ALPACA WORLD MAGAZINE
From Fibre to Felt
Winter 2014/2015 £7.00 where sold
A.G.E. CONCERNS WHY ACROSS HERD GENETIC
THE ART OF FASHION
EVALUATION IS IMPORTANT – AND HOW TO GET IT RIGHT
Absolute Beginners A NEW BREEDER'S FIRST YEAR
Alpaca visits... home and away
THE ALPACA EFFECT IN FRANCE
LET IT GO!
RESTRAINT-FREE HANDLING
2 | Winter 2015 | ALPACA WORLD MAGAZINE
CONTENTS
Classical Publishing Ltd Š 2015
WELCOME
The only independent magazine reporting on the international alpaca industry. Distributed by subscription worldwide and through country stores across the UK, Alpaca World Magazine reaches the largest readership in its market.
Issue 52 Winter 2015 ISSN 1477–7088 Editor: Rachel Hebditch Vulscombe Farm, Pennymoor, Tiverton, Devon, EX16 8NB Telephone: 01884 243579 Mobile: 07540 748803 Email: rachel@alpaca-uk.co.uk Advertising: Heidi Hardy Telephone 01598 752799 Email: heidi@ alpacaworldmagazine.com Copy deadline for the next issue: 18th March 2015 Design and Production: TRG Design 68 Rivermead Road Exeter EX2 4RL Telephone: 01392 279371 Email: info@trgdesign.com www.trgdesign.com Printed in England by: Advent Colour 19 East Portway Ind. Est., Andover SP10 3LU The material contained in Alpaca World Magazine is compiled by the publishers for information purposes only. Although the material included has been obtained from sources believed to be reliable, no guarantees are given as to its accuracy or completeness. Readers are reminded that expert advice should always be sought in individual cases. Whilst every care has been taken in the compilation of the material contained in this issue the publisher does not accept responsibility for any loss arising out of such changes or inaccuracies nor for any other loss suffered as a result of information contained in this issue. Notice to Advertisers: It is a condition of acceptance of advertisement orders that the publishers, Classical Publishing Ltd, do not guarantee the insertion of a particular advertisement on a specific date, or at all, although every effort will be made to meet the wishes of advertisers; further the company does not accept liability for any loss or damage caused by any error or inaccuracy in the printing or non appearance of any advertisement, or if we decide to edit or delete any objectionable wording, or reject any advertisement. Although every advertisement is carefully checked, occasionally mistakes do occur. We therefore ask advertisers to assist us by checking their advertisements carefully and to advise us by the deadline given should an error occur. We regret that we cannot accept responsibility for more than one incorrect insertion and that no republication or discount will be granted in the case of typographic or minor changes which do not affect the value of the advertisement.
HAPPY NEW YEAR TO YOU ALL. NO DOUBT YOU WILL ALL BE LOOKING FORWARD TO WEEKS OF HALTER TRAINING IN THIS GLORIOUS WEATHER BEFORE THE START OF THE SHOW SEASON WITH THE NATIONAL SHOW AT THE BEGINNING OF MARCH AND THE BRITISH ALPACA FUTURITY AT THE END OF MARCH. No doubt the shows will be a lot of fun with fierce competition for the ribbons, the opportunity to catch up with other breeders and of course the chance to put the alpaca world to right over a few beers. In this issue we meet new breeder Adara Alpacas, find out what John Gaye has been up to since Alpacas of Wessex was sold, Claire Whitehead answers your questions on worming and vitamin D and Stephen Mulholland airs his criticisms of across herd genetic evaluation schemes whilst Julie Taylor Browne writes about restraint free handling.
CONTENTS Alpaca World Magazine Winter 2015 NEWS
18
AGE: Across herd Genetic Evaluation
4
British Alpaca Futurity 2015
28
6
BAS National Show
Adara Alpacas: A New Breeder's First Year
6
Alpaca Show Nordwest
40
Where Are They Now? John Gaye
8
International Year of Camelids
46
My Conversation with Juan Pablo
9
Heart of England Autumn Fleece Show 2014
50
Alpaca Visits ...Home and Away
54
Chrissie Menzies: The Art of Fashion
9
New Owner at Stanford
10
Spring Alpaca Shows in the Netherlands
60
Working for the Skin Trade: Peruvian Fur
12
Association of French Llamas and Alpacas Annual Show
66
Restraint Free Handling
REGULAR ITEMS
FEATURES
36
Ask the Vet
14
73
Breeders directory
14
Alpaca Fiesta 2014: Record Breaker
66
54
Cover photo by Viv Maton, Adara Alpacas
www.alpacaworldmagazine.com ALPACA WORLD MAGAZINE | Winter 2015 | 3
NEWS
If you have news of events or developments within the alpaca industry which you would like to share with others please send it to: The Editor, Alpaca World Magazine, Vulscombe Farm, Pennymoor, Tiverton, Devon EX16 8NB, United Kingdom Email: info@alpacaworldmagazine.com
BRITISH ALPACA FUTURITY 2015: EVERYTHING UNDER ONE ROOF
British Alpaca Futurity 27-28 March 2015 THE BRITISH ALPACA FUTURITY 2015 has lined up top international judges Peter Kennedy (Australia) and Wade Gease (USA) for this prestigious show on Friday March 27 and Saturday March 28. The show will be held in the Ricoh Arena, Coventry, that has an hotel just across the corridor from the
main hall, a casino attached and first class rail, air and motorway links to the rest of the UK and Europe. More than 400 alpacas are expected to take part in the halter classes over the two days and there will be an international fleece show also judged by Peter Kennedy and Wade Gease.
The alpacas shown will normally be the progeny of ‘nominated’ herd sires although alpacas that are not the progeny of these herd sires can be entered on payment of a slightly higher entry fee. The Futurity Champion Huacaya and Suri Herd sires will not be present at the show as it is the number of points won by their progeny that will win the cup and purple sash for them. The points scoring system for the Futurity Champion Herd Sires
Members of the public will be able to meet the breeders of the alpacas and buy textiles made from their fleeces
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It is one of the few shows where you can see hundreds of alpacas and the products made from their fleeces under one roof. Members of the public will be able to meet the breeders of the alpacas and buy textiles made from their fleeces. For breeders it is an opportunity to compete and compare their
is such that only points won by the top nine performing progeny of a nominated sire will be used, making the Futurity Herd Sire Champion awards less dependent on progeny numbers entered. There are plenty of other awards for exhibitors to take home including the championships in the fleece show, the colour championships, the most successful Small Breeder Award and the Judge's Choice Suri and Huacaya.
alpacas to the others being shown and network with alpaca folk from the UK, Europe and farther afield. The British Alpaca Futurity is designed to be the showpiece for all British alpaca breeders, large or small and exists to promote British breeding and the quality of the herdsires resident in the UK.
PLUSH The Plush Show, an innovative textile show, will be the latest new venture for the Futurity with 50 plus stands, workshops featuring the brightest young designers and makers and hosted by the designer Belinda Harris-Reid and theatre director Rachel Vowles. This will showcase all sorts of natural fibres from alpaca to wool to mohair and silk and vegetable fibres. Designer/makers, hand dyers, people working in the world of fibre, textile artists and companies selling exquisite hand-made objects
The Futurity is hosted by a group of British breeders, Classical MileEnd Alpacas, The Alpaca Stud, Bozedown Alpacas, Houghton Hall Alpacas and EP Cambridge UK, to showcase British alpaca breeding to the rest of the world. It is a great opportunity for alpaca breeders to network with other breeders from Europe, the USA, Australia and of course the UK. Sponsorship opportunities, application forms for trade stands
something using our special scarlet Plush needles and crochet hooks to raise money for Target Ovarian Cancer. These are on sale on the Plush website and buyers are asked to get knitting and post pictures of themselves on social media linked to the Plush website. and designs will be exhibiting at the Show, applauding the British making and designing industry. Workshops will run throughout the two days, twelve a day spread out over four rooms. They include freeform knitting, Tunisian crochet, revitalising vintage, Fair Isle, recycling inner tubes to make a bag, lace knitting, silk painting, microwave dyeing, indigo dyeing and needle felting. All the details of when, where and how much are on the P-lush website www.p-lush.co.uk. Book early as numbers are limited. Knitters are invited to take part in the Sit-n-Knit-a-Bit campaign running up to the show by making
and booking forms for nominated males are on the websites www.p-lush.co.uk and www.britishalpacafuturity.com. Do have a look at the websites and any makers amongst you, please consider taking a trade stand. All sponsors, companies taking stands and nominated males will be showcased on the websites from the payment date.
THE EXPERIENCE The book of the show, called The Experience, a coffee table publication, will be on sale and will include free patterns by the exciting knitwear designer Belinda Harris-Reid, information about the show and fascinating articles about alpacas and their fibre. At the end of the two day show, there will be an informal dinner where the awards will be presented.
For more information as it happens, follow us on: facebook.com/plushshow twitter.com/p_lushshow ravelry.com/groups/p-lush pinterest.com/plushshow or www. p-lush.co.uk and www.britishalpacafuturity.com
20 1 5
NEWS
The British Alpaca Futurity and P-Lush Show would like to thank our generous sponsors: ROYAL GRADE SPONSORS: Bozedown Alpacas The Alpaca Stud Houghton Hall Alpacas BABY GRADE SPONSORS: Suri Stud Redens Alpacas CS Alpacas Woodbine Farm Alpacas Pure Alpacas Beck Brow Alpacas ACCESS WRIST BAND SPONSOR: Penrose Products INTERNATIONAL FLEECE SHOW SPONSOR: Kensmyth Alpacas RECEPTION AND SHOW PLANT SPONSOR: Melford Green Alpacas MOST SUCCESSFUL SMALL BREEDER: Snowshill Alpacas FUTURITY CHAMPION HERDSIRE SURI AND HUACAYA: Merrifield Alpacas JUDGE'S CHOICE SURI: Adara Alpacas FUTURITY CHAMPION FLEECE SURI: Faraway Alpacas FUTURITY CHAMPION FLEECE HUACAYA: UK Alpaca Ltd COLOUR CHAMPION SASHES Fawn Huacaya Champion and Reserve: Kilnwood Alpacas Support your industry and get some excellent publicity at the same time. There are sponsorships still available, to find out more please visit the sponsorship page at www.britishalpacafuturity.com
ALPACA WORLD MAGAZINE | Winter 2015 | 5
NEWS
BAS NATIONAL SHOW THE BRITISH ALPACA SOCIETY NATIONAL SHOW will be held at the International Centre in Telford, Shropshire, on the 7th and 8th of March. The judges for the halter classes, which have been capped at 360 entries, are Australian Natasha Clark and the BAS judge Cathy Lloyd. The fleece show judges are Natasha Clark and the BAS judge Matthew Lloyd whilst Val Fullerlove will judge the Fibre Zone competitions.
BRITISH JUDGE JAY HOLLAND will again judge the ALPACASHOW NORDWEST in Hamm, Germany, on April 11 and 12. Apart from the halter classes, there will also be a Llama and Alpaca Trail competition.
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ALPACA WORLD MAGAZINE | Winter 2015 | 7
NEWS
INTERNATIONAL YEAR OF CAMELIDS
Draft resolution presented to the UN General Assembly THE BOLIVIAN GOVERNMENT is lobbying the United Nations to make 2016 the international year of camelids. The proposal includes llamas, alpacas, vicunas and guanacos and their cousins the Bactrian and dromedary camel. The draft resolution proclaims the 'economic and cultural importance of camelids in the lives of people living in the areas where they are domesticated and used as a source of food and wool and as pack animals'. The resolution, which is being considered by the UN General Assembly, encourages the international community to 'raise awareness at all levels to promote the protection of camelids and the consumption of the goods produced from these mammals in a sustainable manner'. It makes the case that the world should be more aware of the positive influence camelids can have on an economy and notes that camelids are strictly herbivorous, even-toed ungulate mammals that first appeared in America 45 million years ago. The move has been welcomed by those who have studied the animals' contribution to society
down the centuries. 'Historically, the development of Andean cultures is based on camelids' said Daniel Maydana, a Bolivian anthropologist with many years' experience on vicuna projects. He said a year dedicated to camelid products could be a boon to the farmers who raise the animals - as long as recognition is accompanied by investment in sustainable projects.
HISTORY South American camelids have played key roles in Andean society. The Incan empire might not have been possible without camelids and even today camelids carry indigenous and local economies. The llama could travel distances and carry heavy loads and was not limited to certain geographic regions so that their pervasiveness allowed them to unite disparate
populations into what would become an empire. For instance, camelids made it possible to bring fish from the ocean up to the highlands and they were a very practical animal providing fibre, meat and manure for fuel. But camelids also felt the consequences of Spanish colonisation, like the people, the camelid populations suffered as they were displaced by Old World
The Incan empire might not have been possible without camelids and even today camelids carry indigenous and local economies
8 | Winter 2015 | ALPACA WORLD MAGAZINE
NEWS
farmed livestock. By the middle of the twentieth century only 10,000 vicunas remained out of the two million that were there when the Spanish arrived. The vicunas' incredibly fine fleece meant that it was almost hunted to extinction and even though populations are recovering today, it is still endangered.
There are new conservation efforts to protect the animals. In 2014, the AEON Environmental Foundation MIDORI Prize for Biodiversity went to Bibiana Vilá, the director of Vicuñas, Camelids and Environment (VICAM). Vilá’s work reinvigorates indigenous traditions like the “chaku” — where vicuñas are sheared alive by surrounding them and then released back to the wild. This way, the animals are able to live free, and indigenous peoples can support their local economies with traditional knowledge and support conservation efforts. But keeping camelids alive is also about keeping Andean identity alive. It’s not a coincidence that Simón Bolívar prohibited camelid hunting as soon as Peru won its independence from Spain in 1825, or that llamas are featured on Peru’s national coat of arms and coins.
HEART OF ENGLAND AUTUMN FLEECE SHOW 2014 WITH RECORD ENTRIES of 190 fleeces the Heart of England Autumn Fleece Show has now become one of the biggest fleece shows in Europe. This year the show was hosted and organised by Julia Corrigan Stuart of C-S Alpacas. Our judges Jay Holland and Liz Barlow had a very enjoyable two days judging the fleeces from 50 breeders, including entries from Belgium and Spain. Sunday’s prize giving was well attended and included talks from a young textile designer Camilla Pascoe and both judges. The Heart of England would like to thank everyone involved in making the show a resounding success. The Supreme Huacaya Champion award was won by Ashwood Hope belonging to Chris Powell and Ashwood Alpacas, this fleece also won the Judges Choice award. Honeyfield Alpacas’ Honeyfield Cassandra won Best of British Alpaca Fleece for breeder Donna Stalker. Julia Corrigan Stuart of C-S Alpacas took a clean sweep in the Suri Awards. Her Will’O’Wisp fleece won Supreme Champion, Judges Choice and Best of British Alpaca Fleece.
