New Zealand Alpaca December 2016

MAGAZ IN IAL E IC

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December 2016

MAGAZI NE IAL IC OF

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December 2016

MAGAZIN IAL E IC

Message from the President

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2016 Expo

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Fineness, Fleece Yield & Financial Return

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Understanding Fibre Stats

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On the Lighter Side

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Health & Safety on NZ Alpaca Farms

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Around the World with Neonatal Workshops

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Attending the Camelid Neonatal Workshop

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It's our Birthday

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Central Region Halter Training Day

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Southern Region Workshop

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An Aspect of an Alpaca Breeding Programme Not Often Considered

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Vitman D

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Rickets or Hypophosphatemia Syndrome in Alpacas

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Small Herds – A Boy and a Girl

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Advertiser Profile

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New Member Profile

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National Show Results

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South Island Colourbration Show 2016

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Greg Charteris

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Inside this issue…

Stephen Davy & Toni Soppet COVER National Show Tender for the Cover December 2016 – NZ Summerhill Alpacas Shirley & Dallas Grant

Stephen Mulholland

AANZ Archives

Samantha Jung-Fielding YOUR FREE GUIDE

Peter Hodgson

Linda Blake

Frith Latham

Richard Farquhar FOCUS ON

ALPACA FOCUS ON ALPACA 2016 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.

Please contact Toni by email (tonisoppet@alpaca.org.nz ) if you require copies of the Alpaca Focus!

Sue McAuley

Barbara Lomax

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Andi Ewen & Gene Rigney

Nic Cooper

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Christopher K. Cebra

Stephen Mulholland

Kit & Sheryl Johnson

Jenny & Richard Castle BOOK YOUR ADVERTISING NOW!!

NZ Alpaca Magazine is now viewed by an international audience on ww.issuu.com

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New Zealand Alpaca is printed on paper derived from resources which are managed to ensure their renewability for generations to come.

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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 February, 2017.

AANZ Council President Greg Charteris 128 Stan Wright Road Karaka, Auckland president@alpaca.org.nz

Advert Sizes When producing artwork for advertising please use the measurements below.

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Graphic Design Advert design service available at $65 per hour, 95% of adverts will take an hour or less to complete. We will contact you with an estimate prior to commencing work if composing your advert will take longer than an hour. Please direct any design enquiries to aanz@clear.net.nz Discounts A discount is available for advertising in three consecutive issues. The full rate is paid for the first two adverts and a 30% discount is given on the third advert. This is equivalent to 10% per issue.

Please don’t send payment with advertising material – an account will be sent on receipt of your advertisement.

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Treasurer Stephen Davy 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. David Bridson northernrep2@alpaca.org.nz 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. Photographs Photographs are always welcome for use either on the cover or elsewhere in the magazine. Please forward the high resolution, full size version to the editor. Also include the photographer’s details so that the proper credit can be griven.

Message from the President Greetings to all in the alpaca community, in both NZ and around the world. Our wonderful magazine is read very widely and is a tribute to those like Frith Latham who put so much effort into this publication and also those who support the magazine with articles and photos.

Spring is here, our National Show is now behind us and most of us are finished shearing for the year which is probably a serious milestone for most of us to be passed.

Our National Show held in Christchurch this year was a resounding success, ably managed by a great South Island team lead by Toni Soppet. I would like to extend a big vote of thanks to Toni for her huge effort in managing the many aspects of the show this year. In addition to her work load of managing the AANZ administration, Toni took on the lead role in overseeing all the management aspects of this year’s show and I think all will agree, was executed very successfully. This year’s show had entry numbers resembling past days and bettering anything over the past few years, a great attendance by North Island breeders and a pleasing number of Australian visitors, which all made for great show.

One of the highlights of the National Show is always the gala dinner. The highlight of the event this year was the presentation of two life memberships. AANZ has not awarded a life membership for several years and given we had two very deserving nominations for 2016 we decided to award two memberships at our national show, which we felt was a very fitting event to celebrate two very deserving members.

First membership went to Kit Johnson who has served many years in most positions in AANZ, from National President down through the ranks, Kit has been one of NZ’s leading breeders for many years and to this day still supports our breed in many ways. A hugely deserving award presented to Kit and Sheryl and acknowledged by all in attendance.

Our second membership award for 2016 went to Mark and Mary-Ann Pruden who every AANZ member knows are the amazing work horses of our organisation, dedicating uncountable hours in managing and running our show circuit, steward training, stewarding shows and convening shows in the North Island. The true mark of this dedication to our industry, is that Mark and Mary-Ann do all this work often at the detriment to their own alpacas and personal show circuit attendance. This nomination was given huge applause by all attending and one that I am sure would be supported by every NZ member. Our thanks go to both Kit Johnson and the Pruden’s for their marvellous work for our organisation.

For most of us shearing is the dreaded time of the year and to have this behind us is a big relief. To stand in a paddock and look at a whole herd of shorn alpacas sun bathing and enjoying having their fleece off is a very rewarding sight.

We are all grateful to have friends and helpers who can assist with annual shearing and Toni and I were particularly grateful to a group of wonderful people who volunteered to assist our shearing this year. With shearing over the one task left is to dispose of your fleece for the best return possible. There are a number of emerging fleece outlets now available to us, and with prices improving and more streamlined collection systems being introduced there is no reason to having shorn fibre sitting around unsold.

Occupational Health and Safety on our farms is a subject that has been close to National Council’s mind for some time and we are assembling some helpful information and guidelines

for all members to be able to use to help protect everyone from injury and possible bad outcomes, should there be an incident on your property. This is a subject that we all know a bit about, know that there are risks, but on the whole, do little about it. The recent risk re-classifying of alpaca farming in NZ caused a few concerns amongst members, but my guess (apart from complaining that this should be changed) is that very few members have actually taken steps to implement a strategy to protect themselves under this legislation.

We want to have information out to members by way of simple guidelines to assist you to put a robust process in place for your property.

The China protocol has taken some positive steps forward in recent weeks and by the time of this magazine publication I expect all members will have been updated on progress.

Kit Johnson continues to work on this on AANZ’s behalf and for Kit it has been a frustrating process at times, with much NZ effort and little apparent progress from the China end. However we appear to have some forward progress and hope this will now finally result in a path forward to exporting to China. When we do finalise this, I think there will still be some serious management challenges around the number of animals required, coordinating this through the quarantine process and the geographical spread of Alpacas throughout NZ. This will not be an easy exercise, however anything that is really worth doing in life is often not simple. I just hope, after all this effort, that AANZ members get behind this and support the people that are prepared to take this to the next commercial step.

Next year’s National Show is to be held in Fielding in 2017, so we have a great central venue for both North and South Island breeders to attend. Planning is underway for this show and we hope to see another record entry for this event.

In the meantime watch that grass grow, I believe we are in for a hot wet summer, plenty of hay should be made and our summer show season will be on top of us very soon. I wish you all a very Merry Christmas with family and friends. Hope you all get to do some fishing or holidaying between alpaca showing this summer.

Greg Charteris President, AANZ 3

2016

EXPO Stephen Davy & Toni Soppet 2016 Expo Working Committee

The 2016 Expo was held at the RDA Building in Christchurch over 7 and 8 October. Breeders brought 385 animals and 252 fleeces to the event making it the largest held in the South Island.

With these large numbers the entry close-off date was not needed to be extended. If we could have accommodated the requests for late entries the total entries would have taken this year's show to the largest alpaca show held in New Zealand.

But to the organisers running an efficient and enjoyable show was more important than collecting entry numbers just to break a record.

It was great to see 30% of the exhibitors coming from the North Island and another 20% travelling long distances from their South Island provinces to get to Christchurch. Half of the exhibitors were from Canterbury making it a real National Show.

The well respected following judges were invited: Natasha Clark to judge the Breed section and Kate Mander to judge the Fleece section. We were very pleased both accepted the roles and contributed to the great success of the show.

RDA Building Christchurch 7–8 October 2016

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For this year's event we tried a new organisational structure for the Expo.

For the first time Toni Soppet was asked to be the Event Manager and Toni gathered a team around her for doing specific roles. Toni's mantra was that everyone but her was a volunteer

and her wish was to make it as easy as possible for members who are volunteering their time. This proved to be an outstanding success with Toni thriving in the role alongside a well functioning team. The only “work-

on” from the new structure maybe concerned the Toni/Team allocation of tasks and workload. Feedback raised concerns that Toni was doing more than anyone could be reasonably be expected to do. Overall, this proved to be a successful structure. The involvement of Toni for this event should allow AANZ to have more continuity from one event to the next without having to reinvent the wheel every time.

The Gala Dinner & Auction was held at the Riccarton Function Event Centre and was a seated and served menu.

Jen Ford from Australia flew over to be our auctioneer and between Barry Bishop our MC for the whole event and Jen Ford it was a very entertaining evening. We raised a record figure at the Gala Dinner Auction and want to thank all the people who donated such wonderful items. We also awarded 2 Life Members on the evening to Kit Johnson and Mark & Mary-Ann Pruden for all their hard work and dedication to the Association over many years.

We had a variety of trade stand exhibitors at the show and displayed beautiful alpaca garments, and products.

We also had a huge site designated for Creative Alpaca “For the love of Alpaca” and this was a huge success.

We had just over 80 entries and the standard of work was amazing. Alpaca Breeders and the general public were amazed at the variety of work, all made from alpaca. From the finest of lace knitting to felted wall hangings, and from gossamer nuno felting to stunning weaving and everything in between.

Every year AANZ sponsors awards for the Creative Fibre Festival. It was great that both winners of these awards, Karen Workman and Win Currie, were happy for us to display their winning entries. All this made it easy for Donna Hitchcox to set up the Fantastic Display.

385 + 252 = FLEECES ANIMALS

LARGEST ALPACA EVENT HELD IN THE SOUTH ISLAND 5

We had many awards. The two main awards were decided by public vote. The other awards were chosen by the sponsor.

2016 Expo Breed Entries by Colour

The winners of the Awards were: Public Vote: • 1st place (Ashford Award, $500 cash): no 43 K Dodd, with her stunning alpaca jacket.

Suri Huacaya

• 2nd place (Awatere Alpacas Award, $250 cash): no 40 Bronya McInally with the colourful sleeping bag.

• Green Acres Award ($100 cash): no 50 Dorothy Ewart with her Aranami Shawl • Alkmaar award (carded Fleece): no 32 Elaine Harrison with her felted Beret • Hands Award (voucher): no 18 Jayne Barlow with her lovely cardigan 'Saturn' • Teri Dyes Award (voucher): no 1 Elaine Macgregor with her woman's tunic, gloves and hairpiece • Creative Fibre Award ($250 cash): no 69 Janet Briggs with her beautiful, fine wedding Shawl • Felt and Fibre Award (voucher): no 12 Rose Pelvin with her gorgeous fine woven Mulberry Wrap.

• Inspire Fibres Award (voucher): no 48 Rita Wrend with her colourful set of Felt Hat with Matching Handbag

Thank you so much to our very generous sponsors and all the crafts people for entrusting their treasures to us for the display. We hope to see your entries again next time.

We want to thank all the exhibitors, trade stand holders and sponsors for making this show such a success…

We could not have done it without you, so a HUGE thank you!

It is interesting to see what breeders entered this year. Females made up 46% of the breed entries with males making up 54%. There was no difference between Suris or Huacayas for this split.

There was a good split across the different colours. As always, white animals were the largest colour for entries. Exhibitors would have noticed, particularly in the junior classes, fawn and black classes were also sizable.

For the huacaya fleece show entries, white was clearly the dominant class with an even spread across the other colours. For the suri fleeces both black and white fleeces dominated entries.

This year the split between junior and older classes was around 50% junior and 50% other. In previous years the junior ratio was as high as 75% junior to 25% other. This created different issues for the organisers such as penning (juniors are smaller and males do not need to be

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kept separate to the same extent as many of the older animals). Hence more penning and more floor space for pens.

Once entries were closed and we could see the profile of what we had, our initial floor plan had to be redesigned to accommodate the extra pens. However that is just part of organising the show and the benefit of having good people in the team came through for efficiently and effectively resolving this issue.

Full show results of Fleece and Breed can be found on the AANZ website.

2016 Expo Fleece Entries by Colour

2016 Expo Entries by Age 160 140 120 100 80 60 40 20 0

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Thank you to the following people for all the National Show photographs: Noelle Bennett, Art Cattell and Richard Farquhar.

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CROSSWORD 1

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From the Editor

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Photographs and Articles

I’m always on the lookout for suitable photographs and articles for inclusion in this magazine. I wish to say a very big thank you to the many people who have contributed over the last few years. There are a great many talented writers, researchers, passionate alpaca breeders and photographers out there who have helped make our magazine a success. Cover photographs are chosen from the available pool and the aim is to reflect the recent activity within our alpaca community. Be it top quality animals, healthy cria, exceptional quality products or artistic merit. Unless the cover has been allocated for a fundraising event, photos will be selected from those available. Just contact the editor to provide an article or have your photos added to the collection.

