearing stand became overwhelming but Angela waited until there was a lull before delivering her oral reasoning. I wonder what alpaca shows would be like if they ran with the passion and excitement of a shearing competition?! The show is always followed by a wine and cheese party in the marquee to wind down, which as always proved to be a relaxing way to end a busy day.
Kumeu The Kumeu show was held over the weekend of March 12th and 13th. It is always a great A&P Show (actually, at Kumeu it is A&H), well patronised and with lots of stalls and attractions. There were around 20,000 visitors to the show, and it is loved by alpaca breeders because so many of the visitors come from lifestyle blocks and so are potential customers for them. We held the alpaca show on Saturday, with judge Peter Kennedy who, despite going down with food poisoning the day before, as usual did a great job. Robert Gane was MC – give him a microphone and he’ll entertain everyone! Supreme suri went to Surico Bolero and Supreme huacaya went to Brenor Futuristic. Some breeders camped overnight in the showgrounds and had a great 12
social evening. They were still enjoying a sumptuous breakfast when we locals arrived the next morning, bringing animals to promote our studs generally and to interact with the public. We had a “Cutest Cria” competition on Sunday, a relaxed event designed not only to appeal to the public but also to be fun for breeders. The judge was Maggie Barry (from TV’s “Maggie’s Garden Show” and MP for the North Shore) – she was great, and played well to the public. Cria won awards, and prizes from Agrisea, in several categories. This photo shows Maggie Barry with Ross
Stevenson, winner of the “Cria who looks most like its handler” award. So what do you think – was this well awarded?
Masterton Masterton is a rural community in the lower North Island where sheep and beef farming has dominated. However in recent years alpacas have been making their mark on the Wairarapa landscape and the number of both breeders and pet owners is growing rapidly.
Supreme Champion huacaya fleece was won by a local breeder and the Supreme Champion huacaya was a junior led by a junior handler making it a special day for the whole family. We have cash
prizes for our Supreme Champions for huacaya and suri breed and fleece made possible by our ‘Wairarapa‘ shearer Paul Eising who is keen to give something back to the alpaca community.
The first Masterton Alpaca Show was held in 2010. We consistently attract around 50 fleece entries, making us the largest New Zealand fleece show outside the major centres. The timing of our show in February provides a great opportunity for people to display their newly shorn fleeces. This year we had 33 breed entries and 50 fleeces with entries from both the North and South Islands. Our judge was Kate Mander who has recently re-joined the NZ judging circuit. The great thing about a small country show is the informality and we loved that Kate could provide commentary on all the animals in the ring and chat to the exhibitors afterwards at our ‘networking’ barbeque. This year we had fantastic weather, fantastic stewards and a great bunch of exhibitors and all combined to produce an absolutely fantastic show. Our
Morrinsville Morrinsville is a small town in the middle of the Waikato district, so is very central for most North Islanders. It's not the biggest A&P show you'll ever go to, and the alpaca section matches. But while small in size, it is huge in friendliness. We have our own section of the showground, next to the Scottish dancing and the funfair. There's plenty of space for the outdoor pens, and our sun umbrellas and comfortable chairs. The standard of competition is always high. This year, Kerri had the great idea of following on from the main competition with an Alpaca Agility course. And what fun it was! Each alpaca was led around an 'obstacle' course by its owner (or a willing volunteer). Each obstacle was designed to test the alpaca (and owner!) in some way. And some owners were more competitive than others. Everyone agreed it was a resounding success and it's definitely on the agenda for next year. 13
Nelson The Nelson Show is held in November so he last one seems a long time ago now. The one thing about November is that the weather is usually great but last year high winds on the Sunday played havoc with the marquees and we had to pack up early. Our show is a lovely little friendly affair and these days, with everyone being so busy, is the only time the local alpaca breeders can get together for a good chin-wag. The fleeces are judged pre-show so are on display by the ring for the weekend. The breed showing usually finishes early on the Saturday so we have time to see the other events at the show and then meet afterwards in the shade of one of the marquees to catch up with each other. It is always lovely when people from out of the district come to our show as we love to hear what is going on in their area.
almost everyone rocks up and buys a ticket to help out on the Sunday. The highlight is always the shearing demonstrations put on, these days by Chris Kempthorne. If the judge is still in town he/she normally takes the opportunity during the shearing to tell the public all about alpacas and their fleece, otherwise someone else stands
Our show is a coloured show with alpacas and fleeces being judged by colour and by age within the colour bands, because we have so many black alpacas up here. Last year we also had the youngest child handler we have had with Phoebe Cudby (just 5 at the time) taking out the title. On the Sunday of the show it is up to volunteers to turn up and put on a bit of a display for the public but
Southern Canterbury The Southern Canterbury show grounds are absolutely gorgeous. They are set under the Hunter Hills with plenty of mature trees. The main ring is the middle, with an access lane around it with trades and displays and everything else on either side. Unfortunately the day before the show we had a howling nor'wester, so we decided not to set the gazebos up yet. After months of drought the ground was rock hard but eventually we managed to set up our show ring. Later that evening we decided to take our animals to the showground and set up some pens for them in the Wool Pavilion. The tractor and mower usually live here but it’s not far from the alpaca area. Then we put up the gazebos as the wind had dropped. Next morning it drizzled and it rained. All exhibitors arrived so the show had to go on. We abandoned the gazebos and the show ring and went to the Wool Pavilion. We combined all our gates and set up 3 large, rather odd shaped pens and put all animals in there. With plenty of pea straw they were snug and dry. 14
The show ring was now too far away, so we improvised with a bucket. Instead of walking round the ring we walked round the bucket! The atmosphere was great, everyone helping everyone to get animals in and out of the pens. We had plenty of food, hot drinks and strawberries for everyone to help themselves to and only the poor judge Molly Gardner and ring steward Adrienne Warsaw were getting wet. But they took it all in their stride and did a great job. The public loved walking in between the pens and being so close to the animals. The prize for the most Northern exhibitor went to Brendon Taylor in Loburn, the most Southern to Pete Young in Fairlie! (We would love to give the most Southern exhibitor prize to someone south of the Waitaki next year). All together a very enjoyable show! See you all in November 2016 in Waimate. Congratulations to Leroy Brown on his first place in the Junior Handler class. Photo: Leroy Brown getting a ribbon from Molly the judge.
up and takes the mic. The shearing ALWAYS draws a crowd – people appear from thin air the moment they hear something is happening. Last year we also had a few tame alpacas for children to lead around and this was very popular, not just with the children either! We were a very popular spot on the show grounds that day.
Taumarunui Taumarunui A&P Show had their first alpaca section on the 13th February 2016 which saw 73 entries. Being first time convenors of a show we can now appreciate the huge amount of work that goes on behind the scenes. It was great to have an enthusiastic judge, thanks Diane Marks as well as having two very organised Stewarts Mark & Mary-Anne Pruden to ensure the smooth running of the day. The Taumarunui community really got behind the show providing sponsorship and helping out on the day and thanks to our wonderful exhibitors and their sponsorship. After a busy day there was a good gathering of exhibitors for a BBQ at Nevalea, where alpacas stayed overnight as did their owners who “glamped” it for the night. The show has been well received by people and we are still receiving great feedback, we look forward what 2017 brings.
Waikato Waikato is a 2 day show with both Suri and Huacaya being judged on both days due to the large number of entries. We are very fortunate to have the use of a large air conditioned hall for the entire show. The Waikato A & P Council are very supportive of the Alpaca section and have allowed co-judging opportunities for Judges to work towards improving their Judge levels. 2015 was no exception with Molly Gardner doing her breed judge up towards level 1 working with Natasha Clark. There is a good chance to socialise and catch up with other breeders after the first day of the show with a Barbeque organised by the Waikato A & P.
TWO ALPACAS FOR SALE Emily (brown) and Alice (black) are Huacaya half‑sisters born early 2011. Sadly we no longer have the room to graze them due to change in land usage. We'd like them to go to a new home together.
Offers please to:
Monique 0275 947 831
15
FROM BREEDING TO
FARMING
Alpacas by David Bridson
The alpaca industry in New Zealand is undergoing a transition – from breeding alpacas to large-scale farming. To explore this trend, the National Council of the New Zealand Alpaca Association invited Ian Frith of Millpaca and Illawarra Prime Alpacas, New South Wales, Andrew Duncan from Duncan Processors, Simon Wishnowsky from Venison Processors in Feilding and me, to meet with them in Christchurch on 19 February.1 It is no secret that the New Zealand dairy industry is currently suffering from the lowest pay-out for milk solids in decades and the international demand for sheep fibre continues to be low. Despite this, large-scale farming of alpacas is not seen by most farmers as a viable alternative. This is almost entirely due to the perceived lack of markets for alpaca products. The alpaca industry is a journey in search of a destination.
The context Within this context, along with probably less than twenty other large scale alpaca farmers in Australia, Ian Frith has been pioneering large- scale 1
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alpaca farming. His company currently farms 4,500 alpacas. After extensive trials, Ian has found that alpacas do not need grain or special feed, but they do need good quality grass to put on optimal body weight. In this, New Zealand alpaca farmers have an advantage; generally our alpacas have larger body weights than their Australian counterparts which make them ideally suited to the production of both fibre and meat. It is clear that alpaca breeders do not have to sacrifice fibre quality when breeding for meat; they merely have to breed for both which involves breeding large-framed sires and dams.
Alpacas for meat Typically alpaca males are bought at 8 months of age for A$150. When they arrive on Ian’s farm, they are drenched and quarantined for 72 hours. They are castrated at 18 months and killed at 24 months in Ian’s mixed-species abattoir. Carcass weights are typically 68-69 kg, giving a finished weight of 38-39 kg or about 57-58% carcass weight. “There is no direct evidence of meat taint with entire males at slaughter,” says Ian, “but anecdotal evidence suggests that this may be the case. Leaving castration
Those attending from National Council were Lindsay Riddle, Andy Nailard, Sarah Busby and Neil Watson. The incomparable Toni Soppet organised the meeting. Those invited but unable to attend were Peter and Tessa McKay who have pioneered the New Zealand alpaca meat industry, Bryan Harris from Harris Meats (Cheviot) and Nick Aubrey from Light Leathers.
Ian Frith, Millpaca
“Our business model is that we own all animals for slaughter so that we can control production. This is all about getting a consistently high level of quality”
until 18 months of age ensures that the animals have a larger bone structure capable of sustaining the quantity of muscle required for high quality carcasses”. Ian has worked out ways of keeping costs of castration very low compared with New Zealand. Alpacas are rested for 24 hours following transport and then slaughtered first thing in the morning in lots of about twenty per week. All have body scores of three. When not processing alpacas, the abattoir processes cattle and sheep. Meat is aged for 21 days but modern killing and processing practices make it possible to cryovac meat for six weeks – or for lamb up to 80 days. At Ian’s abattoir, no part of the animal is wasted. “The liver is made into a fine quality paté which is to die for,” says Ian. The kidneys, similarly, are a delicacy.
Shoulder Striploin Legs Fillet Shanks Rosettes Mince Burgers Sausages
6 kg 3 kg 6 kg 1kg 1.5 kg 2 kg 3 kg 5 kg 5 kg
“Our business model is that we own all animals for slaughter so that we can control production. This is all about getting a consistently high level of quality”, Ian explains. This is important because most of the meat is purchased by restaurateurs for domestic consumption – over 50 tonnes of it last year. Skins represent about 30% of the value of the animal and Ian decides at slaughter whether the skins will be processed as pelts or as leather. “There are a few tweaks that need to be made to produce alpaca leather but generally the process is the same as how any other kind of leather is made.” It costs $30 for each skin to be processed after killing. Tanned hides sell for about $300 but are as high as $590 at places like Brisbane Airport. Coloured hides - black, brown or caramel - are in high demand.
Ian works on a ratio of one male to 22 females. They are paddock-mated for a fortnight. “We give the stud male a break for a fortnight, then put him out again,” says Ian. The females get an ultrasound at 45 days to confirm pregnancy. The proportion of live births is about 85%. Leaving cria on females for longer reduces maternal body condition which impacts on profitability as well as fertility. “We keep our females producing cria until they are about 15 years of age, depending on their condition.” All females are given a selenium injection to assist fertility. Ian has calculated that it costs about A$100 per year to maintain an alpaca.
