Alpaca Issue 92

Alpaca British Alpaca Society bi-monthly magazine

ISSUE 92: APRIL/MAY 2022

British Alpaca Society The fibre breed

www.bas-uk.com

ARTWORK ALPACAS bringing art to the science of alpaca breeding. www.artworkalpacas.com

Snowmass Bronze Royalty of Artwork weanlings……

Artwork Alpacas, Mills Farm House, Rogate, West Sussex, GU31 5EQ, UK T: 07785 258740 E: alpacas@freivokh.com

Alpaca www.bas-uk.com THE BRITISH ALPACA SOCIETY c/o Grassroots Systems Ltd, PO Box 251, Exeter EX2 8WX. Tel (within UK): 0845 3312468 Tel (Overseas): +44(0)1392 437788 Fax: +44(0)1392 437788 Email: info@bas-uk.com BAS CHIEF EXECUTIVE Dr Duncan Pullar Tel: 07496 578781 Email: ceo@bas-uk.com

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CONTENTS

The importance of the National Show

Following two years of cancellations due to the pandemic the National Show finally opened, and what a show it turned out to be.

34 Planning for shearing day

Katie Franks has fourteen years’ experience of shearing at Thorn Alpacas and although each shearing day may be different forward planning is always essential.

EDITORIAL Editor: Liz Mason alpaca.ed@kelsey.co.uk ADVERTISEMENT SALES Wendy King Talk Media Sales Tel: 01732 448748 Email: Wendy.King@talkmediasales.co.uk

24 Handling made easy

GRAPHIC DESIGN Jo Legg 07306 482166 jo.legg@flair-design.co.uk

Alison and Keith Thompson ensure fleece from their herd at Watership Alpacas is put to good use in a field to fashion enterprise that also benefits wildlife.

KELSEY MEDIA The Granary, Downs Court Yalding Hill, Yalding, Maidstone, Kent, ME18 6AL 01959 541444 MANAGEMENT Chief Executive: Steve Wright Chief Operating Officer: Phil Weeden Managing Director: Kevin McCormick Publisher: Jamie McGrorty Retail Director: Steve Brown Renewals and Projects Manager: Andy Cotton Senior Subscription Marketing Manager: Nick McIntosh Subscription Marketing Director: Gill Lambert Subscription Marketing Manager: Kate Chamberlain Print Production Manager: Georgina Harris Print Production Controller: Kelly Orriss

42 Selling fleece

What do you need to do to achieve the best price for your fleece?

26 Delighted by births

Alpaca births are usually straightforward and the unexpected arrival of newborn cria has delighted visitors to Bowbridge Alpacas and sometimes taken maiden dams by surprise.

44 BAS regional spotlight

DISTRIBUTION Distribution in Great Britain: Marketforce (UK) 3rd Floor, 161 Marsh Wall, London, E14 9AP Tel: 020 3148 5000 PRINTING Precision Colour Print Kelsey Media 2022 © all rights reserved. Kelsey Media is a trading name of Kelsey Publishing Ltd. Reproduction in whole or in part is forbidden except with permission in writing from the publishers. Note to contributors: articles submitted for consideration by the editor must be the original work of the author and not previously published. Where photographs are included, which are not the property of the contributor, permission to reproduce them must have been obtained from the owner of the copyright. The editor cannot guarantee a personal response to all letters and emails received. The views expressed in the magazine are not necessarily those of the Editor or the Publisher. Kelsey Publishing Ltd accepts no liability for products and services offered by third parties.

Kelsey Media takes your personal data very seriously. For more information of our privacy policy, please visit Kelsey Media takes your personal data very seriously. For more information of our privacy policy, please visit https://www.kelsey.co.uk/privacy-policy/ . If at any point you have any queries regarding Kelsey’s data policy you can email our Data Protection Officer at dpo@kelsey.co.uk.

36 Shearing day checklist 38 From field to fashion

New BAS Regional Groups.

28 Newborn cria care

Ami Sawran, Westpoint Farm Vets, looks at care of newborn cria and the checks owners need to make immediately after birth to ensure cria are healthy and have no deformities.

30 Nutrition: science and practice

Andrea Turner from Langford Vets Farm Animal Practice examines the theory behind nutrition and offers valuable practical advice on what to implement within your herd.

46 Letter from New Zealand

Anya and Frank Walkington from Shamarra Alpacas, Akaroa, New Zealand, breed high quality alpacas and manage a farm tour business in a quietly beautiful pocket of the world. The couple also produce luxury knitwear and blankets.

32 The parasite landscape www.kelsey.co.uk

How a holistic approach to parasite control can benefit your alpacas and help curb the growing problem of drug resistance.

Cover photo: BAS National Show © Ingrid Weel Photography

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FROM THE EDITOR

W

T: 01959 541444 E: alpaca.ed@kelsey.co.uk facebook-f @BritishAlpacaMagazine

elcome to the May issue and what is the busiest time of year. Some of you will have already had your alpacas shorn, others will have the date marked on the calendar. Hopefully you are ready to make the most of your fleece and welcome the first cria of this season

In this issue we hear how Katie Franks, Thorn Alpacas prepares for shearing starting a long time ahead of the day with paddock management. A BAS shearing factsheet, produced by Emma Taylor, BAS fibre committee chair, highlights the need to start preparing months ahead and it outlines a checklist and countdown of essential tasks as the date nears to help the day run smoothly.

Alpacas produce fantastic fibre and BAS aims to encourage owners to make the most of their fleece.

The BAS National Fibre Zone, organised this year by Anne Cheston, Abberley Alpacas and Caroline Oates, showcased some of the fantastic items produced by members. In this issue we feature several who exhibited at the show.

Alison Thompson, Watership Alpacas designs gorgeous jackets for women and toddlers as part of a field to fashion business that also cares for the land and wildlife and Chris Edge, Snooks Farm Alpacas produces eye-catching rugs and cushions. › Liz Mason We also learn from Rachel Hebditch of alpaca yarn

company UK Alpaca who tells us what the company needs to maximise the value of fleece - if you are planning to sell your fleece to one of the UK’s leading buyers it pays to be aware of their requirements.

To help prepare for birthing Ami Sawran, Westpoint, Farm Vets, examines cria health and runs through the health checks needed immediately after birth to ensure newborns have no abnormalities. While it is vital to prepare for emergencies thankfully most births are straightforward delighting owners with healthy, strong cria as Alison Johnson, Bowbridge Alpacas, has found.

Continuing with health we include a detailed look at the science and practice of nutrition from Andrea Turner of Langford Farm Vets. Andrea offers an invaluable guide to nutrition and underlines the importance of body condition scoring alpacas. Sue Thomas, from Lyme Alpacas offers an introduction to parasitology and why it is vital to understand how parasites can affect health.

We also include reports from the BAS National Show, the Heart of England Alpaca Group Show and the North West Alpaca Group Show as well as an introduction to new BAS regional groups.

Thank you to everyone who has contributed to the magazine. I hope that wherever you are on your alpaca journey you will find something of interest to help keep your alpacas happy and healthy.

CEO NOTES...

T

Duncan Pullar

he National Show in Telford was a tremendous success, writes BAS CEO Duncan Pullar. It was great to meet so many BAS members face to face for the first time in a long time, and in some cases for the first time ever. The spirit was good from everyone who attended. Thanks to all involved who made it work.

With an event that has 600 alpacas from 80 owners as well as 25 trade-stands there are bound to be a few glitches and there were some.