Clues Across 1

Messy tassel surrounds initial place in fleece (7)

5 6

Snippet snipped snip, we love it (3) (and 6 down) Eat dinner for some it's live mowing (5), (5) Moving away from the accepted level with a mean dispersion (8, 9) An inheritance of half a pair (4) Initially reeling inside, eye up the girl and sing her a love song (5) Don't let the water out mother (3) Messed up tips become green (4) Kick it and die (6) Half jump hedge, there is no jury (5) Twist and tell a woolly story (4, 1, 4) Used to tie Zorro perhaps from centre joined (4)

8 10 12 13 14 17 19 21 23 10

27 28

29

30 31

32

33 Crossword by Cilla Taylor.

25 26 28 29 30 31 32 33

She sings in a kowhai tree for more than a year (3) A third signifies a colourful place (6) A lighter note (4) It's almost time to rise, confused with out sponge (3, 2, 4) Reverse up and an Andean tundra (4) (and 27 down) Jason's quest leads to the shearer of fawns (6), (6) Makes a beeline for the rd, the ancestors repeat themselves (9) Dishevelled bent on the top of the head (6)

Clues Down 2 3 4 5 6 7 9 11 14 15 16 18 20 22 24 27 29 30

Tie first to there (6) Wrote while contained (6) Sure I lost East, it locks in beauty (4) Ships tie here after thick lining, it's weedy (7) (and 6 across) Eat dinner for some it's live mowing (5), (5) Showering we stand there in a line but the centre has gone. (4, 4) Cabbage perhaps is important but we must remove it from the blanket (9, 6) All shook up, my bro, 'e exchanged to get a better result (6, 8) Dust moved he'll mate a metal pin (4) Save for second place (7) Cria does not finish with member of parliament, it waves repeatedly (5) Officially confirm and now he can start working (7) Inventor men mixed up, it's all around us (11) Contol and delete, what did I miss? I plan, o to be on the high plain (9) Confused, rage at required brass (3, 3) (and 31 across) Jason's quest leads to the shearer of fawns (6), (6) Reformed edger scoffs the food (5) Take one when sick of bobbly knitwear (4)

Answers on page 56.

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FINENESS, FLEECE YIELD & FINANCIAL RETURN Stephen Mulholland Ph.D.

Alpacas can produce beautiful, fine, lustrous fleece. Sometimes called “the fibre of the gods”, it can command good prices on the international fibre markets. Because fine fleece receives a better return than coarse fleece, many breeders are forever pushing to breed animals with finer and finer fleece.

But if you are breeding commercial fleece, producing alpaca fineness is itself not the goal, rather we are interested in the financial return that the sale of fibre produces. In this article I will discuss how the overall physical characteristics of the fibre and the animal influences the total amount of money you can make from farming alpacas for fibre on a commercial scale.

We need to acknowledge that alpaca are very variable. Staple length, fineness, density, guard hair – all these key characteristics vary widely from animal to animal. To simplify matters for this discussion I will only be discussing the influence of fineness on the total saddle fleece weight, and the monetary value of that fleece. To compare apples with apples for these calculations, I will assume that staple length (mm of fleece grown per year) and fibre density (the number of hair follicles per square mm of skin) are constant. Obviously increasing both staple length and density would improve the fleece yield and monetary return from any alpaca.

The first, and most important factor is the simple geometric fact that thinner (finer) fibres weigh less than coarse fibres. It takes about 80 million hairs (assuming a 10cm staple) to make 1 kg of 15 micron fleece. The same number of 20 micron 12

hairs would weigh 1.8 kg, while the same number of 30 micron fibres would weigh 4kg! Super fine animals will never have huge fleece weights, due to the simple mathematics of their super-thin fibres.

An extreme example can be found in the ultra-fine vicuña fleeces with an average 12.5 microns but a weight of around 500 grams when shorn every 2 years.

(C. Holt, The Camelid Quarterly, 2004)

For whatever reason, the price of the coarse product is the most stable, staying around US$10 per kg, while the finer product, possibly due to the whims of fashion, have a cyclic pattern of rising and falling prices. Also note that these are the international market prices for fibre that has been sorted, graded, scoured, and processed into Tops – not the return the grower can expect to see!

This doesn't mean that coarse animals are superior though, as the monetary return on coarse fibre is significantly less than the fine.

Some readers may be surprised to see that the <19 micron fleece is not worth more. About 20 years ago there was a large price differential in the international markets favouring the ultra-fine fleeces, but this has not been so for the last decade. It is possible that the legend of that price difference has carried on in the alpaca industry long after the market reality shifted.

For this example I will look at 4 fleece grades: Royal/Ultra fine (19 micron or finer), Baby/Fine (20-24 micron), Medium (25-29 micron) and coarse (30+ micron). The monetary return on these different grades changes over time, like all agricultural products, and the price points are further spread due to variance in the value of the NZ$ (as international fibre trade is conducted in US$).

The approximate price spread over the last 10 years for these fibre grades (in NZ$): Royal/Ultra Fine $18 - $55/kg (average price about $33/kg) Baby/Fine $18 - $55/kg (average price about $33/kg) Medium $15 - $33/kg (average price about $23/kg) Coarse $7 -$18/kg (average price about $13/kg)

So what happens when we account for the weight of the fibres, and multiply that by the expected return for fibre of that class? This assumes animals with the same density – the same number of hair follicles on the body, derived from the example above where the 15 micron fleece weighs 1 kg, and that we are considering the blanket fleece only.

In terms of return on blanket fleece Baby and Medium are within rounding error of each other in an average year, though baby fleece provides a 15% price premium in good years. Baby and Ultra-fine fleeces would have an extra advantage, however, in that their “seconds” (neck and thigh) would likely by of higher quality, and fetch more money, leading to a higher total return than the other fleece categories. The blanket region may only account for

Smaller alpaca eat less than large alpaca, and have nearly as much skin area on which they can grow fibre.

Very roughly speaking volume and thus weight tends to grow as the cube of size, while surface area grows as the square of size. (Known as the squarecube law, if you wish to look it up on Wikipedia.) What this means is a 100kg alpaca may only have 30-50% more blanket skin area than a 50 kg alpaca, but it will eat twice as much grass.

half the weight of fleece produced, so good-quality “seconds” (cleanly collected and properly sorted – we use a 3-bag system with blanket, neck&thigh, and belly&legs) can add a tidy sum to the bottom line.

at age two vs. the merino model where you keep the alpaca producing fleece for as long as practicable.)

Given these numbers, a 20- 24 micron fleece is likely to provide a better overall return than the super-fine fleeces. It is possible that boutique markets for such super-fine fleeces could be developed which would increase the sale prices, but corresponding reduction in fleece weigh that comes with these extremely fine fleeces will negatively impact on the total return. Also, I hope these numbers provide a confidence boost for the many breeders whose animals have been talked down because their fleeces are in the high-20's. Such animals clearly have the capacity to be productive (and profitable) fleece producers, and are a valuable part of our national herd.

You don't need to spend decades of time and piles of money forever chasing extreme fineness. An animal that produces a consistent ~22 micron fleece year on year is your core, profitable production animal.

The total lifetime financial return of an animal depends highly on maintaining consistent fibre fineness throughout its life. The animal that coarsens to 35 micron by its third fleece will be worth much less than an alpaca that can produce a 22 micron fleece every year for a decade or more. And yes, those animals are out there, we just need to find them and breed from them! (We've got the data to show that time-consistent fleeces are heritable and can be readily bred for.)

(There is also obviously money that can be made from the meat and hides of alpaca, but for the purposes of simplicity I'm simply focusing on the fibre in this article. There will be different business models if you are sending your alpaca to the works

What does this information mean to me?

As a final topic, we need to consider that when looking at the return from a given alpaca, we need to remember that financial return for commercial farmers is measured per hectare, not per animal.

Does this mean that small alpaca are superior? We don't know. While smaller alpaca will obviously eat less, we don't know if they will have different health outcomes compared to average or large alpaca – think ease of birthing, resistance to cold weather, etc. There is also the fact that more animals incur a greater cost for shearing, since shearers are handling more animals. Only by careful and systematic measurement will we be able to determine the relative merits and detriments alpaca size brings in extensive (handsoff) farming systems. Currently that information does not exist.

Animals that are small-bodied and finefleeced due to ill-thrift or poor nutrition will have health and maintenance issues that will eat into financial returns. If you are breeding for animals with fine fleeces, you need to ensure that the fleece results you are seeing represent the true genetic worth of the animal.

As with any breed development program, maintaining healthy, fertile animals always has to remain a primary focus. Weak, sickly, infertile alpaca will never be commercially viable, no matter how fine their fleece!

In summary • Finer fleeces produce a better return per kg fleece • Decreasing fleece weights in ultra-fine animals can lead to diminishing returns • Currently the “sweet spot” for fleece production is 20-24 micron

Class

Micron

Weight

Price per kg Bad year

Price per kg Average year

Price per kg Good year

Ultra

19

1.6 kg

$18.00/kg = $28.80

$33.00/kg = $52.80

$55.00/kg = $88.00

Baby

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2.4 kg

$18.00/kg = $43.20

$33.00/kg = $79.20

$55.00/kg = $132.00

Medium

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3.5 kg

$15.00/kg = $52.50

$23.00/kg = $80.50

$33.00/kg = $115.50

Coarse

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4.5 kg

$7.00/kg = $31.50

$13.00/kg = $58.50

$18.00/kg = $81.00

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On Farm Quarantine Facility Setting the Suri Standard

Ch o i c e Quality

Affordability All Colours

www.surilana.com.au Â

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Ian and Angela Preuss Strathbogie, Victoria, Australia, 3666 PH: +61 3 57905394 Mobile: 0407931789 Email: suris@surilana.com.au

Understanding

Fibre Stats AANZ Archives Fibre statistics can often be quoted by alpaca breeders selling their animals, fibre or stud services so it is important to understand what these mean. Fleece testing is an objective measurement of various fleece characteristics that will allow comparison between different animals.

Fleece samples are taken before or at the time of shearing from the mid-side of the alpaca.

Here are some of the common terms used to describe the fleece.

Histogram A graphical representation of the frequency of fibre diameters in the sample. The peak shows the Mean Fibre Diameter and the Standard Deviation is shown in the spread of the bottom of the graph.

Mean Fibre Diameter (MFD) Commonly referred to as “micron”, is the overall average fibre diameter.

Measured in micron (µm). A micron is one millionth of a metre.

Standard Deviation (SD) The standard deviation measures (in micron µm) how wide the spread is, of individual fibre diameters, around the mean (MFD). 66% of fibres fall within this range. The lower the SD the more uniform and desirable the fleece is.

Coefficient of Variation (CV) The coefficient of variation is the SD expressed as a percentage of the MFD. The SD is multiplied by 100 and divided by the MFD.

Comfort Factor (CF) The comfort factor is the percentage of fibres under 30 micron.

Curvature Fibre curvature is related to the crimp frequency of the fibre. It is measured in degrees per millimetre (Dg/mm) and is the amount of bend or curve over 1mm length.

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On the

LIGHTER SIDE Samantha Jung–Fielding

Samantha Jung-Fielding is a metaphysician. An award-winning speaker, Samantha regularly writes and presents on a variety of subjects, and she was a finalist in the 2014 Toastmasters (NZ) Humorous Speech competition. Originally from the UK, Samantha and her husband migrated to New Zealand in May 2012, where they now raise their four children at Alpacally Ever After, an alpaca farm in Bombay, South Auckland.

When we bought ten acres of lifestyle happiness three years ago, the first decision we faced was what to stock.

Up close, cattle are startlingly large, sheep present unappealing snags like foot rot and fly strike, but alpacas seem to offer an easy care option for newbie farmers. Had anyone mentioned to us then that alpacas possess a keen sense of humour, we might have made a different choice!

As with many things in life, alpaca farming entails a sharp learning curve.

We’re told: “If you want to show your alpacas, you’ll have to halter train them first!” Now, how much trouble could that be? Crias are not much bigger than goats. Admittedly, crias bounce around a lot, but I’ve got two border collies (one of whom is an absolute nutter). I assume halter training will go along similar lines to obedience work, just with very big puppies.

In the paddock, my first halter training lesson lasts around….eight seconds.

The animal bucks clean out of my grasp, spits directly in my eye and I land face down in the mud. “Why d’you let go?” shouts my husband, from a safe distance. As I wipe bits of regurgitated grass off my spectacles, I’m sure I catch sight of a smirk on the offending cria’s face. Nahhhh, couldn’t be….

Total farming beginners, hubby and I split the tasks straight down the middle.

He gets paddocks and fences, while I land animal husbandry. I’m pleased that digging is on my husband’s list of farm responsibilities, when I spot an alpaca lying motionless in the far

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field. I jump on the phone to our alpaca gurus, bleating pathetically about how I’d never even noticed she was sick. I learn all about alpaca stoicism, before the words: “Sounds like she’s a goner”.