NEW OWNER AT STANFORD Amanda VandenBosch
Richard Beale
STANFORD LIVESTOCK INTERNATIONAL LTD, the pedigree livestock import export company, has changed ownership. It has been sold to Amanda VandenBosch of Oregon, USA as of January 1st 2015. Amanda has been breeding alpacas for over 23 years and is well known to the international alpaca community as an international judge and trainer, judging and teaching, worldwide. She has extensive livestock experience having previously worked in racehorse studs including The National Stud on both sides of the Atlantic. We have been working with Amanda for several years. Richard Beale has been importing and exporting livestock for 30 years and now approaching his 80th birthday is retiring. He has agreed to be a consultant to the company for the next two years. Stanford Livestock International
was founded as Neil Stanford Ltd in 1966 and the name was changed in 1989. The company acts as an import- export livestock agents specialising in moving only pedigree breeding farm livestock, and camelids especially, to and from long distance destinations Since 1995 when it imported the first ever commercial livestock shipment of alpacas from South America to England, the company has continuously been moving alpacas, well over 4,000 to date worldwide. Mostly gone are the days of charter Jet shipments as today’s importers are looking for top quality genetics, these high value alpacas travel on regular passengers flights across the world. The company initially came to prominence as the leading exporter of continental cattle to the Americas and Australasia during the “Exotics Boom” in the 1970s. Later
in the late 1980s saw bull buying at Perth and Carlisle for overseas clients. Moving an entire herd by air, 100 head of Limousins, from Northern Ireland to Johannesburg, 99 Highland cattle also by air to Switzerland and a Welsh Black bull to Tristian du Cuna by sea were just some of the highlights. In recent years importing to Britain, Lowline, an Australian breed, from Canada was another first. Clients have included universities, governments, breeding companies and breeders in many parts of the world. The Stanford Livestock International name has also been registered in the US. All existing contracts will be carried through to their respective final destinations in the capable hands of Amanda. She can be contacted on amandafda@ earthlink.net + 1 (831) 809 1147 www.stanfordlivestock.com
ALPACA WORLD MAGAZINE | Winter 2015 | 9
NEWS
DUTCH DOUBLE
Spring Alpaca Shows in the Netherlands THIS SHOW SEASON, the Alpaca Association Benelux will host two spring halter shows. These are two of the best visited alpaca events in mainland Europe. According to latest estimates, the Benelux region, Belgium, Netherlands and Luxemburg, is home to approximately 5000 alpacas. The AAB is focused on promoting alpaca breeding.
SATURDAY 21ST AND SUNDAY 22ND OF MARCH 2015 INTERNATIONAL SHOW IN HAPERT (SOUTH) The Hapert show will be judged by Mr. Wade Gease from the United States. 250 animals are expected to be shown. Besides the halter show, there will be a Stud Service Auction, a Junior Handler competition and trade stands with alpaca-related
products. There is no entrance fee for visitors. A dinner will be hosted on Saturday evening at NH Hotel ‘Koningshof’. This hotel comes highly recommended for overnight visitors.
SUNDAY 19TH OF APRIL 2015 INTERNATIONAL SHOW IN MEPPEL (NORTH) The Meppel show will boast approximately 150 alpacas, and will be judged by Mrs. Shirley Bettinson. This show is hosted in the equestrian centre of charity ‘de Baander’. This centre is built exclusively to allow people with disabilities to enjoy horseback- and carriage riding. By attending and visiting this show, you wIll help us raise money
10 | Winter 2015 | ALPACA WORLD MAGAZINE
for the charity ‘De Baander’. There will be a fair with local produce, crafts and tradesmen. The on-site petting zoo and coffee house will be open, and ‘de Baander’ will showcase their equestrian services. A dinner will be hosted on Saturday evening at Hotel Zwartewater. This hotel comes highly recommended for overnight visitors.
Full details and addresses for both shows are available on the AAB website: www.alpaca-benelux.com. Any questions, please do not hesitate to contact the chairperson of the show committee, Yvonne Verbeek, via email: show@alpaca-benelux.com
THE BRITISH ALPACA SOCIETY NATIONAL SHOW 2015 7th-8th March
Would you like to see the premier UK pedigree alpacas on show? Would you like to have your animals and fleeces assessed along with the best? Then come along to the BAS National - get advice from top breeders, see all the latest alpaca products and find out what to do with your fibre.
www.basnationalshow.co.uk
GOLD SPONSORS:
The International Centre St Quentin’s Gate Telford Shropshire TF3 4JH
Less than an hour from Birmingham Airport
FLEECE SHOW SPONSOR:
Artwork: broadmedia.co.uk ALPACA WORLD MAGAZINE | Winter 2015 | 11
NEWS
FRENCH SELECTION THE ASSOCIATION OF FRENCH LLAMAS AND ALPACAS held their annual show on a sunny weekend in late September at an equestrian centre in Macon-Chaintre. Eligible alpacas were required to be registered on a recognised European register. Huacaya and Suri classes were held consecutively through the colour classifications from black
12 | Winter 2015 | ALPACA WORLD MAGAZINE
through grey to white with colour championships awarded at the end of each colour. All colour classes and progeny groups were judged by the British judge Liz Barlow on the Saturday, during which time the llama classes were also judged by Joy Bishop-Forshey. On the Sunday the Supreme Champion huacaya was awarded to Cerbere du Fontenelle owned by Elevage du
Fontenelle. Supreme Champion suri was awarded to Lilikalani de Mynas owned by Alpacas de la Grange Mynas. The Judge's Choice fleece was awarded to Spartacus du Fontenelle owned by Elevage du Fontenelle. During the Sunday afternoon obstacle classes for both llamas and alpacas provided great amusement.
Contact Roger Mount
on 01386 853 841 or 07711044106 Email: snowshillalpacas@btinternet.com Web: www.snowshillalpacas.com
Snowshill Alpacas,
Snowshill Hill Barn, Temple Guiting, Cheltenham, Gloucestershire GL54 5XX
Snowshill Beethoven
Snowshill Ciscero
sire: Virococha Prophecy of Anzac dam: Merungle Audrey of Anzac
sire: Eringa Park Lionheart of Cambridge dam: Silverstream Escudo of Anzac
Snowshill Nicodemus
Snowshill Oberon (Suri)
sire: Snowshill Samuel dam: Snowshill Amelia
Snowshill Peregrin
sire: Wessex Cosmos dam: Hermione of Willaston
Snowshill Raphael (Suri)
sire: Andean Legacy of I-Spy dam: Snowshill Letitia
sire: Snowshill Raphael dam: Bozedown Dividend
Blackmore Vale Shaston Prince
sire: Coricancha Fernando of Wessex dam: Patience
Snowshill Shadow Dancer
sire: ARU Cambridge Ice Cool Lad dam: Cambridge Chocolate Button
Wellground Imber
sire: Moonstone Ridgway of Bozedown dam: Eve of Atlantic
Snowshill Orlando
sire: Virococha Prophecy of Anzac dam: Snowshill Perdita
Snowshill Ramises
sire: EP Cambridge Navigator of Accoyo dam: Snowshill Alexandra
Snowshill Vivaldi
sire: Blackmore Vale Shaston Prince dam: Snowshill Abbigail
Above is a selection of our Stud Males available for services in 2014. Fees range from ÂŁ350 to ÂŁ650. Significant discounts apply for multiple matings. Progeny can be viewed. We also have a number of alpacas for sale from pet to show quality. Please phone/email for details. ALPACA WORLD MAGAZINE | Winter 2015 | 13
ALPACA FIESTA 2014
ALPACA FIESTA 2014
The 5th Alpaca Fiesta that took place in Arequipa from 10th to 15th November was the first time its organization was the result of a joint effort between the International Alpaca Association (IAA) and Peru’s Ministry of Tourism and Foreign Trade (MINCETUR) together with its exports promotions body, Promperu.
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ALPACA FIESTA 2014
...RECORD BREAKER!
White suri alpacas in the judging ring
F
rom an ambitious first day that included the event’s participants travelling to Toccra, located some 3,300 metres above sea level (10,825 feet) and three hours away from Arequipa by road, to participate in a vicuña chaccu (round-up) and then on to the town of Yanque in the Colca Canyon to watch a fashion show of handknitted alpaca collections presented by textile groups from the Regions of Huancavelica, Cusco and Puno, it was clear that Alpaca Fiesta 2014 was going to be more spectacular than its predecessors of 1997, 2000, 2003 and 2007. And so it proved as, once back in Arequipa at the Cerro Juli Showground, a colourful folkloric dance display for the event’s inauguration set the
tone for the rest of the week which, by its end, had seen more than 5,000 visitors (five times as many as in 2007) pass through its portals. At the Fiesta’s heart was the judging of one thousand and fifty alpacas (both huacaya and suri breeds) which were gathered together from 39 communities and farmers from the Regions of Arequipa, Ayacucho, Cusco and Puno. Modern technology was employed in the judging criteria for the first time with fibre samples from the animals being analysed for micron fineness in an on site laboratory. Running parallel with the daily judging of alpacas was a conference programme that consisted of presentations by both international
and national experts that covered subjects ranging from alpaca fibre genetics, modern shearing techniques, handicraft dyeing methods, bio-bleaching of alpaca, cloth and garment finishing procedures, the effect of climate change on Peru’s alpaca farming communities, Peru’s alpaca technical norms, marketing and branding of alpaca products. More than 600 people attended the conference programme which culminated in an open forum discussion between a panel of representatives from the alpaca industry: Luca Alvigini (President of the IAA), Francois Patthey (Grupo Inca) and Derek Michell (Michell & Cia., S.A.) and questions from the audience. ALPACA WORLD MAGAZINE | Winter 2015 | 15
ALPACA FIESTA 2014 Meche Correa’s alpaca collection at the Fashion Show
Above: Portraits of alpaca garments displayed during the Fashion Show
Magaly Silva, Peru’s Minister for Tourism and Foreign Trade, pinning a rosette on an award-winning huacaya alpaca
This new mark recognises alpaca as a flagship product of Peru and it is hoped that identifying it as such is a strategy that will help open up world markets BIG BUCKS A commercial pavilion housed eighty four stands from companies from the Regions of Junin (6), Puno (7), Cusco (17), Arequipa (36), Huancavelica (3) and Lima (15). These were visited by the participant and members of the public alike to learn more about the alpaca industry and purchase the textile products on sale. Promperu staged a two-day business round table symposium during the Fiesta where seventy international buyers from Italy, Germany, Australia, Austria, Brazil, Canada, South Korea, Denmark, the UK, USA, Spain, Japan, Mexico, the Netherlands, Sweden and Chile met with Peruvian suppliers of alpaca products and, according to the exit polls, business to the tune of US$ 17.6 million was booked. Notable brand names present were Max Mara (Italy), Valentino (Italy), Muji (Japan), LF Corporation (South Korea), Club Monaco Vicuña chaccu (round-up) in Toccra
16 | Winter 2015 | ALPACA WORLD MAGAZINE
(USA), Casa Palacio (Mexico) and Cerruti (Italy). The penultimate day of the Fiesta was graced by the presence of Peru’s Minister for Tourism and Foreign Trade, Magaly Silva, who took the opportunity to unveil the Peruvian government’s alpaca logo, “Alpaca Del Peru”. This new mark recognises alpaca as a flagship product of Peru and it is hoped that identifying it as such is a strategy that will help open up world markets. The Minister also announced that, whilst Alpaca Fiesta will return to its format of taking place every four years, the new Alpaca Moda show will be staged in Arequipa every two years, ensuring an intermediate fashion presence that will bring both events together over a four-year cycle.
NIGHTS TO REMEMBER Whilst the daytime itinerary kept everybody well-occupied, the night-time activities
combined ambiences of social interaction with spectacle. The Fashion Show evening was the premium nocturnal event, held in the old Jesuit cloisters in the city centre, and featured a programme of alpaca collections by designers and brands by Meche Correa, Gleny Castro, Jose Miguel Valdivia, Kuna, Sol Alpaca Altiknits and Cerruti. Two of the other evenings were given over to renowned Peruvian photographer Mario Testino’s “Alta Moda” 1989 exhibition of traditional costumes from the Region of Cusco and a Gala Night celebration that brought the week’s proceedings to a close. Finally, and to ensure that the word was spread worldwide, Promperu invited textile journalists and reporters from the UK, USA, China, Japan, Mexico, Colombia, France, Italy and Spain to cover Alpaca Fiesta and keep appetites whetted until the next one.
Bozedown Alpacas Established 1989
World Class Alpacas
Shear Excellence over 26 years
Generations of Intelligent Breeding - our sure foundation Bozedown has made 5 important selections from Peru, including that landmark first Peruvian selection into Europe in 1998. We like to push the boundaries with our breeding and continue to outsource new genetics from around the world in order to complement and enhance our selective breeding programme, thus maintaining the leading position we have within the industry.
2014 2 major Shows - 32 Champion Sashes!
Choose Bozedown World-Class Champion bloodlines for Legendary Stud Services and reliable breeding stock at fair prices
Beginners’ Day Courses throughout the year
For sales enquiries, competent after sales support and training please contact Mary-Jo +44 (0)118-984-3827 +44(0)771-875-0303 maryjo@bozedown-alpacas.co.uk www.bozedown-alpacas.co.uk
We proudly sponsor
ALPACA WORLD MAGAZINE | Winter 2015 | 17
ACROSS HERD GENETIC EVALUATION
AGE CONCERNS
Across herd Genetic Evaluation: it's important... ...and we're doing it wrong! By Stephen Mulholland, Ph.D. 18 | Winter 2015 | ALPACA WORLD MAGAZINE
ACROSS HERD GENETIC EVALUATION
D
uring the twentieth century, genetic statistical tools were developed to speed and quantify the breeding of commercially farmed species. Many of the “new” alpaca countries, those in North America, and Australasia, have adopted breed-development programmes based on these principles to improve alpaca breeding decisions. As a scientist I was excited when such a system was rolled out here in New Zealand, called Across Herd Genetic Evaluation or AGE, but as I examined the system of analysis being used I became disheartened, then upset. Multiple, fundamental, errors were made in the setup of the programme, fatally compromising the calculated output. Worse, from a quick look at the AGEtype systems being used by alpaca associations elsewhere in the world, it looks like some of these mistakes are common. In this article I will walk you through the errors in the way we collect data, and how to fix them. I will also discuss areas of breed development that we are currently ignoring at our peril, and how that too could be rectified with a better AGE-type system.
WHAT IS THE CONCEPT OF THE AGE? At its most fundamental level AGE is about distinguishing the genotype, the genetic makeup, of an organism from its phenotype, what it looks like. AGE should allow us to separate and quantify the genetic strengths and weakness of a given male or female: how likely it is to throw a cria with improved fleece fineness, staple length, or any other measurable and heritable trait.
The AGE analyzes the traits of offspring to determine the genetic contribution of the parents. In theory it should distinguish between the animals that look good but throw mediocre cria from the “gems in the rough” which don't look exceptional and could never win a show ribbon, yet produce cria that are truly outstanding. This is the so-called “breed value” – the strengths and weaknesses of an animal in different traits (a.k.a. the Expected Progeny Difference or EPD). This information allows you to then pick the males and females with the best genetics, so that you can make the fastest improvements in your herd. AGE, done right, is objective and quantifiable, and lets you pick the traits that are important to your own breeding programme. This is in contrast to the show ring which is subjective, and only provides limited information about an animal's phenotype.
WHAT IS THE PROBLEM WITH AGE? There is a very old adage of computer science: Garbage In = Garbage Out. What this means is that no matter how complex your mathematics, and no matter how powerful your computer, if you input meaningless numbers (garbage) you will get meaningless numbers back out. The results might look superficially good, with lots of apparent precision and attached to all sorts of fancy graphs and statistical measures of accuracy, but if the input was flawed the output will never be good. And sadly that's what we've done with the AGE system.
AGE, done right, is objective and quantifiable, and lets you pick the traits that are important to your own breeding programme ALPACA WORLD MAGAZINE | Winter 2015 | 19
ACROSS HERD GENETIC EVALUATION Let me explain some of the most fundamental problems.