That said those affected by the glitches helped solve them and there was nothing that got close to stopping the show.

The National Show Dinner on Saturday night included a charity auction for the UNICEF (the United Nations Children’s Fund) and the Red Cross Ukraine Appeal. BAS members were very generous with their donations and their buying of the lots. The final amount raised came to £14,600. I was proud and pleased to be part of such an event which showed such a good side of the human spirit.

Fingers crossed we will have a full season of events in 2022. At the time of writing, we have successfully completed several more shows.

I hope you all have a trouble-free shearing and birthing season.

Become a BAS member www.bas-uk.com

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Alpaca #92

British Alpaca Society The fibre breed

NEWS

NATIONAL ALPACA FARM OPEN DAY T he second BAS National Alpaca Farm Open Day is planned for the weekend of 3-4 September following the huge success of last year’s event.

BAS CEO Duncan Pullar said 100 herds took part in 2021 attracting more than 30,000 visitors – an overwhelming response from the public.

This year BAS plans to encourage as many herds as possible to open their doors and welcome visitors. The aim is to have more than 100 alpaca herds open to the public over the weekend. The event will be supported by a BAS promotional campaign in the weeks before September 3 and 4, with owners opening their farms on one or both days benefiting from BAS promotional support.

National Alpaca Farm Day is an opportunity to raise awareness of alpaca

businesses. For owners opening their farm to the public for the first time, the weekend is an opportunity to promote alpacas, educate visitors and host a fun event.

Interested BAS members will need to register their event with BAS CEO Duncan Pullar. Open days will be listed on the BAS website to allow members of the public to find a local farm. In 2021 events ranged from small scale with less than 20 invited visitors to open weekends attracting several thousand visitors.

To register your interest email BAS CEO Duncan Pullar: ceo@bas-uk.com

AWARD WINNING ADVENTURE C ongratulations to Wendy Williams from Alpaca Adventure who won Animal Attraction of the Year in the South England Prestige Awards.

Wendy, whose Alpaca Adventure alpaca walking business featured on Countryfile in 2017, was delighted to have been judged first in the category covering businesses from across the region. Her alpacas at Copse View near the Wiltshire/Dorset border have been walking with visitors and offering care home visits for more than nine years.

Wendy, who has 30 alpacas, was surprised to learn that she had been nominated for the award and delighted to win the animal attraction of the year category. Wendy travelled to an awards ceremony in Fareham, Surrey where she was presented with her certificate.

She said: “It’s nice to think that I’ve achieved what I am aiming for which is for people to come and have a great time and tell their friends that they’ve had a good time.”

Wendy uses ‘Google My Business’ to promote her business and Alpaca Adventure consistently receives five star reviews.

Publicity from the Countryfile appearance, and the recent Prestige Award, also helps to attract visitors.

Wendy offers walks by appointment for all ages. These start with an introduction to the alpacas before a leisurely walk around the fields. The alpacas are also available to visit local care homes and are able to travel in lifts to meet residents and staff.

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NEWS

‘REAL ADVANCES’

Being asked to judge at the BAS National Show is a real honour, writes Tim Hey and this year I had the pleasure of judging the female Huacaya and Suri sections and also the progeny groups.

I

would like to congratulate the organising committee, together with BAS CEO Duncan Pullar for a wonderfully organised and presented show and also for taking care of me and making me feel welcome. I would also like to say a heartfelt thanks to the exhibitors for allowing me to verbally critique their highly valuable show stock and for being so patient in those larger classes.

During the event there were several trends that were obvious to me where I was seeing real advances in both conformational and fleece traits. For me, the conformation of an alpaca, no matter if it is a Suri or Huacaya, underpins everything that we strive for in the alpaca industry.

The term 'fit for purpose' comes to mind and as an alpaca breeder and judge, I value great conformation and I know just how hard it can be to stick to one's principals and breed structurally sound stock, even though there is the temptation to breed with an alpaca that may have the best fleece but is structurally compromised. This year I was pleasantly surprised to see the quality of the jaw and teeth alignment in the female sections. Overall proportion and balance had improved on previous years and the substance of bone, body volume and complete robustness was great to witness.

The overriding fleece trait that I noticed in both breeds was the level of fineness throughout the range of colours; this was not only noticeable in the junior classes but right up into the senior groups where the fineness and soft handle, in most cases was excellent and what the industry should, in my opinion, be striving for. Uniformity of colour, especially in the 'light' classes was a noticeable improvement on previous years with very little darker fibre being present. These two traits are a credit to the exhibitors as they clearly see the negative impact poor fineness and colour uniformity can have in their own herds.

I was asked to give feedback to exhibitors when writing this piece and there are only two pieces of advice I can give that I hope are useful. First, please cut the toenails on your alpacas as this helps them relax and walk naturally around the ring – long toenails look terrible, and they can hugely influence the movement of the alpaca. Second, when lining up in the show ring it looks more professional and credible when the alpacas remain lined up straight and exhibitors try their best to keep the alpaca they are handling

facing the front and ready for the judge to come back for a second look.

These two practices can help you get the most from your alpaca while portraying a positive image to those watching.

I really appreciated the time and effort exhibitors put into preparing for the show as stock in the junior and intermediate classes would not have been to shows before and many of the alpacas exhibited in the adult and senior sections wouldn't have been shown either due to the pandemic. A huge thank you must go to everyone who exhibited for showing your alpacas in such a professional manner – well trained stock not only makes them easier to assess and judge, but it also gives a positive impression to those observing the show.

The 2022 BAS National Show was a pleasure to judge. Thank you again for the opportunity and I look forward to the 2023 show with excitement and enthusiasm. >> See our full review of the National Show on page 12

TRAINING COURSES O pportunities to improve alpaca assessment skills and take the first steps towards becoming a qualified judge will be available later this year.

BAS courses planned for the late summer/autumn include: • Intermediate Alpaca Assessment – a three day course for BAS members, non-members or overseas guests on assessing alpaca conformation and fleece. This is a comprehensive package in basic alpaca assessment and is a prerequisite for those wishing to enter the BAS judge training scheme 8

Alpaca #92

• Advanced Alpaca Assessment – building on skills learnt on the intermediate course • Judge Training 1 – to qualify you must first complete intermediate alpaca assessment followed by advanced alpaca assessment.

Course dates and venues will be confirmed shortly but if you are interested in attending email BAS CEO Duncan Pullar: ceo@bas-uk.com Details of introductory training offered by BAS Affiliates, including a two day 'introduction to alpacas' course in Devon are available on the website: www.bas-uk.com/education-welfare

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NEWS

READERS' CRIAS > Susie Dicken captured this beautiful moment with Merry Winds Maureen and her cria Merry Winds Alistair

> Ian and Julie Anderson are fairly new to keeping alpacas and have a small herd of five females with four expecting cria this summer.

“We decided to call ourselves Stand Sure Alpacas. Stand Sure is the traditional Anderson motto although we are based far from the Highlands on the Cambridgeshire/Suffolk border,” Julie says.

If you would like to see your cria photos in our next issue please send to BAS CEO Duncan Pullar at ceo@bas-uk.com. We will need high res images (over 1.2MB) to publish in the magazine.

SMART SECURITY CAMERA TARGETS CRIMINALS G ame changing technology has been used to develop the uWatch Cube security camera which links to a smartphone enabling smallholders to protect and monitor their property.

Rural theft is estimated to have cost the UK £43.3m in 2020 according to the NFU Mutual and organised criminals continue to target smallholdings, often visiting sites to identify what they are going to steal, list the items for sale and later return to steal the items once sold.