To avoid upsetting the children, hubby goes off alone to dig the hole. Half an hour later, he’s stomping back to the barn. What happened? He fills me in: “Just as I finish the hole, your ‘dying alpaca’ leaps to her feet and prances off across the paddock. Must be some kind of alpaca joke – I could have sworn I heard the rest of them sniggering.”

On vaccination day, we finally discover the full extent of alpaca mirth. The animals have spied the hypodermic needle. They’re not keen, so hubby bravely assumes the role of Chief Handler. It’s his job to hold the alpaca still, whilst I feel around its rump, locate a thigh muscle and administer the injection.

We’re three animals in, when the next alpaca chooses to lay down on the job. She’s in the corner of the holding pen, making access quite difficult. I opt to straddle her rear end to get a better view. After all, she’s securely held, isn’t she? Syringe at the ready, I’m halfway over with one leg in the air, when the alpaca springs to her feet, lifts me clear off the ground, and darts off like a bullet from a gun.

Unexpectedly riding bareback AND facing the wrong way, I desperately try to grab on with my free hand, and avoid poking anything critical with the other. Making no attempt whatsoever to halt the runaway, my husband

appears dazed as we pass him (twice!), lapping the enclosure.

It’s only when the alpaca suddenly changes direction, girding her loins for the 3rd circuit that I wobble precariously. I finally up-end completely, tip head first over her tail and land sprawling in the mud.

are in stitches: “Haha! Look at that one getting its own back on Mum!!! Alpacas are awesome, aren’t they?”

“Had anyone mentioned to us then that alpacas possess a keen sense of humour, we might have made a different choice!”

Of course, hubby is full of sympathy for my ordeal: “How on earth d’you manage to do that?” he snaps, before turning to the kids to find out if anyone had filmed it for YouTube! Seriously? I finally succeed in stabbing my syringe into the alpaca’s thigh. As I open the enclosure gate for her to leave, she casually raises her hind leg and kicks me hard on the knee. The children

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18

HEALTH ALPACA ON NZ

&SAFETY FARMS Peter Hodgson – Hacienda Suri Alpaca Stud

On behalf of the Alpaca Association, we have initiated the process to formulate best practice health and safety guidelines for the industry in conjunction with WorkSafe. Once approved by the Association and peer reviewed by WorkSafe, these will be made available to the industry via the Alpaca Association website.

This article provides an overview of the new Health & Safety at Work Act 2015 and the information that we gleaned as part of our WorkSafe farm assessment.

Background April 4th 2016 was the date that the Health & Safety at Work Act 2015 came into effect. This is Parliament’s response to the Pike River mining disaster and the loss of 29 lives in 2010. The task force appointed by the Government identified that New Zealand’s health and safety record was poor in comparison to other

developed countries and recommended the revision of the 1992 Act. Currently 75 people die and 1 in 10 is harmed at work every year. There are 200,000 work-related ACC claims annually.

Another 600-900 die from work-related diseases. This costs the country $3.5 billion annually and negatively impacts workers and their extended families. The Government sees the new Act as one of a number of strategies for tackling New Zealand’s poor track record. It aims to reduce workplace fatalities and serious injuries by 25% by 2020.

Impact on the Alpaca Industry The alpaca industry attracted media headlines towards the end of last year as a result of being classified as a high risk industry. This occurred by default due to being grouped under the “other farming” category. The only implication of being classified as high risk is that you are required to have a health and safety representative if requested by a worker. The Health and Safety Rep will facilitate the exchange of information between workers and management, 19

encourage worker participation and represent workers’ views.

Thus for most alpaca businesses the impact of the new Health and Safety Act is the same as for any other business.

WorkSafe suggest that business owners think of the new legislation as an opportunity to review what they are doing currently to manage health and safety, and create procedures and systems that work for them, in their working environment. To do so, all businesses and individual workers need to be familiar with the new terminology and the essence of the Act.

New Terminology A PCBU A PCBU (person in control of a business or undertaking) is an umbrella term to support the idea that all those different businesses involved on a project have a responsibility to everyone for health and safety. In practice this means that everyone should be aware of who is doing what, and the risks involved and what is being done to mitigate them. Thus if you are a sole trade, partnership or company, you are a PCBU. Equally any contractor who comes on site is a PCBU e.g. fencer, shearer, vet. All PCBU’s are jointly responsible for health and safety.

Even if you are a hobby farmer or have alpacas as pets and you hire a contractor or use a vet, you have a responsibility to ensure that the workplace is safe for that contractor. You should expect the PCBU to have their own health and safety procedures that will include checking the environment for hazards. However, it would be your responsibility to provide them with relevant information about hazards pertinent to where they will be working or the job they will be undertaking. For example, you would alert the PCBU to bulls in the paddock, a hot wire or underground cabling as appropriate to the work that they were undertaking.

Reasonably Practicable The term ‘reasonably practical’ appears throughout the Health & Safety at Work Act 2015. This

Hazard board.

means that you use common sense: “Reasonably practicable means that you don’t have to do everything humanely possible; you do what is suitable in the circumstances to first try and eliminate the risk. If the risk can’t be eliminated, then you minimise it.”1 What the government is trying to highlight was summed up succinctly by Vance Walker, the Health and Safety inspector we worked with: “Common sense isn’t always common practice.”

We asked Vance to assess our farm and here are the systems that we now have in place to meet the requirements of the Health and Safety Act.

The Hazard Board This is a photograph of our Hazard Board. You don’t need to have large folders full of health and safety documentation. How you choose to record the risks and risk management and how you communicate with visitors, contractors, employees and volunteers is up to each farm, and we opted for simple.

Our Hazard Board includes: 1. A farm hazard map: we have printed a map from google maps but you could use a sketch or any plans that you may have of

1 WorkSafe Fact Sheet: Reasonably Practicable 2 Beef and Lamb examples: http://www.beeflambnz.com/farm/farm-safety/sms-resources

20

your property. Simply identify any hazards on the map.

2. A hazard register: this identifies all the risks and how they are managed.

To identify risks, list all the activities that you do on the farm, all the equipment you use and all the features of the farm such as pens, gates and sheds. Think about what could cause harm or illness for each item on the list. Then consider how you can eliminate or mitigate this risk. Beef and Lamb have some good examples and templates available online.2 We see a hazard register as being an effective way for us to communicate these risks to anyone coming on our property.

3. Rules: we have drawn up some simple rules for people to follow.

We found it useful to write down everyone who comes on the farm, to ensure that we covered all bases, for example our Open Day visitors, local community groups, WOOFA’s and our Airbnb guests.

We have put a copy of the Farm Rules in the information in the bed and breakfast guest room too. We found the Farm Safety Management Plan developed by Beef and Lamb useful for developing the farm rules.

2016 malvern A & P Assn Alpaca colourama – Supreme Champion Grey Huacaya 2016 oxford A & P Assn – Champion Grey Huacaya 2016 South Island colourbration – Supreme Champion Grey Huacaya – Supreme Champion Grey Fleece 2016 AANZ National Show – Champion Grey Huacaya 2016 canterbury A & P Assn – Champion Grey Huacaya

sired by our Champion Grey Male Arcady SmokEcloud (Imp Aust) – aka “Sugar daddy” picture of his 3rd fleece – 20.6 Micron

2012 AAA colourbration – Reserve Champion Grey Male Huacaya 2012 AAA National Show – Champion Grey Male Huacaya 2013 creswick Woollen mills – Champion Grey Fleece/Reserve Alpaca Fleece Show Champion Fleece in Show

El Remanso Alpaca Stud – North Canterbury | Phone: 03 3128151 | Email: anne@jazzbears.co.nz

4. Forms: a plastic folder with useful forms such as a. Accident / Incident Register to collate a record of any incidents that should occur on your property including date and time, name of person involved, description of the accident, whether it is a notifiable event, date WorkSafe notified if applicable and a name and signature of the person recording the incident. Again Beef and Lamb have a good template. b. Worksafe’s Form of Register or Notification of Circumstances of Accident or Serious Harm to use in the event of a notifiable incident. A notifiable incident is a death related to work or an injury or illness that requires a person to be admitted immediately to hospital for treatment. c. An Accident Investigation Form: this should be completed in the event of a serious harm accident or a near miss.3 d. Material Safety Data Sheets (MSDS). These are documents that give detailed information about the nature of a chemical, such as physical and chemical properties, health, safety, fire, and environmental hazards of a chemical product. These can be obtained from place of purchase.

5. Contact Information and emergency procedures.

6. A sign-in book for contractors and visitors. Only the group leader or head contractor would be expected to sign, not each individual. By signing the book, it would mean that they had read the farm rules and hazard register. For contractors who are frequent visitors or in the case of vets where time may be of the essence, email your documents to the business and they can sign and send it back.

Note that the contractor should still undertake their own job analysis onsite prior to starting work.

Other Factors to Consider

What Next?

Larger Farms We are a small lifestyle business with no employees or plant. Larger farms might also consider:

WorkSafe appreciate industries such as Beef and Lamb who are proactive and produce their own industry best practice guidelines. The Alpaca Association intends to take the initiative to produce our own industry guidelines, approved

by WorkSafe. In the meantime, WorkSafe do offer a free farm assessment service. Ours took under thirty minutes and was definitely of value.

• A more detailed Emergency Plan to cover fire, flood, serious injury, injury in a remote location or a chemical spill etc.4 • A contractor and a visitor orientation checklist5 • A training register for staff6 • A farm diary • A maintenance record for farm vehicles, machinery and equipment. This can be incorporated in the farm diary.

Open Days Although small, we do hold Open Days for the National Alpaca Open Day and have friends come and help with the crowds. Helpers (even family) are essentially volunteers and need to be given a briefing so that everyone is on the same page. We thought back to last year's open day when we unexpectedly got 200 visitors and identified our risks as unsupervised children and rather chaotic car parking.

To mitigate the risk going forward, we will have more helpers with one stationed all day on car parking duty. We will ensure that all helpers have our mobile numbers and know what to do in an emergency.

We will all wear hi-viz jackets to make us and our helpers easily identifiable. We have previously used signage to identify which way people should go, but we would add cones to block people from accessing parts of the farm not open to the public. In place of our Hazard Board, we would use a big whiteboard that everyone has to pass. This will ask people to supervise their children and list the other hazards such as the electric fence. We would also list some pointers on interacting with the animals and add our mobile numbers so we could be contacted in an emergency as we are around the back doing our thing and not visible from the car park / entrance.

We don't have a retail space but for those of you that do, it should be fit for purpose and not next to any equipment or other hazards. Anyone providing refreshments would need to consult the local Council for relevant legislation.

Peter Hodgson & Jenny Barrett run the Hacienda Suri Alpaca Stud, a boutique alpaca stud in the Western Bay of Plenty, specialising in coloured suri. They have been operating since 2005 and herd size varies from 20-45. They also run an AirBnB and host visits from interest groups. Peter also works as a Project Manager for HEB Construction Ltd, overseeing large construction projects where Health & Safety is of paramount importance.

3 Safer Farms template: http://saferfarms.org.nz/assets/resources/WSNZ-1865-SF-Forms-ACCIDENT-INVESTIGATION-v2-0.pdf 4 Safer Farms template: http://saferfarms.org.nz/assets/resources/WSNZ-1662-On-Farm-Emergency-Form-v3-0.pdf 5 Safer Farms template: http://saferfarms.org.nz/assets/resources/WSNZ-1662-Visitors-Checklist-v2-0.pdf 6 Safer Farms Template: http://saferfarms.org.nz/assets/resources/WSNZ-1865-SF-Forms-STAFF-TRAINING-RECORD-v1-0.pdf

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Standing at Stud Waters Edge Alpacas | www.watersedgealpacas.co.nz | E toni@tcs.net.nz

WORL E H T D DW N U IT O R

Neonatal Workshops

H

A

Linda Blake – Southern Alpacas Stud

It is twenty years since my first camelid birthing assistance workshop, in 1996 at an Australian Alpaca Association conference. As an alpaca breeder with a rapidly expanding herd, it seemed wise to know more about birthing than I had learnt with sheep when growing up on my family’s lifestyle block.

Vets Brad Smith and Karen Timm from Oregon State University run the one-day workshop, using dead cria in an artificial uterus. The theory I mostly knew, but the “hands-in” those uteri was both fascinating and horrifying to me at the time.

Linda Blake and Nic Cooper from Southern Alpacas Stud have been breeding alpacas since 1989. They have seen hundreds of alpaca births and have a consistently high successful birthing rate, sharing their knowledge via workshops and an informative website www.alpacasnz.co.nz The New Zealand farm has reduced from 250 alpacas to a chosen few, and since 2014 the main breeding farm is now Alpagas du Sud in Born, in the south of France.

As an adult educator, I realised we in New Zealander could benefit from such knowledge, and Nic and I convinced the Alpaca and Llama Association of NZ (as it was then) that ALANZ should bring these two vets out from USA. It probably helped that Nic was President of ALANZ at the time.

The first NZ workshops were held in Christchurch and Auckland in 1998. The costs were astronomical and ALANZ subsidised costs so breeders had to

only pay $200 each to attend – a huge cost 20 years ago. This was more expensive than the workshops are even now, as the fee we charge is to cover costs, not to be a money-maker.