Generally huacaya hides are thicker than suri. In New Zealand, Simon Wishnowsky reports that Progressive Leathers in Hawkes Bay make a good product, whether it be hides or leather. In all cases no more than 25mm of fibre is left on the pelt; more and the fibre felts.
Critical periods for cria are three days, three weeks and three months of age during which time they need colostrum and daily checking, ADE and five-in-one injections and weaning respectively. Overall mortality rates are 2% over 12 months, or in the order of 0.5-1% of animals that Ian buys in.
Husbandry
“Through careful husbandry we are working to a dry sheep equivalent (DSE) of 8 alpacas per acre2”, says Ian, and acknowledges that New Zealand farmers have a better chance of achieving this due to the generally higher rainfall than do their Australian counterparts.
On Ian’s farm, females are mated in Spring and Autumn and cria are weaned at between 100-120 days.
Figure 1. Carcass breakdown.
Customers Restaurants, pubs, delicatessens (smoked legs, etc)
Market
Distribution Distributor/marketers
Processing Meat, fibre, leather, skins, edible offal, pet food, bone
Finisher
Breeders
Figure 2. Simon Wishnowsky’s summary of Ian’s production process.
During shearing about 100-110 alpacas are shorn each day for about 40-45 days a year. Toenails are trimmed at shearing.
Electronic tags are used on all animals. Animals are weighed on Gallagher scales and the data inputted directly into Alpaca Manager. Fleece samples, vaccinations, drenching, mating dates… all are recorded electronically. Says Ian: “It is essential to have good records.” Such is the level of mechanisation that 1.5 people are generally sufficient to manage 4,500 alpacas.
Marketing In general there is a stronger market for alpaca meat at high-end restaurants in Australia. Ian Frith sells meat from culled females and older stud males as mince and burgers in supermarkets but markets his best product to restaurants and to a lesser extent to pubs. Sausages are also made using about 5% duck fat; pork 2
Or about 20 per hectare.
17
is not used so that sausages can be sold to the Muslim and Jewish communities. Alpaca meat keeps for twelve months as frozen product. After that, it can be unfrozen and still be processed, for example, as jerky. Ian advises to get a chef on board, to promote the product along with a good food writer. “The industry needs a human face,” he says. He is happy to bring over a butcher and chef to teach local chefs how to prepare the meat. Tasting sessions for chefs and members of the public are well worthwhile in familiarising people with the meat. Ian showed pages from food magazines of full-page advertising spreads and is happy to share his expertise and knowledge. “There is no point in reinventing the wheel,” he points out. In New Zealand, TV programmes like Country Calendar and local papers, including those with an agricultural focus, are likely ways to get the message out to the public. Alpaca pies, which cost $2.80 to make, are sold at a premium along with alpaca burgers and koftas, at A&P shows, trade fairs and farmers markets.
Meat processing, the New Zealand experience The Food Safety New Zealand website3 lists the following abattoirs as being licensed to process alpacas for pet‑food: Down Cow Ltd, Wigram Pet Supplies, New Zealand Petfoods, Otago Petfoods, Simply Petfoods.
According to the Food Safety NZ website at 3 March, the following are licensed to process alpacas for human consumption: • Venison Packers Feilding Ltd • Duncan Processors (near Rotorua) • Ashburton Meat Processors • Oxville Farms (north of Whangarei) The company with most experience of killing alpacas for meat in New Zealand is Venison Packers, Feilding. Simon Wishnowsky: “The biggest suppliers of alpacas for slaughter to our plant are Peter and Tessa McKay. In total last year we slaughtered about 500 alpacas and ostriches.” A company by the name of ‘Ducking Good’ collects the bones after slaughter and turns them into a jus which sells for $2/kg. Currently one of the largest impediments to growth of the industry is the relatively small size of alpaca herds. For it to be worthwhile for Andrew Duncan’s abattoir to wash down the killing chain after processing venison and switch to process a group of alpacas, he would need a regular throughput of at least 20 animals per week. The attraction of diversifying into another species is that the processing plants can be used closer to their full capacity. “There are no downsides to this industry, only challenges,” says Ian Frith. The biggest challenge for this industry, it was agreed, was developing markets for alpaca products. The alpaca industry is at the same stage as the deer industry was at 35 years ago. However, deer products now earn New Zealand around $250 million every year. The way forward, it seems, is for those of us who are committed to seeing alpacas compete on their own terms with sheep and cattle as a credible farm animal, to pool our collective wisdom to drive the industry forward. We would do well to learn from the experience of deer. Alpacas are special, but are not that different that we cannot learn from the experience of those who have gone before us.
Andrew Duncan, Duncan Processors, who competed in the ‘Challenge Wanaka’ event the day after the meeting.
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3
Simon Wishnowsky, Venison Packers, Feilding.
The Fieldays are coming up in Mystery Creek in June. This seems like an ideal opportunity for the Alpaca Association to present the business case for alpacas to the farming community and to have plenty of alpaca meat for sale –as raw cuts of meat that people can take home and as pies, alpaca burgers, jerky, koftas and sausages. Ian Frith is prepared to bring a butcher and chef over to New Zealand to demonstrate how to cook the meat. Mystery Creek presents an ideal forum in which this can take place. Arguably, alpacas are a more versatile animal than cervine animals. I wonder how long it will take before farm earnings from alpacas exceed those from deer.
“There are no downsides to this industry, only challenges” – Ian Frith
http://www.foodsafety.govt.nz/registers-lists/risk-management-programmes/index.htm?setup_file=rmp-ssi.setup. cgi&session_file=&ID=&operator=&address=&registration_since=&status=&productType=&productMaterial=%28% 28%2C%5Cs%2B%29%7C%5E%29Alpacas%2Fllamas%28%24%7C%2C%29&primaryProcesses=&secondary Processes=&sort_by=0&rows_to_return=10&no_capabilities_details=true&submit_search=++Search++
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On Farm Quarantine Facility Setting the Suri Standard
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Ian and Angela Preuss Strathbogie, Victoria, Australia, 3666 PH: +61 3 57905394 Mobile: 0407931789 Email: suris@surilana.com.au
10
TOP
TIPS
of Alpaca Nutrition by Jane Vaughan BVSc PhD MACVSc
The principal of Cria Genesis, Jane Vaughan, has been working with alpacas and llamas since 1991. Jane graduated with a Bachelor of Veterinary Science (Honours) from the University of Melbourne in 1988, gained membership to the Australian and New Zealand College of Veterinary Scientists in the Ruminant Nutrition Chapter in 1998 and completed a Doctor of Philosophy in the control of alpaca ovarian function in 2002. Jane performs commercial embryo collection and transfer in alpacas
1. How much to feed? Alpacas will eat approximately 1.5% of their body weight as dry matter to maintain body weight (i.e. not growing, pregnant or lactating; Table 1). Feed up to maintenance requirements with palatable, digestible roughage (leafy, green pasture, hay, silage). E.g. 70 kg alpaca: 70 kg x 1.5% of body weight = 1.05 kg as dry matter (DM) i.e. all water removed from feed 1.1 kg DM x 100/20 = 5.3 kg lush pasture/day (grass with 20% DM content) 1.1 kg DM x 100/90 = 1.2 kg pasture hay/day (hay with 90% DM content) Growing alpacas and late-pregnant and lactating females will eat about 2-2.5% of their body weight as dry matter. Feed up to maintenance requirements with palatable, digestible roughage (leafy, green pasture, hay, silage). Then supplement with energy/ protein as required (good quality lucerne hay/oats/lupins/peas).
throughout Australia, New Zealand and the United Kingdom. She also provides nutritional advice and Johne’s disease Market Assurance and Q-Alpaca programs to alpaca breeders in Australia. Jane lectures regularly to farmers, veterinarians and veterinary students on alpaca reproduction, nutrition and husbandry in both Australia and internationally, and has co-authored a number of papers in refereed journals. She is a past-President of the Australian Alpaca Veterinarians (AAV; a special interest group of the Australian Veterinary Association)
and is the current Secretary and Newsletter Editor of the AAV. In collaboration with various universities, Jane has on-going research interests in reproduction, parasitology and genetics of alpacas.
2. Body condition score to monitor if feeding too much or too little
a non-lactating, non-pregnant animal is body condition score (BCS) 2.5-3.
Based on the 1 (emaciated) – 5 (obese) system used by the Australian Alpaca Association Inc., body condition scoring involves palpation of various parts of the body to ascertain the degree of body fat cover (or lack thereof; Figure 1). Gut fill and foetal size does not interfere with scoring. Ideal body condition score for
Jane travels nationally and internationally to provide the services offered by Cria Genesis.
The first area to feel is the backbone near the last ribs. Do not palpate over the pelvis, as alpacas invariably feel skinny here due to their lack of muscling. The muscles over the vertebrae should be flat (triangular cross section) and the backbone palpable for a BCS 3. Animals that are too thin have concave musculature and animals
Table 1. Summary of Feed Requirements in Alpacas Feed requirements Av. female 60-80 kg Av. male 70-90 kg
Maintenance (> 2.5-3 years of age)
Growth Lactation (crias should (peak milk output 2-4 double birth weight weeks post-partum) by 50 days of age)
Dry Matter Intake (DMI % BW/d)
1.5% (1.1-1.6%)
1.8-2%
2-2.5%
Crude Protein %
8-10%
14% < 12mo 12% > 12mo
13-15%
25%
20-25%
20-25%
0.8-1.0%
0.6-0.8%
0.8-1.0%
Crude Fibre % Neutral Detergent Fibre (% BW/d)
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that are too fat have convex fat and muscle bulging. Confirm your initial estimate of BCS by palpating the ribs at the point of the elbow. In an animal of BCS 3, you will just feel the ribs. Leaner animals have more prominent ribs, fatter animals’ ribs are more difficult to feel, or may be unpalpable if very fat. Lastly, observe and palpate the hairless areas between the front legs and back legs to back up your score. Practise and consistency are the most important features of body condition scoring. • • • •
Growth: 3 Maintenance: 2.5 – 3 Females at full term: 3 Working males: 2.5 – 3
If alpacas are too fat, feed less. If alpacas are too thin (e.g. during growth, pregnancy or lactation), feed more, better quality feed. If some alpacas in the same paddock are too fat and some are too thin, then divide the group and feed accordingly.
3. Pasture and water will supply most nutrients
Total ration (100 %) = protein % + energy % (sugars and fats) + fibre (cell walls) % + minerals %. Note that as the proportion of one nutrient increases in a ration, the proportion of other nutrients must decrease. Greener pastures contain more protein, therefore as pasture matures, protein decreases. Crude protein content of feed required for maintenance is 8-10%. Higher levels are required for growth (12-14% CP), pregnancy (12% CP) and lactation (13-15% CP).
4. Feed longstemmed roughage Alpacas need palatable, digestible, long-stemmed roughage (leafy, green pasture, hay and/or silage greater than 4 cm in length) to keep their forestomachs functioning normally. A diet based on very short (or non-existent under drought conditions) pasture, chaff and grain/pellets or very lush spring pasture is not adequate to keep the stomach healthy. Ensure ad lib, longstemmed, palatable, digestible pasture/
hay at all times if pasture fibre is limited. A rough estimate of plant fibre content in pasture may be gained by manually testing the breaking strength of plant matter – more mature plants contain more fibre (thicker cell walls, more lignin) and are more difficult to break and are thus less palatable and less digestible. Feed intake is driven by quality of feed, not quantity. 120/%NDF = amount DMI as a % of BW possible/day: e.g. if straw NDF is 80%, then DMI = 1.5% of BW is possible; if clover hay NDF is 45%, then DMI = 2.7% of BW is possible. Observe alpacas to see if there is enough fibre in the diet: • > 50% of recumbent alpacas should be chewing their cud • Body condition score adequate – adequate fibre in the diet is required for fat deposition • Faecal consistency – % fibre vs % DM in diet
Alpacas require four main ingredients in their diets: water, energy, protein and fibre. Ensure access to fresh clean water at all times. The daily requirement of water is 30-80 mL/kg body weight per day (38% BW/day). So a 70 kg alpaca requires 2.1-5.6 litres water per day. The amount of water drunk is lower when grazing green pasture (20% DM) compared with hay (90% DM). Alpacas will drink more water in hot weather and when lactating. Check water troughs daily, clean them weekly. Pasture will supply most energy, protein and fibre needs. Remember that pasture intake is driven by quality of feed, not quantity. The proportion of each depends on plant maturity (Figure 2). It will also satisfy most vitamin and mineral requirements.