1: The cria fleece is a terrible measure of alpaca fleece quality The AGE system is structured to take a single sample from each animal being studied, and that sample is typically the cria fleece. The problem is that the cria fleece is probably one of the worst possible choices for evaluating the genetic qualities that have been passed on to a cria. Why? (a) The “fluff” the cria is born with is often very different than the fleece that grows in after they are born. Depending on the age of the cria at time of sampling this neonatal fleece can play a large biasing role in the measured quality of the fleece. And the AGE has no provision to account for people who trim away this neonatal fleece. (b) Many (most?) cria fleeces coarsen considerably after birth. A sample submitted from a 6-month old might appear much finer than a sample submitted from the same animal when 12 months old. For example, let's look at the first fleece of a quickly-coarsening cria:
Fig 1: Cria fleece with significant fibre coarsening
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Cria fleece is probably one of the worst possible choices for evaluating the genetic qualities that have been passed on to a cria When this cria was born (left side of graph) it had a mean fibre diameter of about 15.5 micron. Twelve months later the fibre had coarsened to 23 micron. Depending on the age of sampling, this cria could have produced very different “mean micron” results. Furthermore, the calculated mean micron of 19.5 is itself deceptive, in fact this cria already has a 23 micron fleece, and it is very likely to keep coarsening a couple more microns during its second and even third year of life. (Thanks to Paul Vallely of AAFT for providing this data.)
ACROSS HERD GENETIC EVALUATION Fig 2: Cria fleece with consistency in fibre diameter
animals don't stabilize until their 5th fleece, so some mistakes may still occur in terms of attributing genetic fineness, but the mistakes are minor compared to using the first fleece. Some animals produce quality fleece only in their first year, while other animals can go anywhere from two to twelve years before the fleece quality degrades significantly (mean micron, staple length, total fleece weight). This sort of information is absolutely vital for breeding commercially viable fleece production animals, and yet is totally ignored by AGE. Thus there must be an incentive (or even a requirement) to enter multiple fleece reports for every animal in the AGE, so that the data can be analyzed as fleeceyear cohorts. (e) Because the cria fleece doesn't necessarily represent the adult fleece production of a given alpaca, all calculations of heritability of traits such as fineness, staple length, and fleece weight using this first fleece data all become fatally compromised. We can't trust using any data in an AGE-type system until we are sure that the original inputs are good.
In our experience some animals don't stabilize until their 5th fleece, so some mistakes may still occur in terms of attributing genetic fineness
Fig 3: Fleece variability over time
Mean Micron
Compare the graph in Fig 1 to the one above (from an alpaca on our own farm), also showing a first fleece. Here is a different one year old alpaca where the mean micron has varied very little over the course of the year. The two animals present similar calculated mean micron (18.2 vs 19.5), yet as you can see these are very different in terms of actual fibre production. Which would you rather breed from? The AGE as designed cannot distinguish this critical difference, and would thus rate genetic contribution of the sires that produced these two cria similarly, when actually the second cria is a vastly better animal in terms of lifetime fleece production. (c) The length of neonatal fleece can vary a great deal between cria, and this complicates annualizing of fleece traits for a cria fleece. Measured staple length and fleece weight can be off by as much as 30% due to this contribution. The AGE can't account for this, so all the reports it produces of fleece weight and staple length heritability and variability are rendered suspect. (d) Cria fleece traits can have no relation to the adult fleece traits (particularly mean micron, SD/CV, and crimp structure). We should be breeding animals that give high quality, commercially valuable fleeces for 10 or more years. Yet the AGE fails to provide valid information for such traits. The figure on the right (Figure 3) shows the first three fleece results for seven animals born on our farm. All animals were kept in similar conditions, were at body condition score of 4 or more (of 5), and didn't suffer any health issues. All seven mean-micron measurement were quite similar their first year, with average fleece diameters of 19 to 22 microns. If just their cria fleeces had been entered into the AGE then their sires' genetic contributions would have been weighed near equally. Yet by the second fleece the mean microns are widely diverging, and by the third fleece many of these “fine� cria are already pushing 30 microns. An AGE system that cannot distinguish these animals is useless for breed development. I would recommend entering third-fleece data as a better measure of the adult-production fineness of an animal. That being said, in our experience some
Fleece Number
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ACROSS HERD GENETIC EVALUATION
2: Without knowing about the dams you can't judge the sires To the best of my knowledge, most users of the AGE are mainly interested in studs (sires). They use the progeny to determine the genetic strengths of their sires, and make breeding decisions accordingly. The AGE breed-value rankings of a stud are also used for advertising and promotion, increasing the chance for outside matings and financial gain. The problem is that the stud is only half the picture, and by not taking the dam into account we can get a very incorrect assessment of the sire. The dams are also much more variable than sires, since sires are much more carefully selected. Example: Let's look at two imaginary studs, “Able” and “Baker”, and try to see which one produces offspring with finer fleece. Each has ten offspring. The offspring of Able were all 23 micron, while those of Baker were all 25 micron. Which stud has better genetic fineness? With just this information you (and the AGE) would say Able. But what if all the dams Able was put across were 18 micron, while all the dams Baker was put across were 35 micron? Able's offspring are five micron coarser than their dams, while Baker's are 10 microns finer. Which stud would you say has the better genetic fineness now? Without knowing the contribution of the dam it is impossible to accurately measure the genetic contribution of the sire. AGE does not require the dam's fleece data be entered, and if such data were present, because she had been entered into AGE as a cria in a previous pass, then it would most likely be her cria fleece which probably has no relation to her actual adult fleece quality. If you don't take the adult fleece information of the dam into account, you cannot accurately measure the true genetic contribution of any sire. You also need to know that adult fleece of a given cria, as the first fleece can be hugely deceptive, as shown above. I realize waiting for 3rd fleeces to assess cria Fig 4: Effect of limited nutrients on fibre diameter
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quality requires patience. But making a rushed, incorrect breeding decision based on bad data is not going to help your breeding programme much, either.
3: Measures of fleece fineness (mean micron) need to be connected to nutritional status Growing luxurious fibre is not a top priority for an animal. Priority number one is “stay alive”. A bit further down the list is “reproduce”. Much further down the list is “grow hair”. In situations where an alpaca is under nutritional or environmental stress energy will be diverted from the hair follicles to maintain vital systems. This diversion is reflected in the quality and quantity of fibre produced. Thankfully there is a simple proxy which can be used to adequately account for this in AGE-type analysis: body-condition score. Here is an example of how nutritional stress diverts energy from fibre production, resulting in finer fibre. For the first half of the year (from 0 to 55 mm along the staple) the fibre got progressively finer. The animal was also dropping body condition; then we diagnosed and treated the tape worm. That stress now removed, the energy balance was restored and the fibre quickly bounced back to the same diameter where it'd started (22υ). There are many alpaca that are kept in conditions where they are stressed sufficiently that their fibre production is impacted. The measured mean-micron of these animals does not reflect their genetic potential, and thus should not be used to compare to the fibre of well-fed animals. Or as I like to joke, “it's not fine unless it's fat and fine”. Many NZ growers have learned the hard way that some “fine” imported Australian alpaca will coarsen by 5 or more microns once they start feeding on lush local pasture. The body condition score can be used as a way to sort fleece data such that nutritionallychallenged animals are not co-analyzed along with fully-fed ones. This additional factor could prevent potentially major distortions, five microns in the case of the animal in figure 4, from ruining the analysis.
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ACROSS HERD GENETIC EVALUATION
4: Statistics needs scale to be accurate To accurately calculate the genetic contribution of sires and dams you need lots of offspring. The problem is that compared to many agriculturallysignificant species alpaca breed very slowly. If alpaca associations around the world want to maximize the genetic gain possible in their national herds they need not only a properly designed breed-value system, an AGE-equivalent, they also need some mechanism of inducements to get as many people as possible to input data. Sires need all of their progeny entered, not just the ones that are considered “best” a problem which can introduce massive bias and compromised analysis. This may involve allowing non-registered animals, pet boys, to have their data input – an issue I know will cause no small amount of angst for some associations. On our own farm we do our best to keep collecting data on all the alpaca we have bred, even those we have sold. We might not get a full set of data every year for every off-farm animal, but each data point adds up to a better understanding of the strengths and weaknesses of a given blood line allowing us to better unravel the genotypes of our sires and dams. We need a proper, functioning, AGE system so that everyone can profit from a similar analysis of their own herd.
5: By ignorance or malice the AGE system can be distorted, and thus abused While the AGE system is itself badly constructed, the results it produces can be further distorted by the data input by the user. Because many people still trust the AGE, they can be badly misled and make poor breeding decisions. (a) The AGE requires that all animals' input 24 | Winter 2015 | ALPACA WORLD MAGAZINE
be registered in the IAR (for establishing family relationships). Yet only slightly more than half of all males are now registered. In addition, the guidelines state that “All progeny born in an analysis year need to be submitted to AGE to ensure the AGE analysis is not biased by missing genetic data”, this is correct, yet there is no mechanism I know of to test that this is true. If people aren't registering their pet-boys, then those animals are being excluded from AGE calculations. (b) Breed values don't take into account the number of progeny. Studs with very few offspring can have very distorted, not statistically valid, results. Furthermore, studs used for different purposes can end up with deceiving results in the AGE analysis. An “improver” stud might be used across very primitive, low-quality females, and thus look much worse than he actually is, while a “refiner” might only be used across the best females, and thus look better than he actually is, see the hypothetical example of Able and Baker above. (c) The “cherry-picked” result can be very deceiving. This could be done by honest mistake, or as a deliberate attempt to mislead people as to the genetic quality of a stud male. If I enter a stud into the AGE, and carefully pick only a few progeny with the most fantastic fleece results, the product of either exceptional females, or just the occasional genetic fluke of a great cria that comes from otherwise mediocre parents, then I can have a stud that suddenly rates as one of the best in the country. And he might not be. We can't presently know or tell how good he is based on current AGE results (garbage in = garbage out).
6: There are vital traits that are not even considered Who among you measures the milk production of your dams? Tracks it across the generations? No, I am not talking about trying to breed milking alpaca. (I've milked an alpaca, and it's not a job I would wish on anyone.) Dams with strong metabolisms capable of raising strong, quickgrowing cria while maintaining their own body condition are like gold. Under-nourished cria will grow slowly, be vulnerable to environmental stress, extreme weather, have decreased resistance to disease and parasites, and suffer a higher overall mortality. Milk production is quite heritable (about 0.3 to 0.35, based on other commercially milked species), so we can breed for it. There is an easy metric for milk production: cria weight gain during the first three months of life. I know that weight-gain is result of multiple traits from milking to mothering instinct, but frankly that is not a bad overall package to optimize. Why aren't we all monitoring and selecting for this vital trait? We can also make estimates of male fertility by measuring how many matings it takes on-average to achieve a pregnancy. There are other easy to measure and record traits that we could use to select animals that are better and stronger each generation. Having an animal with a tremendous fleece is meaningless if it is sickly, infertile, or dead.
ACROSS HERD GENETIC MAIN EVALUATION HEADING I know people who are “doing it right”, and doing their best. They input all the progeny data, and carefully record many traits with good accuracy and precision. But they are trapped in a flawed system. They might be able to use their results effectively within their own breeding program on their farm to make better decisions, but their animals cannot be fairly and quantitatively compared to others within Australia or NZ due to the poor and inconsistent way in which the AGE data is collected and processed. I suspect similar failure-of-comparison problems probably plague alpaca breed development systems elsewhere, too. On our farm we are trying to run a good science-based system applying semi-quantitative genetic evaluation (within the limits set by statistical certainty in our relatively small herd size). But we find it nearly impossible to buy males, females, or stud services because very few breeders keep enough or the right kind of records for us to assess the genetic worth of their animals. It would be great if we could use an actual, functional, AGE-type system to go out and find the studs that are carrying the traits we want to breed for. It would make stud selection an informed choice, and not a trip to the used-car salesman. If we all could make those kind of informed decisions, it would not take long before the quality of the national herd soared. We need an AGE that: • Accounts for the genetic contribution of the dam • Looks at more than the cria fleece, giving us information on the adult fleece production • Can track progeny over time, so that we can breed for fleeces that stay good for longer
• Encourages people to participate, and enter more data for the benefit of all (meaning tracking more than just the traits any one individual is interested in) • Can better sort the data by time and generation. Did you know that we have no idea if, or by how much, the average alpaca has improved in NZ over the last 20 years? We can't consider ourselves a forward-looking industry if we're stumbling around blind. If we're especially clever we'd tie a good AGE-equivalent system into the national alpaca registries, and look into making it possible for the relevant data to be directly uploaded from the popular alpaca-herd-management software packages, and directly from the fibre testing authorities. We (the AANZ) could do an AGE-type system right, and we could do it ourselves, either by amending the setup of the current AGE, or starting over. We could have an actual breed development tool under our control that could make us world leaders in alpaca genetics. It just requires the will. We have to fight the inertia of “we already have something, so it must be good enough”. It's not. We need a good breed development system, and if we won't make a good one, we should at least dump the current one. The AGE as is stands now is deceptive: it's not grounded in good science, and it has the disturbing potential to do more harm than good, especially if anyone decides to deliberately abuse the system.
Very few breeders keep enough or the right kind of records for us to assess the genetic worth of their animals
If you have any comments or feedback on this article, please feel free to contact me: stephen@camelidhealth.org
DR STEPHEN MULHOLLAND trained as a laboratory scientist and holds a PhD is Biochemistry and Molecular Biophysics. In 2003 he moved to New Zealand, bought a small farm and started raising alpacas. In 2005 Stephen began, with the assistance of the AANZ and the NZLA to run health surveys of the llama and alpaca populations of New Zealand and to date has collected 15,000 animal years data on their morbidity, mortality and management. He led the team that produced the final draft of the Code of Welfare: Llamas and Alpacas that was launched in April 2013 whilst in June 2013 founded a camelid health and welfare charitable trust with other interested alpaca and llama owners: www.camelidhealth.org
ALPACA WORLD MAGAZINE | Winter 2015 | 25
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ALPACA WORLD MAGAZINE | Winter 2015 | 27
A NEW BREEDER'S FIRST YEAR
In the small village of Baulking near the famous bronze age ‘White Horse’ of Uffington in Oxfordshire, lives Viv Maton, a new Suri breeder. After renovating an old vicarage Viv, her husband Peter and son George were considering what animals to get for fields at the rear of their home. Here is their story.
A NEW BREEDER'S FIRST YEAR 28 | Winter 2015 | ALPACA WORLD MAGAZINE
A NEW BREEDER'S FIRST YEAR
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A NEW BREEDER'S FIRST YEAR
A
I did not see the birth and when I went back out I saw from a distance what I thought was a white towel that I might have dropped by Ella’s feet only to discover a cria
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fter doing some internet research I came across these ‘long legged sheep’ called alpacas and not knowing a single thing about them visited a local breeder to discover more. After consideration alpacas seemed like a good choice, posh lawnmowers if nothing else. A few weeks later when we were ready to buy, the breeder we had visited had sold all her alpacas due to her own ill health so alpacas were sought elsewhere. Three from one breeder and three from another, all breeding females four of which were pregnant. Unfortunately the day before the first three arrived I was informed that two out of the three were no longer pregnant, such a big disappointment, even though the seller offered free matings to a stud of my choice but it was still crias lost for that year. I decided to specialise in breeding coloured Suris, much to George’s dismay as he preferred huacayas. I needed to narrow my field of selection and suris in full fleece look so majestic. At Adara I am looking to breed beautiful quality suris with excellent pedigrees, conformation and fleece that are easy to handle for prospective buyers. I set about planning paddock designs for the impending arrivals, so much to think about and organise I likened it to giving birth without the physical pain, just the financial. A farm name was decided upon ‘Adara Alpacas’, Adara means beautiful, a website designer found, and that was it, decision made, an alpaca breeder I would become.
A local fencing company, Starveacre Fencing, was absolutely brilliant. Brothers Ashley and Tim Lane were so easy to deal with and did a superb quality job that I could not recommend them highly enough.