The Secured by Design (SBD), approved Cube is a portable and instantly deployable alerting system offering peace of mind monitoring as well as crime detection, uWatch say. SBD is the official police security initiative that works to improve the security of buildings and their immediate surroundings.

When any of the Cube’s sensors are activated, an alert is typically received by your smartphone in under 30 seconds, according to the developers. If 10 Alpaca #92

configured to do so, the alert will contain a date and time stamped picture, GPS location, temperature and the name of the sensor activated, uWatch explain.

The Cube uses LoRa technology, a wireless data transmission technique that sends encoded information on radio waves. uWatch say transmission is robust against disturbances and data can be transmitted at a longer range compared to technologies like WiFi or Bluetooth.

A single Cube is able to monitor several assets and entry points, with alerts telling you exactly which sensor has been activated, and when, in about a minute. This means that the Cube can monitor multiple assets simultaneously at distance and its ability to capture an image of an intruder will allow owners to provide evidence of any crime to police.

According to the Secured by Design panel the uWatch system will help “prevent, reduce and solve crime”.

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THE BAS NATIONAL SHOW

THE IMPORTANCE OF THE NATIONAL SHOW F Alpacas.

ollowing two years of cancellations due to the pandemic the National Show finally opened, and what a show it turned out to be. If ever there was an event that encompassed most aspects of alpaca ownership, this was it, writes Ken Freivokh, Artwork

The National Show offered: • The perfect opportunity to meet other breeders and other like-minded people following a dearth of any such get-together events for the previous two years.

• The culmination of the Champion of Champions fleece show, with a

magnificent display of the best fleeces in the country.

• A great array of beautifully presented trade stands encompassing everything alpaca, from jewellery and fashion to farm equipment, veterinary services, IT, nutrition and feeds, shelters.

• Junior handling competition, aimed at encouraging the younger generation.

• Two of our most senior judges assessing and awarding class and championship wins to more than 600 alpacas entered, in both Huacaya and Suri halter classes.

• An impressive array of Sire and Dam progeny classes.

Photos: Ingrid Weel Photography

• A great dinner including music and a casino, followed by a tremendous auction with highly interesting items donated by various breeders, with more than £14,000 collected for Ukraine.

• A superbly supported Stud Service Auction leading up to the show which raised a record sum for the Society.

Being part of the show organising committee as the BAS Board representative, I was able to witness first hand all the preparation and homework required leading to the National Show – it doesn’t just ‘happen’!

It was the result of many months of careful planning by a highly dedicated show committee and a strong organising team, including two chief stewards, three ring stewards, 13 inspecting stewards and scribes, 15 collecting ring and pen stewards, two recording stewards, three commentators, even a health and safety representative.

The importance of the National Show for the whole alpaca community should not be underestimated. Not only does it collect the top alpacas in the country under one roof, it brings together newcomers with experienced

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breeders. It certainly offers breeders a better understanding of what makes a good alpaca thanks to detailed oral reasoning by the judges helped by the giant display screens offering close up views of the fleeces. Perhaps most important of all, it underlines how the national herd has improved and how targeted breeding has raised the standard of our alpacas to a new level.

Improvement was not only evident regarding the alpacas. The trade and professional stands were also full of interest and help to alpaca keepers. A very welcome variety, ranging from the presence of undoubtedly our most senior UK vet Claire Whitehead sharing her knowledge and advice, to Art Of Fibre with recommendations and understanding of how to measure and assess fleeces, as well as the Scotfield shop exhibiting truly high quality fashion items and Sandhills with their great alpaca shelters – twenty great stands, every one worth visiting!

Such an interesting and varied show, such a great venue, so helpful to have live streaming of the judging. A true landmark event for the whole alpaca community – we can’t wait for the next National Show!

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NATIONAL SHOW

T

HALTER SHOW op quality alpacas returned to the Telford International Centre in March after a three year absence to compete for championship honours at the BAS National Show.

Alpacas from some of the UK’s biggest breeders, and those from smaller herds, were assessed by BAS judges Mary-Jo Smith and Tim Hey. The flagship event saw more than 650 alpacas from 100 exhibitors come under the judges’ scrutiny.

Judging in the two rings was live streamed on YouTube allowing breeders and owners to follow the event at home. Two big ringside screens also allowed the Telford spectators, and exhibitors, to appreciate the quality of fleece carried by the competing alpacas as the judge’s opened up the fleeces for inspection.

The highly anticipated event started on Friday with Suri judging in both rings. Judging restarted early Saturday morning with Huacaya classes and culminated in the Supreme Suri and Huacaya Championships on Sunday.

With both Suri and Huacaya Champions in the ring for the final line-up on Sunday afternoon show commentator Rob Bettinson encouraged the audience to applaud breeders’ achievements. “You are not going to see a sight like this for another year,” Rob said.

“It’s been three years since we had a National Show and it’s amazing what’s happened in that time. People have been working hard on their farms to improve the standard of their alpacas so let’s celebrate what they have achieved – it’s a credit to all of us.”

Rob reminded visitors and exhibitors that the National is “the biggest alpaca show in Europe” and the show champions represented the best of the best. It is “a showcase for UK alpacas and a tribute to breeders”, he said.

SUPREME HUACAYA CHAMPION: Beck Brow Glory Daze

14 Alpaca #92

A massive improvement in the standard of animals had taken place since the first BAS National more than 20 years ago and anyone with alpacas placed at the top of their class should be proud of their achievement.

To applause from spectators Rob said: “Even if you only won a seventh place come back and you may win next time – keep on breeding, keep on improving and we will have a great future ahead of us.”

Rob thanked the judges, show sponsors, stewards, the show committee and everyone involved who had helped to organise what had been a fantastic event; with money raised for local and international charities. Entrance fees were donated to Severn Hospice. The show’s charity auction on Saturday night raised £14,600 for UNICEF (the United Nations Children’s Fund) and the Red Cross to help people affected by the war in Ukraine thanks to the generosity of everyone who donated lots and supported the bidding.

The stud service auction, which took place before the show raised a record £16,453 which will help ensure the BAS National remains the UK’s premier alpaca show in 2023.

Supreme Champions

Huacaya Supreme Champion and Best British Bred Huacaya was awarded to the champion white male Beck Brow Glory Daze owned by Paul and Barbara Hetherington. The Supreme Championship was kindly sponsored by Armitage Insurance.

Suri Supreme Champion went to CS Alpacas Hercules owned by Julia and Jack Corrigan-Stuart. The award was kindly sponsored by NFU Mutual.

Best British Bred Suri was awarded to Sheriff Can Can owned by Caroline Barugh.