Figure 2. Feeding value of grass and how it changes with different stages of maturity [adapted from (Beever, Offer et al. 2000)].
Palpate musculature over the backbone at the level of the last ribs. Aim for body condition scores somewhere between BCS 2.5 and BCS 3
1 Very thin.
Severely concave between spine and ribs.
2 Moderately thin.
Slightly concave between spine and ribs.
3 Good condition.
Neither concave nor convex between spine and ribs.
4 Overweight.
Convex ‘roundness’ makes muscle area harder to palpate.
5 Obese.
Top of back is almost flat. Very difficult to palpate between spine and ribs.
Figure 1. Alpaca Note 4: Body Condition Score of Alpacas. Prepared by AAA Inc. Education and Training Sub‑committee. 22
5. Vitamins Many of the water-soluble vitamins (vitamins B, C) are provided by the microbes that live in the fore-stomachs, so healthy alpacas do not require supplementation if they are healthy. Of the fat-soluble vitamins, vitamins A and E are available from green grass (even from green weeds that come up after brief summer rain) so only need supplementation if pasture is completely dry for more than 8-10 weeks. Vitamin D supplementation is required in alpacas. Inject all alpacas less than 3 years of age, and all females due to give birth in winter/ early spring (to fortify colostrum) with 2000 iu vitamin D/kg body weight under the skin or into the muscle. Administer in late autumn, mid-winter (and early spring in higher latitudes like Tasmania, New Zealand, Europe, Canada). Read the label on the bottle to determine vitamin D concentration to determine what volume to administer. E.g. A 20 kg cria needs 40,000 iu vitamin D. If there is 75,000 iu per mL vitamin D in your selected source of vitamin D, then the cria would need approximately 0.5 mL of solution injected. Too much vitamin D can be toxic.
6. Minerals Are minerals deficient in the surrounding area in sheep and cattle? Ask the local Department of Agriculture,
district veterinarian and neighbouring farmers for information. If in doubt, sample soils, pasture and/or alpacas to determine if mineral levels are adequate, before supplementation. Acid, water-logged soils (annual rainfall > 500 mm) contribute to selenium deficiency. Selenium deficiency may be treated using an annual depot injection under the skin of barium selenate. Alternatively, alpacas may be supplemented by short-acting oral preparations at a rate of 0.1 mg/ kg BW orally every 4-6 weeks. Do not inject alpacas with sodium selenite or sodium selenite as it can cause peracute liver failure and death.
7. Feeding supplements Beware of feeding unnecessary supplements that may be costly, labour intensive to feed out and/or toxic to camelids. Do not feed out supplements designed for use in horses and pigs as they have different digestive systems and different mineral requirements. In the words of the late Dr Murray Fowler, University of California (Davis), “the most toxic plant for alpacas is the food-processing plant”. Unless pellets are being used exclusively to deliver a specific supplement (e.g. zinc to assist with facial eczema prevention), avoid feeding pellets as they are usually rapidly digestible, very low in fibre and will cause acidosis and possibly death. In the words of Dr LaRue Johnson, Colorado State University, “you do
not have to feed alpacas pellets because they make their own”.
8. Access for all Animals should have access to longstemmed fibre at all times (e.g. in drought conditions, consider placing a large round bale of pasture/oaten hay in the paddock). If supplementary feeding of concentrates (eg grain, pellets) is required, make sure all animals can access the feed at the same time. Feed can be put out directly onto the ground, but wastage may be reduced by feeding in long troughs (e.g. guttering, old conveyor belting laid out on ground, shade cloth attached to fence). Introduce new feeds over a period of 10-14 days to allow adaptation to the new feed. Once adapted to the new feed, feeding twice as much, every second day will save time and money, but more importantly will allow shy-feeders access to supplements. The dominant animals will fill up quickly and move away when full, allowing the shy feeders to eat the supplements later in the day/overnight.
9. Feed wastage If supplements remain at the next feed out, or hay is being wasted, animals are being fed too much (do their body condition scores reflect this?) Ensure that growing, pregnant and lactating animals are fed appropriately with good quality feed and feed the left-over portions to non-pregnant/ non-lactating females, wethers etc.
Table 2. Nutritive Values of Some Commonly Available Stockfeeds (adapted from Feedtest 2014 and Drought Feeding Management of Sheep, Agriculture Victoria 2007).
Feed Type Spring pasture Dry pasture feed Pasture hay (mid-season) Grass hay Clover hay (early) Oaten hay Straws Lucerne hay Mixed pasture silage Oats Wheat, barley Maize Lupins Peas
Av. metabolisable energy (range) (ME MJ/kg DM) 11 (8-14) 6 (3-8) 7 (6-7) 6 (5-7) 8.5 (7-9.5) 7 (6-7) 5 (4-8) 8.5 (7-9) 8 (6-10) 11 (9-12) 12 (11.5-13) 13 (13-14) 12 (12-14) 12 (11.5-12.5)
Av. crude protein (range) (CP %DM) 25 (15-30) 5 (4-8) 11 (8-16) 8 (5-10) 18 (15-20) 8 (5-10) 4 (2-5) 20 (16-25) 11 (5-19) 9 (6-12) 10 (8-14) 9.5 (7.5-12) 32 (28-36) 24 (20-27)
Crude Fibre (%DM) 23 40-60 28-32 32 28-30 32 50-70 24-28 29-35 12 2-5 2-5 15 15
Neutral detergent fibre (NDF %DM) 38 70-80 49-56 56 42-46 56 80 45-50 45-60 26-35 12-20 12-20 24 24 23
10. Use good quality feedstuffs & keep it simple Feed intake is driven by quality of feed, not quantity. Get pasture/ hay/supplements feed-tested so quality is known. Feed alpacas up to maintenance requirements (go back to Point 1!) with good quality pasture/ hay/silage. Supplements for growth, pregnancy and lactation may be met by providing energy with cereal grains (e.g. oats – preferred over wheat/barley due to higher fibre content) and protein with lucerne hay and lupins (Table 2). Complicated recipes containing scoops of this and cupsful of that do not alter cria sex or kill worms, but may waste owner time, energy and money. USE GOOD HUSBANDRY TECHNIQUES. KEEP GOOD RECORDS. WRITE DOWN TREATMENTS/MATING DATES/ MEAT WITHHOLDING TIMES. NO PRODUCTS ARE REGISTERED FOR USE IN ALPACAS. CONSULT YOUR VETERINARIAN AND ALWAYS READ THE LABEL BEFORE USING ANY OF THE PRODUCTS MENTIONED. NEVER USE ANY PRODUCT IN ALPACAS THAT IS
24
NOT REGISTERED FOR USE IN FOOD PRODUCING ANIMALS. FOR ANY SIGNS OF UNUSUAL OR SERIOUS ANIMAL DISEASE, RING YOUR VETINARIAN.
Cherry lane alpacas
Because alpacas are our passion Copyright © Jane Vaughan The advice provided in this publication is offered as information only and is based on knowledge and understanding at the time of writing. While the information in this publication has been formulated in good faith, the contents do not take into account all of the factors that need to be considered before putting the information into practice. Accordingly, no person should rely on anything contained herein as a substitute for specific advice. The author does not guarantee that the publication is without flaw of any kind or is wholly appropriate for your particular purposes and therefore disclaims all liability for any error, loss or other consequence that may arise from you relying on any information in this publication.
We love alpacas, and we enjoy sharing our passion for alpacas with others. We have: -breeding stock -lifestyle pets -alpaca fleece -prize winning alpacas -for sale or to view Give us a call, email us or stop in for tea or coffee today. We would be happy to show you around our farm and introduce you to our alpacas and alpaca farming.
Contact us today! Ph Anne: (07) 3323445 email: apbannan@yahoo.co.nz
6 Sunnex road, RD2, Rotorua
153 Halcombe Road, RD 5, Feilding Phone: 06 323 1182
Minffordd Cottage, home away from home! Come and relax in Friendly Feilding, in our self-contained cottage and meet our alpacas. Visit our website to see more details and visitor endorsements and make your booking. We also have a selection of breeding and pet alpacas for sale. Bob & Jenny look forward to welcoming you.
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25
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by Ann Weir – Te Kowhai Alpacas
ALPACA
Te Kowhai Alpacas is a family business operated by Stuart and Ann Weir. We are located to the north west of Hamilton City, New Zealand, equidistant between the small towns of Te Kowhai and Horotiu. Te Kowhai Alpacas is a living art gallery with approximately eighty (80) kinetic installations - "living, breathing, suri alpaca sculptures on the hoof". They are my inspiration. Suri alpaca fascinate me with their fibre-tossing moments; dramatic bursts of speed and pronking around the paddock, their slap stick comedy routines when expressing joy, and their inherent honesty of living in the moment and communicating with refreshing directness through their body language. Being outside with the herd is my “Happy Place” and as the song “Happy” states, my “room without a roof”. Residing inside this dynamic art gallery allows me to attempt to translate living kinetic installations into human created art forms. My golden rule is, if you want picture perfect, just take a photograph. I don't create perfect! I try to capture a feeling, an emotion and transmit that in a creative medium. Methods of choice include using knife painting in impasto styled oils to create what I have termed “rustic large format alpaca”, pastel painting for a little more finesse, pencil sketching for a quick overview, photography to capture a moment in time, and mixed mediums. The creative process begins with literally just being in the paddock, being amongst the herd and enjoying their company. “Channel surfing the paddocks” and watching “Alpaca TV”. There is usually a reality angle parenting show, the odd soap opera, an occasional drama, with lots of serene familial documentary thrown in for good measure. Alpacas make me feel a raft of emotions. They have taught me many life lessons and their honesty
is refreshing in a world often marred by human conflict and duplicity. With an alpaca what you see is what you get. Ignore body language at your peril. It is this non-verbal language that is one of the keys to the “essence of alpaca-ness”. Art work involving alpacas for me is about expressing a glimmer of the essence of the alpaca life force. They are so refreshingly honest and direct, so empathetic and yet at times bluntly practical. To be accepted into an alpaca paddock as a non-threatening human is an awesome privilege. There is (if you listen with your heart) an inter-species empathy that can also happen. When Mum died, the grief was a melancholy that came in waves. One day I was in one of the hembra paddocks (approx 15 females) and I just sat down on the ground and cried. A few noses came inquiringly my way, and then the strangest thing, was hearing, “whumph, whumph” as the whole herd sat down around me. I was completely encircled and they stayed that way for about half an hour, then one by one they got up and got on with their lives. A salutary reminder that grief is a universal emotion and that it is OK to grieve, but that life must go on. I felt the most humbling feeling of connectedness with these hembra. I felt a feeling of “one-ness”. And that is what my artwork seeks to capture, the magical and mystical concept of “one-ness”. The range of alpaca emotions and body language in all its nuances. Photographs capture a 27
6th
Fibre microns, c
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W You a in
Mailing Address PO BOX 28684 Remuera Auckland 1541
Contact Teri Edward or (03) 445 1609 or email
pacificalp
Year (December 2015 to November 2016)
collection, sorting, scouring and sales of all colours, and quantities of Huacaya and Suri fibre.
solidate all growers together and get economies of sorting, testing, scouring and sales in bale quantity, for end use in various industries.
We can provide discounted fibre testing rates. are paid as the fibre is sold, less the direct costs. We have paid out in excess of $300,000 the past 5 years to more than 500 breeders We can arrage pickup or you can ship to our Cromwell location.
ds at (029) 770 0005 fibre@pacificalpacas.com
pacas.com
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moment in time or an expression and can be used for reference, but often I just ‘down tools’ and go out into the paddock to check the light reflection in the eyes, the shape of an ear, or the curl of a lip. Having life models in the paddock is definitely an advantage. What the “experts in the field” think about my work, is my measure of
success. I literally go and display my dry finished artwork in the alpaca paddock. If an alpaca goes and greets one of my painted alpaca on the nose, then I feel that I have passed the test by the most discerning art critics of them all.