HERE COME THE GIRLS In January 2014 everything was ready for the ‘girls’ arrival, the first arrived on the 20th two black and one fawn followed by the others the next day, a white and two fawn even though at that point in time the last three all looked white. Each group were on different feeds and none on the feed I wanted to use, Camelibra, so after a few days slowly integrating this into their own feeds they were all on the same product. During the year there has been a lot to learn and without a mentor, it’s been quite a learning curve. When I first had to give injections I hated it and got the vet to do it, yes I know crikey how expensive was that, I didn’t have the confidence but now it’s fine. Adara had two births this year, the first a white male named ‘Charlie George’ by my husband Peter, apparently some Arsenal football legend from the 70’s, we’ll see how much of a legend he turns out to be. Second was another white male who Viv named ‘ Mr Bojangles ‘. It was quite an anxious time awaiting the births, especially as Ella went into labour in the early evening but luckily did not birth until after she had had her breakfast the next morning. I did not see the birth and when I went back
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AMAIN NEWHEADING BREEDER'S FIRST YEAR
out to check on Ella I saw from a distance what I thought was a white towel that I might have dropped by Ella’s feet only to discover a cria. Ran to get birthing box, heart pounding trying to remember all the things I was supposed to check and do. Then when all was well I sat on the box with a sweet cup of tea kindly bought out by George, even though I felt something stronger was needed, and just sat there watching from a distance mum and cria and the herd bonding. It’s amazing how quickly they stand on those spindly long legs and then start wobbling about walking. When the second female gave birth I was there to see it all and much calmer this time. It’s an incredible sight to see, how can that little thing drop from that height on to the ground and not get hurt, but that’s nature I guess.
MANY HAPPY RETURNS During the year I visited a couple of alpaca shows: the BAS National Show and Alpaca Showtime. In September I attended the ‘Alpaca Classic’ event hosted by Mary-Jo Smith of Bozedown Alpacas and Nick Harrington-Smith of The Alpaca Stud. The event lasted two days with speakers Cheryl Gehly & Brett Kaysen flown over from America and Chas Brooke from England, himself a breeder as well as being an alpaca yarn producer. There was an elite auction held on the Saturday and as it was my birthday that day it was decided I could bid and treat myself. I bought a beautiful black female called Tracy Chapman and then won the ‘breeders selection’ 32 | Winter 2015 | ALPACA WORLD MAGAZINE
lot which meant I could choose one of the host's farms and then choose any female yearling from the whole of their 2013 group, luckily for me as I only breeds Suris, instead of having to choose one from over 50 I only had to chose from nine, phew ! I was really torn between a white and a brown but went with my instinct and chose the brown. Five of my eight females are pregnant, due summer 2015 and have been bred to some of the best studs in the UK, so I am hoping for great things. During the year I helped at our regional group, The Heart of England Alpaca Group, in the autumn fleece show, helping prepare fleeces for the judges to inspect. All the hard work had previously been professionally done by Julia Stuart Corrigan; us mere mortals (well, speaking for myself ) just arrived to help really. I also helped at a judge’s training course as a handler which was good fun & experience. Handling other people’s alpacas teaches you a lot and helps build your confidence, the more you get involved in these events the better for you and your farm. You actually learn so much and don’t have to pay for the privilege. Next year I anticipate a very busy year with birthing and visiting other breeders farms to learn from them and attending more courses.
A STEADY COURSE The advice I would give to other new breeders or owners who have never had livestock before is to not rush out and buy the first alpacas you see, do your research, visit both large and small breeders and start this journey with the breeder you feel
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ALPACA WORLD MAGAZINE | Winter 2015 | 33
A NEW BREEDER'S FIRST YEAR
you can trust. Then providing they have the quality and quantity of alpacas you are looking to buy, ask them to mentor you, teach you all the husbandry tasks etc. Offer to work on that farm free of charge for the experience and learn as much as you can until you really feel confident to manage your own alpacas. Learn from those who have been where you are today. There are some fabulous breeders and alpacas out there and you just need to find who and what is right for you. The small breeder is equally as important as the large breeder, and we need both types. If I could have my time again I would definitely have taken my own advice but I am very pleased that I have now met breeders who allow me to visit their farms whenever I want to gain more experience and knowledge, whilst others have offered to teach me training methods, for which I am very grateful. These are the people who help and support you in your early years are the people
34 | Winter 2015 | ALPACA WORLD MAGAZINE
over time you will look to repay. Of course there will be people offering to help you because they want to sell you their alpacas or services and there’s nothing wrong with that because at the end of the day they are running a business, but just be sure that you are benefitting from that relationship too otherwise it could become an expensive lesson. My family motto is ‘Look after those that look after you’. I have learned as much about people as alpacas in my first year and I am enjoying every day and hopes you will to if you are considering alpacas, whether for pets or breeding. Adara's website www.adaraalpacas.co.uk also offer adoption packs which make an unusual present for that special someone, and next year I will be having all our fibre processed into some gorgeous products so do keep an eye on the website for up to date information.
There are some fabulous breeders and alpacas out there and you just need to find who and what is right for you
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ASK THE VET
ASK THE VET I would normally be due to worm about now: I’ve used Dectomax twice yearly for the last 7 or 8 years, but I’m anxious that that might not be the best way to approach worming and I’d like to do some faecal samples to see what might be present in my herd. Can you advise me about what I should do?
T
At some point an alpaca will succumb to fatal parasitism – that appears to be the wake-up call that some people need to realise that a more involved approach is required to parasite control 36 | Winter 2015 | ALPACA WORLD MAGAZINE
his is really music to my ears! I hear fairly frequently of people using twice yearly ivermectin (eg Panomec, Ivomec) or doramectin (Dectomax) as their sole parasite control measure. If this is you, please read on! This type of strategy seems to be a persistent relic of the past; something that people used to do before they should have found out that that is not a responsible way to approach parasite control; in some cases something that unfortunately some breeders have passed on to buyers because they themselves haven’t kept up to date… Firstly, blind use of anthelmintics (“wormers”) on a routine basis without instigating any other parasite control measure is likely to end you in trouble, if not this month, then at some time in the future. You have no idea whether the worms that you’re trying to “treat” have become resistant to your chosen wormer. Secondly you have no idea what is present in the animals and whether the wormer you have chosen is effective against it – or even if there’s anything there to treat! In either case, unless you are removing faeces from the pasture as soon as they are passed, at some point an alpaca will succumb to fatal parasitism – that appears to be the wake-up call that some people need to realise that a more involved approach is required to parasite control. Every worming program should be tailored specifically to the individual farm: no one policy is going to be appropriate for every situation. These are best worked out in conjunction with your local veterinarian and I would be happy to consult with them should further advice be required. Parasite control measures should always include pasture control. This includes:
1. Pasture rotation Manage pasture such that alpacas graze one area and then move onto another, but make sure that they are not just moving to another clean area to contaminate with worm eggs – do faecals and treat where necessary before moving them. It is better to split large pastures into smaller ones as that permits some pasture management: temporary fencing can be used to move alpacas around a larger paddock if you don’t want to invest in permanent fencing. 2. Resting of pastures How long for is variable and depends upon the parasite that you’re trying to get rid of and what the environmental conditions are like – in general, rest periods can be shorter in hot/dry or very cold weather (but some parasite eggs can overwinter). 3. Removal of faecal material By far the best method of parasite control. Under optimum conditions, strongyle-type eggs hatch in 3-5 days on pasture. Therefore, ideally pasture should be cleaned every other day (or stretched to 3 days potentially if required) prior to eggs even hatching onto the grass. There are various mechanised options to achieve this depending on your budget and pasture size. 4. Stocking density control As a general rule in the UK, 5-7 alpacas is acceptable stocking density on good grazing. Higher stocking densities are okay as long as the animals are moved on more frequently to fresh grazing or fed supplementary hay: higher stocking densities increase the
ASK THE VET
likelihood of parasites becoming a problem because alpacas are more likely to be exposed. Therefore faecals should be checked more frequently for evidence of eggs. 5. Allocation of grazing space Weaned crias are likely to be the most susceptible group: put them on the cleanest available pastures. Crias with their dams are another susceptible group. Alpacas should be body condition scored regularly (I recommend monthly, keeping records): any loss of condition may be due to parasites and should suggest faecal screening to see whether or not that is the case. If not, it may be that the nutrition plan needs adjustment or there may be a medical reason for the weight loss, but checking for parasites should be the first diagnostic step. Routine faecal screening should be a routine part of any alpaca herd management programme. These must be taken from individual animals and not from a communal pooping area. This is important because it allows you to identify particular animals with problems and may show up patterns if you have a herd parasite problem. Ideally you should check 10% of the herd or 10 animals, whichever is the highest number – if you have fewer than 10 animals, then test all of them and you will have the ideal situation because you will be able to treat each animal individually. In general, the greater the proportion of the herd that is tested, the less likely it is that any problems will be missed: in addition, targetted treatment can be employed if most or all of the herd are tested and this helps reduce the use of anthelmintics (and therefore development of resistance). Also, avoid
pooling your samples as this method will fail to detect animals that are heavily parasitized as they may be diluted out by other animals having very low parasite burdens. You also will then have no idea who any “problem” animals are on the farm. It is important that the correct procedure is performed for identifying parasites in camelid faeces. Generally, camelids are a lot more susceptible to parasite problems than other species. I recommend doing a Modified Stoll’s test as this is a lot more sensitive than a standard McMaster’s test or passive float. The diagnostic laboratory at the Royal Veterinary College offers the Modified Stoll’s test but can only run small numbers of samples at a time – this is great when you have a sick animal and you can also send bloodwork to their lab as they have a really good camelid profile and pathologists that are experienced with camelid blood. Camelid Veterinary Services also offers a faecal testing service and is happy to process large numbers of samples for herd screening. See www. ukalpacavet.com for pricing information and a submission form. If you find parasite problems in faecal samples and you have to treat, always do follow-up faecals (usually 10-14 days later) to ensure that your treatment has been effective. Always try to dose animals individually based on weights: I strongly encourage you to purchase a set of scales for your farm. [Weigh bars can be purchased and these can be incorporated into any management system for weighing animals without the need for a handler – they can just be walked over a board set securely on top of the bars in a walkway.] Some drugs can be toxic if overdosed while under-dosing is another easy way to induce drug-resistant parasites.
In general, the greater the proportion of the herd that is tested, the less likely it is that any problems will be missed
ALPACA WORLD MAGAZINE | Winter 2015 | 37
ASK THE VET
I’ve heard that my alpacas need supplementation for Vitamin D but my vet says he can’t get hold of the injectable form. What should I do?
If you or your vet have any questions about parasite control programmes or vitamin D supplementation, I am available for consultation on 07769 271506, or by email: claire@ukalpacavet.com
38 | Winter 2015 | ALPACA WORLD MAGAZINE
S
outh American Camelids are susceptible to Vitamin D deficiency. In growing animals, this manifests clinically as rickets: affected animals exhibit stunted growth, angular limb deformities and lameness. They may also be lethargic, have depressed appetites, and may walk with a hunched back due to pain and are typically smaller than age-matched herd mates. Vitamin D is made in the skin by the action of UV light: it can also be consumed in the diet. During the winter time there is little possibility of vitamin D production in the skin since the amount of UV light is greatly reduced at locations away from the Equator and at low altitudes (eg Europe, North America, Australasia). This results in most animals becoming deficient in vitamin D and this has the most obvious effect on growing animals. Therefore supplementation during the winter months with Vitamin D is vital. Vitamin D is also involved in immunity as well as improving foetal growth and mammary development so adults can also benefit from Vitamin D supplementation. Injectable Vitamin D products come in combination with vitamins A and E. They need to be bought through your vet since they are not licensed in the UK. Any other source is illegal: you must not buy any products in from other countries either yourself or through other breeders and you can be prosecuted for this. Your vet will need to apply for a free Special Import Certificate from the Veterinary Medicines Directorate (VMD) and they can then buy the injectable vitamin D products in from a veterinary wholesaler that stocks it, or buy it from another EU member state – Ireland is one source. If doing the latter, these orders are usually subject to a minimum quantity requirement. Duphafral ADE is the recommended product and this is available from Centaur Services in the UK, and possibly other veterinary wholesalers (note that your vet will have to order the product, you cannot contact them directly). Alternatively, you can buy oral pastes containing Vitamin D from various places including camelid product retailers without a prescription. It is important that you dose these products correctly: dosing above these recommendations
can induce vitamin D toxicity and is not advisable. More frequent administration and/or use of higher doses is completely unnecessary and can result in suppression of normal homeostatic mechanisms at the very least even if toxic doses are not administered. Different products have different concentrations, so always check the label (or your vet if confused!) before dosing! For prevention of rickets in growing alpacas and llamas, the following dosing programme is recommended: Using Injectable Vitamin D Products (eg Duphafral ADE) • Dose at 1000 IU of vitamin D per kg of bodyweight. This is given subcutaneously (SQ ). • Injectable vitamin D lasts for 6-8 weeks at this dose, so repeat dosing every 2 months • Start in October and continue until March/April (Northern Hemisphere) • For Duphafral ADE, this contains 50,000 IU /ml: so the dose for 10kg is 10,000 IU or 0.2ml. Using Oral Vitamin D Products • Dose at 1000 IU of vitamin D per kg of bodyweight, but give orally every 4-6 weeks. • Take care to dose based on body weight and not per cria since there is a large weight range for crias! • Comes in large tubes: commonly containing 100,000 IU of vitamin D per 10ml (CHECK YOUR TUBE!): at this concentration, 1ml doses 10kg (5ml is the dose for a 50kg animal). I would advise you to dispense the oral paste to crias out of smaller syringes to ensure that you give the correct volume. For treatment of rickets or vitamin D deficiency: • Dose at 1000-2000 IU of vitamin D per kg of bodyweight using either oral or injectable products. This dose can be repeated one month later.
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EMAIL: lulu@lusialpacas.co.uk ALPACA WORLD MAGAZINE | Winter 2015 | 39
JOHN GAYE
For those of us who have been in the alpaca industry for many, many years, John Gaye was the commentator of choice at numerous alpaca shows know n for his wit and wr y obser vations. Alpacas of Wessex made many notable imports of alpacas and young people, including Tim Hey and Ed Billington, were founder members of the South West Alpaca Group and the British Alpaca Futurit y. Here John answers the question...
WHER E AR E THEY NOW?