Brad and Karen licenced us the plans to construct the uteri here in NZ, and after we attended the three workshops with them, assisting and learning more, they gave Nic and I their blessing to run the workshops ourselves in NZ. Most years since we have run workshops, throughout NZ. We have lost count of the hundreds of camelid breeders who have been through them. And since 2014 we have also been running the workshops annually in Europe, mainly Germany and Belgium. Breeders drive many hours to attend, coming from throughout Europe. Our European resources are bi-lingual, English and German, which caters for most people who attend. In September this year Linda was running workshops in Auckland while Nic was running them in Germany the same weekend. Truly international training!

Bi-lingual powerpoint and notes, helpful translations from multi-lingual participants, along with liberal gestures and demonstrations, gets the message across.

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Linda on the recent Pukekohe workshop with two vets who epitomise the conundrum - generally female vets have smaller hands, but male vets have a longer arm to reach into an animal.

Birthing is a sociable experience.

Llama people also attend the workshops as the principles are the same – just that llama and their cria are so much bigger. And vets also come along, including trainee vets from Massey and Australian universities in NZ, and European vets in Europe.

The workshops are a bit tough for some people, as there is blood, but the learning is invaluable and has saved the lives of many cria and dams, as grateful breeders tell us. We like to hear of what people have been brave enough to achieve and also are happy to offer advice for tricky births.

Although when alpaca breeders phone from the other side of the world, it can cause heart palpitations, as it is in the middle of our night. Having said that, we’d rather be woken to help, than be called when it is too late.

At the recent Pukekohe workshops, Tessa, a local vet, came back every day, to assist with the practical part of the workshops. She contributed some explanations for what we breeders see on farm, and also technical terms for what we talk about in less technical ways.

We gratefully acknowledge the breeders who have contributed cria, as to run a workshop does require a stock of dead cria. If you have the misfortune to lose a cria, let the dam grieve a little, then curl it up in kush position and pop it in your freezer in a plastic bag. Put a note in with it – date and whether born alive or dead, any idea of cause of death, approximate gestation. This sort of detail allows us to know how the cria will perform in the workshops – for instance, cria born alive can be handled longer before they deteriorate.

I’d also like to thank the breeders who host workshops, and turn a blind eye as I defrost cria in their laundry and/ or shower. It can be a messy process.

And thanks go also to breeders who send in photos of difficult situations and compromised alpaca, as these go in our presentation to share the knowledge.

Next workshop: Sunday 11th December at Southern Alpacas Stud in Christchurch.

Reservations essential.

Top tips from the workshops

• Disinfectant wash solution • Roll of paper towels • Old towels to dry the cria • Cria coat • Thermometer – preferably a fancy digital one that beeps when done • Scissors • Plastic clothes peg or bulldog clip or Shoof clip - for clamping umbilical bleeding • Old supermarket bags – to put things in, like used gloves and paper towels • Pen and paper – write things down as they occur, especially if unusual • Bucket and gloves for placenta collection If the cria is frail or you need to feed it, there will be many more things you will need.

• 95% of births are normal.

• Have a “grab and go” birthing kit ready.

• Know your capability and your vet’s phone number.

Birthing Kit These items are the bare minimum.

Put them all in a container to grab and go when needed.

• Disposable gloves, short and long • Lubrication – water based, antiseptic • Iodine – at least a 2.5% solution liquid in a film canister, or egg cup or spray bottle

Grab and go birthing kit.

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Basic points on correcting dystocias

• Move whatever takes up the most space first - there is not much space in the birth canal.

A dystocia is a cria which is not in the correct birthing position.

• First determine how the cria is positioned. This may entail an exploratory feel. Form a mental image of how the cria is lying.

• Second, decide what resources you need. Can you do it yourself, or is a vet needed? The easier mal-positions, and the very difficult dystocias are quick decisions to make. It is the ones you are not sure about that require the time to investigate and make a decision.

• Once the cria is positioned correctly, work with the mother’s contractions.

• Pull the cria down in an arch (not straight out).

• Repel the cria if needed – push the cria back inside the uterus to re-position the cria.

• Allow the lungs to drain – you may need to hold the cria upside down.

• Protect the toes – cup your hand over them to avoid damage to the mother’s insides.

• Any assisted birth places the cria at more risk, from stresses such as insufficient oxygen, excessive blood loss, and mechanical trauma from being forced through the birth canal.

• Stretch out the limbs once correctly positioned.

• Rotate the cria, aligning to the widest part of the opening, on the diagonal – 10 o’clock and 4 o’clock.

• Check the dam as an assisted birth also places her at risk from tears, mechanical trauma, excessive blood loss, and infection.

• Call the vet – any assisted birth requires a vet to check the cria and the dam, to provide antibiotic coverage for the dam, and check her for tears. Vets are trained to observe things you as a breeder may not notice.

• Call for a person to assist you.

• Wash your hands, remove any jewellery, and lubricate your hands well.

• If safe, move the female to a birthing area – clean, dry and covered, and relatively constrained.

• Work with the mother, re-positioning the cria between contractions.

Usual birthing position.

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CAMELID g n i d n e t t A the NEONATAL WORKSHOP

Frith Latham The Northern Region organised a very successful workshop where participants were able to get hands on alpaca birthing experience. It was held at Awaawaroa Alpaca, was hosted

by Lynda and Bruce Mathews and presented by Linda Blake of Southern Alpacas. Friday 16th September was the vet only day and the 16th and 17th were for camelid owners. We’ve been looking forward to attending this workshop ever since our first alpaca purchases; we missed out on the last event as it was fully booked. This time Grant and I made sure we wouldn’t miss out.

Initially everyone spent a little time going around the group and making introductions. Linda Blake put everyone

at ease with tales of her experiences and her easy going approach. The morning went quickly with Linda going over all aspects of the cria birth from establishing a pregnancy to cria and dam care.

It was a little daunting seeing the deceased cria for the first time. These little ones were essential to the practical part of the workshop and we thank those who contributed their cria. As we soon came to understand, one of the tricky parts in assisting a birth was to identify the limbs and learn how the joints moved, we wouldn’t have been able to do this without these wee cria.

Linda soon had us all working together and we progressed from straight forward presentations to eventually setting tricky dystocias for our class mates to try to birth.

We wrapped up the day with discussions on identifying and caring for at risk cria. We’ve been given some excellent ideas on the content of our birthing kits and have a much improved understanding of dealing with a difficult birth. While we would still call the vet in a heartbeat if we were worried we can now balance this with being more informed, we can be more explicit when talking to the vet about what’s going on and will approach a difficult birth with informed concern rather than panic.

Finally, with all the talk about problems Linda always kept the discussion grounded by repeating that these tricky events are not the norm. Alpacas are clever creatures who almost always do everything just perfectly all by themselves.

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It's Our

Richard Farquhar

Birthday

We have just had our first birthday as members of the Alpaca Association, and what a year it has been. While this is not the first time we have had alpacas, it is the first time we have been serious about what we are doing.

Back in 2003 we got three alpacas that nobody wanted from Invermay.

Of the three, two where a bit older and one a young wether, all Huacaya, with no structure in the fleece, just fluff.

However, we were interested in giving it a go with a low budget. We were looking for some more but those we could buy were no better than what we had, unless we paid big money. The last of the three “Chocolate” died about two years ago, he was great, he would lead the sheep from paddock to paddock and had a wonderful personality.

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About two years ago we started looking at alpacas again; we were taken aback by the improvement in fleece structure, fineness and how the breed had developed. The Web provided a lot of information and we were able to go to some local A & P shows. This gave us lots to think about as we now had choices - Suri or Huacaya, black, brown, fawn or white and we believed the price for what you are now purchasing is good value.

One thing we knew from the sheep industry was the need to identify a quality flock with good genetics.

Whether you purchase the top animal or something near middle point in the flock, you will be purchasing similar genetics. Remember a ribbon at the

local A & P show or even at the National show is only part of the picture, it is equally as important to understand what the breeding programme is for that breeder and the genetics available to be purchased from their herd.

A lot of this information came from the breeder’s website and the Alpaca Association. Thus my first comment would be about web sites. Some of the web sites we looked at had not been updated for over two years, thus the information was out of date, or it was not easy to see whether or not the breeder had animals available for sale. It’s interesting to note that we have now met some of these breeders, and they did have stock for sale.

Richard & Wendy Farquhar Pari Nui Alpacas “We are both brought up on farms, Wendy in Heriot, West Otago, and myself on our current property. I have worked on farms and could shear 280 sheep a day when I was younger. I am a qualified wool classer previously working in the wool industry but after completing a B. Com at Otago I now work as a chartered accountant specialising in the rural sector, mostly working with farming businesses. Wendy trained and worked as a teacher but now in recent years she works with me in our accounting firm.

The property we have is on the Otago Peninsula, looking north down the Otago harbour. My Great Grandfather purchased the property in 1852 and cleared the land of bush and started farming dairy cows, thus I am the fourth generation to farm the original 30 acre block.”

Your website is often the first place people go to see what you are about, so it is important to be up to date, tell your story, and for a stud industry, inform people of the breeding decisions and breeding programme you are using in your stud.

The second big thing we were looking for was ongoing support and advice that after sales service. Even though we both came from farming families and had been farming most of our lives, this was a new and different class of livestock that we had not seriously farmed before. It would be even harder for someone who has just purchased a lifestyle block and has not farmed livestock before. One big risk to the New Zealand primary sector is the situation of a non-farming lifestyle farmer doing something to an animal which is wrong and harmful to the animal, and someone posting a photo of that event on the web. We all have a duty to make sure that all livestock in New Zealand are cared for in the correct way. We actually do have to conform to the Animal Welfare Act 1999.

The next thing we had to get our heads around was, that alpacas take their time.

If we were to purchase a ewe hogget, say six months old, we could mate her and in a little over five months we would have lambs on the ground and the next generation is here, from which we could mate one year after our original purchase. With an alpaca female, she needs to be almost two years old before mating and it takes eleven months before the young cria arrive. It’s just is a slow process, which we didn’t think about as we purchased alpacas.

After purchasing our first alpacas, three pregnant females, we waited for the offspring to arrive. Now with this next generation born we are very keen to start the breeding programme that we have mapped out. However, our cria that have been born in early 2016 with the new genetics, will not be mated until 2018, and their offspring will not be on the ground until 2019, which is three and half years on from the purchase of our first three females.

One good thing to come out of this is the stud male that we have purchased. We will be able to use him for the next three years until his offspring start to come of mating age. That’s a saving given that in the sheep industry you need new rams each year. So it’s even more important that the planning around your breeding programme and your decisions are clearly mapped out, and that any stud males purchased need to be excellent.

Cherry lane alpacas

Because alpacas are our passion 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

We did not take any animals to the National Show in Christchurch this year, it was a case of looking and understanding the process but we have met some great people, who were open with information and advice.

The walk around the pens with the suri breeders was outstanding and well worth every minute. Each breeder was able to talk about their animals.

It makes a big difference being able to hear someone talk about a trait, then see that trait, and feel it.

The last year has been interesting and one which we have enjoyed. It’s been a great learning experience for us both and we have met a new group of friends from around New Zealand. In the coming year we will have the challenges of the first births on our property, our first shearing in the new shed, having a go at showing animals and continuing to learn about our alpacas.

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CENTRAL REGION

HALTER TRAINING DAY

Sue McAuley Gallin Farm Alpacas, Masterton

10th September 2016

On a slightly soggy September morning, eleven enthusiastic alpaca owners turned up to McKenzie Fields Alpacas in Palmerston North to learn about training their alpacas to become model show ring participants. The day was organized and run by Ros Scott and Jenny Phillips.

Ros had selected a large group of cria, both suri and huacaya, at various stages of their halter training for us to work with.

She demonstrated the steps necessary to get newly weaned cria accustomed to being handled and Jenny demonstrated handling using a wand and catch rope.

Most importantly we learnt how to judge an animalâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s readiness to progress to the next step in their training and noted that all the alpacas had quite different personalities. We handled the animals

and learnt how to fit a halter correctly.

Then we moved on to leading with the more advanced alpaca students.

After lunch we haltered and gently persuaded a group of young alpacas to enter the show ring (paddock next to the pens). We learnt how to show the judge the animalâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s teeth and to make sure that the alpaca is viewed at their best. While some animals exhibited model behavior, others definitely demonstrated their wild side.

Finally a couple of well-behaved young stud male alpacas allowed us to learn some techniques for giving injections and clipping toenails if you are on your own.

We all had a most enjoyable day and took away some valuable learning for future handling and showing. Our grateful thanks to Ros and Jenny for giving their time to enable us all to start communicating effectively with our animals.

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SOUTHERN REGION

WORKSHOP Alpaca Marketing and Promotion Barbara Lomax

It was a full house at the Clarkeville Hall in North Canterbury on 23 July 2016. Thirty-five keen and enthusiastic alpaca breeders ranging from new breeders of only 6 months experience to seasoned old hands gathered on a cold and frosty morning to listen to Robert Gane of Canchones Alpacas in Australia as he expounded on how to run a successful alpaca business.