As space in this magazine is limited, further examples of my artwork can be found under the heading “Alpaca Art” on our Te Kowhai Alpacas website, http://www.tekowhaialpacas.co.nz
The aim going forward is to create a temporary “Alpaca Art in the Paddock” installation for human viewing.
TOP LEFT: “Ignite The Light”, (a rustic large format alpaca oil painting) inspired by our brown suri female of that name, created in black and white, impasto technique with knives. TOP MIDDLE: Suri macho in oil painted impasto with knives. Large format painting. TOP RIGHT: Head study of black cria. Medium: pastel painting wet and dry. ABOVE: An “expert in the field” appraising a “rustic large format alpaca” oil painting. 30
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31
Australian National Show & Sale - ADELAIDE MEET THE FUTURE of Australian Alpaca as Adelaide welcomes the industry to the 2016 Australian Alpaca National Show & Sale scheduled for August 4 - 7. See, buy, sell and trade the finest elite alpaca bloodlines in the country. Connect with leading alpaca industry members from Australia and around the world, and together celebrate & build the inspiring smart future of
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Globe Derby Park, ADELAIDE, SOUTH AUSTRALIA nationalshow.com.au 32
An initiative of the Australian Alpaca Association
Australian Alpaca A S S O C
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ADELAIDE, South Australia
has been announced as the home of the Australian alpaca industry's peak annual event, the 2016 Australian Alpaca National Show & Sale.
Scheduled for August 4-7 this year, the event is expected to attract around 600 of the finest alpaca livestock from around Australia, with breeders large and small arriving from around the country and the world to show, buy and sell premium live alpaca. Australia has a strong reputation for quality and innovation on the international alpaca scene, and with 170,000 registered animals in the national herd, each year the event attracts significant international custom and interest. The state of South Australia and its capital city Adelaide enjoy strong reputations as tourism destinations, with iconic attractions such as Kangaroo Island rounding out the region’s famously excellent wine & food credentials. “S.A. is unique in that so many of our world-class studs are situated so nearby”, said Mr. Wheeler, (the event organizer) “and of course it’s impossible to visit our neck of the woods without falling in love with one or two of the bold reds that come out of the wonderful wineries that are all around us as well”. For more information visit: nationalshow.com.au
33
THE BENEFITS OF ALPACAS IN THE
AUSTRALIAN ENVIRONMENT THIS CENTURY by John Lawrie – Bonnie Vale Alpacas
Introduction Sustainability is no longer a good enough objective for Australian agriculture. We now need to improve the health of our degraded environment not just sustain it or conserve it as we have strived to do in the past. Now with the help of new no-tillage sowing technology, new time control grazing systems and alpacas, a new species of livestock recently successfully introduced into Australia, we can start to improve our degraded environment. As well of course we need our agricultural enterprises to be economically sustainable. A new term to describe this lofty objective is “regenerative agriculture” but the word “sustainable” is still very much in vogue. When agriculture is regenerative, soils, water, vegetation and productivity continually improve rather than staying the same or slowly getting worse. As well as being productive and profitable regenerative agriculture instils a deep sense of personal satisfaction in farmers, rural communities and observers alike. Revitalising the natural resource base rekindles our sense of self and our sense of place in the environment. (Jones 2002). Australian agriculture operates in one of the driest, oldest, and more fragile landscapes on earth. Cattle and sheep are the dominant livestock species used, across some two-thirds of the landscape, but they both have limitations and adverse impacts on agricultural ecosystems, often as a result of the declining terms34
of-trade. Alpacas a new livestock industry is offering the potential of a higher level of profitability and the opportunity to use better management of ecosystems in a regenerative and sustainable manner because alpacas are ecosystem friendly (Charry, Kemp & Lawrie 2003). As a practising soil scientist and agronomist I spend a lot of time looking at land degradation issues. These are mainly related to the physical, chemical and biological degradation of the soil resource. Especially soil erosion, soil structure decline, fertility decline including acidity, soil biological decline, and tree decline and salinity problems. The alpaca industry has much to offer in helping to solve these problems when these issues are looked at from a holistic perspective. Their grazing behaviour, disease-free status, low animal hoof pressure, efficiency in conversion of low quality forage, excretion habits and amicable temperament are some of the attributes that make alpacas desirable for most Australian ecosystems, particularly for small-intensive farming and parttime farming, as well as for extensive, multi-enterprise farming operations. My talk will explore this vital role for alpacas in improving our degraded environment as well as look at some ways that alpacas will become a viable addition to our other agricultural enterprises over the next decade or two. Some of what I say is speculative and perhaps a bit controversial but I hope that this may stimulate ideas and further debate.
John and Julie Lawrie and their family have been involved with alpacas in Australia for more than 20 years. They are founding members of both the Australian Alpaca Association and the Central Western Region of NSW. They have been very much involved in Association activities at a Regional and National level for the past 20 years. They manage up to 300 alpacas which we have in the past integrated with a sheep and cattle enterprise. Our five children have all contributed to the success of our family business over many years. John’s passion is soil health and he still claims that this is why he first decided to buy alpacas back in 1989. He is a certified Soil Scientist Grade 3, and has been digging up the dirt on soils since 1971.
Utilising our Native Pastures Mature wether alpacas can survive on a low protein diet (7.5% crude protein) while sheep and cattle require at least 12% protein (Vaughan and Costa 1998). Additional protein is provided by micro-flora activity in their rumen. Alpacas are very good at maintaining a nitrogen balance because they can recycle urea in their saliva, they extract more urea from their stomachs than other ruminants and they excrete less nitrogen in their urine. This means that wethers will eventually play an important role in grazing especially in our poorer quality natural pastures. Alpacas are also ideally suited to these rangeland conditions because they easy to manage with minimal fencing requirements and yards. In our rangelands alpacas will graze with other livestock in time control grazing systems. Larger numbers will be needed in rangelands for stock protection not only from foxes, dingoes and wild dogs but also from some avian predators (see later section) Alpaca
Photo: Sarah Busby.
wethers when not needed for stock protection may follow in the grazing rotation after the other livestock have been moved to fresh pastures. This will ensure that the wether fleeces remain fine and retain their value. Fibre fineness of alpaca fleeces can blow out much more than merino fleeces, increasing by up to 5-10 microns on nutritious pastures. They will also be used to control some woody weeds like sweet briars and blackberries. Alpacas have split lips similar to kangaroos (Lawrie 1999) and they are also very selective grazers with low nutrient requirements. Alpacas may even eventually be used for land management and fire control in our national parks. That is if the â&#x20AC;&#x153;greeniesâ&#x20AC;? decide that they would still prefer national parks without bushfires and they continue to want the parks to go back to pre-aboriginal condition (circa 50,000 years ago) when there were abundant mammals (now extinct) grazing the landscape.
The amount of food an alpaca needs is similar to a sheep i.e. one dry sheep equivalent (1dse). Hembras (female alpacas) weigh about 60-70 kg body weight compared with merino ewes (45-50kg) but alpacas are 37% more efficient at extracting energy and protein from low quality feed. This is because the digestion process takes longer in an alpaca. It takes 63 hours for food to pass through the alimentary canal compared with 41 hours for sheep (50% longer than sheep and twice as long as cattle). A dry hembra or wether weighing 65kg needs about 7 MJ (megajoules) of ME (metabolic energy) per/day. This could be fed entirely with about 1.3kg of hay/ day that is one small square bale every 2 weeks. Research from Murdoch University indicates that better quality WA straws would meet this criterion for energy (Vaughan and Costa 1998). However pregnant hembra and growing cria need a much higher plan of nutrition. Hembras in late
pregnancy need one and a half amount times the energy (dse = 1.5) and lactating hembras twice (dse = 2) with 12-14% protein while weaned crias also need twice as much energy and up to 16% protein.
Improved Pastures In more intensive grazing situations alpacas will be used to increase perennially by helping re-establish native perennial grasses and spread introduced perennial grasses. Poo piles provide an ideal seedbed for establishing both native and introduced perennial grasses, especially when no other livestock are grazing. To assist the establishment of perennial grasses any broad-leafed weeds can be sprayed out with cheap broad leaf herbicides. Also alpacas prefer eating grasses and forbs rather than legumes so they are ideal grazing tools to help maintain legumes in the pastures. It is essential to maintain about 30% legume mix to provide adequate nitrogen for a healthy pasture. 35
Improving the health of our soils Alpaca over time spread nutrients evenly around the entire paddock as they move their dung piles around. In small paddocks with time-controlled grazing and high stocking density it is believed that after ten rotations the alpacas have covered the full area of the paddock with their poo-piles with a dramatic improvement in fertility and native and perennial pasture establishment (Charry, Kemp and Lawrie, 2003). This is also illustrated by my aerial photo of dung piles in a four hectare paddock at Bonnie Vale which had been grazed with alpacas for more than twelve years. The loss of soil nutrients contributing to our acid soil problem is not only an issue of nutrients leaving the farm in product but even to a larger degree the concentration of nutrients in dung on stock camps by traditional livestock. For instance sheep camp normally on the north eastern side of hills so that they receive the first sun at daybreak and cattle poop in streams and under trees where enriched nutrients in the soil cause the death of Eucalyptus spp. and other native trees. Also alpacas normally donâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;t ringbark trees as do goats and horses. Alpacas help improve soil structure (see Table 1). They apply low pressures on the soil even less than kangaroos when both species are stationary and kangaroos are resting on their tails. The only domesticated grazing animal that is kinder to the soil is the camel. You all know that sheep foot rollers are used to prepare and compact road surfaces. Sheep are even worse as they drag their hooves along the ground and pulverise the soil surface when it is bare.
Conservation farming and No-til sowing Conservation farming is the practice of sowing crops and pastures without cultivating the soil to preserve more soil moisture and prevent soil erosion. The use of no-tillage sowing equipment for sowing both pastures and crops is essential for preventing soil erosion and improving soil health especially increasing soil biota and soil structure. We will also see alpacas increasingly used in the mixed farming/grazing enterprises especially in no-tillage systems. This is not only because they are soft on land but also because alpaca wethers can maintain their condition on crop stubble (Vaughan and Costa 1998) unlike other livestock. 36
Table 1. Static Loads exerted by stationary animals. Source, Lawrie, 1995
Horses (shod)
295 kPa
Cattle
185 kPa
Humans (shod)
95 kPa
Sheep
82 kPa
Kangaroos*
46 kPa
Alpacas
39 kPa
Camels
33 kPa
* Values for kangaroo were calculated including the surface area of tail of the kangaroo. These pressures have been calculated as the weight per projected unit of contact. Considering the shape of cloven-hoofed sheep and cattle whose hooves are not flat these values may be under estimated especially on firm surfaces.
Alpacas will be used to reduce stubble levels and to control weeds like wireweed, which are difficult to control with herbicides allowing crops to be sown without stubble blocking up no-tillage equipment. Another advantage of alpacas in mixed farming grazing areas is that they can be fed cereal grain with fewer problems than are associated with other ruminants Saliva flow in alpaca is much greater than sheep and this allows buffering against acids in the stomach. Another advantage of alpacas is that they have no gall bladder so bile is continuously secreted from the liver. This increases efficiency of their stomachs and also protects against acidosis, during rapid fermentation that can occur with cereal diets (Vaughan and Costa, 1998). However a word of caution one of our breeders has lost alpacas feeding triticale grain.
Protection of livestock from predators The number of alpacas used to protect lambs and kids against foxes depends mainly on the size and the shape of the paddock rather than the size of the flock. This is because the alpaca will chase the foxes away if a fox is seen or smelt near the paddock. One mature (>15 months old) alpaca per 20 ha should be sufficient. Farmers have reported increases of lambing percentages of greater than 30% were foxes are serious problem. If there is more than one alpaca in the paddock they may stay together and isolated from the flock but at night they will camp with the flock. To protect against crows and some other predatory birds an alpaca would need to protect each lambing ewe for about 3 hours depending on the
mothering ability and health of the mother. A rough guide of one alpaca per 100 ewes should be adequate. When required for protection against wild dogs and dingoes, the more alpacas the better. At least 5-10 alpacas are recommended and even more in heavily timbered and rangelands with large paddocks. Alpacas have also been successful in preventing foxes from eating the tongues of calves during delivery. Alpacas make excellent lead stock and recently during the bushfires one alpaca was observed to lead a flock of sheep to safety. Alpacas also chase unwanted wild grazing animals like kangaroos from small grazing paddocks. However at this stage it is not sure whether they will continue to do this when they realise that they are not predators.