40 | Winter 2015 | ALPACA WORLD MAGAZINE
JOHN GAYE
IT
was February 2008 when we sold Alpacas of Wessex and I took off to the Antipodes for over 2 months; ing in New South Wales and then wedd a to y firstl final to tour New Zealand from end to end. The a been had ess busin the of sale few months of the e the escap to l derfu won was it so r, affai d protracte e the last of the English winter and to experienc mn. autu re isphe arrival of the Southern Hem to Since then I have added 16 more countries s sand thou y man d adde and l trave of my portfolio I , them of photos to my collection – none of phone. might add, being ‘selfies’ or taken by my en track beat the off tly sligh be My travels tend to bite frost of er dang any lving invo not lly but usua r Othe s. or too much trekk ing with heav y load up. hazards however tend to pop
ed my guide’s reply was: “All the soldier want g doin were we and man e whit the was $50 from blic of In Kivu Prov ince of the Democratic Repu g”. wron ing noth ing ern Congo I recall a soldier with an AK47 stand Another AK47 incident was in the west city the in lf myse ng drivi was I in front of our very slow mov ing car mountains of Syria when ly to been had I kia. Lata of of Bukavu and indicating to us quite clear town tal coas towards the steered and at pull over. My driver, a local man, calmly climbing steadily for about 30 minutes with man g youn king I e-loo and essiv out aggr ned round this last the country road had flatte side of bush the of out enly Sudd the obligatory shades, regained the right could regain top gear. ward carry ing the road and carried on as if nothing unto appeared four men in civilian clothes, all imum max the , mph was 15 t etion abou had happened at the familiar AK47. Here I thought discr s. My ition cond the in no age had I man as ibly rly poss cula d we coul r alternative and parti rtance of the bette Not lead. the rb abso to seat thoughts at the time were firstly the impo guide/fixer in the back secondly like ess busin more r rathe retaining the British ‘stiff upper lip’ and ed look least these guys er sitting I stopped. to thank the gods that I had my guide/fix than our sun-glassed Congolese soldier. the took that be ld wou it he – tly car swee the ed in smil me behind I wound the window dow n, of total um’ aleik am ‘sala ds bullets in his back . After a silent minute frien and wished my good to which calmness, I raised the obvious question
STA RIN G DOW N THE BAR REL
ALPACA WORLD MAGAZINE | Winter 2015 | 41
JOHN GAYE
while holding my passport very clearly in sight. At this stage I had been in Syria for some weeks and had experienced nothing but effusive friendship towards the British. The business end of one rifle was now in the car pointing at my left ear. The passport was grabbed, opened and inspected with great care – upside down. I continued to exhaust my limited supply of Arabic greetings, followed by a spate of English. At last the illiterate man inspecting my passport twigged from what I was saying that I came from ‘Inglaterra’, at which point all four men came over to shake my hand and say ‘welcome to Syria’, albeit that the original rifle was still pointing at my head. My passport was returned to me with a flourish and with huge smiles I was waved on my way. Such are the methods of President Assad’s security police. It was not my only brush with them on that trip.
A LOT OF BOTTLE In Tajikistan in 2013, having spent a fascinating few days on the incredibly beautiful but challenging Pamir Highway to and from the town of Khorog on the Afghan border, I found myself in the north west corner of the country staying with 42 | Winter 2015 | ALPACA WORLD MAGAZINE
the extended family of my guide. We had survived various physical hazards engendered by the state of the roads, including the worst road tunnel in the world (about which I could write a whole article), and getting stuck on some scree from an avalanche that had crossed the road. However the real test of endurance was yet to come. My guide’s father was a Hajji – a devout Muslim who had undergone the Haj pilgrimage to Mecca. In his presence we drank tea and ate dried fruit, nuts and other local produce from his amazing garden while sitting on the floor in the traditional way. After about an hour or so of rather stilted conversation – my Tajik is non-existent and my Russian extremely limited – he withdrew and my guide’s brothers arrived with a whole collection of vodka bottles. We settled in for a good night’s session before retiring to our sleeping quarters, mattresses on the floor. The next day we had agreed to meet up for lunch. So, after an extensive tour of the local scenery and historic sites, we met in the beautiful surroundings of a chai-halle (tea house) where, after a token chai, out came the vodka with our food. Fortunately my hosts all had important businesses to attend to in the afternoon so this session was limited to about a bottle each. We agreed however to eat out that evening so
I could return their generous hospitality (and avoid another stilted tea drinking ceremony with the older generation). Thus it was, having spent my afternoon visiting various farming cousins in their fields, that we met again in another extraordinarily good restaurant and I have no recollection of what we ate or how much we drank. I do remember not being allowed to pay for the dinner and that all my fellow diners nonchalantly got back into their cars to drive to their separate homes.
COLONIAL CONFUSION On my 60th birthday I found myself in the Indian hill town of Ooty (Ootacamund) and I had asked my hosts to suggest the most suitable restaurant in town at which I could host a small party to celebrate this milestone of life. It was the wet season and so, having driven up a mountain to a most delightful colonial era bungalow, we were very grateful to be greeted by a roaring fire surrounded by comfortable leather chairs in the reception area. I suggested to the maître d’ that rather than go straight through to our table we would prefer to warm ourselves in front of the fire and order some drinks while we perused the menu for our dinner. He looked rather strangely at me but
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JOHN GAYE acquiesced. I asked then what he could offer in the way of beverages to which his reply stopped the conversation of the entire party stone dead: “Sprite or Coca-Cola sir?” I spotted, out of the side of my eye, the couple who were our hosts in the city exchange meaningful looks. Indeed without any words an entire conversation had taken place between them. As they were both non-drinkers it had never crossed their minds to consider the non-licensed status of this establishment. Very quickly, despite my (admittedly rather lukewarm) protestations, the husband was despatched down the mountain to the off-license to acquire numerous bottles of Kingfisher to satisfy their difficult English guests’ proclivities to drink.
HISTORY TOUR Then in September of this year I was driving myself across eastern Turkey and was listening to a podcast from Radio Four when booming out of the speaker system came the voice of Chas Brooke extolling the virtues of alpaca fibre. Thus I could email to congratulate him on an excellent interview that I had heard while crossing the Euphrates, a river that resonated with so much history. This time I was in pursuit of culture in old Mesopotamia or ‘The Cradle of Civilisation’. This was a journey that took me from the city of Adana, on the eastern Mediterranean, along the Syrian
44 | Winter 2015 | ALPACA WORLD MAGAZINE
and Iraqi borders to the city of Van, just west of the Iranian border and south of Mount Ararat. This trip encompassed so many centuries of history right up to the current events of today, which were happening just a few kilometres to the south. I experienced old Byzantine walled cities, the most ancient known place of worship in the world (preceding Stonehenge by 10,000 years and so much more sophisticated) and the tented camps of today’s Syrian refugees. Other relatively recent history included the ghastly Armenian genocide, the dramatic results of President Ataturk’s visionary rule and of course the current President Erdogan’s vast investment in infrastructure in this relatively poor Kurdish part of Eastern Turkey. Now I am home in Dorset balancing my various responsibilities for Dogs Trust and for the Dorset Wildlife Trust, both charities being long term passions of mine, my various roles for my old regiment and of course enjoying my mountain biking, fly fishing and photography. Oh, and did I mention that I had a book published last year? A Hero’s Tail is a series of stories about the activities of the Dog Section of South Wales Police, sold to raise money for the improvement of the canine accommodation at their Bridgend Training Centre. Available for £9.99 from all good bookshops and Amazon. (ISBN9780992606404)
This trip encompassed so many centuries of history right up to the current events of today, which were happening just a few kilometres to the south
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ALPACA WORLD MAGAZINE | Winter 2015 | 45
JUAN PABLO
MY CONVERSATION WITH JUAN PABLO By Chad Colton
J
uan Pablo’s mother sat on the dirt floor of the courtyard of a half-built house in Arequipa Peru, carefully weaving a vibrant red and blue blanket. The colours of the blanket stood in contrast to the dusty concrete, corrugated metal, and piles of rubble that surrounded her. I had probably been in hundreds of houses just like it during the late 1990s, when I lived and worked in some of the poorest slums of Lima, Peru. But in this house there was something different – a nine year old cancer survivor with a family that was full of hope for his future. I had never seen anything like that in Peru. Cancer treatment is simply not a luxury available to the average Peruvian. Juan Pablo poked his head out from the blanket that covered the door to his room, where he had
46 | Winter 2015 | ALPACA WORLD MAGAZINE
been watching one of his favourite TV shows. With heavy, reluctant steps, he broke away to greet the gringos that had come to visit him. I had never met Juan Pablo before that day. He seemed like any other nine year old. He was happy, full of life, and donned a toothy white smile. But they tell me that the little boy I met that day was once very different. You may have seen pictures of Juan Pablo on Quechua Benefit’s Facebook page. Before his treatment began, he lived at Casa Chapi in the Peruvian highlands.
LEUKEMIA In February 2014, a doctor in Chivay misdiagnosed Juan Pablo with anaemia. When his anaemia treatment didn’t work, he became sullen and withdrawn. He lacked energy –
JUAN PABLO
a seeming impossibility for a nine year old boy – and didn’t even have the strength to play soccer with his classmates. Soon his arms began to swell and sprouted red spots. Then he began falling down and fainting. In May 2014, the doctor in Chivay decided to send him to Arequipa for further tests. There, Juan Pablo and his mother first heard the “C” word: Cancer. Leukaemia, to be specific. Like so many other kids at Casa Chapi, Juan Pablo and his family didn’t have the means for him to live in Arequipa, let alone receive cancer treatment. Thanks to the generosity of Quechua Benefit’s donors, Quechua Benefit was able to arrange for Juan Pablo to receive the treatment that he needed. Juan Pablo immediately moved to the hospital in Arequipa, accompanied by his mother and 14 year old sister. For 45 days, Juan Pablo stayed in the hospital. There were no toys for him to play with, and he only had a DVD of the Lion King, which he watched over and over again. What touched me most about Juan Pablo was that he seemed to barely notice his own suffering throughout his whole ordeal. As Juan Pablo put it, “I always believed that God would heal me.” I asked Juan Pablo what he thought about while he was confined to a hospital bed day and night. He responded, “My mother. I worried for my mother who was so sad and crying all the time. She stayed with me all day and every night until midnight.”
COURAGE When Juan Pablo finally left the hospital, he and his mother moved into the Arequipa home of Karen, Casa Chapi’s co-director. Every day for four weeks, Juan Pablo returned to the hospital for chemotherapy. The doctors told him that he should expect frequent vomiting and nosebleeds from his treatment. Juan Pablo admitted to me that his arms would freeze when the doctors
inserted the needles to transfuse the chemicals, but his chest puffed up as he said that he “had never – not even once – vomited.” With tears in her eyes, his mother noted, “Thanks be to God that he only had one nose bleed.” Juan Pablo will return to the hospital this month for another round of testing to see if his system is free of Leukaemia. He has bright hopes for the future. He looks forward to returning to Casa Chapi and seeing his classmates again. He loves his life there and the schedule, which he says keeps him busy. Juan Pablo beamed when he told me that he wants to be a policeman when he grows up so that he can “fight crime” and help people, “especially old people.” It’s no mystery to most of us in the United States that there is a huge amount of poverty and suffering outside of our borders. And most of us want to help. But it becomes so easy to become complacent when we think of the issue in the abstract. Visiting Juan Pablo helped me enormously with that problem. I am proud to be a part of Quechua Benefit and to witness firsthand the difference that it has made in the lives of people in the Peruvian highlands. Thank you to those who have been so generous with their time and resources to this wonderful cause.
“What touched me most about Juan Pablo was that he seemed to barely notice his own suffering throughout his whole ordeal”
JUAN PABLO’S MOTHER Agusta Peny is a 43 year old single mother. In addition to her son Juan Pablo she has 3 daughters. She spends her day weaving on a floor loom. Her work is quite detailed and she obviously loves creating the pieces that people commission her to do. She agreed to make a special blanket for Quechua Benefit with the words Casa Chapi, Juan Pablo and the date 2015 woven into the field. Quechua Benefit intends to auction this piece of textile art at one of their upcoming fundraising auctions. The proceeds will be used to establish a special “Juan Pablo” fund to support patients that the Quechua Benefit medical teams identify as having a treatable disease or the need for a life changing surgery that the person or family cannot afford to address on their own.
CHAD COLTON Chad Colton is a trial attorney at the litigation firm of Markowitz Herbold, and is the newest addition to Quechua Benefit Board of Directors. He lives in Portland, Oregon with his wife Treva, their three children, and a fourth on the way. Chad litigates complex business cases and international disputes. He is fluent in Spanish, which is vital for serving his clients in Mexico and Latin America, as well as U.S. companies and individuals with disputes in those countries. Chad lived in Peru for several years, and his love of the Peruvian people, particularly the children, led him to join the Quechua Benefit board. Chad travelled to Peru in November and had the opportunity to meet and interview Juan Pablo in the courtyard of a small home on the outskirts of Arequipa.
ALPACA WORLD MAGAZINE | Winter 2015 | 47
ADVERTORIAL: LOC ALPACA TRANSPORT
THE PROCESS OF TRANSPORTING ALPACAS
T
he process of transporting alpacas from the UK to Europe sounds complicated but if you find an experienced Alpaca transport company who are used to dealing with the specific requirements for transporting alpacas, it makes the whole process a lot simpler. If you are moving alpacas within the European Union (EU) this is considered as EU trade and subject to protocol. Interestingly countries such as Switzerland, Norway, Liechtenstein and Iceland whilst not members of the EU are also covered by the same EU protocol. If you are importing or exporting alpacas within the EU, your consignment must be accompanied by an Intra Trade Animal Health Certificate (ITAHC). If you would like to bring an alpaca into Great Britain you must make sure the person you are importing the alpaca from has arranged the ITAHC in their country. If you are however moving an alpaca from Great Britain to another country that is part of EU trade it is your responsibility to obtain the ITAHC.
In Great Britain, ITAHC’s are issued by DEFRA using their online tool called Trade Control and Expert System (TRACES). Once you have completed your ITAHC you must let the Animal and Health Plant Agency (APHA) know that you have created an ITAHC and who your Official Veterinarian (OV) is. The OV must be a registered vet who has been officially authorised to sign trade documents and able to do the necessary checks and testing to make sure that your alpaca is fit to travel. It is worth double checking with your local practice that they have an OV as not all practices do. Once your alpaca arrives in Great Britain with the correct paperwork it must be checked by an APHA inspector. Your alpaca can then be transported to the destination that has been listed on the health certificate. When arranging the transport for your alpaca, it is worth finding a reputable transport company who have plenty of experience in transporting alpacas and understand how to deal with their specific requirements.
If you would like some more information on transporting alpacas please feel free to contact LOC Alpaca Transport by phone on 01306 710100, email info@locltd.com, alternatively view our website www.alpacatransport.com
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ALPACA VISITS ...HOME AND AWAY Clare Faber writes: My husband, Sjoerd, and I started breeding alpacas four years ago, when we moved from our home in Holland to our 15 hectare (about 37 acres) farm here on the banks of the river Mayenne in north-west France. About 12 of the 15 hectares is prime grazing land which has always been well looked after. We bought our first nine alpacas in Holland, and since then we have steadily been increasing the size of our herd. At the moment we have 45 alpacas.
50 | Winter 2015 | ALPACA WORLD MAGAZINE
ALPACA VISITS HOME AND AWAY
D
espite our beautiful grazing land, as is the case with many French farms, upon our arrival there was much work to be done simply clearing up the mess that was left behind. It took us the better part of a year to get rid of the rubbish that was lying around, everything from plastic bags and bottles, a mountain (no exaggeration) of tyres, to old wrecks of cars. Gradually we have also been cleaning the hedgerows and the 1.5 hectare wood that is part of our property, as well as putting up fences as the herd grows. These jobs are still ongoing. After much hard work, we were able to open our ‘Boutique à la Ferme’ last year in October, where we sell alpaca yarn, knitted and crocheted items, and felted products, all from our own alpacas. The boutique is successful beyond all our initial expectations, and I am now in the luxurious position of worrying how we are going to produce enough fibre to meet demand next year!