SUPREME SURI CHAMPION: CS Alpacas Hercules

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Huacaya Champions

Suri Champions

Grey Female: Snowshill Silver Crystal owned by Roger Mount and Mrs Mary Mount Reserve: Wellow Catch A Falling Star owned by Neil and Michelle Payne Black Female: Beck Brow Black Tulip owned by Paul and Barbara Hetherington Reserve: Snowshill Annaleise owned by Roger Mount and Mrs Mary Mount Brown Female: Winsaula Agatha Raisin owned by Mark & Paula Winsor Reserve: Dark Sky Gersemi owned by Tom and Wendy Scott Fawn Female: Wellow Euphoria owned by North West Suri Alpacas Reserve: Lane House Finesse owned by Mrs Diane Lane and Jodie Lane Light Female: Park Side Hebe owned by Mr and Mrs Viv Hamilton Reserve: Wellow Florence owned by Neil and Michelle Payne Fawn Male: CS Alpacas Antonio owned by Julia and Jack Corrigan-Stuart Reserve: Springfarm King Arthur owed by Chris and Vicki Agar Brown Male: Beck Brow Suri Woodstock owned by Paul and Barbara Hetherington Reserve: Winsaula Unforgotten owned by Mark and Paula Winsor Black Male: Thistledown Khartoum of NWS (Imp) owned by North West Suri Alpacas Reserve: Winsaula Line of Duty owned by Mark and Paula Winsor Grey Male: Winsaula Malahide owed by Mark and Paula Winsor Reserve: Wellow Endeavour Morse owed by North West Suri Alpacas White Male: CS Alpacas Hercules owned by Julia and Jack Corrigan-Stuart Reserve: Evolution Jet-A-Son owned by Evolution Alpacas Ltd White Female: Sheriff Can Can owned by Caroline Barugh Reserve: CS Alpacas Wanda owned by Julia and Jack Corrigan-Stuart Light Male: North West Suri King Edward owned by North West Suri Alpacas Reserve: Snowshill D'yquem owned by Roger Mount and Mrs Mary Mount

Grey Female: Velvet Hall Lakota owned by Jean MacDonald and Stuart Ramsay Reserve: Rivenherd Heidi owned by Jackie and Joe Watson Black Female: Westyett Patricia owned by Pauline Robson Reserve: Blackberry Juicy owned by Harvey and Claudine Brown Brown Female: Arkadia Unakite owned by Drew Thomas Reserve: Hannahston B R Lilibet owned by Ian and Angela Mitchell Fawn Female: Artwork B.R. Irma La Douce owned by Ken Freivokh and Liz Windsor Reserve: Evolution Witness owned by Alpaca Evolution Ltd Light Female: Rivenherd Georgia owed by Jackie and Jo Watson Reserve: Alpha Mercedes owned by Di Davies Light Male: Artwork Jack The Lad owned by Ken Freivokh and Liz Windsor Reserve :Beck Brow Wheels On Fire owned by Paul and Barbara Hetherington Fawn Male: Beck Brow No Jacket Required owned by Paul and Barbara Hetherington Reserve: Artwork B.R. Inti owned by Ken Freivokh and Liz Windsor White Male: Beck Brow Glory Daze owned by Paul and Barbara Hetherington Reserve: Beck Brow Bring It On owned by Paul and Barbara Hetherington White Female: Beck Brow Lipstick and Powder owned by Paul and Barbara Hetherington Reserve: Meon Valley Ash Star owned by Karen Oglesby Best Appaloosa: Brillbury Eduardo Awesome owned by Michael and Anne Shaw Brown Male: Beck Brow The Instigator owned by Paul and Barbara Hetherington Reserve: Fangdale Milo owned by Dr Nicola Mayes & Dr Deborah Sporton Black Male: Redens Dynamic owned by Ron and Linda Mackintosh Reserve: Chinchero Flint owned by Steve and Belinda Massenhove Grey Male: Velvet Hall Finisterre owned by Jean MacDonald and Stuart Ramsay Reserve: Alpha Fire Cracker owned by Di Davies Modern Grey Male: Beck Brow Come As You Are owned by Paul and Barbara Hetherington Reserve: Evolution Firecracker owned by Alpaca Evolution Ltd

Progeny Classes

Huacaya 3 Progeny by 1 Sire (White, Beige, Fawn): Houghton Placido owned by Chas Brooke and Rachel Hebditch Huacaya 3 Progeny by 1 Sire (Brown, Black, Grey): Snowmass Bronze Royalty of ARW owned by Ken Freivokh and Liz Windsor Huacaya 2 Progeny from 1 Dam (White, Beige, Fawn): Alpha Nautilus owned by Di Davies Suri 3 Progeny by 1 Sire (White, Beige, Fawn): Popham Suri Carlos owned by Mr and Mrs G and A Sanders Suri 3 Progeny by 1 Sire (Brown, Black, Grey): Thistledown Maniatoto of FAR owned by Nikki Hayton Suri 2 Progeny from 1 Dam (White, Beige, Fawn): Snowshill Chardonnay owned by Roger Mount & Mrs Mary Mount

NATIONAL SHOW

A STEWARD’S VIEW Helping in any way at a show or BAS event is a great route to learn first hand from experts, says Paul Wills, Limestone Alpacas.

E

ven after 15 years of breeding alpacas, I am the first to acknowledge that learning in this unique area is always ongoing and I believe, underlying alpaca ownership, is a general thirst for greater knowledge and understanding in an evolving, and indeed advancing industry.

The quality of breeding and traits that establish what is elite are evolving all the time. And for me, helping in any form at a show or BAS event offers a great route to see and hear first hand what goes on at the ‘front line’ where you cannot avoid learning, seeing the traits we aspire to, and picking up tips on assessment or valuable pieces of welfare know-how.

I jumped (mentally at least – those knees aren’t as good anymore!) at the chance to help at the National Fleece Show because you simply cannot get closer to the judge’s (on this occasion Mary-Jo Smith) hands on interrogation and assessment of some of this country’s leading fleeces.

Laying out the Reserve and Champion fleeces from the regional shows and seeing the judge’s methodical and detailed consideration directly in front of you provides the chance to understand how different desired (or less desirable) traits contribute and lead to overall assessment. I was fortunate enough to be the scribe on this occasion recording the judge’s individual scores for contributing factors from fineness and handle, density, consistency of colour, length and micron (both within the staple and across the fleece) to brightness and weight.

On the job learning with the experts! You hear their comments, you see them draw their samples and compare qualities such as length, fineness, character and style and you see them find those handfuls of coarse fibre that really should have been skirted away. Learning – that has definitely advanced my own ability and confidence in assessment. And realisation - that my brain and memory no longer have the agility and dexterity of the judges!

Whilst laying the fleeces out for judging is a core and responsible task, it isn’t the easiest. But again you are hands on with elite fleeces, some of which are an absolute delight to unroll, while others can be somewhat more demanding to find top from tail ( odd ones nigh on impossible) – and don’t think I haven’t been guilty of the latter! After 14 odd years of showing this was the first year I have actually learned how to properly skirt a fleece (thank

you Julia) and finally appreciate how a well prepared and skirted fleece presents itself so much better and can avoid losing marks simply because of vegetation or newspaper cuttings within!

I also took the opportunity to offer (beg really) my help in stewarding at the National Halter show. I saw this as a privilege rather than a chore, working alongside such a lovely team, and again giving me the opportunity to be up close to so many elite alpacas and the judging process.

But it isn’t just the insights from getting up close to fleeces and alpacas and seeing and hearing the judge’s assessment and commentaries (which are helpfully becoming ever more advisory and informative). It’s also the helpful snippets of information you pick up from working closely with the rest of the stewarding team; chatting on current matters of welfare, tips for treatment, options for stud males, where the industry is going.

My role of collecting ring steward was to make sure the right alpacas are lined up in the right order within their class and ready to enter the ring as soon as the judge has finished the previous class. Within every class the animals enter in age order ideally to make assessment somewhat easier. It is a busy role to keep the line-up moving, find everyone needed, and support the smooth running of the show. As an exhibitor you have that one chance to be in the class – if you’re late and miss that slot there is no second chance and no refund!

This year I shared that role with former judge Liz Barlow who is great fun, supported in the job by Drew Thomas and Lyndsey Eborall (both great company as ever) under Karen May’s attentive oversight as chief steward for Tim Hey’s judging ring. A great team.