Organically Grown Fibre Very few chemicals are required for alpaca management i.e. no organophosphates for flystrike, no pesticides for footrot and no artificial colouring needed for producing the wonderful range of natural colours that alpacas provide. Dark coloured fleeces require less dye for dark artificial colours like navy blue. Drenches are the only chemicals regularly used by some alpaca breeders for worm control. Drenching is minimal when no other livestock are grazed in the same paddocks especially in drier climates and also due to the sanitary use of dung piles by alpacas. In addition, alpacas are ideal for biological rabbit control because they force foxes to predate on rabbits in paddocks not being guarded by alpacas. Therefore farmers need not use baits to poison foxes and rabbits which may endanger the native wildlife.
Economically sustainable The price of alpaca fibre (up to 26µ) is currently 3-5 times higher than the price of wool of equivalent micron. This plus the low cost of production of alpaca fibre due to no crutching, mulesing, tail docking operations and no dipping for lice or jetting for flystrike will help make running alpacas for fleece production commercially attractive at some time in the near future. Alpaca fibre will be cheaper to produce than wool because alpacas don’t need to be crutched (60 cents), dipped (35 cents), backlined (90 cents) or mulsed (90 cents). These costs plus the labour costs of handling sheep for these extra operations will be greater than the slightly more labour intensive costs associated with shearing commercial numbers of alpacas. There is huge potential for value adding by blending alpaca with wool one of our major export industries in Australia. Alpaca blends well with wool combining the non-shrinking properties and superior strength of alpaca fibre with the elastic (nonstretch) properties of wool. A blend 20% alpaca with 5% of the wool grown in Australia would require about 40,000 tonnes of alpaca fibre. At the moment the Australian Alpaca Co-operative is only currently receiving 27 tonnes of alpaca fibre/year. So there is a huge potential market without considering other fibres. However the recent AAA 2020 Vision Report by Strategic Development Task Force (Anon 2004) predicted that there will be 1.2 million alpacas producing about 4000 tonnes of quality alpaca fibre in 2020. The other long-term advantage for alpacas is that they have at least twice the longevity of sheep and goats. This means that a self- replacing flock of alpacas will only require less than half the numbers of breeding females to maintain a flock of wool cutters. Thus the culling rate of females will be able to be higher and the genetic improvement quicker. In Australia with our low altitudes we have a natural advantage in producing superior quality fleeces because at high altitudes ultra violet light causes significant damage to the tips of fibre. This is especially evident in Peru the country that currently produces the majority of alpaca fibre for world use. As well we will follow the lead of many woolgrowers and add value on farm.
Table 2. Viande’: Preliminary Chemical Analysis
Beef
Lamb
Alpaca
Water (g/100g)
73.8
73.6
76
Protein (g/100g)
21.6
22.0
21.7
60
66
56
Fat (g/100g) Cholesterol (mg/100g) Iron (mg/100g)
2.2
1.8
1.9
Saturated Fatty Acids (% total)
N/A
N/A
45.7
Mono Unsaturated Fatty Acids (% total)
N/A
N/A
39.1
Source: P. & R. Lahey, 2003, Personal Data Obtained from Dr H. Greenfield, Report RN327942, the University of Sydney
In Australia we also lucky to be able take advantage of valuable research conducted by the CSIRO, Universities and State Government agencies on fibre production industries. So that the alpaca industry can take advantage of advanced breeding research as it already has done with ET (Embryo Transplants) and will eventually do with AI (Artificial Insemination).
be ideal for the specialty production of biltong (dried meat product).
This along with International Alpaca Registry set up by our Association and fibre production breeding projects like our annual fleece data project and our Across- Herd Genetic Evaluation (AGE) program will help develop our industry as a world leader (Davison 2004).
References
Meat market Fortunately we have the potential with alpacas, like sheep, to cull poorer quality and older animals and sell them for their meat. A specialty alpaca viande’ market is currently being explored by enterprising breeders. Although an estimated wholesale price of $100/head is not yet very attractive to most breeders when guardian alpacas can fetch from $300-500/head. Several trials have been successfully conducted in Australia to introduce viande’ in the gourmet market. Recently, chemical analysis, using a non-representative sample of wethers, indicated that alpaca meat is essentially very similar to other commercial available meats (Charry, 2003). Table 2 shows in a comparative manner the initial results obtained in Australia about the nutritional value of viande’ in a comparative manner to beef and lamb. However alpaca meat is apparently also low in fat as well as cholesterol. Poorer quality cuts would
Conclusion Alpacas are already showing that they can be successfully bred over a large area of Australia and improve the profitability of other livestock industries and as well as helping sustain and even regenerate the environment.
Charry, A.A. (2003), “Viande: Have you tried it?”, Alpaca Chat, AAA Central Western Region NSW, Winter 2003, Vol.4, Issue 4, p. 15. Charry, A.A., Kemp, D.R. & Lawrie, J.W. (2003). “Alpacas and Ecosystems Management”, In Proceedings of the 14th International Farm Management Congress, International Farm Management Association, Perth 15-20 August 2003. Davison I (2004) National Alpaca Review, Issue 4. Greenfield, H. (2003) Report RN327942, the University of Sydney Lawrie J. W. (1995). “Selecting and Planning your farm for Alpacas”; pages 3–8 in Alpacas, Australia Autumn Edition. Lawrie J .W. (1999) “Pastures for Alpacas in the Central West”. Alpaca Chat. AAA Central Western Region NSW, winter 1999, Vol 2, Issue 3 p 11. Jones C. (2002).”Recognise Relate and Innovate” Rangeland Report DLWC, Armidale. Vaughan J. and Costa N. (1998). “Nutrition of Alpacas”. Town and Country Farmer Vol 15. No. 4 37
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Top Mill Alpaca www.topmillalpaca.co.nz •
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We have been carefully breeding quality alpaca, Suri and Huacaya, for many years and now need to reduce our colourful herd due to health issues We have been showing our animals for a few years and never come home without several ribbons, and more recently Champions. We have a selection of well proven females, maidens full of promise for the future and pet males with good fleeces. Pay us a visit!
Recent Successes Feilding Manawatu 2015
Taumarunui Ruapehu 2016
IMPROVING DRENCHING PRACTICES A CRITICAL NEED FOR OUR INDUSTRY by Stephen Mulholland Ph.D., for the Camelid Health Trust (www.camelidhealth.org)
Drench (aka “wormers”) are the most common therapeutic medicine we apply on our farms, they can be a literally life-saving intervention for our alpaca. Drench, applied in the correct manner, at the right time, and at a proper dose, can clear an alpaca of dangerous internal parasites. This can be especially critical for parasites that are quickly killing an animal, specifically the blood drinking 'Barbers Pole Worm' – Haemonchus contortus. But drench is not magic, used incorrectly it can be ineffective. Worse, persistent misuse of drench products promotes the proliferation of drenchresistant parasites. When enough of the parasites are resistant the treatments become ineffective, and alpaca start dying in ever-increasing numbers. Drench resistance is a huge and wellknown problem affecting livestock farmers all over the world. While there are some disagreements from country to country and region to region about the details as to exactly what strategy is best to hold back the rising tide of resistance, the general principles outlined below still apply.
When should you apply drench? Even though you buy drench “over the counter”, it is actually a powerful pharmaceutical agent, and needs to be
treated with respect. Drench should only be applied to animals that need it. That need might be determined by clinical tests (blood analysis, fecal egg tests), and/or through clinical indications of parasitosis (drop in weight, body condition score, anaemia, etc). We are very fortunate that alpaca can develop a good natural resistance to parasites, allowing well fed, lowstress adults to naturally hold off parasites without any chemical intervention. The goal is not zero-eggs or zero-worms. In fact, we want all of our alpacas to have a few worms (parasites), as it is this exposure that primes their immune systems to fight off more serious incursions. The parasite-killing compounds in the majority of drenches provide protection for 3 to 4 weeks. (And you do not want longer acting compounds, as they can cause resistance-promoting “long tails” of low serum concentration. When you have anti-parasite drugs present in a less-than-lethal concentration it allows partially-resistant parasites to live on, and have lots of children that carry those resistance genes.) Parasite burdens can rise very quickly and under ideal circumstances, it can take little more than a month for an animal to pick up a life-threatening load of parasites. This is why it is important to regularly check your animals for signs of parasite
problems. It is also why periodic drenching without clinical signs isn't likely to be effective, and can actually be dangerous as it provides more opportunity for the development of drench resistance. The more often a given population of parasites experiences a drench compound, the more opportunities they have to “select” for resistance. This selection effect is vastly multiplied if you are drenching with inadequate doses. Social stress can also be a risk factor for parasite infestation. Low socialstatus animals – the ones that are always bullied, and have a difficult time making it to the hay feeder – are more likely to have issues. This is both because they may be getting insufficient feed, and because chronic stress is an immune-system suppressant.
What drench brand/ combination should you use? There are currently four different “families” of drench on the market, though the most popular by far among alpaca owners are drenches in the macrocyclic lactone family, those whose 39
name ends in “-mectin”; noromectin, ivermectin, abamectin, etc under brand names such as Genesis and Dectomax. There is ongoing debate as to whether it is better to use drenches singly, or in combination. You should always consult with your veterinarian about the latest recommended drench practices. The older drench varieties, the socalled “white” and “clear” drenches, have been around long enough that drench resistant is quite common (since the same parasites that affect sheep and goats also infest alpacas). A fourth family of drench, sold under the brand name of Zolvix (with the active ingredient Monepantel) was introduced to New Zealand in 2011. It was the first new drench family in over 30 years, and was initially hailed as a near miracle cure. Unfortunately, poor drench practice led to the rapid development of completely Zolvix-resistant worms by 2014 (first detected on a hobby-goat farm in the Manawatu, now spreading). It is easy to undo decades of hard work with only a few years of poor practices. Zolvix should not be used as a first-line drench on your farm, rather it should be held in reserve for situations where the conventional drenches are no longer effective. The current recommendation for Monepantel-based drenches is 3-times the sheep dose, as it was found ineffective at 2-times dose (Franz, et al, The Veterinary Journal). Which ever drench you use, it is important to periodically confirm its effectiveness. The most common test for this is the FECRT (Fecal Egg Count Reduction Test). This is a simple matter. First, take a fecal sample from a parasite-afflicted animal. This is examined under a microscope to see how many worm eggs per gram are present. Then drench the animal. Ten days later repeat the fecal egg count, the numbers should have dropped (ideally) by 98% or so. If the egg reduction is less, it indicates that there was either a problem with the drenching (under-dose, injected into the fleece and not under the skin, etc.) or that there might be partial drench resistance in your herd.
How much should be given? Previously the recommended dose was 1.5 times the sheep dose. Some vets are now recommending twice the sheep dose, to ensure a proper dose is delivered (though the science of how drench products work in llamas and alpacas is still incomplete, so quantitative dose recommendations 40
are unfortunately rare). Be very cautious if using Levamisol-based drenches as they have a narrow safety margin in alpacas and should only be administered at the sheep dose rate. Likewise alpacas have been shown to have toxic reactions to Albendazole. (Franz et.al) Giving too little drench is worse than not drenching at all, as it both fails to kill all the worms present, and selects those worms for drench resistance – those with some level of natural resistance will better survive, thus producing more eggs which pass out onto the pasture where they can be consumed by other alpaca in your herd. Both oral and injectable drenches work in alpaca. Some pour-on drenches have been shown to be effective, but they can cause prolonged staining of the fleece. I prefer the injectable drenches, as once you become practiced with the needle you can ensure the right dose is delivered. With oral drenches the alpaca can always “return fire”, spitting up (or coughing up, if your oral drenching technique is a bit sloppy) an unknown fraction of the drench making it very difficult to ensure you give enough, but not too much.