OPEN DOORS Since our arrival here in 2010 we have had many visits from people inquisitive and interested to see the alpacas, but we did not feel that the facilities were good enough for us to ask money from our guests. At the beginning of the summer this year we at last felt that the farmyard and buildings were clean and tidy enough for us to receive and accommodate paying guests. June, July and August were busy, with on average one visit per week of groups between 6 and 50 people, and we are already taking bookings for next year. The farm visit comprises of a 20 minute slide show with an introduction to alpacas (origin, breeding, husbandry, nutrition, birthing, shearing), the people then meet the alpacas and have the opportunity to feed them and touch them. We then go on to demonstrate skirting, carding and spinning of the fibre, before inviting our guests to visit the boutique to see the finished items. Finally, for those who wish, there is the opportunity to walk with an alpaca. Officially we closed for visits at the end of September. But, at the beginning of October
I received a telephone call and was asked if we would be prepared to make an exception and accept a visit from a group of elderly ladies (in their eighties), one of whom had terminal cancer and not very long to live. She had read about our farm in the newspaper sometime last year, and it was her wish to see these beautiful creatures before she died. So, mid-October we were honoured to be able to show our alpacas to these ladies and answer all their questions. We laid the table for tea in one of our barns more or less amidst the alpacas and put on a small petroleum heater. I think that it was the first time that these genteel ladies had taken tea in a barn. It was certainly the first time they had taken tea in the company of alpacas! They were enchanted by the alpacas and listened intently to our explanations. It was an animated and enjoyable afternoon for all of us.
REACHING OUT In September I had been asked by one of the local old people’s homes if it would be possible for them to visit with 30 to 40 people. After some discussion it became clear that it would not really be possible because many of the old people were invalid. So, I suggested to the lady that instead of them coming to us, we would come to them! She was surprised and delighted and immediately thought that it was an excellent idea. I have to admit, that I did wonder to myself if I had maybe bitten off more than I can chew. Anyway, it was decided that the visit would take place at the end of November. The two girls who I decided would accompany us on the visit were already halter-trained, but the three weeks before the scheduled visit I took them out for a walk each day and exposed them to other people, being inside, walking on cold stone floors. I hoped that I had prepared them well enough that they would not be fazed by the visit. The week leading up to the chosen date it did nothing but pour with rain and all the alpacas were wet and muddy, certainly not looking their best. So, the day before the visit we kept the chosen two and a couple of their friends in the barn to get ALPACA WORLD MAGAZINE | Winter 2015 | 51
ALPACA VISITS HOME AND AWAY dry and clean up. Luckily by the time it was time to set off, the alpacas were both nice and clean and looked lovely. We cleaned ourselves up too, put on our Sunday best and headed off for the home, about 15 minutes from where we live. We were able to park the van right next to the large salon which was where we were to take the alpacas to meet the residents. The salon has glass walls on two sides, so our arrival did not go unnoticed. When we stepped out of the car there were about 20 or 30 expectant faces pressed to the window, residents and staff, all excited to see the alpacas. However, some patience was required as we first had to unload the hurdles to make a pen for the alpacas in the room. We did that as quickly as possible and then unloaded the alpacas, Elizabeth and Elske, and walked them into the salon and to their pen in the middle of the room. They were greeted like royalty, people clamouring to see them, flash bulbs going and a loud buzz of excitement. I was a little bit nervous that they might do something unexpected or unwanted, but their behaviour was exemplary and they walked through the throng of people to their pen without any trouble at all. Whilst I would like to think that it was all down to my training, I think that the fact that Sjoerd was in the pen rattling a bucket of ‘nuts’ also had something to do with it.
BRING ME SUNSHINE Once things had calmed down a bit, everyone took a seat and we started with the slide show. At the end of the slide show, there was much interest
52 | Winter 2015 | ALPACA WORLD MAGAZINE
and lots of questions. Here in the Mayenne there is a large agricultural community, and judging by many of the very specific questions, I think that a number if the residents had probably been farmers. Afternoon tea was then served, at which time we took the alpacas out of the pen and walked them around the room so that the people who could not walk could also touch them and see them from close by. Some of the more mobile people posed for a photo with them, standing next to the alpacas and holding them by the lead. One man, who was in a wheelchair and had very recently had a stroke, spent a long time just staring very intensely at Elske and then suddenly broke out into a huge smile. I was told that it was the first time he had smiled since the stroke. Once the alpacas had done the rounds, I did a quick spinning demonstration. This was also greeted with interest and provoked much reminiscence and stories from days gone by. Three ladies even gave it a go themselves. Who knows, maybe we can set up a spinning club or some such for them sometime in the future? It would be a little different to the usual activities on offer. We had been asked to limit the duration of the visit to an hour and a half, because some of the residents can only sit for a short period of time before needing to visit the bathroom. Despite our best efforts, interest and participation from the residents made it impossible for us to keep to time. The staff, however, assured me that it was not a problem. Our visit had been a great success.
They were greeted like royalty, people clamouring to see them, flash bulbs going and a loud buzz of excitement
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www.ukalpaca.com ALPACA WORLD MAGAZINE | Winter 2015 | 53
THE ART OF FASHION
54 | Winter 2015 | ALPACA WORLD MAGAZINE
THE ART OF FASHION
The ART of
FASHION
By Chrissie Menzies, Felt Artist, Director of Wonderwool Wales and Alpaca Farmer.
I
do not come from a farming background but have always had a love of animals and the countryside and spent quite a bit of my teens with other peoples’ horses. When I was in my twenties and living where I could keep some livestock I was given a retired polo pony, and after helping part time with the sheep on the estate, bought a few sheep to keep my new horse company. The sheep soon became addictive and before long more were purchased and my flock of Lincoln Longwools, Shetlands & Ryelands was established. Within a few years I was breeding and showing the sheep at various rare breeds shows in the South of England. With my first year’s show winnings I bought a spinning wheel and some of the fleece was then put to good use. By learning to spin and sort the fleece for spinning I came to appreciate what types of fleece were of interest to hand spinners and how it needed to be prepared. When the chance to purchase some pure bred coloured Merinos came our way we jumped at it and then concentrated on breeding pure and fine wool crosses, using Dorset Horn ewes with a Lincoln Longwool ram and then crossing their progeny with the Merino. These crosses and pure Merinos proved very successful in the fleece competitions at all the major agricultural shows throughout the UK, winning championships at the Royal Agricultural Show, Royal Highland, Yorkshire, Three Counties, Royal Welsh and others for several years. Great care was taken in preparing the fleece for showing, which could take up to 13 hours for one fleece to make sure that there was no vegetation present and the fleece was rolled and presented correctly.
WELSH RARE BIT During these showing years we were introduced to the alpaca which we found very endearing, and when we finally moved to Wales with some land
of our own and had retired from sheep keeping, except for our retired show animals of course, we decided to start a journey with alpacas. Initially we purchased two males, one of which we thought might make a rather nice stud male when he was older. The alpacas were fascinated with the turkeys, following them around the fields, and the neighbours were fascinated with the alpacas! Our Welsh farming neighbours had never seen anything like them before. Within a year we had purchased a pregnant female with male cria at foot, followed by a small herd of mainly females that came up for sale fairly locally to us. Thirteen years later we still have the alpacas, though we finally said goodbye to Rita our first female this summer. There are now 29 having just sold 3 males as guard animals. We have not bred any for the last four years due to the economic downturn. If things pick up then we will reassess, it is lovely to have crias chasing around and getting into mischief, but we have to be practical. Our land is very exposed, especially in the top paddocks where the females are, so they are able to come down to the barn for hay and shelter whenever they wish, and if the weather is very bad we shut them in, as battling with the very large solid steel barn doors in gale force winds is a serious health and safety issue. The boys in the bottom fields have a field shelter but if the winter is very wet we usually bring the smaller and older ones into the other end of the barn and house them until the spring. The bigger, tougher boys then stay out with the field shelter if they want to use it. We have found the alpacas to be very inquisitive creatures, several of them becoming quite friendly and liking a fuss when you go to see them, the others then crowd round to watch but not quite participating. They have a great sense of calmness about them and are a great stress reliever if you have had a bad day at work. ALPACA WORLD MAGAZINE | Winter 2015 | 55
THE ART OF FASHION
I do think that textiles, especially felted ones, need to be seen for the quality to be appreciated
56 | Winter 2015 | ALPACA WORLD MAGAZINE
NOVEL REQUEST I try and sell the majority of the fleece to hand spinners when I can find the time to sort it. Time has been a bit of a scarce commodity so I now have two years worth to battle through. Originally I spun the fibre and then wove scarves with it and sold them. An elderly friend, well into her 80’s, from my days in the Kennet Valley Spinning Guild in Newbury, helped with the spinning. I would sort the fleece and put it through a hand picker machine that I had imported from Canada and then post it down to her with a sample of the weight of yarn I required. This worked very well and meant that I could then get on with the weaving. At this time I had a lovely commission to produce a thick, woven baby blanket to a specific size for the customer’s friend in Russia, the customer turned out to be Frederick Forsyth the author. As you can imagine, I was delighted.
My business, ‘Chrysalis Art to Wear’, has now moved away from weaving to producing beautiful one off pieces of felted art – stoles, scarves, accessories and home products. I have a small studio where I work and display items here on the farm next to the house where people can visit by appointment. I have been felting now for about seven years, having discovered felting whilst taking a City & Guilds Level 3 course in Embroidery. We spent a day making felt and I was hooked, the looms were packed away, felting tables put up and now 95% of my work is felt based. I love to make stoles combining fabrics and fibres, either hand dyed sheep wool, or alpaca fibre, that have a lovely draping quality to them so that they look elegant when worn, these are my signature pieces which I have sold as commissions and sent out to various countries. Although I have a web site, most of my sales come through the few shows that I attend and word of mouth. I do think that textiles, especially felted ones, need to be seen for the quality to be appreciated, as unfortunately felt in the past has been associated with thick, heavy and uneven work, not something that is fine, soft and floaty. I have taught several workshops, with more planned for 2015, and although these are hard work I get a lot of pleasure showing people how to make a good piece of felt, and seeing the lovely results at the end of the day. I belong to a felting group in North Wales, the Funky Felters, and we meet on the first Sunday in the month for a day of felting and chat. Each year I try and attend a workshop with an international tutor to learn new techniques to push my work in new directions. I have long been fascinated with Art Nouveau and am planning to produce a collection of work over the coming year influenced by the designs of this period, using the silks, alpaca fibre and hand dyed wool that I love.
THE ART OF FASHION
I love the work involved in organising the event and seeing it all come to fruition with everyone having a great weekend
WONDERWOOL Two days a week I go out to work in a Marketing department in Newtown where I source new promotional branded gifts and products along with admin work. I am also a director of Wonderwool Wales which is the largest wool and natural fibre show in Wales and possibly in the UK. It is held towards the end of April at the Royal Welsh Showground, Builth Wells and 2015 will be our seventh year of running the event, and its 10th anniversary. It was originally started as a Glasu funded project to add value to product for small wool & fibre producers in Wales and I was on the original steering committee. I am responsible for a lot of the organising so it has become nearly a full time job for a good part of the year. The show has grown from its inception with 40 exhibitors, to an event that now takes place within three of the livestock halls at the showground with over 220 exhibitors, plus a variety of Woolschools running throughout the weekend and various exhibitions. I organise and look after the exhibitor stand applications, caterers, halls, stewards, other services and staff, layout of the stands, marketing and advertising and the accounts. New
exhibitors are vetted by the other two directors and myself to make sure that they will fit in well with our ethos and the event. I love the work involved in organising the event and seeing it all come to fruition with everyone having a great weekend, and the halls buzzing with excitement at all the wonderful displays of wool and fibre, finished products, equipment and exhibitions, it makes all the hard work worthwhile. The only down side to it is that my time spent progressing my felting work is limited. I shall be exhibiting at Plush in 2015 for the first time and am now planning new pieces of work to take, including one or two showstopper pieces for display. March is probably not the best time for me to be exhibiting as my work with Wonderwool is full on from December through to the show at the end of April, but sometimes you have to take the plunge and go for it, and I feel that the time has come to push my work further and reach a new audience outside of Wales, who will appreciate and want that very special one off piece, fingers crossed that it will be a success for Chrysalis Art to Wear and lead to bigger and better things, who knows, one day I might have my work in Liberty London, my dream will then have come true! chrissie@chrysalis-alpacas.co.uk or info@chrysalis-art-to-wear.co.uk www.chrysalis-art-to-wear.co.uk Tel: 07980 913972
ALPACA WORLD MAGAZINE | Winter 2015 | 57
Outstanding alpacas for luxurious fibre www.aabach-farm.de
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58 | Winter 2015 | ALPACA WORLD MAGAZINE
Alpaca books & digital discs from Classical MileEnd Alpacas Now available from our online shop at www.alpaca-uk.co.uk or by mail order The Complete Alpaca Book 2nd Edition Eric Hoffman The most complete and comprehensive study of the alpaca. £120 + £8.50 p&p
Calamity’s Bear Elaine Reeman Illustrated by Wendy Holloway Charming children’s book with lovely illustrations. £8 + £2.50 p&p
The Alpaca Colour Key; Rickets: The Silent Killer; Handbook of Alpaca Health Elizabeth Paul of Erehwon Alpacas Australia This trio of books are a welcome addition to the library and cover some fascinating and essential areas of animal health and inheritance not easily found elsewhere. Over 90 pages in each, plenty of supportive colour pictures and biology degrees not needed! £22 ea or £60 for all three +£1.50 p&p ea or +£4 p&p for all three
NE W
Definitive Guide to Alpaca Fibre Cameron Holt Cameron has over 50 years experience in the natural fibre trade. The book combines scientific subjects such as alpaca fibre histology and modern testing techniques with information on skirting and classing protocols for alpaca fleece production in 195 pages including many illustrative pictures. Highly recommended. £95 + £6 p&p Neonatal Care for Camelids David E Anderson, Toni A Cotton, Claire E Whitehead Highly recommended book from three well respected veterinarians. Covers male and female reproduction, birthing, neonatal care and weaning. A practical ring bound manual based on clinical experiences with over 50,000 alpacas and llamas. A must for all breeders and veterinarians. £85 + £3.50 p&p
Cheques payable to Classical MileEnd Alpacas. Credit/Debit card payments accepted.