As a collecting ring or penning steward I am most typically seen looking anxiously for an absent exhibitor; you do end up chasing some owners who don’t realise the time, have got carried away in the coffee shop or even brought the wrong alpaca to the line up! But despite what might appear to be nagging, we simply want everyone to have their chance and the judge not to be kept waiting. Typically exhibitors are very well organised and grateful for the prompts and this year we had some extremely appreciative feedback making the job even more worthwhile – so a big personal thank you!

Perhaps helping as a steward may be better described as “on the job learning with experts”.

Alpaca #92

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NATIONAL SHOW

I

CHAMPION OF CHAMPIONS FLEECE SHOW t was a fantastic BAS National for Beck Brow Alpacas as their white male champion Beck Brow Glory Daze was awarded Champion of Champions Huacaya Fleece as well as Supreme Champion in the halter show.

Owners Paul and Barbara Hetherington swept the Huacaya honours board in the Fleece Show when Glory Daze was also awarded Judge’s Choice and Best British Fleece.

The couple also won Reserve Champion Fleece with Beck Brow Stars Align, another young male also sired by Bozedown Blaze of Glory.

The new format show, with about 60 entries, was open to fleeces which had won champion or reserve in regional shows in 2021. Samples from all entries were micron tested for fineness by show sponsor Art Of Fibre.

Mary-Jo Smith judged the fleeces in February at CS Alpacas, Buckinghamshire. The results were kept under wraps until the National when the champion fleeces, and the awards, were displayed in a show that highlighted breeders’ achievements.

The fleece show, was organised by Julia Corrigan-Stuart of CS Alpacas.

Julia’s “excellent team” of helpers included Anne and Mike Shaw from Brillbury Alpacas, Paul Wills, Limestone Alpacas and Charlotte Major, Orchard Corner Alpacas.

The National double supreme win for Glory Daze in both fleece and halter shows capped an outstanding show for the Beck Brow team who took 12 trophies home to Cumbria following a strong performance in the halter classes.

Suri Champions

Champion of Champions Suri Fleece and Judge’s Choice was won

by Thistledown Khartoum of NWS owned by North West Suri Alpacas.

Reserve was Evolution Lord Francis owned by Alpaca Evolution Ltd. Best British Suri Fleece was awarded to Snowshill Glorfindel owned by Roger Mount and Mrs Mary Mount.

Huacaya Championships

White Fleece: Beck Brow Glory Daze owned by Paul and Barbara Hetherington Reserve: Beck Brow Stars Align owned by Paul and Barbara Hetherington Light Fleece: Amberly Tequila Slammer owned by Roger and Elaine Clarke Reserve: Pottery Prima owned by Mr and Mrs Mark Egan Fawn Fleece: Velvet Hall Tulemalu owned by Jean MacDonald and Stuart Ramsay Reserve: Dark Sky Toranaga owned by Tom and Wendy Scott Brown Fleece: Limestone Alfred owned by Paul Wills Reserve: Snowshill Anaxis owned by Andy and Karen Openshaw Grey Fleece: Velvet Hall Finisterre owned by Jean MacDonald and Stuart Ramsay Reserve: Springfarm Wizard owned by Chris and Vicki Agar Black Fleece: Nero Black Burgess owned by Paul and Kathryn Shrimpton Reserve: Barnacre Estoria owned by Paul and Debbie Rippon Alpacas

Suri Championships

White Fleece: Evolution Rocket Jet owned by Alpaca Evolution Ltd Reserve: Evolution Jet-A-Son owned by Alpaca Evolution Ltd Light Fleece: Evolution Lord Francis owned by Alpaca Evolution Ltd Reserve: Faraway Blonde Bombshell owned by Nikki Hayton Fawn Fleece: CS Alpacas Antonio owned by Julia and Jack Corrigan-Stuart Reserve: Evolution Sassy Lassy owned by Alpaca Evolution Ltd Brown Fleece: Springfarm King Arthur owned by Chris and Vicki Agar Reserve: Evolution Touche owned by Alpaca Evolution Ltd

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www.csalpacas.co.uk Julia Corrigan-Stuart

Yeat Wood Farm, Wootton Underwood, Bucks HP18 0RL Mobile: 07803 726464 Email: julia@csalpacas.co.uk Alpaca #92

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NATIONAL SHOW

FIBRE ZONE Craft skills and design talent were on show in the Fibre Zone with entries in the competition classes highlighting the range of high quality products made from UK alpaca.

T

he classes were organised by Anne Cheston, from Abberley Alpacas and Caroline Oakes, Clivewood Alpacas and Mill and entries were judged by Val Fullerlove. The Zone was kindly sponsored by fibre testing company Art Of Fibre.

Val is a lifelong hand spinner, knitter and weaver with many years’ experience as a fleece halter judge and she was delighted by the beautifully made entries. In the homeware classes she awarded joint first place to a needle felted rug made by Christine Edge from Snooks Farm Alpacas.

Val was impressed by Christine’s contemporary design as well as her needle felting skill and the high quality of the finished rug. “It’s also a very commercial design,” she said.

But competition in the class was close and Sandra Muriel from Crewenna Alpacas shared first place. Val praised Sandra’s throw, made from natural coloured yarn, for its “beautifully soft handle”. Sandra also won red rosettes in the yarn classes with a first in the Huacaya mill spun class and first in the open class for her alpaca and silk blend.

In the garment category Val awarded first place in the hats class to Ailene Charlton from Aylswood Alpacas. Val was looking for a hat with a soft handle and even stitches and the winning entry was “beautifully made with quite a complex pattern”.

20 Alpaca #92

In the shoulderware class Katherine and Neel Shearer from Free Range Fibre achieved first place for their “beautiful” woven shawl. Katherine and Neel also won first in the Suri mill spun yarn class.

Alison Thompson, Watershed Alpacas, took first and second place in the tailored item class for her toddler coat and ladies jacket. First and second in the sewn or stitched garment class was awarded to Wendy and Tom Scott of Dark Sky Alpacas, for their alpaca smocks featured in this years’ Yearbook.

In the knit or crochet garment class a “stunning” white shawl from Kim Swetman of Silver Cloud Alpacas took first place. First place for a felted garment was a pair of slippers from Victoria Barrett of Simply Alpacas and Celia Berry of Sodom Hall Alpacas won first in the toy class.

Handknit or crochet neckwear was won by Ailene Charlton of Aylswood Alpacas and Alison Wiseman of Balnuith Alpacas won both the neckwear handwoven class and the open class. Tony and Hilary Monkcom of Pinnacle Alpacas were awarded first in the machine woven neckwear class for an ‘ombre’ or fade design shawl.

The machine knit class was won by Sue Hipkin, Scotfield Alpacas. And in the yarn classes the Huacaya hand spun class was won by Charlotte and Scott Major from Orchard Corner Alpacas.

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SHOWS

HOEAG FIESTA

How fantastic to have alpacas being shown again at the HoEAG Fiesta at Bury Farm Equestrian Centre, Slapton, Bucks, after two years of no showing due to Covid-19, writes show organiser Julia Corrigan-Stuart, CS Alpacas.

W in daylight.

Photos: Ingrid Weel Photography

e carried on where we left off, with our format of commencing judging on Friday afternoon and finishing just after lunch on Sunday, meaning exhibitors could get home at a reasonable time and

We were very grateful to welcome back our judge Barbara Hetherington of Beck Brow Alpacas, who did a fantastic job of judging 300 alpacas. With excellent oral reasons and fantastic time keeping, the exhibitors once again appeared extremely happy with her judging. Also, a huge thank you to our ring steward, Garry Naish – always on hand to help with those diva alpacas in the ring – what would we do without you?