How many animals should you drench? How does this effect refugia? Only drench animals that need it! This should be based on some clinical indication of infection. Whole-herd drenching is very rarely needed, if ever. Limiting the number of animals drenched allows for your farm to practice refugia. Refugia is a simple concept – you will never eradicate the parasites on your farms. It's impossible, as more than 90% of the parasites are living as larvae and eggs on the pasture, and are thus safe from your drench gun. (And no, you cannot “spray out” your paddock for parasites. There are many beneficial organisms which are close cousins to those parasites, and killing all of them would wreck your soil ecology.)
to keep it rare. If most of the parasites on the pasture are drench-vulnerable, then a few drench-resistant ones will likely breed with a vulnerable partner, thereby diluting away the various resistance genes. (This is similar to how your fine-fleeced genetic lines would lose quality/fineness if back-crossed to nasty scrubber animals – the quality traits get diluted away in the gene pool.) In good refugia you don't move freshly-drenched animals onto a clean paddock, if you did that all that would happen is you would create a colony of almost-entirely-resistant parasites. Rather you should put the drenched alpaca back onto a contaminated pasture. The drenched alpaca should still be protected by the active drench chemical in their system for the next few weeks, and this way any surviving parasites in their guts will be spewing their resistanteggs out into a pasture of almostentirely drench-vulnerable worms.
Current best practice Check your whole herd periodically for clinical signs of parasitosis, we do so monthly, and more often if we have reasons to be concerned (so if we've found one animal suffering from parasites, we'll check the others more frequently for a couple of weeks or months after, until the danger seems to have passed). This can be a simple matter of body condition score checks to identify those animals losing weight/ condition, or membrane checks to look for the anaemic. Keeping written records can be very important here, as when a herd gets larger it is not possible to always remember the body score of everyone in your herd. If you have a weigh scale, it can be a good way to track subtle changes
Innerwell – Alpac as –
Refugia is a game of breeding and statistics. Drench resistance is a genetic, heritable trait. Your goal is
kevin & Robin UNCLES Phone: 07 333 2202 Email: rk.uncles@farmside.co.nz
over time, again written records are critical. Fecal Egg Counts can be done on suspected infected animals. The frequency of checks may depend on the season or known risk factors, but monthly is a good baseline – more frequently in times of high risk. • Drench those animals that have signs of infection. Ensure that the proper dose is given based on the weight (known or estimated) of that animal. • Check the drenched animals in the weeks that follow to ensure that they are recovering. This may be physical checks (weight, BCS, membranes) or follow-up FEC reduction tests. If the animal is worm-free but still ill, consult your veterinarian. • Consider periodically doing a pooled sample fecal egg count from the dung heap (using fresh droppings) to get an overall view of how your herd is doing. • Do Egg Reduction Tests on animals you buy or sell, to avoid moving animals harbouring resistant parasites.
An example of poor practice The whole herd gets drenched 4 times a year, at the start of each season, with 1ml of Dectomax. This is not an example pulled out of thin air, rather it is a distressingly common practice among some alpaca owners. 1ml of Dectomax is about one-third the recommended dose for a ~70kg adult, so every dose doesn't kill many worms, it just speeds the development of drench resistance. By doing this four times a year that farm is guaranteed to eventually develop completely Dectomax-resistant worms (which has now happened on at least 4 alpaca farms, based on Health Survey results). Switching drenches without improving practices won't help much, as all that will do is allow the parasites to become resistant to more families of drench. Once the drench stops working managing the long-term health of the alpaca becomes much more difficult. Proper drench practice is a big deal, and as an industry we need to take positive, active steps to improve our practices. “Best practice” is a moving target. Every year we learn, adapt, and
improve. That information has to be effectively disseminated to all alpaca (and llama) owners in New Zealand, as the poor practice of a neighbour or colleague has the very real potential to negatively affect you and your farm. Don't panic. But make sure you are doing it right. If you have any questions or comments, please feel free to contact me at: stephen@camelidhealth.org Thanks to Barbara Christensen BVSc, MANZCVSc. and Anne Kramer PHD MANZCVS (Epidemiology) for their assistance in the preparation of this document. See also “Llamas and alpacas in Europe: Endoparasites of the digestive tract and their pharmacotherapeutic control” Sonja Franz, Thomas Wittek, Anja Joachim, Barbara Hinney and Agnes Dadak. The Veterinary Journal; 204 (2015) 255-262. Some of the parasites discussed within are not present in NZ, but it still provides a great review of the current research on chemical treatment of parasites in camelids. Double thanks to Anne Kramer for pointing out this reference.
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Locks Luscious
by Gay & Mike Moller - Lallybroch Alpacas
Gay and Mike Moller have been farming alpacas, Lallybroch Alpacas, for 16 years at Mangapai, just south of Whangarei, in Northland. They have both suri and huacaya and enjoy dabbling with alpaca related crafts.
More interesting than socks and knickers hung out to dry.
Missy May by Sheryl D’Ath, the cause of all the trouble (the model alpaca gives an idea of her size, she is 50cm tall).
Another craft passion has recently developed at Lallybroch Alpacas. A friend who is an extremely talented doll artist asked me for some alpaca fibre to try using as doll hair. She then made a doll for me with suri hair and I fell instantly in love.
depending on the final look that suits the doll. This wefted strip can then be sewn onto a cloth doll’s head or onto a wig cap for a porcelain doll.
This was about six months ago and I still haven’t completed an entire cloth doll but I have made around ten doll’s heads to try out the different fibres. The conclusion I have come to from this very narrow base of experience is that suri fibre makes wonderfully 42
natural doll hair. With its drape and lustre, either combed or left in tangly locks, it looks extremely realistic. I’m not quite as convinced with using huacaya at this point but it does do very realistic Afro wigs and I think white and grey have a use for more mature looking dolls. I am now producing wefted alpaca fibre for doll makers. This is quite a time consuming business as you need to weft approximately a metre and a half strip of fibre for each wig, then wash, dry and comb it, or not,
Needless to say the Moller household now looks a bit like the result of the French Revolution with heads on spikes staring at you from all corners. I’m not suggesting you are going to make your fortune making doll’s hair for sale, but it is another use for this amazing fibre and for me an excuse to get involved in yet another craft obsession.
LEFT: This was all from the same alpaca, I mixed different parts to give the varied colour which I think looks quite interesting. RIGHT: This is a doll with huacaya hair. BELOW: Three different heads, the third is uncombed locks.
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NATIONAL ALPACA DAY SUNDAY, MAY 8th 2016 â&#x20AC;&#x201C; GET READY!
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A VISIT TO
WOLSTORM The First and Only Sustainable Alpaca Farm in the Netherlands by Jacqueline Weers www.detekstelier.com
When Margriet Moed and Erica Krikken first set eyes on an alpaca, they were smitten. Starting out with a small group of animals grazing in the pasture behind Margriet’s house, they now own a large herd that supplies the wool for the first eco-friendly Alpacawool mill in the Netherlands.
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Wide landscapes and endless horizons On a bright April morning, I drive along a deserted country road in the direction of Westerlee, a tiny village in the northern tip of the Dutch province Groningen. Apart from the occasional farmhouse, there is nothing but endless meadows as far as the eye can see. An iron gate with the sign ‘Wolstorm’, shows me that I’ve arrived at my destination. Stepping out of my car, I am immediately surrounded by three frantically enthusiastic dogs that trail behind me as I look for the entrance to the wool mill. The first door of the building to my left opens onto a narrow hallway, which gives access to a huge
open space with all kinds of impressive machinery. A woman emerges from behind one of the machines. She shakes my hand warmly and introduces herself as Margriet, one of the two owners of Wolstorm. We sit down for tea in a small showroom next to the mill, where strands of Alpaca wool in various natural colors are neatly stacked on wooden shelves. I also see socks, blankets and a collection of alpacawool lined muffs. I run my hands over the wool, amazed at its softness. A moment later Erica, the second half of the Wolstorm duo, enters the room. They don’t need much prompting to start a lively recount
of the history of their enterprise. It quickly becomes evident that Wolstorm is much more than just a business for Erica and Margriet. These two women are driven by their undeniable passion for the Alpaca species.
History of the Alpaca The Alpaca (Vicugna pacos) is also known as mountain lama. The race belongs to the Camelidae or “camelids”, which originated from the North American continent about 7,000 years ago. It is often thought that the alpaca is directly related to the llama, but that's not entirely correct. The Lama, also known as “the ship of the Andes”, is a descendant of the Guanacos; this race also belongs to the camelids, but Lamas are much larger than Alpacas, and in contrast to the Alpaca’s gentle nature, have a very stubborn character. It’s still unclear how the Alpaca ended up in South America, but the Incas started domesticating the species some 5,000-6,000 years ago. After the Spanish conquest of the Inca Empire, the Alpacas almost disappeared from the South American continent. Because they were vital to the survival of the local population, the Indians took their remaining herds and withdrew to the highlands of the Andes, where the breed eventually adapted to the extreme climatic conditions. Nowadays, large Alpaca populations can be found in countries like Ecuador, Bolivia, Chile and Peru, where the animal is kept mainly for its wool.
about her new protégés and ended up visiting various Alpaca farms in Russia and later even traveled to Chile. There, in the highlands of the Andes, Margriet bought her first herd of sixteen Alpacas, which were transported by air to their new dwellings in the juicy meadows of the Dutch landscape. Margriet also owes her encounter with business partner Erica to her Alpacas. Erica's husband delivered the concrete for the new barn and told his wife about “Those cute little lama's in the pasture behind the Krikken farm.” After she dropped by to see the animals for herself, she instantly fell in love with the gentle, long necked fluff balls. That was the birth of a joint enterprise between the two Alpaca-loving ladies.
Let’s do something with the wool Their Alpaca herd thrived, but Margriet and Erica felt like they wanted to do something more than just breed and show off their alpacas during alpaca fairs. And it seemed like such a waste to discard all the wool left behind from the annual shearing rounds. In 2012, they got serious about the idea to ‘do something with the wool’. Trips to the United States and Canada soon followed, where they witnessed the ins and outs of Alpaca wool spinning. They had to travel oversees to get
their information, as the entire wool spinning industry has disappeared from the Netherlands. During the sixties, all the wool industry moved to the low-income countries and there are currently no Dutch wool mills left. After visiting various wool mills throughout the USA and England, they finally found machines that were small enough to fit into Margriet’s barn. A huge investment and yet, they still had no idea how to use their brand new machinery. So they had an expert from Canada fly over, who taught them the ropes of alpaca wool spinning during a six-week crash course.
Animals first For the Wolstorm duo, it’s paramount that their animals have a high quality of life, so they chose to follow the natural rhythm of the animals as closely as possible. Margriet: “Our herd is kept in a huge barn, which has an open connection to the outdoors area. The animals can venture outside whenever they choose. During the mating season, we allow one stallion at a time to join the females. If they feel like mating, that’s great and if nothing happens, that’s also fine with us. We leave it up to them. Outside of the mating season, the colts live in a separate pasture next to the herd, well protected by Quincy, our Lama”.
One look and you’re hooked For Margriet, breeding Alpacas started out as a hobby. After recovering from a serious illness, she decided that it was time to take a completely new turn in life. A couple of animals in the backyard seemed like a good place to start, but what kind of animals? After considering horses and ostriches, Margriet saw a documentary about Alpacas on TV and became so curious about the animals that she decided to travel to Belgium and Switzerland to visit local Alpaca farms. “Well, I learned the hard way that it’s dangerous to go and take a look,” she explains. “Because once you see them for real, you’re hooked!” Margriet went home in the company of her first three Alpacas, who received a spot in the pasture beside the farmhouse. But her quest was far from over. Margriet wanted to know more 47
“Soon, the calves will be born which is always an exciting moment.” Erica adds. “We let the calves wean naturally. After about six months, the mother produces less and less milk and at a certain point, the calf will stop asking for it. It’s much better for the animals that way.” The floor of the barn is cleared out only twice a year. The manure is left to dry on the floor and covered with a new layer of straw on a regular basis. Two times a year, the thick plaque is scraped off the floor, after which the entire procedure is repeated. Margriet: “The layer of manure and straw produces an excellent insulation for the young Alpacas. And It’s much more eco-friendly, as we only have to clean the floor every six months.” Wolstorm selects some of their registered alpacas as breeding stock to other alpaca owners, usually breeders who want to add a new bloodline to their herd or novice breeders. The stallions that are not suitable for breeding are usually castrated. The castrated stallions were available for petting zoos and hobby farmers and sent to their new owners in groups of at least three, true to their herd nature. Currently Margriet and Erica no longer give their castrated stallions to third parties, as they have decided to hold onto all the animals for their wool. 48
From fleece to the finest yarn Once or twice a year, they carefully shear their herd, which takes them about 45 minutes per animal. After the shearing process, the fleece is skirted by hand, washed in a tumbler and then entered into the picker machine, which blows the fleece to a fluffy mass. After the picking process, the wool is carded and combed on a draw-frame that pulls all the fibers into the same direction. The carded wool is then transferred onto a huge, multi coiled spinning machine and ultimately twined into cones. Erica explains: “Until recently, we only had the natural tones off-white, gray and brown. We wanted to add more colors to our palette, but it had to be an eco-friendly, non-chemical dye. After a long search, we have found a beautiful natural wool paint in various colors that we are currently experimenting with. At the moment we sell mostly comforters and pillows, but in the near future we are planning to expand our product range. You could think of sweaters, jackets and wool blankets.” Margriet: “We are convinced that there is a growing market for honest, eco-friendly and local products. People realize that you do not have to import your products from halfway around the world and there is an
increasing environmental awareness. If you buy your products locally, at least you can be assured that no poison chemicals were used or that they were made with child labor.”