He began the session with a 'get to know who I am talking to' session then moved on into the methodology that he and partner Peter Kennedy have successfully employed in ensuring that their alpaca business was profitable.

There were several key messages.

On the marketing side of things we learned that it is important to establish what your business is all about and to

develop an identity for that business that is easily recognisable - this is fundamental to any business and the alpaca industry is no different. Decide what/who your potential customers are, make a decision about the message you want to get to those potential customers whether it be for alpaca sales, mating services or alpaca products and ensure that the same message is coming across in any advertising you do and that when you are presenting information to potential customers it is in a way that makes it easy for them to follow.

Another key element that was reâ&#x20AC;&#x2018;enforced by Robert over and over was the need to keep extremely good records, to constantly evaluate the animals in your herd, and to keep your information about those animals

totally up to date. If you want to sell some stock, then grade your animals at frequent intervals so that you know what you want to keep in your herd and what you want to sell.

After a good social catch-up over lunch it was back to our seats and a very useful talk about how to get your message out there and the use of social media. And of course there was some re-enforcement from Robert about the importance of communication get information back to customers quickly, keep in touch with them, and always provide top class after sales service. A happy customer is a repeat customer and is likely to refer others to your farm as well!!

All in all a great workshop! â&#x20AC;&#x201C; thanks Robert Gane!

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AN ASPECT OF AN ALPACA BREEDING PROGRAMME NOT OFTEN CONSIDERED Andi Ewen & Gene Rigney

We are the owners of a small block of land (1.7ha of mostly steep hillside), and wanted to be “lifestyle farmers”. We are both teachers, so needed grazing animals that were going to be easy care and gentle on the hills.

After seeing the beautiful white suri alpaca at the Rotorua Show in 2005, we bought 2 females from Surico, both pregnant to Surilana Parsifal, and our adventure began. We were given lots of valuable advice and information re care and breeding, but we didn’t think to ask about…

When Surico Seychelle (Shelley) and Surico Tuscany (Tosca) each gave birth to a male cria, we were faced with the task of naming them. We decided on a “clever” system: we would have our stud name (Andigenetix), then a name representing an aspect of the sire (Silky), then a name starting with the letter for that year. In addition, the 36

last name would be a fabric, since that relates to the fibre. The boys were born in 2006, a “B” year, so we had to find 2 fabrics starting with B. Thus we registered Andigenetix Silky Boucle and Andigenetix Silky Brocade. We also had paddock names; Boucle was Boo, and Brocade was Paddy (born on St Patrick’s Day).

We mated Shelley and Tosca to Parsifal for a third season, and a female and a male cria were born in 2008 (a “D” year). Luckily, we were able to find two obscure fabrics beginning with D, so we registered Andigenetix Silky Dupion (Rusty – after the fencer who saw her being born) and Andigenetix Silky Demask (Darcy – Andi just liked the name!).

We mated Shelley and Tosca to Parsifal again, and 2 female cria were born in 2007 (a “C” year). Following our system, we registered Andigenetix Silky Chenille (Nell) and Andigenetix Silky Charmeuse (Jimony – because Jim and Hermione assisted in the birth).

We were now “big time” alpaca breeders with 8 animals, and were ready to introduce new genetics. We wanted to mate Nell and Jimony, as well as Shelley and Tosca, so we mated Shelley and Nell with Surilana Rufino, and Tosca and Jimony with

Kaihere Brilliante. Shelley’s cria was stillborn, but Tosca, Nell and Jimony gave birth to female cria.

Because we changed sires, we used that as an excuse to abandon the fabric naming system. (We couldn’t think of four fabrics beginning with “E”, either!) Thus, we registered Andigenetix Fine Ellen, Andigenetix Bright Eliza, and Andigenetix Bright Easter.

The next year we registered Andigenetix Fine Fredrick and Andigenetix Fine Fergus. We mated our first born male (Boo) with Tosca to produce Andigenetix Glossy Fleur and Andigenetix Glossy Grace in consecutive years.

We have used Surilana Casino as a sire for three seasons, resulting in Andigenetix Vegas Ivanhoe, Isabelle, Kelly, Lucy and Leo. We mated Isabelle to our stud male, Fergus, but decided to forgo the fancy sire name in the middle as well, and have registered Isabelle’s female cria, Andigenetix Lily. We have reached full stocking capacity, and now only breed for replacement.

Our suggestion for those starting in the breeding of alpaca: choose a naming system that will last the distance of your breeding programme. It doesn’t need to be “clever”!

Photo: Andi with Andigenetix Vegas Kelly (Oscar – his legs looked like Oscar Pistorius’ blades), and his mum, Andigenetix Fine Ellen (Ellie).

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VITAMIN Nic Cooper Southern Alpaca Stud

In the early days of alpacas in New Zealand, the industry saw many cases of carpal valgus (bent or bowed front legs) in alpacas. These ranged from minor to the extreme. The higher concentration appeared to be amongst the darker coloured animals, and it appeared in youngsters in winter, particularly when autumn born.

At Southern Alpacas Stud one of our first cria born developed extreme rickets.

The effect was quickly traced, by researchers, to a vitamin D or phosphorous deficiency, and led to a lot of breeders sprinkling di-calcium phosphate on pellets, and adding other such supplements to feed mixes.

Research in the mid 1990's (ex USA) then indicated that treatment with vitamin D alone would alleviate the clinical signs, and (ex Australia) that di-calcium phosphate was actually bad for your alpacas. But see later.

Vitamin D (particularly vitamin D3 – chalecalciferol) is necessary to the alpaca to allow it to absorb calcium and phosphorous from the intestinal tract.

Calcium is the most abundant mineral in the body, phosphorous is the second most abundant. These minerals are required for proper bone development. Many enzymes and B vitamins are activated only in the presence of Phosphorous.

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ideal), and vitamin D is essential for maintaining this balance correctly.

especially in winter. Many of them are attached to sunlight and diet.

Adequate vitamin D levels also minimise the loss of these two minerals through the kidneys (in excreta).

Studies in the USA (Smith, Van Saun – 1996 AAA conference proceedings) followed up work by Fowler and showed that winter vitamin D levels approximated 50% of summer levels in adult camelids, 30% of summer levels in teenagers, and close to only 10% of summer levels in juveniles (under 12 months).

Vitamin D3 is produced through synthesis in the alpacas skin, from the action of ultraviolet light (sunlight) on cholesterol derivatives. In New Zealand the lower latitudes, and lower altitudes reduce this production, especially in winter, especially in darker pigmented animals, and especially in animals with denser fleeces.

Vitamin D also comes from consumption of sun cured dried foods, such as hay (which has vitamin D2). A lush grass diet in NZ also therefore limits the production of vitamin D in the alpaca.

Phosphate is the naturally occurring form of the element phosphorus.

Phosphate deficiency is what is measured in the bloods, and we treat with a phosphorus compound.

In addition, on lush pastures, high concentrations of carotenes can tie up vitamin D making less available to the body.

The natural Calcium/Phosphorous ratio in bones and teeth in 2:1, (although 1.5:1 in alpaca is closer to the

So there are many reasons why in NZ conditions, the alpaca does not get enough vitamin D,

Similar work was done in Australia with similar results as part of a RIRDC project on alpacas in South Australia and Victoria in 1999 (RIRDC research

Note: graph shows northern hemisphere months!

The . line shows adult levels over the year, the triangle shows teenagers and the open square line shows juveniles.

in NZ conditions, the signs you see will be through deficiency.

Finally one word of caution. Do not rush in with Vit D for a newly born cria with bad legs. In this case “tincture of time” is the better cure and you will normally find that after 2 weeks the legs have improved on their own. If not you can then use Vit D.

project “productivity and marketing improvement of the alpaca fibre industry in Australia”).

The classic signs are the onset of rickets, normally seen by abnormally crooked front legs in young alpacas.

And this will be supported by x-rays showing abnormal growth plates, or angular limb deformities.

But there are other forms: • A humped back posture • A stiff gait • Long periods lying down • Shifting lameness (from leg to leg) • Digestive problems • Still births • In the extreme form – quite sudden death And in the mildest form, simply the quiet cria – the one at the back of the herd, just not as active as the others in the group.

This is particularly noticeable in the younger animal (3 to 6 months old) as this is a time of high bone mineralisation.

Blood testing for vitamin D or P levels will confirm a diagnosis.

Prevention is clearly better than cure.

Basically we are looking at a nutrition problem here, exacerbated by NZ natural feeds, and climate/latitude.

One of the more traditional treatments for rickets was dosing with cod liver oil. This is logical, as fish oils are very high in vitamin D3. In fact tuna liver oil is far better, as its D3 concentration is many times that of cod liver oil.

Other more available feeds containing some (but lower) levels of Vitamin D are red clover, and lucerne hay, which may be a natural feed prevention during winter. But beware of some of the other

possible side effects of red clover and lucerne hay in the reproductive, weight, and fibre quality aspects of the alpaca.

These days we take a more hands on approach to prevention, and we inoculate all cria, regardless of colour or date of birth, with ADE or Vitamin D3 in late April and again in late June. Research has shown that such injections carry a useful life of about 2 months in a cria. We may well repeat in August, depending on the weather.

We similarly treat any cria we suspect to be “quiet” or off colour with additional doses.

Research has shown that alpacas are resistant to high levels of vitamin D supplementation, and there is little harm in supplementing a cria with no clinical signs.

We will also keep an eye on teenagers (12 to 24 months), and dose if we deem appropriate – better safe than sorry.

We prefer injectable vitamin D. It is more precise than oral administration, and it is 2 monthly, instead of 2 weekly for oral dosing. For injectable vitamin D, follow the body weight driven instructions on the bottle.

And if you notice a bad case of shifting lameness by all means call the vet – but be sure to get vitamin D into the animal at the first opportunity.

You will see improvement almost immediately (days), although complete treatment may take weeks.

Alpacas appear resistant to high levels of vitamin D, but unfortunately the signs of too much vitamin D (hypervitaminosis), are very similar to those of too little vitamin D, with the exception of the development of calcification in soft tissues (liver etc).

Suffice it to say we have never seen a case of hypervitaminosis, and would suggest, particularly

It became apparent in NZ, Australia and USA in 2005 that there are alpacas now presenting with clear signs of Vit D deficiency - but that Vit D injections do not have a noticeable effect on the alpaca. Several of these have gone on to die.

The question was - “why?”

It appears that the earlier view that Vit D is enough is not correct. Despite Vit D injections these alpacas were found to have dangerously low phosphate levels in the blood.

This is fixed by injection of a phosphorus/B12 mix. It has provided some quite miraculous pick-ups in a matter of a few days.

In NZ there is an injectable drug called “Catasol” giving phosphorous and Vit B12. There is also a product called “Richtafort”.

It is also suggested that DCP (dicalcium phosphate) may indeed be an appropriate non-injected form of supplement, sprinkled over food, particularly as a preventative for alpacas being placed under stress.

Research is being done by Liz Paul in Australia (in conjunction with the AAA) as to why this situation is occurring. Some interesting preliminary findings came out.

1. That all these effected alpacas appear to have been under some stress. Import herds that pass through quarantine are particularly affected. Weaning can affect young cria. Show teams display this effect at times. Late pregnancy and early gestation can cause this effect in the dam.

2. It is a hypothesis that stress causes a reaction in the thyroid which triggers a "dump" of phosphorous from the system. The onset of problems occurs quite quickly and to a great degree.

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3. Empirically alpacas diagnosed with fatty liver disease (high AST in the bloods) are also showing very low phosphate levels in the bloods too. Is there a cause/ effect reaction? Is there a cause/ reaction? Interesting that since Catasol has been used more extensively diagnoses of fatty liver disease have plummeted.

Over the years we have had, brought to our attention by worried owners, an increasing number of cases of vitamin D and phosphate deficiencies, from very young cria, through to teenagers. All stressed alpacas in one way or another.

Many of these have been presented to us (over the phone) with lots of other symptoms, but it is the (shifting) lameness, inability to stand in the back legs, excessive sitting, and not keeping up with the herd that triggers our diagnostic.

So be aware, be alert, and remember prevention is far better than cure. And remember that Vit D on its own may not be enough.

Note: this article was originally published in AANZ magazine in 2005 and has been updated for publication.

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RICKETS or Hypophosphatemia Syndrome In Alpacas Christopher K. Cebra VMD, MA, MS, DACVIM-LA The Pfefferkorn and Wendorf Professor of Camelid Medicine Oregon State University College of Veterinary Medicine, Corvallis, OR

Rickets is a reasonably well-known disease: most alpaca owners have heard of the human form of it, even if they are not as aware of their alpacas’ susceptibility. They know it is a bone disease and related to a deficiency, but do not appreciate the variety of disease signs it can cause. Additionally, although this disorder was well publicized in the mid‑to‑late 90s, when reports and research came out of Oregon and New Zealand, and a few years later with a new wave of research, it seems to drift out of view on occasion, then strike unexpectedly.