Our colour/reserve champion pen was used to its full extent this year.

Exhibitors have now realised that this is the best way to get up close and personal with the champions and reserves to see the best at the show.

22 Alpaca #92

We also had our junior handler competition which was kindly judged by BAS Judge, Shirley Bettinson of Toft Alpacas. The exhibitors were Cameron and Fletcher Scane representing the future for Little Acres Alpacas, Rosie Payne representing West Wight Alpacas and Georgia Hey, representing Inca Alpacas. This year Rosie was the champion!

As well as the alpaca judging, we also had the craft and photography competitions at the Fiesta, as opposed to the HoEAG Fleece Show. Ingrid Weel judged the photography and the overall winner was Winsaula Alpacas.

The craft competition was judged by Shirley Bettinson, aided by Lulu Oliver and the winner was Kim Swetman of Silvercloud Alpacas.

Massive thanks to Cipher Crystal for providing the colour championship trophies and a huge thank you to Ingrid Weel Photography for working all weekend to produce fantastic memories – some serious and others hilarious! As usual huge thanks to Rob Bettinson for being our commentator

extraordinaire over the three days of the show – he gets better and better each year!

The Supreme Huacaya Champion went to Artwork B.R. Inti of Artwork Alpacas and the Supreme Suri Champion went to CS Alpacas Benedict Cumberbatch.

Best British Huacaya was awarded to CS Alpacas Joker and Best British Suri was awarded to Snowshill D’yquem.

Judge’s Choice in the Huacaya went to Fangdale Milo and Judge’s Choice in the Suri was Winsaula Unforgotten.

The special HoEAG awards to be awarded were: The Chairman’s Perpetual Trophy, awarded for the most successful HoEAG member went to CS Alpacas.

The large breeders award went to Snowshill Alpacas, the medium breeders award went to Inca Alpaca and Winsaula Alpacas took home the small breeders award.

Huacaya Champions

Grey Female: Inca Grey Pretoria Grey Male: Inca Grey Omaha Modern Grey Female: Snowshill Anna Blue Modern Grey Male: Evolution Firecracker Black Female: Inca Leading Light Black Male: Inca No Strings Brown Female: Arkadia Unakite Brown Male: Fangdale Milo Fawn Female: Pinnacle Elegance Fawn Male: Artwork B.R. Inti Light Female: Artwork V.V. Roxanne Light Male: CS Alpacas Joker White Female: Brillbury Ellie Megan White Male: Cold Comfort Jasper

Suri Champions

Black Female: Snowshill Annaleise Black Male: Winsaula Line of Duty Grey Female: Snowshill Silver Crystal Grey Male: Faraway Scarlet Fever Brown Female: Winsaula Agatha Raison Brown Male: Winsaula Unforgotten Fawn Female: CS Alpacas Holly Willoughby Fawn Male: CS Alpacas Antonio Light Female: CS Alpacas Maggie Smith Light Male: Snowshill D’yquem White Female: CS Alpacas Wanda White Male: CS Alpacas Benedict Cumberbatch

Progeny Classes

Suri Dam’s Light Progeny: Houghton Marengo Huacaya Sire’s Dark Progeny: Toft Timogen Huacaya Sire’s Light Progeny: Valley Alpacas The Diplomat

NWAG SHOW

The North West Alpaca Group Halter Championships made a welcome return to the show circuit, writes Barbara Hetherington, Beck Brow Alpacas.

W

ith two cancelled years due to Covid-19 the show was packed with 182 entries from 29 exhibitors.

We were anticipating a long day but, fresh from judging the BAS National Show, our judge Mary-Jo Smith, had judging wrapped up by 4.30pm.

The show ran like clockwork and the judging was expertly conducted with interesting and informative oral reasoning throughout.

With many champions and reserve champions from the very recent BAS National Show, classes were extremely competitive and the standard of entries was high throughout the colours in the Huacaya section. The eventual Supreme Championship winner was Beck Brow Moves Like Jagger (junior white male) who also took the Best of British award.

There was a small entry of 13 in the > Beck Brow Suri section, but the quality resulted in Moves Like Jagger championships being awarded in all colour categories. The Supreme Championship was awarded to BAS National Colour Champion Thistledown Khartoum of NWS (adult black male). The Best of British award went to Beck Brow Rapture.

Thank you to everyone who helped make the show a success yet again. The date for the 2023 show is Saturday 1 April – no kidding!

> Thistledown Khartoum

We’d like to say a huge thank you to all our Gem Sponsors – Emerald sponsors: Artwork Alpacas and Redens Alpacas; Sapphire sponsors: CS Alpacas, Snowshill Alpacas, Toft Alpacas and West Wight Alpacas; Ruby Sponsors: Backyard Alpacas, Brillbury Alpacas, Dark Sky Alpacas, Herts Alpacas and Pinnacle Alpacas. Also, thank you to our Progeny, Breeders Awards and Sash Sponsors – we are very grateful for your support and could not put on such a show without your generosity. Finally a huge thanks to all the HoEAG volunteers whose hard work make the HoEAG Fiesta such a success – too many of you to name, but you know who you are.

To finish, thanks to all of the exhibitors – it was great catching up with everyone after two years away. We hope you enjoyed the show and we very much look forward to next year’s Fiesta. Good Luck to you all in the forthcoming shows and we hope to see you back at the Fiesta in 2023.

23

HANDLING MADE EASY

Brenda Bugler, Marshwood Alpacas Ltd, explains how her husband Geoff used his welding skills to design and make the Alpaca Easy-Pen in his Dorset workshop after he was unable to find a handling system for alpacas.

M in Dorset.

y husband Geoff, and myself, are both from farming families and it was in 1998 that Geoff and I decided to buy and breed alpacas. There were very few around at that time and, in fact, we were the first to own alpacas

At the time Geoff ran his own agricultural engineering business repairing and selling tractors and machinery from a workshop on the family farm at Bettiscombe. We lived in a bungalow on the farm with our family of three children and I worked as a legal secretary.

We also had a smallholding of 48 acres of land, about a mile away from the main family farm at Bettiscombe, situated at Payne’s Down, Marshwood.

This land seemed to be an ideal setup for the alpacas also having suitable buildings for shelter and any surplus acreage could be let as mowing grass.

In April 2003 we moved into a mobile home at Payne’s Down Cottage which we had recently purchased. Payne’s Down Cottage was a rundown cottage adjoining our 48 acres which we decided to rebuild and update. As with most building projects this did not run smoothly but almost three years

24 Alpaca #92

later, Christmas Eve 2005 we moved into our new house!

It was during this time of building problems and having to be away from the workshop at the farm at Bettiscombe, that Geoff decided to give up the agricultural engineering business (after 27 years) to concentrate on breeding and selling alpacas and maybe, while we had a new house, take in some bed and breakfast guests.

By then we had built up a reasonable sized herd of 50-60 alpacas, having sold some along the way to new breeders and pet owners, and so at Easter 2006 we took in our first bed and breakfast guests, to improve our income, and help to educate people in the enchanting ways of alpacas!

While I was busy with the daily B&B tasks, Geoff was mainly managing the day to day work with the alpacas on his own. He set about looking for a handling system which would make the task of vaccinations and other husbandry tasks much easier. Having extensively researched the internet to no avail, the only option was to make something. Something that could hold each alpaca separately, without having to encourage him/her into a narrow chute, to give an injection, weigh, body-score or just check over.