A fluffy lot I'm quite eager to finally see the Alpacas and I can’t help but ask: “Could we … please visit the alpacas now?” Margriet and Erica break out in laughter; it’s obviously not the first time a visitor makes this request. We walk to the back of the barn, enter through a gate and there they are; a huge flock of white, brown and greyish creatures, incredibly endearing to an alpaca novice like myself. They cautiously approach us, occasionally emitting a sound that makes my heart melt. A moment later, I’m surrounded by brown eyes and soft nuzzles. “My first encounter was exactly the same,” laughs Erica. “Love at first sight!” Behind us, a small herd of stallions hide behind a large Lama that parades back and forth, eyeing me disapprovingly. Erica introduces him as Quincy, the official guardian of their stallions. “At first he did not like me at all, but now we are good friends. But do not come near his alpacas. He protects them fiercely. A lama can become quite aggressive, so no one will dare to come
Quincy the Llama, gaurdian of the male alpaca herd.
near them.” I decide to make an effort to get acquainted with Quincy. At first he sniffles my bag, then starts pulling at the leather strings attached to it. I pat him on the head gently, while he explores my coat and hair. Then he places his huge head on my shoulder. “You passed the test!” says Erica. As the highlight of the day, I am allowed to witness how the alpacas are released into the huge pasture, which lies right next to the barn. As soon as Margriet opens the fence, the entire herd bolts for the grassy plains in a long procession, descending upon the juicy grass and countless dandelions.
Big plans for the future The word about the Dutch wool mill has already spread and Wolstorm is receiving requests for information from all over the world. “People calling at all hours of the day asking us if we can spin their wool for them or give them courses”, says Margriet. “But we’re careful. We only want to handle organically produced wool. If you have a great batch of natural wool, but it has subsequently been processed with chemicals in China, can you still assume that you have an organic product? We want to keep control over these things”. Currently, Wolstorm sells a lot of wool to local artists and several designers.
Erica adds: “We want to start out with daily guided tours of the farm, the wool mill and our farm shop and ultimately also focus on the overseas market. We are still in the process of establishing our business plans and many things have yet to take shape”. But the beginning is already there. Erica shows me a separate space next to the spinning machine, were an information room with rows of seats and a beamer is in the makes. It is time to say goodbye. To the alpacas and to Margriet and Erica, who run their business with so much dedication and love for their animals. As I drive through the gate, I pass the herd, which is nibbling peacefully on the fresh spring grass, while the sun shines on their wooly backs. What a great Alpaca life!
Wolstorm is an eco-friendly wool mill in the Netherlands. Contact details: Hoofdweg 33 9678 PE Westerlee/the Netherlands 00-31-(0)6-50122091 email: info@wolstorm.com
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VET l a C o T s e Com by Julie Taylor‑Browne – CamelidSense
Julie Taylor-Browne acquired her first three alpacas in 2000 and quickly realised she didn’t know how to handle them. Fortunately she found Marty McGee Bennett, Camelidynamics and Tellington Touch leading to her qualifying as a Tteam Practitioner for horses and a Camelidynamics Instructor for alpacas and llamas. She now has a herd of 40 alpacas and llamas and teaches camelid handling throughout Europe and Scandinavia. She founded CamelidSense in 2013. You can see her website at www. carthveanalpacas.com and her Facebook page Camelid Sense. Julie can be contacted at: taylor.brown@clara.net
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I don’t know about you, but I think my alpacas can sense the exact moment my vet leaves the surgery, gets into his car and starts his drive to my farm. My normally friendly, cooperative herd take themselves off to the furthest field and resist all attempts to tempt them closer to the barn where I need them to be… (they also know what day shearing has been booked into the calendar and can be seen doing a surreptitious rain dance the day before). We have been keeping alpacas and llamas for over 15 years and have had our share of incidents - some very trivial - for example from what was in hindsight a nasty tummy ache to the downright life threatening and obscure. Some we have lost, some we have saved but all of them have contributed to the magnificent new Carthvean Alpacas endowed wing at our veterinary surgery. As a consequence I have had a fair amount of experience in getting animals in and handling them for the vet. As I am sure everyone who keeps camelids knows, vets charge by the minute. So having things ready for their visit coupled with efficient handling and correct facilities make a significant difference to the emotional, physical and financial stress levels experienced by both us and the animals. When I teach groups, alpaca health is always a huge topic of conversation and the
animal husbandry section is always lively and informative and I rarely give a workshop without learning something myself. My aim in this article to share with you some of the methods you can use to keep ill and injured animals calm and quiet for veterinary attention, and the not so ill cooperative for routine examinations such as veterinary health certificates. My aim is to help you to have calm, stress free handling of your alpacas and this is never more important than when your animals are ill.
Examining the alpaca When one of your animals is ill, it will stay with the herd trying to appear normal for as long as possible and only when it is seriously ill or injured will it either separate itself or be unable to keep up with them. The 40 or so camelids at my farm graze over about 30 acres so if I spot one on its own in a field I am immediately suspicious that all is not well. If you keep your animals on more restricted grazing, this separation may be less easy to spot. Unwell as they feel, these animals will still do their utmost to avoid being examined by you (unless of course they are very ill and can’t get up), and will run to the other side of the field leaving you wondering if you were imagining it all. I had a beloved old girl who died at 15 of a liver tumour and
Catch Pens.
although it was obvious that there was something very wrong with her, I still wouldnâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;t have been able to catch her in the field until about an hour before the vet arrived to put her to sleep. To handle, examine or treat my animals on a routine basis, I usually use a system of catch pens in the field. I feed my animals in them and then close them up if I wish to handle them that day. Unfortunately an animal feeling very unwell is unlikely to be tempted in by food. Therefore if I suspect an alpaca is ill or injured I have to make sure I can get them into a smaller, enclosed area for the vet to examine. It is no use leading the vet into the field and expecting them to make a diagnosis without getting his or her hands on the animal. Alternatively getting them to help you chase the animal, cornering it and grabbing it is not going to give genuine readings of temperature, heart rate and respiration rate!
You need to get the alpaca into small contained area before the vet comes if possible. Try to give yourself plenty of time to do this so that you are as unstressed and as unflustered as possible. I recommend you use a herding tape or long rope. It is usually best not to try to move just the ill animal, if necessary, bring the whole field full of animals in at the same time and then pop your patient into a small pen with a friend or family member and release the others. Sometimes individuals are happy to go in by themselves but this isnâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;t normally the case, although the old girl I mentioned before spent at least part of most winters in the barn in her later years and trotted happily down there as she considered it a great treat. When I talk about using a smaller area for examining ill animals, I suggest an area usually made by hurdles of about 6ft by 6ft (approx 2 m x 2 m) to 8ft x
8ft (approx 2.5 m x 2.5 m). It should be under cover and ideally away from the rest of the herd (except any pen companions). I am conscious that if you suspect they may have something contagious e.g. the dreaded TB then isolating your animal will be the best thing to do, but it may become more stressed as a consequence. The reason they should not be in view of the herd is that they will want to be with them and may try to get over or under the pen to be with them. This is one of the reasons why I am not keen on the field shelter becoming the sick bay, but if it is all you have then you donâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;t have a choice. It may be necessary to bring cria into the barn, for example if it is hypothermic and/or dysmature. Ideally, bring the mother in with it. Even if the mother is unable, or unwilling, to let it suckle, unless the mother is physically aggressive to the cria, keep them together whilst you are tube or
Herding with tape.
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Catch pen within a barn.
Restraint free injections.
bottle feeding. I have known not very maternal mothers finally understand what it is they need to do and to start feeding their babies at two to three weeks after birth. Separating mother and baby can lead to behavioural problems in the cria later, as can overhandling, fussing or letting young children play with orphan or ill cria.
Who does what?
Housing ill alpacas The small catch pen will allow you to catch, control and examine your alpaca in the short term, without you and/or the vet chasing the alpaca round a bigger area and stressing it further. For longer stays, however, they will need to move round more and you will need to allow for a feeding, watering and dunging area. This can obviously be achieved by adding more hurdles or letting them into a bigger area, whilst being able to move them into the smaller one for treatment or examination. Recently whilst training some reindeer I put a catch pen in their barn and fed and trained them in there, letting them out after each training session. Initially I removed the hurdles each time as I was afraid they would catch their antlers between the bars, but I soon realised that they liked their smaller area as I noticed that they chose to sleep in it as well as feed there. Very ill animals may need to be carried in to the barn and may then collapse onto their sides. To help their stomachs continue working properly it is normally helpful to move them into sternal recumbency and support them in this position using hay or straw bales. I was able to predict the full recovery of one my alpacas (from barley poisoning) when she weakly turned her head on the hay bale supporting it and began nibbling it. 52
I call my vet out for acute cases, blood tests, castrations and for veterinary certificates of health. Some vets are also working with owners on Herd Health plans, a move I thoroughly endorse, and which aim to be proactive and preventative rather than reactive. Like many alpaca owners I aim to deal with all routine injections, tagging, microchipping, drenching, toenails and minor injuries myself. When the shearer comes we also deal with any remaining toenails, trimming of the front teeth and taking the tips off fighting teeth of adult males. Because I regularly work with my herd they are used to the way I handle them and are content to have me control them in the pen whilst the vet examines and treats them. I am reluctant to have a vet’s assistant handle my animal, just as I prefer to assist the shearer during shearing rather than leave it to their assistant should they have one. I feel strongly about injection sites for my camelids, and ask my vet to use them. Many vets will choose the large muscles around the hindquarters without being completely clear about where the sciatic nerve runs. There have been a number of cases of this nerve being temporarily affected and of alpacas ending up with a pronounced, if temporary, limp. From a behavioural point of view an injection in the backside tends to make the alpaca move forward (or rear if you are trying to restrain them) and can lead to them kicking. Repeated injections in this area can make the odd kick develop into a serious and unpleasant kicking habit. I recommend that for subcutaneous injections you use the area of skin around or just above the triceps (shoulder) muscle. The vast majority of injections you will give your alpaca can be subcutaneous. Very, very few, if any, need to be intramuscular but you can ask your vet to give these into the triceps
muscle. When you give the injections lean over the alpaca and give it in the opposite side from you, then should the alpaca move away from the needle they will move towards, not away from you. You don’t need to see the skin to do the injection just pull out the fleece away from the animals side and inject down directly into the skin. If you are on your own put a number of animals in the pen with you or make the pen smaller so that the alpaca cannot move too far or too fast while you are trying to do the injection. It is simple to walk with them to do the injection. If your vet suspects an infection, they may leave you with a course of antibiotics with which to treat the sick animal after their visit, often with a long needle. My recommendation is to drop these immediately, unused, into your sharps box and substitute your own, much shorter ones. I use 18 gauge 1/2” needles for thick liquids and 21 gauge1/2” needles for thinner ones. Even shorter needles such as 1/4” can be used for cria. The beauty of using a shorter needle is that you don’t run the risk of going in one side of the skin and coming out of the other as well as reducing the risk of jabbing yourself in the finger or thumb. Some things we inject into our alpacas can cause serious problems if we jab ourselves, and you also don’t want to risk catching a zoonotic (transmissible to humans) disease. It is important that we understand the importance of body position. I have seen numerous people (including vets) cause their camelid patients to move when they would much rather they stood still, simply by blocking their escape route. For a prey animal, having the option to move into an escape route is of supreme importance and if you stand too close, stand in front of them
Showing teeth.