Rickets in alpacas usually relates to Vitamin D deficiency. Although some of this may be dietary deficiency, especially in hay-fed alpacas, most relates to a seasonal lack of production due to lack of adequate exposure to ultraviolet (sun) light. In winter, especially in areas with cloudy weather and at higher latitudes, or places where the weather is bad enough that alpacas are kept largely indoors, blood vitamin D concentrations drop to as little as one-sixth their summer levels. The decline appears to be especially bad in alpacas with fuller or darker fiber coats. In rare cases, rickets may also result from a phosphorus-deficient diet.

Lack of exposure to ultraviolet light leads to a drop in vitamin D. Vitamin D helps in the uptake of dietary calcium and phosphorus, the re-uptake of urinary calcium, and the normal mineralization of bone. When vitamin D drops and blood calcium drops, parathyroid hormone increases and starts degrading bone. In mature alpacas, this can lead to some thinning of bone, but it is rarely clinically

significant. The greater problems occur in developing animals, either during the fetal period or growing alpacas in the first 2 years of life. In the fetus, bone disease may develop immediately.

In more mature animals, changes is bone seem to lag a few months after the drops in blood vitamin D. The fetus is dependent on its mother’s circulating vitamin D. Fairly little crosses the placenta, leaving the nursing cria dependent on getting enough through colostrum and milk.

If the period of skeletal growth (third trimester) coincides with maternal deficiency (winter), crias may be born affected. More commonly, fall- born crias develop abnormalities during their early skeletal growth, which often coincides with a period of low sunlight.

Similar seasonal maldevelopment may occur any year until the alpaca achieves skeletal maturity.

There are a variety of different clinical presentations, ranging from covert to overt. In newborns, the most common sign is abnormal angulation of the

carpus or tarsus. This may affect the ability to stand or the cria’s gait. The gait may be inconsistently abnormal, because pain may shift from leg to leg. Severely affected crias may be reluctant to move or stand. In older animals or crias with more chronic problems, angulations are less notable.

It becomes more common for them to stand abnormally, usually with their weight rocked back onto their hind legs.

The carpus remains the most commonly affected joint, and it may appear slightly swollen or painful to palpation. In severe cases, the leg may break from a weakened cortex or ligaments may pull loose from their attachments. There is also growing evidence for vertebral column involvement, resulting in pain, reluctance to stand or move, or possible neurologic deficits. Poor weight gain and a generally unthrifty appearance are other findings. These may relate to pain and reluctance to move to eat, or possible to some other effect of vitamin D deficiency. Some affected alpacas appear to have an immune deficiency, which can also contribute to ill thrift.

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Screening for at-risk animals may be accomplished by measuring dietary vitamin D, calcium, and phosphorus, or more directly, by measuring these same parameters in blood. Young, growing animals usually have blood phosphorus concentrations at the high end of or even above adult reference ranges, so finding lower values in younger alpacas is suggestive. Ideally, serum phosphorus is above 7 mg/dl and the Calcium:Phosphorus ratio is greater than 1.5 in growing camelids.

Vitamin D concentrations should be above 50 nmol/L. Blood values usually become abnormal weeks to months before clinical disease develops.

Radiographs or more advanced imaging studies may give further evidence.

Angular limb deformities, fractures, thin bone cortices, and widening and irregularity of the growth plates are all characteristic. The distal radius and tibia are the best places to find lesion, but any bone may be affected.

If the disorder is caught early, prompt treatment may lead to complete resolution. This may involve vitamin D supplementation, mineral

supplementation, supportive care, and possibly surgical or splint management of the legs. Supportive care may involve pain medications, convenient provision of feed, water, and shelter, sometimes slinging and physical therapy.

Improvement may be noted within 1 to 2 weeks, but it may take several months for all signs to disappear.

Prevention strategies have been developed to avoid this disorder. These include keeping the blood vitamin D and phosphorus of most alpacas above the values stated above, especially pregnant females or growing crias and juveniles. Managing animals to optimize UV light exposure is recommended, but not always practical. If UV light exposure is inadequate, vitamin D should be fed or injected. The oral requirement in alpacas appears to be around 30 to 40 U/kg/day. Gel supplements, milled pellets, or mineral mixes may be used. Injecting vitamin D is the other choice. The recommended dose is 1000 to 2000 U/kg of vitamin D under the skin. This should be repeated every 2 to 3 months during the low-light season. Giving too much vitamin D may damage the kidneys.

If alpacas do not respond to the standard treatment of vitamin D supplementation, an imbalance of dietary calcium and phosphorus may be the culprit. These may respond to rebalancing these minerals in the diet.

The doses of medications described in this report have NOT been extensively scientifically tested and should be used with caution.

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SMALL HERDS

A BOY AND A

GIRL Stephen Mulholland Ph.D. for the Camelid Health Trust

Many people new to alpaca or llama ownership elect to go for the smallest possible herd size – and that includes some wishing to breed, who take home just one male and one female. Furthermore, they usually plan to let these two animals live together in what is hoped to be an idyllic setting involving green grass and bouncing cria.

This romantic notion is far from the truth. Buying a male and a female and putting them together in a paddock is a terrible plan that may well result in tragedy for both owners and animals.

“But males and females living together is completely natural!” This is one of the more common arguments used to justify the ‘boy and girl’ plan, but it is wrong for two reasons: 1. Both alpacas and llamas are domesticated species; they are not wild animals. Thousands of years of selective breeding has changed their behaviour patterns.

2. Unless your paddock is at least 50,000 acres, then the environment is totally different to the one where guanaco and vicuna - the wild antecedents of the llama and alpaca - evolved.

In a small, fence-bound paddock females have no opportunity to escape an overly aggressive or 44

amorous male, and the normal social dynamics of animals on the altiplano cannot be expressed.

The danger in the cohabitation arrangement arises from the male.

With none of the social limitations inherent in the natural environment, and a hormone system raging with testosterone, the male can and will embark on very dangerous patterns of behaviour, including: • Over-mating females This could be consensual in a highly-receptive or submissive female, or it can become rape in situations where a reluctant female cannot escape. Repeated matings can cause uterine damage and infections (leading to infertility), or can physically batter the female, up to the point of broken bones. Just because you don't see lots of forced matings or other abusive behaviour doesn't mean it isn't happening.

• Mating females at inopportune times Males (including some castrated males, depending on their temperament and level of excitement/arousal) will mate females while they are giving birth, a phenomenon that has been repeatedly observed. This is obviously very dangerous both to the mother and to the being-born cria (which could well be crushed and killed).

• Mating females too early Males are not always very discriminating when the testosterone starts flowing and they are seeking a mating. They may attempt to mount very young cria, crushing them; they will also try to mate older, ‘adolescent’ cria. In Australia there was a case of a 14 month old female giving birth after having been mated at just three months of age.

• Inbreeding A male will, if left together with them, eventually mate his daughters and grand-daughters; sons will mount and mate their mothers when old enough (which may be as young as 8 months). Either scenario risks genetic misfortune.

at full speed from behind, knocks someone to the ground and starts trampling. Once the male has reached this level of aggression he will be very hard to ‘fix’. A person trampled in such a manner may also be hard to repair.

• Heightened aggression Males left in with females for an extended period can also grow increasingly aggressive. Usually this aggression is directed towards other male alpacas or llamas – which can lead to vicious attacks on young males when they get old enough to be perceived as rivals. Adult males grow fighting teeth which are capable of inflicting grievous wounds; their violence is not ‘play fighting’, but an attempt to maim or even kill – a real fight that an adult male will always win against a weanling who has nowhere to run.

In this scenario we start with three animals, not two. This is not such a big difference, because if we were purchasing a male and a female for breeding purposes anyway, then our herd was destined to grow. (And if three animals is too much, why would anyone buy a pair, with intentions to breed, in the first place?) The females are kept in one paddock, while the male is kept in a separate paddock within sight of the girls. This fulfills the minimum social requirements for the animals (although the male would probably enjoy the companionship of another male, if possible). Two paddocks is obviously the minimum here, but having three paddocks would have the advantage of allowing some of the pasture to be rested so it can naturally regenerate.

This aggression can also spill over to target humans. Male alpacas are smart, and they know how to fight.

They know where a human is looking, and when he or she is or is not paying attention. The first indication of a problem could be when a 75-90kg alpaca or 150kg llama male charges

A better alternative – a boy and two girls! (and two or more paddocks)

When the time comes for mating, the male is placed in the paddock with the females for 3 weeks (a so-called ‘paddock mating’) and then returned to

his own space. The next year, after the cria are born, the male can be put back in the paddock again for 3 weeks (he shouldn't be excessively aggressive, as he hasn't been living with females continuously); or alternatively, the male and females can be ‘pen mated’, where they are joined in a small pen (with the cria excluded) and then put back in their respective paddocks after the mating.

In this set-up young males can, at time of weaning, be moved in with the adult male, although some care should be taken to ensure that the adult doesn’t excessively bully or threaten the youngster. Female cria are either weaned into the third paddock or left at their mothers foot (depending on circumstances).

Advocacy and Education Buyers who run a male and a female together do so with often benign intentions, but also ignorance. It is incumbent on all responsible breeders to educate potential buyers about the pitfalls of the ‘male and female’ plan, so that they don’t just go on to find a seller who is more interested in the money, and does not care about the outcome for either the animals or the new owner.

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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 Kit & Sheryl Johnson Silverstream Alpaca Stud

The opportunity to showcase Silverstream Alpaca Stud in the NZ Alpaca magazine could hardly have come at a better time. With a successful show season recently finished and Kit being awarded a life membership of the AANZ as thanks for his heavy involvement in many facets of the Association over many years, Kit & Sheryl are still on a high.

Silverstream Godsend ET

Silverstream Infinity

Silverstream Opalescent

Kit and Sheryl have been alpaca farming for 16 years and today run a herd of over 250 huacayas. The Silverstream name has been at the forefront of the

The Silverstream operation can be broken down as follows:

EP Cambridge Invictus have all helped establish the Silverstream name through show successes and the progeny they are producing.

New Zealand show scene with over 50 supreme champion wins including three National Show supreme titles.

Perhaps our best ever show result was the 2015 National Show when 9 out of the 10 age group champions had Silverstream genetics or were bred by Silverstream owned or part owned herd sires.

Other achievements include winning Supreme Champion Animal of Show at the 2007 NZ Royal and being awarded Ambassador of the Year at the 2011 Canterbury A & P Show.

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Alpaca Exports Silverstream are a licensed live animal exporter and have three Ministry for Primary Industries quarantine facilities.

Since 2007 Silverstream have exported over 750 alpacas to Europe and Asia. Kit & Sheryl were instrumental in setting up the export protocols to the EU, USA, Hong Kong and Taiwan and currently working with MPI and the AANZ to help establish a protocol for the export of alpacas to China.

Stud Services Silverstream Godsend ET, Silverstream Infinity, Silverstream G Force, Silverstream Negus and

Fibre Sales With a large herd comes a large quantity of quality fibre. Our finest fibre is kept for the production of our own range of alpaca garments and we have regular buyers for the rest of our fibre.

Bed & Breakfast Kit & Sheryl operate two self contained cottages for overseas visitors â&#x20AC;&#x201C; the alpacas have been a huge draw card.

When we look back over the years at which animals have given us the most satisfaction, it has to be one our very early purchases â&#x20AC;&#x201C; Pucara Juliana.

Juliana not only produced two national champions in Silverstream Faberge 2008 and Silverstream Déjà vu in 2009 but she also produced Silverstream Czar who won nine supreme championships and was later sold to the UK for a then record price. Juliana progeny have collectively won 21 supreme champion titles. Perhaps the best known of her progeny is Silverstream Godsend ET with over 140 registered cria.

Another animal of note is Silverstream Infinity who everyone loves for his teddy bear good looks that he passes on to his progeny. This dark fawn male is still winning broads at National level at seven years of age. What really excites

us about Infinity progeny is the quality of his progeny over a range of colours.

Black Champion fleece 2015 and 2016 National Show Roan

Champion fleece 2016 National Show

Brown Reserve champion 2015 National Show Fawn Reserve champion 2015 National Show White Finest fleece (14.2micron) 2016 National Show When we look at the Alpaca industry as a whole, we feel there is a bright future.

Fibre sales and the prices achieved have never been so bullish – strangely enough it was probably the Global Economic Crisis and poor animal sales that forced breeders to look at fibre as a means of gaining an economic return.

In conclusion Kit and Sheryl would like to thank all our past and future clients and wish them every success with their breeding goals. The NZ alpaca world is a rewarding experience that your whole family can get involved in. The Association is very lucky to have many dedicated volunteers who keep it running not to mention the amazing Toni Soppet who is always just a phone call away.

47

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 Jenny & Richard Castle of North Canterbury.

NEW MEMBER

PROFILE Jenny & Richard Castle North Canterbury

After the Christchurch earthquakes, my husband and I felt extremely anxious one particular weekend. Deciding to get out of the house for the day, we took ourselves off to an alpaca farm.