Geoff’s initial trial run was with some sheep hurdles tied together with baler twine but after some more consideration, measuring and drawing, calling on the welding skills learnt in his agricultural engineering days, plus lots of trial and error, the Alpaca Easy-Pen was born.

The brackets are designed to give two initial height settings when fitted to the gate or hurdles and a further two height settings are achieved by moving the side frame up or down and turning the end frame over. This enables a total of four different height settings to suit the height of your alpaca and the job in hand.

The Alpaca Easy-Pen design was then patented prior to our first exhibiting it at the Alpaca Futurity Show 2009 at Stoneleigh Park, Coventry.

The Easy-Pen was at first made of galvanised steel and we sold quite a few made of this metal (14 at this first Futurity Show in 2009!) But when Geoff started to include in the range hurdles of various sizes, and later the gate and frames, the galvanised steel was phased out in favour of the lighterweight aluminium. This was found to be much more popular due to its ease of handling. Also, galvanised steel hurdles were welded and then had to be sent away in batches for galvanising which slowed up the whole process whereas, aluminium can be welded, the welds cleaned up and then sent out to customers straight away – altogether a more straightforward, cleaner process.

We ran the bed and breakfast for nine years and decided to give it up when I had to have a hip replacement operation in 2014.

At about this time we had more than ninety alpacas and the orders for Easy-Pens and hurdles were coming in consistently well, so after a lot of soul-searching we decided to ease-off on the breeding and sell as many of the alpacas as we could, preferring to invest in the manufacture of the handing equipment instead of breeding more alpacas.

In 2015 we decided to sell 25 acres of the land to fund the building of a new farm workshop at Payne’s Down. Then a used/refurbished ABB robot was sourced and purchased including some initial training. When the robot, welder and two positioners were delivered, all we had to do was bolt it all to the floor, build the jigs and have a further two days on-site training which was sufficient to start programming the robot to weld hurdles.

As with anything new, robotic welding involved a steep learning curve but it was just another variation on the welding theme which even at this late stage in his life I think Geoff, aged 65, quite relished learning!

The robot is still an ongoing project to a large extent – only the hurdles are currently robot welded and the remaining items are still hand welded.

Geoff never seems to get the time to set up the second positioner and build the necessary jigs to weld the other products. But it will be done sometime.

Currently, Geoff does all the hand welding, oversees the robot-welding and makes any technical adjustments. He also deals with customers’ queries and gives advice. We do have some part-time help who mainly does the cutting and preparation work, but he does also make some hurdles with the robot. I do the book-keeping, processing the orders, booking of carriers, packing the goods, advertising and can make hurdles and pins with the robot if necessary!

It is easy to ask how we got into making and selling alpaca handling equipment but the answer is not so straightforward. It is the end product and evolution of a lifetime of other work!

MARSHWOOD a l p a c a s Ltd. Alpaca Equipment:

Variation on a welding theme

Having studied welding in his early years as an agricultural engineer, Geoff has repaired all sorts of machinery. He has made bespoke farmyard gates to form penning systems, and even won some Young Farmers’ Club competitions for making galvanised farm gates. Welding done properly is quite a specialised subject, taking into consideration all the stresses and strains of the various metals, condition and the various temperatures they can be welded at.

Aluminium welding was not entirely new to Geoff either, having done some gas and mig-welding of aluminium before. So, taking advice from a local experienced welding supplier, he changed the wire in his mig-welding equipment, together with various other adjustments, and decided it was time to re-visit aluminium welding. Advice and experience with other metals over the years has stood him in good stead!

Basic Easy-Pen £297.00 + carr. & VAT Aluminium Hurdles 4ft, 6ft, 8ft and 10ft from £47.50 each

www.marshwood-alpacas.co.uk Tel: 01297 678181 Geoff Bugler Alpaca #92

25

HEALTH

DELIGHTED

BY BIRTHS Alpaca births are usually straightforward and the unexpected arrival of newborn cria has delighted visitors to Bowbridge Alpacas and sometimes taken maiden dams by surprise, writes Alison Johnson.

O

ne of the best things about alpaca farming is seeing the babies being born – or sometimes unexpectedly coming across a newborn baby, sitting in the cush position, beside its proud mother. Alpaca births are usually straightforward which is just as well as one summer we passed our field of girls with a group of guests leading our boys on a trek and twenty minutes later we returned to find a little brown baby sitting next to Portia. Our guests were delighted. We fetched our birthing box, checked the baby over – it was a girl. We usually give the babies a name with the same initial as their mums. The group of visitors included a little girl called Polly and she was delighted with her pretty little namesake.

26 Alpaca #92

Another time my daughter Sarah was preparing to host a visit by herself when she realised that our matriarch, Linseed, was about to give birth. She welcomed the guests, explained the situation, lined them up along the fence of our little paddock and prayed for a straightforward birth. Our enchanted guests watched as Lynda entered the world. Our visitors were thrilled and entranced, one remarking that he would be happy to pay his money there and then without going on to take part in his alpaca experience, it had been such a wonderful event to witness. (Needless to say Sarah left the very experienced mother Linseed to get on with things and continued the delayed visit as normal).

One of the first to give birth that summer was a maiden, a first-time mum, Emilie. She was very surprised at her cria’s appearance; she didn’t know what

it was, who it was and she certainly didn’t realise that it belonged to her.

When she eventually did (we put her and her baby in a small pen alongside some of her friends) she was delighted and has proved to be a very good mum to Ethan.

Emilie was a very kissy mum and she and Ethan spent long periods of time kissing and kissing and kissing, which was a delight to watch. Another first-time mum, Ishbel, wasn’t so surprised at the appearance of her cria, who we named Isla, as there were other babies around, but she kept forgetting she had a baby and either she or Isla would wander off. She would suddenly remember her baby and then rush round the maternity paddock looking and calling for her.

She would find her, feed her, peace would ensue and then one or the other would wander off again and the whole performance would start again.

First steps

The cria are very entertaining to watch. They are up and trying to stand very quickly. They are very unsteady on their feet and tumble and pick themselves up and try again. The mums are gently encouraging and the babies are determined and eventually succeed. They remain unsteady for a few days, their back legs being out of proportion to their front; tumbles and somersaults are the result.

The mums keep their babies close for the first few days, but after a while they realise they are alpaca babies and start to play together. Especially in the early evening they hold their own Zoom sessions; tearing around the paddock, jumping, skipping and pronking. Pronking is a beautiful gait that alpacas have, bouncing on all four feet, seeming to be suspended in mid-air for a moment. This is entrancing to watch. The stud boys sometimes pronk along the fence-line, showing off to the girls. They look magnificent.

Alpacas are lovely to work with. We have had great success in training them using Marty McGee’s method of Camelid Dynamics, and it is wonderful to see how they respond. We give a brief demonstration of this method as part of our alpaca experiences and it is lovely to see the response of our

guests to what seems like magic to them. We enjoy our visits enormously; we have a great variety of guests from family groups to hen parties, giggling teenagers to seniors and lots of people with special needs of one kind or another. Alpacas weave their spell with everyone, and it is lovely to see people’s reactions to our activities and to our furry friends. The alpacas’ fleeces are so soft, their faces so benevolent-looking and their natures so gentle that our guests are beguiled and bewitched. It is especially lovely to see a sulky teenager come to life or a nervous child begin to blossom.