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Antenatal Birthing and Cria Care Dr E McMillan and C Jinks A practical guide for the new alpaca owner written by an experienced alpaca owner and their vet. £20 + £1.50 p&p
The Art & Science of Alpaca Judging AOBA with Anderson, Gehly, Safley & VandenBosch Five years in the making this book will become the bible for developing breeding strategies and explaining what goes on in the show judging ring. Essential reading for both new and experienced owners. Highly recommended. Now £55 plus £6 p&p UK or £10 p&p Europe Orgling CD Alpaca World Magazine Fifty minutes of pure testosterone orgling courtesy of Classical Ikon. Ideal for those young males needing encouragement. £7 + £1.50 p&p Introduction to Alpacas DVD Rachel Hebditch of Classical Mile End Alpacas A 14 minute insight into these lovely animals for those thinking of owning alpacas. £10 + £1.75 p&p
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Online Alpaca Advertising at Affordable Prices ALPACA WORLD MAGAZINE | Winter 2015 | 59
PERUVIAN FUR TRADE
WORKING FO
THE SKIN T
Dyed skins in Peru Leder Export
60 | Winter 2015 | ALPACA WORLD MAGAZINE
FOR
PERUVIAN FUR TRADE
Moves afoot to convert Peru’s alpaca fur trade into a sustainable and environmentally-friendly concern By Francis E.B. Rainsford
TRADE
BACKGROUND The Incas believed that the alpaca was a gift from the gods to provide them with their basic needs: fibre to convert into clothing, meat to sustain them and leather for their sandals and adornments. In modern times, the fibre and meat have continued to supply man’s requirements but the use of the animal’s leather seems to have fallen by the wayside. The farmers that raise the alpacas in Peru’s highland altiplano region tend to let the animals live the full course of their lifespan (which averages twelve years). There is generally, for instance, no culling of the herds, even when conditions of pasture or water scarcity might merit such action. Thus, the animals die naturally and in greater numbers when severe winters take their toll in the months of July to September. The carcass of a dead alpaca is viewed as something of a by-product where the meat is dried and shipped, mainly, to the markets in Lima where it is sold as “charqui” (jerky). The skins are almost treated as some sort of scrap material where any price obtained is a bonus and no control as to what type of chemical might be applied when removing hides from the animals nor how said chemicals are disposed of. This attitude on the part of farmers makes it difficult for leather processors to receive this raw material in anything like the state needed for them to be able to process it as a viable commercial item. As a result, alpaca skin and pelt products have never really commanded a top spot in the marketplace, confining themselves to handcrafted cuddly toys and simple home textiles as a rule. ALPACA WORLD MAGAZINE | Winter 2015 | 61
PERUVIAN FUR TRADE
Peru Leder Export’s raw material warehouse receiving skins delivered from the Altiplano region
A PROJECT IS BORN One of Arequipa’s leading leather processing companies has been at the vanguard of trying to raise the quality of alpaca skins and pelts for the past thirty years. The company, Peru Leder Export S.A.C., recently teamed up with a local textile consultancy firm, Corporacion Nativa, to see if a new approach to this perennial problem might persuade the farmer suppliers to improve the quality of their hides. Peru Leder Export’s Managing Director, Jorge Bravo, outlined the company’s activities, “We specialise in processing the skins and pelts that come from medium-sized animals in the main such as sheep, goats, alpacas and llamas. After processing, we manufacture finished textile products such as jackets, gloves, sleeveless vests, hats, bedspreads, cushions etc. Our alpaca furs and dyed skins are currently very much in fashion as adornments to be sewn on to items such as sweaters and ladies accessories.” “We firmly believe that Peru’s alpaca and llama farmers have a product that can be an extra source of income for them aside from the fibre that they produce. However, managing the skins from their animals is a skilled business and, today, care must be taken to protect the environment in which they operate.” Roberto Lopez, Corporacion Nativa’s main consultant, expounded on the matter, “The leather industry in Arequipa has become accustomed to the poor condition of the skins and pelts received from the farmers in the altiplano region. Unsuitable storage facilities there result, in many cases, in still-frozen skins that crack easily or micro-biological infestations that spring to life once in warmer temperatures down in Arequipa. Cuts and nicks from the skinning process also denigrate the overall quality of finished leather that could be produced.” “We decided to approach the Peruvian 62 | Winter 2015 | ALPACA WORLD MAGAZINE
Jorge Bravo inspecting treated skins in Peru Leder Export
government with a proposal to set-up norms by which the country’s leather industry should operate in order to improve overall quality and protect the environment. Our idea was accepted and we were awarded funds by the Fondo de Investigacion y Desarrollo para la Competitividad (FIDECOM).”
ESTABLISHING NORMS Bravo and Lopez decided to focus their efforts on setting standards by addressing skin quality versus the processes of its skinning and preservation in the altiplano region. They listed the key quality norms when evaluating skins as: • Elasticity • Strength • Resilience • Porosity • Level of putrefaction • Presence of salt • Area of skin • Softness • Maleability • Density • Moisture content • Length of fur • Animal age Then they determined the main causes of damage that can occur during the skinning process as: • Cuts to the skin • Scratches • Mutilations • Contamination at the moment of skinning Finally, they identified the main points pertaining to the overall preservation of skins as: • Putrefaction • Burns caused by excess of salt • Stains caused by excess of salt • Presence of insects in the skin during preservation
We firmly believe that Peru’s alpaca and llama farmers have a product that can be an extra source of income for them aside from the fibre that they produce
Winter is coming—prepare your animals for the weather ahead Years’ of experience has led to the tried & trusted Eggs-Port Alpaca Gels Use Vitamin gel as a routine for all alpaca and especially the young, growing and dark coloured animals. Fastract Jump Start—invaluable at birth, weaning and for extra bloom and condition Now is the time to lay the foundations for next showing season. Keep your animals in great condition so the extra bloom required comes easily.
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Call : Eggs-Port Ltd. tel: +44 (0) 1434 600602 email: enquiries@eggsport.co.uk www.eggsport.co.uk
Remember—what feels good on the inside shows on the outside
Winter is coming—prepare your animals for the weather ahead Years’ of experience has led to the tried & trusted Eggs-Port Alpaca Gels Use Vitamin gel as a routine for all alpaca and especially the young, growing and dark coloured animals. Fastract Jump Start—invaluable at birth, weaning and for extra bloom and condition Now is the time to lay the foundations for next showing season. Keep your animals in great condition so the extra bloom required comes easily. ALPACA WORLD MAGAZINE | Winter 2015 | 63
PERUVIAN FUR TRADE The work currently being carried out under the project is setting standards, subjectively and via laboratory testing where appropriate, so that the industry can grade skins into first, second and third quality categories. After a period of trial and evaluation with the farmers and industry, Bravo and Lopez will present their proposals to Peru’s Consumer Rights body, the Instituto Nacional de Defensa de la Competencia y de la Protección de la Propiedad Intelectual (Indecopi), for their registration as new quality norms for the country’s leather industry.
FUTURE Bravo believes that Peru’s alpaca farmers can add a sustainable income to their businesses aside from fibre and meat. “Providing the ecological and quality issues at the point of origin up in the altiplano can be surmounted, there is no reason why the processing industry cannot develop a regular skin and pelt business with the farming communities,”
he said. “Once it can convince them that they have a viable and commercial product that needs to be presented in conformance with new levels of quality standards, savings and efficiencies in processing plants will generate better prices for all parties concerned.” It is important to note that, aside from alpaca and llama farming, there is very little else that is produced at altitudes of 3 to 4,000 metres above sea level meaning that the altiplano region’s terrains are put to good use rather than being left unproductive. Providing good practices are employed by the farmers with respect to animals and land alike, the activities carried out there are on the right side of being ‘green’. He summed up his hopes over the past thirty years as, “If Indecopi adopts our norms and the leather production chain conforms to them, we should really see benefits all round - the farmers with better prices, the processors with a better raw material to work with, the final consumer with top quality products and a sustainable and protected environment.”
“There is no reason why the processing industry cannot develop a regular skin and pelt business with the farming communities”
Operative in Peru Leder Export brushing a fleece pelt
Skins being dried after tanning in Peru Leder Export
64 | Winter 2015 | ALPACA WORLD MAGAZINE
Mid-Cornwall’s premier alpaca herd Our breeding aim is to maximise fibre production and improve fibre quality generation upon generation, with a view to providing the ultimate fibre for yarn production. alpacas usually for sale. Higher Carpalla Farm Foxhole St Austell 01726 338580 07974 796792 nigel@nigelretallack.co.uk
a pacas Nigel and Margaret Retallack
drum carders for The Perfect Carder ,ibre For Alpaca and All Fine Fibres preparation
www.classiccarder.co.uk Tel: 01746 714130 Email: info@classiccarder.co.uk ALPACA WORLD MAGAZINE | Winter 2015 | 65
RESTRAINT-FREE HANDLING
LET IT GO! LET IT GO! RESTRAINT-FREE HANDLING. By Julie Taylor-Browne, CamelidSense
66 | Winter 2015 | ALPACA WORLD MAGAZINE
RESTRAINT-FREE HANDLING
WHAT DO I MEAN BY RESTRAINT FREE HANDLING? Put very simply it means not using one or more people to wrestle an alpaca into standing as still as possible. Restraint can mean, for example, catching it, pushing it against a wall or using a gate or panel to immobilise it. More positively, I think that a lack of restraint would involve: • humans employing the use of the minimum amount of force necessary; • humans using skills, tools and techniques instead of force; • offering a camelid the opportunity to express innate behaviour; • using the concept of containment instead of restraint.
WHY USE IT? As someone who has worked with a number of species over many years I believe that every time we interact with our animals we are training (or conditioning) them. We can unintentionally train them to be afraid of us; to run away when we try to handle them and/or to struggle when we try to pick up their feet to trim their toenails. Alternatively we can consciously train/condition them to stand quietly while we catch them; carry out husbandry tasks and/or actively enjoy contact with us. I hope the attractions of the latter approach are apparent and include the following: • The age demographic of first time camelid owners is usually around middle age and above; • Camelids can live up to 20 years; • Camelids are faster than us, often heavier than us, and their centre of mass lower than ours. In a rugby match their team would beat ours every time; (if they didn’t have to carry the ball, that is….); • Some camelids don’t throw in the towel after they have been restrained, some become more difficult to handle and employ more extreme tactics such as rearing, screaming and spitting. • It is unpleasant and stressful for the
humans to deal with alpacas who need a lot of restraint. Usually we do it less and the animal’s welfare may suffer as it is not receiving the regular vaccinations and interventions they require. • Humans may be injured by struggling camelids and view them as dangerous or difficult. The animals may be neglected or euthanised and the owners certainly won’t be buying any more of them, or recommending their friends to buy alpacas either. • The breeders may be young, fit, strong and/ or employ stock people who are. When the animals are sold to inexperienced, older or less fit owners they are unable to restrain them in the same way and the animal knows it can escape from them when they try to handle it — and does. In the last fifteen years of working with camelids and their people I have seen all of these scenarios and many others that have convinced me that the less force we use with our camelids the more able we are to reach a rapprochement with them and work with them in a way which is mutually respectful, much more enjoyable for them and us (as far as having an injection can be enjoyable…), efficient in terms of time and energy and….calm.
WHAT’S SO GOOD ABOUT CALM? Studies on learning and stress show us that when animals (both human and non-human) are stressed they are unable to learn. They rely on instinctive behaviour or on implicit memories. An example of an implicit memory is car driving. If someone asks an experienced driver what exactly they are doing with their feet and hands as they turn a corner and change down through the gears they risk having an accident as the driver is unaware of the components of what they do — they just call it driving. Running away from human handlers may be an implicit memory in alpacas, possibly beginning from a few days old. If animals (human and non-human) aren’t stressed, they both have the possibility of observing each other and learning new behaviour.
If animals (human and non-human) aren’t stressed, they both have the possibility of observing each other and learning new behaviour
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RESTRAINT-FREE HANDLING CASE STUDY - PACO ALPACA In June 2014 I received a heartfelt request from local alpaca owners. Paco, their ten year old suri alpaca had a very nasty wound on his leg and needed regularly veterinary care (as in a number of times a week) and regular changes of his dressings. They wanted to know if I could help because Paco was very difficult to handle and leapt and reared and struggled when they tried to hold him for the vet so they had had to sedate him and they didn’t have either the time or the inclination to go through that several times a week. I had known Paco since he was six months old and had, in fact, halter trained him for his first owner. He hadn’t been handled very much by them, and had also decided not to have him gelded at eighteen months against my recommendation. He had become muscly and more difficult to handle as he got older, and was finally gelded at about five. For those readers who don’t know suris, they look like a puff of wind would blow them away but they seem to be twice as strong and fast as huacayas. Paco duly arrived with another alpaca as a companion and had a day or so to settle in before the first vet visit. He did have to have an antibiotic injection but I am pretty nifty at giving restraint free injections, so that went okay. I took this opportunity to handle Paco and to do some Tellington Touch on him. When the vet arrived I sensed that this wasn’t going to go smoothly.
Paco recognised him and started to get very nervous, his breathing got faster, his nostrils flared with each breath as his sympathetic nervous system (the fight or flight one) took over. The vet had arrived with ‘help’, a nurse, and another vet had come to help restrain him. Imagine what Paco felt at this stage, a prey animal surrounded by what could clearly have been some very hungry humans. Asking them to back off, I held Paco in the Bracelet, and did some Ttouches1 on his face and he allowed the vet to take the dressings off, inspect the wound and redress his leg. Let me stress though that this was not pretty, or elegant or anything that I would have wanted to have on YouTube as an example of my handling skills. It took a while, I let him go on a number of occasions so that he could calm down, and it took longer than if we had all piled in and sat on him. However, no-one got hurt and he didn’t kush. This was pretty important as it was a very nasty open wound on his upper front leg on the point of the elbow and we were trying to keep it both clean and accessible for dressing. In discussions with the vet it transpired that this was going to be a complicated case. Similar granuloma type wounds he had seen in horses had taken a minimum of three months to heal with the need to change the dressings and clean the wound, 2-3 times a week. There was also the probability that the wound would need debriding,
a painful procedure. I decided that Paco and I needed to come to an understanding about how he was going to behave during the vet visits.
ROOM TO ROAM All the handling and all the steps described below were carried out in my handling facility which has a series of 8ft x 8ft pens under cover. As it was rather crowded in one of the small ones with the two of us plus vet nurse plus two alpacas I took down the partition between two of the pens and made it into a rectangular 8ft by 16ft pen. In this way, I could give Paco frequent breaks between steps in the intervention and let him walk around. When I did this he was pretty happy to be caught and held again. Every time I caught him I used the midline catch with my body at right angles to his side so at no time did he feel trapped, cornered or grabbed. My first approach was to get him used to being held gently and lightly in the bracelet. He had arrived in poor condition due to the long-standing infection in the wound and I felt quite justified in giving him a generous food ration. After he had eaten I caught him every day using the midline catch (a technique I teach on my courses and which you can see illustrated in Marty McGee Bennett’s book, The Camelid Companion), encourage him to stand still and give him some Tellington Touch on his face. Fortunately he loved this and would calm down and enjoy the human contact.
Paco in neck and body wrap, modelling his bandage
Every time I caught him I used the midline catch with my body at right angles to his side so at no time did he feel trapped, cornered or grabbed
Both of these techniques and the others referenced in this article can be found on my website, www.carthveanalpacas.com 1
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RESTRAINT-FREE HANDLING Paco in neck wrap and loose lead configuration
Gradually he became calm enough for the vet to enter the pen and take the dressing off. Paco particularly loved TTouch on his lips and nostrils and would go very quiet. He wasn’t perfect all the time, there was a little threatened kicking when the tape holding the dressing on was pulled off and he wasn’t very keen about having the tape put back on again but on the whole he was very good for the first month. Sadly, after the first month he had to have the wound debrided, we had hoped to use just local anaesthetic, but he wouldn’t stand still for that so we had to give him a sedative intravenously. This involved some fairly firm holding on my part and from then on, TTouch alone just wouldn’t suffice. He was fine with just me, but had lost trust when the vet entered the pen.
THE CLICKER I reached into my metaphorical tool bag and pulled out the clicker…. Fortunately Paco was very fond of food and had been previously introduced to clicker training on a two day private course I had given to someone. I was keen to use a relatively ‘green’ animal on that course so Paco and his friend had been the students on the course and had enjoyed a weekend of being reminded about being haltered, led, toenail trimmed and taken through the obstacle course. So when I brought out the clicker and the food, he had very fond associations with them and we clicker trained him to stay still whilst his dressing was changed. Just as an aside, I like to use a very ‘low value’ food for clicker training so use hay nuts (or pony nuts) as the reward. In this way I can use a high rate of reinforcement using something which is not very delicious and one which they don’t obsess over, like carrot or apple. We began clicking (marking the behaviour wanted) and rewarding initially when he stood still and then raised the bar to get a click gradually through the vet entering the pen, kneeling by his leg, then touching his flank, then his upper leg and then finally the dressing. I estimate that I used about 25 hay nuts and it took about 10 minutes to get to
the stage when the vet could take off the dressing. Given that treating Paco was going to be a long term project I thought it was time well spent! We also experimented with body wraps, shown in some of the pictures. These are a Tellington Ttouch technique, which often have the effect of calming an anxious animal. I am a big fan of these, but we found that the neck wrap only was the best configuration. When we put on the figure eight wrap (i.e. round the hindquarters) Paco had a tendency to kush which as we were working with a wound on the point of the elbow was not helpful! This worked really well until, guess what, both
When I brought out the clicker and the food, he had very fond associations with them and we clicker trained him to stay still whilst his dressing was changed vets needed to examine the wound and have a really good poke around in it. At this stage I put him in my mini pen with the vets outside it where at least he could feel that they couldn’t get to him and they could touch his leg through the bars. At this point he realised what was going on and he kushed. The vets could actually get a good look at the wound in this position, but it wasn’t going to be a good long term strategy as it wasn’t possible to keep it clean, nor dress it in this position.
associations now which outweighed the positives he was receiving. So my next offer to him was to put a head collar on him, and tie him with a quick release knot to the pen, lined up with the wall so that he had limited ability to move sideways or forwards, but could have gone backwards, up or down. I also used a neck wrap with him which definitely calmed him down. Even the vet requested that we used one as she could see the difference it made. She approached him slowly and gently and I clicked the stages as before. He tried initially to kick her with his hind leg as she touched his front leg, but I started to click only when all four feet were on the floor and he soon got the message. Since then this has been the method we use every time, reinforcing me in my belief that it is worth halter training every animal for unforeseen future events! Would this method have worked had we tried this first? I honestly don’t know, but I don’t think so. There is a lot written about stress in animals being caused by a lack of control and in the initial stages of treatment he had had little control over what had been done to him. Working with positive methods that promote both calmness and a sense of control meant that Paco was able to communicate his unease with our methods and be listened to. The calmness meant that he could learn to stand still. All the above sounds like I did huge amounts of training with Paco, whereas nothing could be further from the truth. All I did was use the interventions to do the training. At no time did I work with him in between vet visits (apart from when he was used on the course and that was when a novice handler did the training…).