Our ‘before and after’ the big day of shearing.

It was an awesome experience and we came away not only having fallen in love with those big, soppy alpaca eyes and upturned smiley mouths but with alpaca inquisitiveness and their different personalities.

A few years on now and we have moved up to North Canterbury and started our journey with our own little herd.

Our first trip to collect our 5 ‘boys’ (entire males) was a mission on its own.

The previous owners informed us that they had not been shorn for about 3 years. No problem, “we can have them sheared” we said. As they were being loaded onto the horse float I noticed their toenails. The curliest, longest toenails I have ever seen. A frantic phone call to Lindsay at Sherlin Alpaca Stud Farm, a set of questions and answers and our minds were quickly set at ease as apparently this is quite normal and they 48

can be trimmed, will grow back and so the cycle goes. The animals had such thick coats that we could only see one eye out of 10. The next eye I saw was not a typical brown eye but a blue one.

How weird we thought. Back on the phone to Lindsay and Sheryl, and again we were set at ease as they told us he’s probably deaf but fine in any other way.

As we observed his behavior over the next few days, we concluded that he probably is deaf and he is big mates with another that we thought was blind, but really only had an overgrown fringe.

The shearer came along to shear our ‘boys’ one weekend and it took him a large part of the day. He explained everything and lots more as he was going along. This was another big learning curve for us and to see toenails being cut was such a relief.

The biggest surprise was to see all 10 eyes of which we could see 2 blue

ones. Four of the alpacas had been halter trained, so it was my husband’s job to walk them back to the paddock after being shorn. Our so called ‘blind’ paca kindly turned around as his halter was being taken off and spat Richard in the face. Another box ticked in the day of our alpaca ‘boys’.

We acquired some adorable ‘girls’ with fabulous personalities. We learnt that they love a shower with the hose.

Much shoving and pushing goes around until everyone is satisfied and thoroughly drenched, but then to roll in the dust afterwards?? Really! Shouldn’t this be the other way around?

A couple of months ago we got another 7 Suri females of which 3 were cria. More than once we have dashed outside to check on them as they sprawl out in the sun and pretend to be dead. We have

never counted up to 10 so many times in our lives as we do now, just checking everyone is still at home.

This weekend we had another lesson to learn and very quickly too. I was looking out of the kitchen window observing a female going about her business in the paddock. She seemed to be in that position for an extended period I thought. I picked up a pair of old binoculars we have sitting on the kitchen bench for our 3 year old

to move mum towards the cria in the shed. Again I ran, the other way this time in the hail and rain trying very hard to keep my hands under the towels I had wrapped the little one in. Holding the cria up for mum to see and sniff I finally got her attention and off we went to the shelter. Another lifeline needed – phone a friend again. Back to the shelter in no better weather yet to observe. After almost three hours I could phone Sheryl back and thank her for everything, as we now

Our ‘girls’ in their dustbowl.

grandson to use to look at life on the outside when I am busy in the kitchen.

Shock-horror - “We’re having a baby” I yelled to my husband. I need a lifeline phone a friend. I rang Sheryl who again was an absolute wealth of knowledge and as calm as a cucumber. I am sure I was yelling at her over the phone (and I do apologize for that), I was so nervous about the whole process and there was no turning back on this one. Sheryl was still telling me about the birthing process and as she came to the part about the front legs that would normally start sticking out, I could hear myself saying “they’re out, they’re out, they’re sticking out”. It was raining and hailing at this time and as we got to the paddock our first cria was born. Very carefully I was trying to pick up the little one, to get it under cover as we were really been pelted by hail now. My husband tried in vain

We have 5 huacaya males, then we got 3 females and then the 7 suri females (I just love them). All have stories behind them and Richard used to answer the phone by saying “Hello alpaca orphanage” The last little one was a real surprise as she must've got covered before we got them hence the panic.

Gizmo after spotting the girls being unloaded in the opposite paddock.

have a black cria in our paddock, an unexpected arrival but an exciting one, and a very valuable experience to have been forced to learn.

Almost every day we learn something new about these fascinating animals.

From those funny noises that come out of their mouths to warn of danger to the green gall stinky stuff that was sprayed over us by an angry mother on vaccination day. From the ‘girls’ prancing around to impress the ‘boys’ to the males having a spitting fight with his own reflection as he walks past our glass doors. From a new mum humming away to a newborn cria and of course a new voice singing back the same tune.

So far it has been an amazing experience for us and certainly could not have done it without our friends at Sherlin Alpaca Stud Farm and their staff .

Our new addition not even 24 hours old yet.

49

APPLICATION TO BECOME A MEMBER

For the financial year beginning 1 April 2017 and ending 31 March 2018

I*/WE* apply to become a member of the Alpaca Association New Zealand and agree if accepted, to be bound by the Rules of the Association from time to time in force. I*/We* forward herewith my*/our* first annual subscription */pro rata amount of first subscription. (*Delete whichever does not apply) MEMBERSHIP TYPE (please check one) Individual (defined as a single person) Partner (defined as two people living in a residential domestic relationship) Corporate (applies to a company or family trust (see Rule 130 for details on nominees)) Lifestyle Associate (receive information but have no right to vote or to stand for election to any office or stud registration rights) Magazine Subscription (receive only the glossy magazine 3 times a year) Corporate name (if applying for corporate membership) Please attach a copy of the company registration certificate or family trust certification

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Have you been referred by a current member of the AANZ?  Yes  No If yes, please list names

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Individual, Partner, Corporate (full membership) Individual, Partner, Corporate (International) Lifestyle Associate Membership Lifestyle Associate Membership (International) Magazine Subscription

Annual Fee: 1 April – 30 September $191.30+GST

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Please send this form along with payment to: Alpaca Association New Zealand. PO Box 6348, Upper Riccarton, Christchurch Direct Credit: Bank of New Zealand 02-0506-0173873-000 (Please quote your surname as the reference) 50

National

Show Results Breed

Suri Section

Huacaya Section

CHAMPION JUNIOR FEMALE SURI SURICO KAZAMA

Surico

CHAMPION JUNIOR FEMALE HUACAYA SILVERSTREAM PANACHE

Silverstream

RESERVE CHAMPION JUNIOR FEMALE SURI ALPACA XPERIENCE STRIKING MIST Alpaca Xperience

RESERVE CHAMPION JUNIOR FEMALE HUACAYA GILT EDGE RUMOUR ET Gilt Edge

CHAMPION JUNIOR MALE SURI THISTLEDOWN AMRAVATI

CHAMPION JUNIOR MALE HUACAYA GILT EDGE VORTEX

Thistledown

Gilt Edge

Surico

RESERVE CHAMPION JUNIOR MALE HUACAYA SILVERSTREAM OPPORTUNIST Silverstream

Thistledown

CHAMPION INTERMEDIATE FEMALE HUACAYA STONELEIGH FLORABELLA Stoneleigh

RESERVE CHAMPION INTERMEDIATE FEMALE SURI THISTLEDOWN IDAHO Thistledown

RESERVE CHAMPION INTERMEDIATE FEMALE HUACAYA WAIKARA PARK ZAMBESI Waikara Park

CHAMPION INTERMEDIATE MALE SURI SURICO BOLERO

Surico

CHAMPION INTERMEDIATE MALE HUACAYA WAIKARA PARK EREWHON Waikara Park

RESERVE CHAMPION INTERMEDIATE MALE SURI SURICO DALI

Surico

RESERVE CHAMPION INTERMEDIATE MALE HUACAYA STONELEIGH INVINCIBLE Stoneleigh

RESERVE CHAMPION JUNIOR MALE SURI SURICO NUI CHAMPION INTERMEDIATE FEMALE SURI THISTLEDOWN OPHELIA

CHAMPION ADULT FEMALE SURI SHADOW WOOD LUCILLE ET CHAMPION ADULT MALE SURI SURICO VIVO RESERVE CHAMPION ADULT MALE SURI NGAHERE PISARO CHAMPION SENIOR FEMALE SURI SURICO CORDELIA

Shadow Wood Surico Ngahere Fairhaven

RESERVE CHAMPION SENIOR FEMALE SURI CANCHONES LAUREN Shadow Wood CHAMPION SENIOR MALE SURI GOTLAND ROYAL FLUSH SUPREME CHAMPION SURI SURICO BOLERO

Gotland Surico

Suri Colour Champions

CHAMPION ADULT FEMALE HUACAYA HONEYFIELDS FELICITAS

Honeyfields

RESERVE CHAMPION ADULT FEMALE HUACAYA SHAMARRA LOLITA Shamarra CHAMPION ADULT MALE HUACAYA SHAMARRA MOSSIMO

Shamarra

RESERVE CHAMPION ADULT MALE HUACAYA SILVER-STONE MATRIX Silver-Stone CHAMPION SENIOR FEMALE HUACAYA SILVERSTREAM MINARET

Silverstream

RESERVE CHAMPION SENIOR FEMALE HUACAYA MALAKAI WATERLILY SUNSET ET Waters Edge CHAMPION SENIOR MALE HUACAYA STONELEIGH ODYSSEUS

Stoneleigh

RESERVE CHAMPION SENIOR MALE HUACAYA MALAKAI SORCERER

Gilt Edge Shamarra

Champion White Suri SURICO DALI

Surico

CHAMPION MATURE FEMALE HUACAYA SHAMARRA ENCHANTRESS

Champion Light Fawn Suri SURICO BOLERO

Surico

RESERVE CHAMPION MATURE FEMALE HUACAYA YAAMBA COVER GIRL Silverstream

Champion Mid/Dark Fawn Suri SURICO SWEETIE

Fairhaven

CHAMPION VETERAN FEMALE HUACAYA OASIS ANASTASIA

Stoneleigh Stoneleigh

Champion Brown Suri SHERLIN MAESTRO

Sherlin

CHAMPION VETERAN MALE HUACAYA STONELEIGH VALENTINO

Champion Grey Suri SHERLIN REMINGTON STEELE

Sherlin

RESERVE CHAMPION VETERAN MALE HUACAYA SILVERSTREAM INFINITY Silverstream

Champion Black Suri THISTLEDOWN AMRAVATI

Thistledown

Supreme Champion Huacaya STONELEIGH ODYSSEUS

Stoneleigh 51

Huacaya Colour Champions Champion White Huacaya STONELEIGH ODYSSEUS

Stoneleigh

Champion Light Fawn Huacaya WAIKARA PARK ZAMBESI

Waikara Park

Champion Mid/Dark Fawn Huacaya GILT EDGE VORTEX

Gilt Edge

Champion Brown Huacaya GILT EDGE HIGH ROLLER ET

Gilt Edge

Champion Grey Huacaya EL REMANSO SUGAR YES PLEASE

El Remanso

Champion Roan Huacaya SHAMARRA LOLITA Champion Black Huacaya NZ BLACK MAGIC LADY KENZO

Shamarra NZ Black Magic

Fancy Suri Premier Fancy Suri GOTLAND MAURITIOUS

Gotland

Fancy Huacaya BEST JUNIOR FEMALE FANCY HUACAYA NZSUMMERHILL LEOPARD AMAZING

NZSH

BEST JUNIOR MALE FANCY HUACAYA NZSUMMERHILL LEOPARD REGAL

NZSH

RESERVE BEST JUNIOR MALE FANCY HUACAYA NZSUMMERHILL LEOPARD HERTIAGE

NZSH

BEST INT. FEMALE FANCY HUACAYA NZSUMMERHILL LEOPARDSIMPLYIRRESISTIBL

NZSH

RESERVE BEST INT. FEMALE FANCY HUACAYA NZSUMMERHILL LEOPARD FASHIONISTA

NZSH

BEST INTERMEDIATE MALE FANCY HUACAYA NZSUMMERHILL LEOPARD PACORRO

NZSH

RESERVE BEST INT. MALE FANCY HUACAYA NZSUMMERHILL SPOT THE COMMANDER

NZSH

BEST SENIOR MALE FANCY HUACAYA NZSUMMERHILL SPOT THE SIR PRIZE

NZSH

BEST MATURE FEMALE FANCY HUACAYA STRATH LORIEN LADY MIRAGE

NZSH

BEST MATURE MALE FANCY HUACAYA KOOINDA BAYLEY

Kooinda

BEST VETERAN MALE FANCY HUACAYA GRAND FLOWERDALE GP TOROS ET

NZSH

Premier Fancy Huacaya GRAND FLOWERDALE GP TOROS ET

NZSH

RESERVE BEST JUNIOR FEMALE FANCY HUACAYA OAK RIDGE CINNAMON Oakridge

Fleece Suri Section CHAMPION JUNIOR FEMALE SURI FLEECE GOTLAND SUNLOVER

CHAMPION SENIOR MALE SURI FLEECE CANCHONES BANDERA ET Gotland

RESERVE CHAMPION JUNIOR FEMALE SURI FLEECE GOTLAND VIVACIOUS Gotland CHAMPION JUNIOR MALE SURI FLEECE GOTLAND EXCALABAR

Gotland

RESERVE CHAMPION JUNIOR MALE SURI FLEECE GOTLAND JC SUPERSTAR Gotland CHAMPION INTERMEDIATE FEMALE SURI FLEECE CANCHONES LAUREN Shadow Wood RESERVE CHAMPION INTERMEDIATE FEMALE SURI FLEECE SHERLIN MARINA Sherlin CHAMPION INTERMEDIATE MALE SURI FLEECE NGAHERE PISARO Ngahere