Drenching.
The body wrap.
or stand with your body turned too much into them you can cause them to move and turn to try to regain an escape route. It may seem counterintuitive, but often giving them an escape route can make them feel safe and this will encourage them to stand still. I had a very docile and easy to handle animal who became really quite difficult while the vet tried to examine her teeth for her veterinary certificate of health. He insisted on standing right in front of her and getting very close and opening her mouth himself. I could have easily stood to one side of her, opened her lips to show him the teeth which he could have seen at a respectful distance thus letting her maintain her escape route.
syringe with a long nozzle I can do this easily using a halter helper, which is a short piece of webbing with a clip that fastens to a ring to secure it around the alpacas neck. We use these to balance the animal. I also use this now to show the vet the animal’s teeth!
llama’s halter to give me more control over their larger and longer head! I also find Tellington Touch to be another invaluable tool for helping to relax an alpaca and to persuade it to stand still. We also use TTouch to prepare and support animals for examinations under the tail e.g. rectal, vaginal or testicular.
Techniques for medical interventions Two of the central themes I teach are: ‘containment not restraint’ and ‘keeping your alpaca in balance’. I find that alpacas and llamas are surprisingly tolerant of the things we need to do to them such as injecting and drenching. What makes them behave in ways which make them seem ‘difficult’ is when we grab them and restrain them - often with the old hold around the neck. This hold usually causes the alpaca to fall out of balance which increases their sense of panic even further. For a prey animal being grabbed around the neck and thrown out of balance normally means that they are about to become a predator’s lunch so if we can find another way to work with them for routine medical jobs we will make life a lot easier for ourselves and for our camelids! An example of this is drenching; because I have trained myself not to let my hand cross the alpaca’s midline (in order not to throw it off balance), I don’t like to put my hand round the back of the head to insert the syringe or drenching gun. I have found that using a drenching
A point to remember is that wherever possible both handler and vet should both work on the same side of the alpaca as camelids hate to be a ‘camelid sandwich’, they feel trapped and often exhibit undesirable behaviours. There will always be some animals and some procedures where a sedative will be necessary and I fully support the use of sedatives in these cases. May I also make a huge plea on welfare grounds at this point to all owners and all vets to perform castrations under sedation. It is too terrifying for alpacas to be restrained and castrated without one and they often lose their trust in people and become more difficult to handle subsequent to the operation. I have previously discussed that some of my favourite ‘tools’ which are the catch pen, the bracelet and halter helper. For medical examinations, the vet, the animal and I are all in the catch pen and I catch my animal using the midline catch, a slow and gentle way of catching them. I then hold my alpacas in the bracelet whilst they are being examined. If I need to let them go and then catch then again, I will put on a halter helper. I don’t bother to halter an animal for an examination, because the bracelet and halter helper gives me as much control as I need. The exception here is if I want to drench my llamas, when I use the
If I have a particularly nervous animal I may also use a body wrap. A body wrap looks weird but it usually very successful. I also use an excellent technique developed by David Anderson, (former head of camelid medicine at Ohio State University) known as the Buckeye Blood Draw for encouraging camelids to lower their heads for blood taking or intravenous injections. You can learn these techniques by coming on a workshop with me, reading more articles on my website: www. carthveanalpacas.com or by purchasing Marty McGee Bennett’s excellent book; the Camelid Companion and/ or her camelid handling DVDs. I hope you have found these pointers useful, if you wish to find out more about courses, books, equipment and DVDs see: www.carthveanalpacas.com or email Julie Taylor-Browne: taylor.browne@clara.net
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Our featured advertiser is drawn from the pool of advertisers in the previous magazine. If you would like a chance to have your profile featured in the Alpaca magazine, make sure you advertise in the next issue of New Zealand Alpaca.
ADVERTISER
PROFILE John Carr Pacific Alpacas
Since 2010 Pacific Alpacas has run the most successful fibre pool in New Zealand. We run on a 12 month cycle. From the very beginning we have had a strict policy that we do not start collection of the next year cycle until all breeders have been paid out for the last collection. Shearing season generally runs from November to February. We pick up or arrange shipping January to March. We sort the fibre between February and April. Because of limited processing capacity we scour from April to June. We sell the fibre between June and August, and collect between August and October. We pay out towards the end of November. This is our 6 consecutive year – this cycle runs from December 2015 to November 2016. We have collected more than 55 tonnes (55,000 kgs) of fibre over the past 5 years from more than 350 breeders. We have paid out almost $300,000 to breeders in that time, we are not aware of any other buyer who has consistently paid out that much for fibre. th
We have increased the average price per kilogram paid out consecutively each year – up almost 300% in the past 5 years. We have been able to do this through increased volumes, and better selling prices. We also could not have achieved this level of volume without the support from other related companies and staff who have really got behind this program. We support the Alpaca Association as a sponsor and advertiser. Pacific Alpacas pay for all the collection and processing costs up front including sorting, grading, scouring, through to sales of fibre. We consolidate the fibre from all the growers and get economies of scale for sorting, testing, scouring and sale in bale quantities for end use in various industries. 54
We take all types of lengths, microns, colors and both Suri and Huacaya. We take blankets and necks, bellies and legs. We try to make the process straightforward and uncomplicated.
We are implementing new systems and controls this year in a continuing drive to improve productivity while driving down wastage and costs, in order to maximize the payout. To help with this we ask that if you participate with us that you adopt the following practices on your farm. To be fair, you should follow these instructions/suggestions no matter who you elect to sell to! 1. Please make sure your fibre is as free of sticks, dirt, stones and any other detritus as possible. (Tip: a grower told us they use a leaf blower to blow dust and detritus off their animals BEFORE they shear them. What a great idea!) Regrettably some growers still do not seem to realize the potential value in their product; they are not removing the vegetable matter, nor skirting at shearing, and are not being aware of the fibre lengths required to get the best price. This all has an impact on final payouts. 2. Please clearly label every bag of fibre you have for collection with: a. Farm Name and/or your name.
d. A nd if you can, the gross weight of the bag. This is not essential, we will weigh the bags on pickup anyway and again upon arrival at our collection depot.
3. Please tape, tie or otherwise secure your bags closed. 4. Please complete the consignment forms as fully as you can and give them to the collection person at time of pickup. Don’t worry if you don’t have a printer, we will have blank forms that can be completed at pickup if necessary. We are looking at partnering with shearers to enable collection right after shearing. We have developed a list of collection points around the country that are available on our web site. Both programs are designed to cut down the freight costs and negative “green miles” in transporting the fibre. We list on our web site those breeders who want to be listed as participating in the program. We know we have created competition. But this is not a get rich quick scheme, and has long lead times and very uncertain cash flows. We have built what we have on over delivering and under promising. We do feel that we have some momentum going into 2016.
b. C ontents; e.g. white blanket, white shorts, black blanket etc.
Contact: John M Carr m. 021 950 204 | e. john@carr.co.nz
c. B ag number and total number of bags.
For more information visit: www.pacificalpaca.com
Reclass, Processing and Marketing Alpaca, Black and Coloured Wool and Specialty Fibres richard@wooltechnologies.co.nz
WOOL TECHNOLOGIES CASH PAID FOR ALPACA FIBRE
Reclass, Processing and Marketing Alpaca, Black and Coloured Wool and Specialty Fibres richard@wooltechnologies.co.nz
NORTH ISLAND CASH Philippa Wright PAID FOR FIBRE PhilippaALPACA Wright Wool Merchants 8 Coughlan Road, Waipukurau NORTH ISLAND Ph: 06 858Philippa 9434 orWright 027 242 2033 philippa@wrightwool.co.nz Philippa Wright Wool Merchants 8 Coughlan Road, Waipukurau Ph: 06 858 9434 or 027 242 2033 philippa@wrightwool.co.nz
SOUTH ISLAND Lindsay Riddle Sherlin Suri Alpaca Stud Lawford Road, RD5, Christchurch Ph: 03 349 7524 or 0274 331 094 leriddle@xtra.co.nz
SOUTH ISLAND Lindsay Riddle Sherlin Suri Alpaca Stud Lawford Road, RD5, Christchurch Ph: 03 349 7524 or 0274 331 094 leriddle@xtra.co.nz
55
Each issue AANZ profiles a new member, taken from a draw from the ranks of those who have joined the Association since the last magazine. This issue we feature Joseph & Marina Burling of Celestiales Alpacas.
NEW MEMBER
PROFILE Joseph & Marina Burling Celestiales Alpacas
So I get a phone call asking if we can write an article on how we got into Alpacas, bit of a shock – and you have two weeks to have it sent in. So where to start… We are the Burling Family, Joseph, Marina and our daughter Alexandra. We have a 15 acre lifestyle block to the West of Masterton and for the best part of 14 years have been running ewes and lambs. Our first encounter with alpacas was when we went to an open home as we were looking at downsizing our property and reducing the number of sheep down to our daughters pets, which I have not been allowed to move on. While we were looking at this new property we noticed that they ran quite a few alpaca which intrigued us, it was the usual, “oh how cute”, “aren’t they lovely” etc. So we go home and do some research and think these alpacas could be a 56
nice new venture for us. We put an offer on the property all-inclusive but that didn’t go anywhere.
animals that make such funny noises when they see a rabbit, cat, dog, sheep or lamb was certainly new.
Marina then started saving various sales of alpaca on Trademe as our interest is still there, and we have just reduced our breeding ewes down to 10 of my daughters pets, not really enough to keep the paddocks tidy.
Ok, we are 4 months into this journey, we have mated our girls, done spit offs, been spat at, helped the stud with a subtle move of a tail or two, timed the mating, and really enjoyed the venture.
Then one evening in November I arrived home from work and had a lovely dinner followed by a relaxing drink and Marina, looking at a Trademe auction for 6 girls and a wether asks me what I thought. The auction is closing in two minutes - what do we do? “What the hell, slap on an auto bid and see what happens”. Next minute we are the owners of 7 Alpacas.
So what are we looking at doing with our venture, we have our farm name “Celestiales Alpacas” or Heavenly Alpacas in translation. We are hoping to steadily increase our breeding stock with a focus on well-developed alpacas with improving blood lines.
From there it was a whirlwind couple of months, fencing off into smaller paddocks, alpaca arrival, purchasing a stud boy to get the breeding process started and learning and laughing one hell of a lot. One thing about sheep, you put the rams out for three months and let them do their thing. The idea of individual mating and having these
In closing we would like to thank the sellers of our alpacas, John and Jan from Levin, they were fantastic to the point that they insisted on inspecting the farm before they would allow us to take ownership. And the ladies from “The Alpaca Place” who we bought our boy Celtic Prince (Robbie) from. They have been a fountain of knowledge and are brilliant ambassadors of alpaca owners.
AAFT
AUSTRALIAN ALPACA FIBRE TESTING Dedicated to the specific needs of Alpaca breeders Australian Alpaca Fibre Testing PO Box 246, Crookwell, NSW 2583, Australia Phone: 61 2 4834 2132 Email: info@aaft.com.au
www.aaft.com.au
CUESTA
FOR TRUE BLACK ALPACA Breeding For: colour & handle fineness & low SD temperament ♦ Champion Stud Services ♦ Exports ♦ ♦ Full Sales & Support Service ♦ Training for New Owners ♦ ♦ Boutique Weaving Mill ♦ Jenny & Martyn Ellwood-Wade, 306 Jones Road, Hunua www.cuesta.co.nz ♦ cuesta@ellwood.co.nz 09 292 4334 ♦ 021 044 0033
From breeding males, females and pets, all with great genetics. Some genetics are no longer available elsewhere. Home to Supreme Champion (in fleece and in the ring). FREE mating available to females on offering. Please contact Ruth or Pete, 07 357 5338 or email greenbankalpaca@clear.net.nz
• Winners of the World’s First Alpaca Shearing Competition • World Class independent Alpaca shearers setting the standard and leading in every aspect of the Alpaca Shearing Industry • Introducing new technology in handling & safety of your Alpacas • 9 Cut Free style alpaca shearing, including show shearing and show blankets • Mobile shearing specialising in large and small herds • Shed management
Enquiries to: Mike Banks M: 021 256 2839 E: shearpac@hotmail.com