NECK WRAP Back to the drawing board… because of course now, the clicker training and rewarding was beginning to pall for him, I was still holding him in the bracelet and I think he had quite negative ALPACA WORLD MAGAZINE | Winter 2015 | 69
RESTRAINT-FREE HANDLING TURNING DOWN THE H.E.A.T… I like to think about the components of our interactions with our camelids in terms of four components; Human, Environment, Animal and Tools. In the case of Paco I think the following were important in dealing with him over the five months he has been with me. Human: I needed to be aware about how I was interacting with Paco. If I was nervous, holding my breath, or gripping tightly, Paco would pick up on this and would want to escape from me. I needed to know how not to corner him and how to use the midline catch and the bracelet so that at no time was I grabbing or wrestling him. I needed to be light in the way I held him and I needed to be careful that my body position was beside him, not in front of him (which would make him turn) or behind him (which would make him move off). Having skills such as knowing how to do TTouch and put a halter on in a way that is very calm and gentle is another useful skill, as is knowing how to do a restraint free injection on my own. My vet also had a very important part to play. She was gentle, quiet, slow and understood that this was a long term issue so getting it right was really important. She approached the task in small chunks, giving Paco the time to accept and understand each stage. We all need to talk quietly and calmly throughout the procedures. Environment: I think it was important to have Paco in a calm environment away from the rest of the herd. We all need to concentrate and focus and having other animals milling around would not have helped. Having the one good (calm) friend with him worked really well. The other factors of the environment which helped
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were that a) they knew the pen as I had housed and fed them in it. b) The pens were small to enable easy handling and were under cover. c) There was food there! I also always had good hay in haynets there for the odd snack. Animal: By doing the TTouch I was able to calm Paco and get him focussed on enjoying this, rather than panicking about what people were doing to his leg. Using clicker training engaged him and he associated it with fun activities, and of course, the food he loved. By putting his friend in, he was reassured by Dakota’s calm presence. It has long been understood that licking and chewing calms animals down so by always combining vet visits with a decent meal we had a more contented animal. We had to herd them into their pen every time from the field and getting them into a pen with food made our job much easier! We can make our animal’s lives easier by making sure we go at their pace, and make sure that they understand and consent to each step. Tools: These included Tellington touch, a well fitting halter, and the neck wrap. The techniques included the midline catch and bracelet, clicker training and food. It was also useful to have a long leads for him to be able to move should he feel the need, and to be able to tie in a quick release knot.
AND NOW? Paco is ready to go home now after five months with me. I will miss him and I think he will miss our regular interactions, his wound has healed and he will enjoy being back with his herd. I also think his owners will also find him a lot easier to handle now!
We can make our animal’s lives easier by making sure we go at their pace and they understand and consent to each step
Find out more about CamelidSense training on www.carthveanalpacas.com. There is a section with previous articles on many aspect of easier handling, a page on training opportunities and an online store with books, halters, equipment and much more. Julie can be emailed on taylor.browne@clara.net
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Home of the Alpaca Easy-Pen and Hurdles! 4ft, 6ft and 8ft Aluminium or Galv. Steel Hurdles Most items available from stock Friendly help and advice given before and after sales
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BREEDERS DIRECTORY
Alpaca World Magazine’s
BREEDERS DIRECTORY FRANCE
CAMBRIDGESHIRE
GLOUCESTERSHIRE
Alpacas de la Grange Mynas Gillian Howard-Evieux, La Grange Mynas, La Glacière, Saint Chamond, France, 42400. Tel: +33 (0) 4 77 22 85 69. Email: howard-evieux@orange.fr. Web: www.alpaga-alpaca.com. In the heart of France (30 mins Lyon). Prize-winning alpacas for sale. On-farm and fly-by matings possible with top-class AlpacaStud males – all colours. Initiation and full after-sales support. English/French spoken. B&Bs, holiday flats available for your visit.
Houghton Hall Alpacas Mick & Liz George, Houghton Hall Alpacas, Mere Way, Houghton, Cambs P£28 2BL. Tel: 01480 461510. Mob: 07764 469132. Email: info@houghtonhallalpacas.co.uk Website: www.houghtonhallalpacas.co.uk BAS National 2014 Double Supreme Winners. Proven Award Winning Genetics. Elite Stud Males. Top Quality Pregnant Females. Premium Huacaya & Suris in a wide range of colours. Pet Males. Full Support & After Care. We have an alpackage© to suit you.
Kensmyth Alpacas Helen Kendall Smith, Kensmyth Stud, Clay Meadow, Cirencester Road, Cirencester, Glocs. GL7 6HU. Tel: 01285 862020 / 07799 700587. Email: helen@kensmyth.com Web: www.kensmyth.com Family farm, central Cotswolds. A warm welcome, friendly advice. Free husbandry courses to clients new and existing. Elite bloodlines, fantastic fleeces, range of colours. Alpaca purchased here can be agisted.
SPAIN
DEVON
Alpacaspain Jane Powell, La Dehesa, Gaucin 29480, Málaga, Spain. Tel: 00 34 951 168 007. Email: info@alpacaspain.com. Web: www.alpacaspain.com. In the south of Spain near the historic town of Ronda good quality alpacas for sale at sensible prices. Huacaya & suri - most colours. Good quality stud males. Visitors welcome. English & Spanish spoken.
UNITED KINGDOM BEDFORDSHIRE Rushmere Alpacas Jo Parker & Neil McAndrew, Little Cuppers, Rushmere, Leighton Buzzard, Bedfordshire LU7 0DZ. Tel: 01515 237416. Fax: 01525 234068. Email: j.parker101@btinternet.com Website: www.rushmerealpacas.co.uk Quality herd on the Beds, Bucks and Herts border offering a superb service to new and experienced breeders. Pregnant/maiden females, stud and pet males. Free training and 24/7 support.
Classical MileEnd Alpacas Rachel Hebditch & Chas Brooke, Vulscombe Farm, Pennymoor, Tiverton, Devon, EX16 8NB. Tel: 01884 243579. Mob: 07970 415638. Email: rachel@alpaca-uk.co.uk Website: www.alpaca-uk.co.uk Professional breeding farm with 18 years alpaca experience. Show winning herd sires with British, Australian and American genetics available for outside stud servicing. Wide selection of quality alpacas for sale as pets or breeding stock. We maintain rigorous management of on farm bio-security including full farm perimeter wildlife fencing. Excellent customer support and training with visitors welcome by appointment. DORSET Alpha Alpacas Di Davies, Woodstock, Mapperton Lane, Melplash, Bridport, Dorset, DT6 3UF. Tel: 01308 488661 or 07739 382483. Email: didavies@alpaca.fsnet.co.uk Web: www.alphaalpacas.com A small elite herd where fibre, biosecurity and support to our clients is paramount. Our herd, of all colours, have an outstanding show record. Sales, stud services and advice available.
Pure Alpacas Jay Holland, Torsend House, Main Road, Tirley, Glocs. GL19 4EU. Tel: 01452 780327 / 07789 257222. Email: jay@purealpacas.co.uk Web: www.purealpacas.co.uk A family-run herd of both huacaya and suri with a range for sale from pets and poultry guards to elite breeding stock, all backed by professional, unrivalled support and advice. Our herd sires, from renowned bloodlines, are all proven and available for outside services. We run a variety of courses which cater for all levels of experience. Snowshill Alpacas Roger Mount, Snowshill Hill Barn, Temple Guiting, Cheltenham, GL54 5XX. Tel: 01386 853841 / 07711 044106. Fax: 01386 854791. Email: roger.mount@btinternet.com Web: www.snowshillalpacas.com Breeders of prize winning Huacaya and Suri alpacas in Gloucestershire. We usually have alpacas for sale, from pet to show quality. Stud services available from a wide selection of proven sires. After sales support and advice. We also have fabrics for sale, all made from our own alpacas and spun, woven and finished in the UK. HAMPSHIRE Pennybridge Alpacas Joy & Peter, Pennybridge Farm, Greywell Road, Up Nately, Hook, Hants RG27 9PJ Tel: 01256 474978 / 07801 132757 Email: joy@pennybridgealpacas.co.uk Web: www.pennybridgealpacas.co.uk The Pennybridge Herd & Stud. Alpacas for sale. Most colours available, even the rare appaloosa. Quality starter herds, proven and potential stud males, stud services, pets and sheepguards. Free advice and after sales support provided.
Watership Alpacas Keith Taylor, Greenacres, Thruxton Down, Andover, Hants SP11 8PR Tel: 01264 889206 Email: info@watershipalpacas.co.uk Web: www.watershipalpacas.co.uk Watership Alpacas invites you to visit and discover alpacas. We have all colours of BAS registered huacaya breeding females, young males, potential studs and pets for sale. Inexpensive stud services all with full support and guidance. HERTFORDSHIRE Herts Alpacas Nigel and Katie Beckwith, Fairview Farm, Wyddial Road, Buntingford, Hertfordshire, SG9 9BS. Tel: 01763 271301 / 07802 433155 Email: beckwith904@aol.com Web: www.hertsalpacas.co.uk Award winning British Alpaca Futurity breeder. Over 80 quality alpacas for sale in all colours from world famous bloodlines. All our pregnant females are mated to the finest recognised and proven championship winning males. Stud services available, friendly halter trained pets and unbeatable after sales care. NORFOLK AzSu Alpacas Nikki Lenk, The Low Farm, Letton, Thetford, Norfolk, IP25 7TB. Tel: 01362 820097. Mob: 07798 522178 Fax: 01362 821333 Email: nikki.lenk@azsualpacas.com Web: www.azsualpacas.com Norfolk’s largest breeder offers potential and existing owners a friendly and complete service. High quality studs; breeding females and wethers for sale; practical training; caring agistment; fleece conversion; sound advice on all aspects of these magical animals.
ALPACA WORLD MAGAZINE | Winter 2015 | 73
BREEDERS DIRECTORY Burnt Fen Alpacas Ann Nickerson, Garden Cottage, Burnt Fen, Horning, Norfolk, NR12 8LA. Tel: 01692 630553. Email: alpacas@burntfen.plus.com Web: www.burntfen.co.uk We are long established alpaca breeders and have developed a fantastic friendly herd bred from excellent pedigree stock. We sell quality breeding females through to gorgeous pet animals with genuine after sales support and processing advice for your fleeces.
SOMERSET
WARWICKSHIRE
YORKSHIRE
Tai Wind Alpaca Stud Lynn Pepper, Staffords-Mead Stables, Lower Rudge, Frome, Somerset, BA11 2QE. Tel: 07790 674334. Email: info@taiwindalpacas.co.uk Web: www.taiwindalpacas.co.uk Show quality black alpacas. Fast forward your genetics with our stud males. We have a selection of pregnant females and young stock for sale from our show herd. Import, export.
NORTH YORKSHIRE
SUSSEX WEST
Beacon Alpacas Jacki Barlow, Suncliffe Beacon Farm, Husthwaite, Yorks YO61 4PD. Tel: 01347 868879 or 07716 917315. Email: beacon.alpacas@yahoo.co.uk Web: www.beaconalpacas.com Females; Herd sires with winning Australian, British, Canadian, Chilean, Peruvian Huacaya genetics; pets with personality; Alpaca walks all available to buy or hire with our committed training and after sales service.
Fowberry Alpacas Graham and Jenny MacHarg, Crambe Grange, Barton Le Willows, York YO60 7PQ. Tel 01653 619520. Email: info@fowberry-alpacas.com Web: www.fowberry-alpacas.com Supreme Championship winning herd, including the overall Championship winning Huacaya Sire of the biggest show in Europe (2012). We offer super-fine genetics; correct conformation and happy healthy alpacas; knowledgeable advice and after-sales assistance; regular introductory and advanced courses; on-line shop and as importantly, our support to achieve your alpaca goals.
The Alpaca Stud Nick Harrington Smith and John Potts, Bowford Farm, Goose Green, Thakeham, Pulborough, West Sussex, RH20 2LP. Tel. 01903 891425 or 07979 651742. Email:info@alpacastuduk.com Web: www.alpacastuduk.com Home to 2 Huacaya Champion Futurity Herdsires, 2 Suri Champion Futurity Herdsires and 2 Junior Herdsires, we have high quality females, Proven & Junior Herdsires, and pet males for sale, available in all colours. And unbeatable breeding genetics available for drive by and mobile mating.
Toft Alpacas Rob & Shirley Bettinson, Toft Manor, Toft Lane, Dunchurch, Warwickshire, CV22 6NR. Tel: 01788 810626. Fax: 01788 522347 Email: shirley@toft-alpacas.co.uk Web: www.toft-alpacas.co.uk Alpaca Stud Farm, est 1997. Pedigree stock for sale in all colours. Superior stud services. Stud males for sale or lease. Pets for sale. Introductory and advanced husbandry workshops. Fleece and fibre workshops. 24/7 advice and support. Holiday cottage on farm. Luxury alpaca products online and on-farm shop.
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Book your space in the Alpaca World Breeders Directory now by telephoning Heidi Hardy on 01598 752799. An entry is priced at just ÂŁ35 to cover FOUR issues.
The p-LUSH Show Friday 27 + Saturday 28 March
Ricoh Arena, Phoenix Way, Coventry CV6 6GE
BRITISH FIBRE & DESIGN FESTIVAL Designer/makers, hand-dyers, people working in the world of fibre, textile artists and companies selling exquisite hand-made objects and designs will be exhibiting at p-LUSH; applauding the British making and designing industry. We have been invited to add a luxury fibre experiential consumer show of excellence to run as part of the British Alpaca Futurity. Hosted by Belinda Harris-Reid and Rachel Vowles.
Sponsorship opportunities, trade stand applications and booking forms are available on the websites. Go to
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20 1 5
The British Alpaca Futurity is the largest alpaca show in Europe, a celebration of all things alpaca and a showcase for British breeding. Halter classes judged by Peter Kennedy (Australia) and Wade Gease (USA) and an international fleece show. Join us in March 2015. The Ricoh Arena has a 6,000m2 exhibition hall, an on-site hotel, casino, nightclub, bars and restaurants and car parking for just ÂŁ1 a day. It is ideally situated close to motorways, train stations and Birmingham International Airport.
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