52

CHAMPION MATURE FEMALE SURI FLEECE EXCELLENZ NERO FAVARA Shadow Wood CHAMPION VETERAN FEMALE SURI FLEECE SHERLIN WISTERIA

Fairhaven

CHAMPION VETERAN MALE SURI FLEECE HADSTOCK N.Z. SILKEN SAHARA

Fairhaven

RESERVE CHAMPION VETERAN MALE SURI FLEECE CANCHONES BRAVIO ET Shadow Wood SUPREME CHAMPION SURI FLEECE GOTLAND EXCALABAR

Gotland

CHAMPION WHITE SURI FLEECE GOTLAND EXCALABAR

Gotland

CHAMPION LIGHT FAWN SURI FLEECE FAIRHAVEN JAZMYN

RESERVE CHAMPION INTERMEDIATE MALE SURI FLEECE NGAHERE NOTARIETY Ngahere

CHAMPION MID/DARK FAWN SURI FLEECE GOTLAND VIVACIOUS

CHAMPION ADULT FEMALE SURI FLEECE CANCHONES LAUREN Shadow Wood

CHAMPION BROWN SURI FLEECE SHADOW WOOD ZEDD

RESERVE CHAMPION ADULT FEMALE SURI FLEECE FAIRHAVEN JAZMYN Fairhaven

CHAMPION BLACK SURI FLEECE EUPHORIA DUCATI ET

CHAMPION ADULT MALE SURI FLEECE FAIRHAVEN JAEGER

FINEST SURI FLEECE GOTLAND JC SUPERSTAR

Fairhaven

Shadow Wood

Fairhaven Gotland Shadow Wood Euphoria Gotland

Huacaya Section CHAMPION JUNIOR FEMALE HUACAYA FLEECE STONELEIGH HOPE Stoneleigh RESERVE CHAMPION JUNIOR FEMALE HUACAYA FLEECE SILVERSTREAM OPALESCENT Silverstream CHAMPION JUNIOR MALE HUACAYA FLEECE SILVERSTREAM OZONE Silverstream RESERVE CHAMPION JUNIOR MALE HUACAYA FLEECE BRENOR FUTURISTIC Brenor

CHAMPION WHITE HUACAYA FLEECE STONELEIGH VALENTINO

Stoneleigh

CHAMPION FAWN HUACAYA FLEECE GRAND FLOWERDALE CY PRINCE INTA ET

Gilt Edge

CHAMPION MID/DARK FAWN HUACAYA FLEECE MALAKAI SORCERER Gilt Edge CHAMPION BROWN HUACAYA FLEECE AQUAVIVA CADBURY

Starlight

CHAMPION GREY HUACAYA FLEECE OTAIO BRIDGE KAURI

Otaio Bridge

CHAMPION INTERMEDIATE FEMALE HUACAYA FLEECE SHAMARRA ALLEGRA Shamarra

CHAMPION ROAN HUACAYA FLEECE SILVERSTREAM NAZARETH

Silverstream

RESERVE CHAMPION INT. FEMALE HUACAYA FLEECE ALPACASRSTYLE KAYLEY AlpacasRstyle

CHAMPION BLACK HUACAYA FLEECE SILVERSTREAM NIGHT FEVER

Silverstream

CHAMPION INTERMEDIATE MALE HUACAYA FLEECE SARAU HILLS JASPER Sarau Hills

FINEST HUACAYA FLEECE SILVERSTREAM NOODLE

Silverstream

RES. CHAMPION INTERMEDIATE MALE HUACAYA FLEECE STARLIGHT LEONARDO Starlight

Fancy Huacaya Fleeces

CHAMPION ADULT FEMALE HUACAYA FLEECE SILVERSTREAM KISS & TELL Silverstream RESERVE CHAMPION ADULT FEMALE HUACAYA FLEECE GILT EDGE MIRAGE Gilt Edge CHAMPION ADULT MALE HUACAYA FLEECE MALAKAI SORCERER

Gilt Edge

RESERVE CHAMPION ADULT MALE HUACAYA FLEECE BRENOR KING WILLIAM Brenor

BEST JUNIOR FEMALE FANCY HUACAYA FLEECE NZSUMMERHILL LEOPARDSIMPLYIRRESISTIBL

NZSH

RESERVE BEST JUNIOR FEMALE FANCY HUACAYA FLEECE NZSUMMERHILL LEOPARD FASHIONISTA NZSH BEST JUNIOR MALE FANCY HUACAYA FLEECE NZSUMMERHILL SPOT THE MILLIONAIRE

NZSH

RESERVE BEST JUNIOR MALE FANCY HUACAYA FLEECE NZSUMMERHILL SPOT THE COMMANDER NZSH BEST JUNIOR MALE FANCY HUACAYA FLEECE NZSUMMERHILL SPOT THE MILLIONAIRE

NZSH

CHAMPION SENIOR FEMALE HUACAYA FLEECE YAAMBA COVER GIRL Silverstream

RESERVE BEST JUNIOR MALE FANCY HUACAYA FLEECE NZSUMMERHILL SPOT THE COMMANDER NZSH

RESERVE CHAMPION SENIOR FEMALE HUACAYA FLEECE SILVERSTREAM KISS & TELL Silverstream

BEST INTERMEDIATE MALE FANCY HUACAYA FLEECE SOFTFOOT MUDGEE CB NZSH

CHAMPION SENIOR MALE HUACAYA FLEECE GRAND FLOWERDALE CY PRINCE INTA ET

RES. BEST INTERMEDIATE MALE FANCY HUACAYA FLEECE NZSUMMERHILL SPOT THE SIR PRIZE NZSH

Gilt Edge

RESERVE CHAMPION SENIOR MALE HUACAYA FLEECE STYLIST SIR EDMUND HILLARY Stylist CHAMPION MATURE FEMALE HUACAYA FLEECE STONELEIGH FLAMBELLINI Stoneleigh RESERVE CHAMPION MATURE FEMALE HUACAYA FLEECE OTAIO BRIDGE MANUKA Otaio Bridge CHAMPION MATURE MALE HUACAYA FLEECE STONELEIGH VALENTINO Stoneleigh RES. CHAMPION MATURE MALE HUACAYA FLEECE STONEY MEADOWS GENESIS Stoney Meadows CHAMPION VETERAN FEMALE HUACAYA FLEECE STONELEIGH FLAMBELLA Stoneleigh RES. CHAMPION VETERAN FEMALE HUACAYA FLEECE STYLIST EUGENIE AlpacasRstyle CHAMPION VETERAN MALE HUACAYA FLEECE HONEYFIELDS SUTHERLAND Honeyfields

BEST ADULT FEMALE FANCY HUACAYA FLEECE STRATH LORIEN LADY MIRAGE BEST ADULT MALE FANCY HUACAYA FLEECE KOOINDA BAYLEY

NZSH Kooinda

RESERVE BEST ADULT MALE FANCY HUACAYA FLEECE NZSUMMERHILL SPOT THE SIR PRIZE NZSH BEST SENIOR FEMALE FANCY HUACAYA FLEECE SILVERHILL ILARIA Kerdon RESERVE BEST SENIOR FEMALE FANCY HUACAYA FLEECE STRATH LORIEN LADY MIRAGE NZSH BEST SENIOR MALE FANCY HUACAYA FLEECE GRAND FLOWERDALE GP TOROS ET

NZSH

RESERVE BEST SENIOR MALE FANCY HUACAYA FLEECE AMBERSUN SPECK TACULAR NZSH BEST MATURE FEMALE FANCY HUACAYA FLEECE SILVERHILL ILARIA Kerdon BEST MATURE MALE FANCY HUACAYA FLEECE GRAND FLOWERDALE GP TOROS ET

NZSH

RESERVE CHAMPION VETERAN MALE HUACAYA FLEECE AQUAVIVA CADBURY Starlight

PREMIER FANCY HUACAYA FLEECE GRAND FLOWERDALE GP TOROS ET

NZSH

SUPREME CHAMPION HUACAYA FLEECE STONELEIGH VALENTINO

FINEST FANCY HUACAYA FLEECE SOFTFOOT MUDGEE CB

NZSH

Stoneleigh

53

SOUTH ISLAND

COLOURBRATION

SHOW 2016

Saturday September 10th dawned fine and cool with the promise of a favourable weather report after a week of storms and low temperatures for the first show of the spring season, the South Island Colourbration.

Returning to judge in New Zealand after several years absence was Karen Caldwell, from Wyona Alpacas in NSW, one of the foremost judges in Australia.

She arrived in the middle of a storm that brought snow to low levels overnight.

Beset with a chest infection that required additional medication during the weekend, Karen set about the fleece judging on Thursday in a truly professional manner. 82 entries were dealt with on the day and by 9pm that night the team, capably convened by Anne Rodgers, had

54

collated the results and sent them out to all the exhibitors with the note that they were to be embargoed until announcement at 8.30 on Saturday at the start of the Breed show.

On Saturday, 204 breed entries gathered to be judged on the damp but firm ANZ Lawn at the Canterbury Show Grounds. The weather was kind although the notorious Canterbury Easterly arrived mid-afternoon and the temperatures dropped. Those visiting from North and warmer climes noted the hardiness (or foolhardiness) of

the locals as they donned additional layers against the biting wind.

For the first time in AANZ history, a separate Roan class was included in fleece and breed. Who better to judge and comment on this classification but Karen with her background in breeding Roans in Australia. Anne and Bevan Rodgers had the Supreme Champion Roan Fleece with Arcady Brioche and Kit Johnson was successful with his breed entry Silverstream Nazareth, the first Champion Roan in NZ.

The South Island Colourbration Show is relaxed and enjoyable and an ideal entree into the spring season. Convened by Kees Rietveld and managed by the South Island Regional Committee, the smooth running is attributed to all of the team and volunteers that work hard

behind the scenes. We had a special guest ribbon steward this year. Fresh from convening the Queensland Show and travelling with Karen, Di Baker saw a need and willingly acquainted herself with the change from blue to red and supplied the correct ribbons for presentation.

Set aside the first Saturday in September next year for Colourbration 2017 and break the winter isolation drought. Get your animals show ready for the National and catch up on other breeders in a relaxed, friendly atmosphere.

COLOURBRATIONRESULTS Fleece show

Breed Show

Suri

Suri

Supreme Champion Brown Suri El Dos Cadena Titan

Supreme Champion Black Suri Sherlin Kodiak

Supreme Champ Med/Dark Fawn Suri Sherlin Marina

Supreme Champion Grey Suri Sherlin Lexus

Supreme Champion Light Fawn Suri Fairhaven Jazmyn

Supreme Champion Brown Suri Sherlin Jessco

Supreme Champion White Suri Fairhaven Jaeger

Supreme Champ Med/Dark Fawn Suri El Dos Cadena Selene

Huacaya

Supreme Champion Light Fawn Suri No entry

Supreme Champion Black Huacaya Warramunga Downs Enyo Supreme Champion Grey Huacaya El Romanso Sugar Yes Please Supreme Champion Brown Huacaya Shamara Tingting

Supreme Champ Light Fawn Huacaya Waikara Park Zambesi Supreme Champion White Huacaya Stoneleigh Odysseus Supreme Champion Roan Huacaya Silverstrean Nazareth

Fancy Premiere Fancy NZ Summerhill Leopard Regal

Supreme Champion White Suri Alpaca Xperience Striking Mist Supreme Champion Roan Suri El Dos Cadena Taurus

Huacaya

Supreme Champ M/D Fawn Huacaya Waikara Park Erewhon

Supreme Champion Black Huacaya NZ Black Magic Lady Kenzo

Supreme Champ Light Fawn Huacaya Bemerside Estate Jasper

Supreme Champion Grey Huacaya Design Aam Messi

Supreme Champion White Huacaya Altnaharra Ice Mastro

Supreme Champion Brown Huacaya Silverstream Precocious

Supreme Champion Roan Huacaya Arcady Brioche

Supreme Champ M/D Fawn Huacaya Waikara Park Erewhon 55

CROSSWORD ANSWERS s

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Innerwell – Al pac as –

kevin & Robin UNCLES Phone: 07 333 2202 Email: rk.uncles@farmside.co.nz

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.

Rob & Serena Scotcher – Paraparaumu Niall & Gael Singer – Masterton Athol & Terry Vivier – Albany Mark Rattenbury & Deanna Lee – Levin Jenny & Richard Castle – Amberley Danielle Templeton – Christchurch Rodger & Kim Dryden – Taupo Glenys Croker & Bruce Anderson – Hamilton

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2016

A HUGE success See you all again next time!

• 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