There are downsides. There is a saying in farming “where there is livestock you have deadstock”. It is always distressing to lose an alpaca. Sometimes it is just age. One of our studs faded away. He lost his zest for life. We had him checked over and there was nothing specifically wrong. We kept him in and although to start off with we kept another boy with him for company, it soon became apparent that Bailey needed no companionship. Instead, he would sit in the sunshine at the barn gate, surveying his kingdom, and died peacefully in my husband’s arms.

Other deaths are more distressing; alpacas hide being ill (a legacy of their being prey animals in their native Andes) and sometimes, although we watch them carefully each day, it is too late to intervene and you suddenly have an animal fighting for its life. Cria are vulnerable too, especially if they are born early. We fight for each one, sometimes we are successful, sometimes we’re not and although it’s very sad, it can actually be a relief when the cria gives up the fight and dies. The mother will be sad too, but if she can see her baby she will accept the death and move on.

When you are struggling through horizontal, driving, spiteful hail to get hay to the alpacas’ shelters, or your hands are aching with cold, when you have been soaked to the skin for the third time that day or you’re breaking ice in the water buckets, you wonder what on earth ever possessed you to want to be an alpaca farmer. But when you witness the birth of a cria, watch its first faltering steps, when an alpaca nudges you gently for some attention or you see the smiles on your visitors’ faces, you know.

Snowshill Alpacas Snowshill Hill Barn, Temple Guiting, Cheltenham, Gloucestershire GL54 5XX

Contact Roger Mount on 01386 853 841 or 07711044106 Email: snowshillalpacas@btinternet.com Web: www.snowhillalpacas.com

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We have a large selection of potential Stud Males, Pet Males and Breeding Females available in a variety of colours.

Stud Services – we have several proven/championship winning Huacaya and Suri boys to choose from.

Pre-arranged visits are very welcome.

We adhere to good biosecurity practices and badger deterrent fencing has been in place since 2009.

Alpaca #92

27

HEALTH

NEWBORN CRIA CARE

Ami Sawran, Westpoint Farm Vets, Chelmsford, looks at care of newborn cria and the checks owners need to make immediately after birth to ensure cria are healthy and have no deformities.

Ami can be contacted at: ami.sawran@westpointfarmvets.co.uk > Undershot jaw

G

etting a cria on the ground without incident is exactly what we want at this time of year. Normally, they’ll be sitting up within 30 minutes and making attempts to stand and nurse within two hours but in the rare event that they don’t, then some investigation is necessary.

Hopefully knowing what makes for normal neonatal cria development will alert you to anything untoward within your own herd in enough time to do something about it.

Early challenges

Cria can succumb to infection in the womb, parturition problems and health challenges in the immediate postpartum period; 50% of neonatal death occurs in the first seven days, so vigilance and acting on instinct is key.

Premature animals are those born before 315 days; they often have low 28 Alpaca #92

bodyweight, are weak with joint laxity, have unerupted incisors, floppy ears, stuck eyelids, and persistent membranes, particularly at junctions between mucous membranes and haired skin. They are not very good at regulating their body temperature.

Dysmature animals may have a normal or overlong gestation, but due to potential triggers such as uterine or placental disease, chronic illness or starvation of the dam, they are born weak and dummy-like. They may benefit from Madigan squeezing in the first 24 hours to simulate normal birth, which your vet can demonstrate.

Cria should be checked immediately for: • Microphthalmia (small eyes) • Ocular and oral mucous membrane colour • Cleft Palate • Wry (twisted) face

• Over or undershot jaws • Nasal airflow • Rhythmic breathing – (place in dog sitting position on chest after birth and rub the chest, do not swing.)

• Rib damage • Haemorrhage around the umbilicus (which should be dipped within 15 minutes) • Tendon laxity or angular limb deformities • Umbilical hernias • Normal genitalia • Patent anus

What makes a healthy cria?

A healthy cria usually has a temperature of between 37.7-39.1°C and a breathing rate of 10-30 beats per minute, with pink mucous membranes. They are usually more than 6kg at birth, urinate within eight hours and pass meconium within 12. If they fail to suckle, the latter might be delayed, but investigation would be necessary in case of meconium impaction – in which case, warm, mild soapy water may be gently instilled into the rectum with a catheter tipped syringe and a lamb feeding tube.

If you have concerns over your cria, it is probably best to call for a veterinary evaluation – some deformities or congenital issues are not immediately apparent and may require more in-depth examination. It is usually the case that if you suspect there is something not quite right, that your instinct is correct.

Deformities range from lethal or life threatening, to ones that will merely prevent the cria from being registered and shown. One deformity of particular concern is called choanal atresia. In this condition, tissue blocks airflow at the back of the nasal cavity (completely or partially) – essentially meaning the cria cannot breathe and feed at the same time, and as obligate nasal breathers, breathing in general is forced and difficult. This may manifest as puffing cheeks, gagging or coughing after feeding. Surgery, while possible, is not generally advisable, and doesn’t guarantee a fix– these animals tend to struggle for life and should certainly not be bred from.

Flaring of the nostrils does not mean that the cria can breathe through them, so a test is necessary. You can check nasal airflow by putting a mirror in front of each nostril – if it fogs up, air is passing from the nasal cavity.

Septicaemia presents a nightmare scenario for alpaca keepers, but it can be overcome with early intervention. 50% of septic cria are premature or dysmature, commonly have difficult births, and 25% are born to dams with existing issues. Failure of passive transfer is a common cause.

Typical signs include diarrhoea, high heart and breathing rates, discolouration or swelling of the eyes, brick red mucous membranes, and inflammation of the umbilicus. They may be of normal temperature, so don’t be fooled. Usual treatments include fluids, antibiotic and anti-inflammatory therapy, alongside plasma transfusions if your vet 1suspects low KW Animal Services_Alpaca_JB.pdf 23/09/2020 12:39

immunoglobulin levels.

Sepsis is an emergency, and time is of the essence, which is why having a reserve of plasma from your own herd is a sensible move for any breeding keeper. This should be arranged in advance with your vet to allow for stress-free donation and processing.

Feeding

Colostrum feeding should be at 15-20% of bodyweight over the first 24 hours. If bottle feeding is necessary, this should initially be split into two hourly feeds, as stomach capacity of a newborn cria is around 230mls. Tempt the cria with milk before feeding, perhaps with honey on the teat, to start off the internal process whereby milk bypasses the first compartment of the digestive system to prevent bloating. The maximum volume advised for administration in tube feeding, if necessary, is 90ml-120ml. Repeated tubing should be avoided if possible, and it is not advisable to tube feed a cria that cannot hold its head up, as it may regurgitate.

Alpaca colostrum is imperative, but if you must seek alternatives, goat colostrum is the next best thing, followed by cow, then sheep colostrum from Johne’s and bovine viral diarrhoea (BVD) free herds. Powdered colostrum is often supplementary and cannot be relied upon for immunoglobulin (IgG) transfer. When the cria has not gotten adequate colostrum, plasma should be considered.

Cria should be weighed daily for the first two weeks of life. They may lose 0.25kg during the first 24 hours but can go on to gain 0.1-0.45kg a day thereafter. Keeping track of weight and any cria health challenges allows for a thorough evaluation of cria growth alongside your vet after the birthing season – the more we collectively know, the better we can understand how to improve cria health in the coming years!

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Alpaca #92

29

HEALTH

NUTRITION: SCIENCE AND PRACTICE

Andrea Turner from Langford Vets Farm Animal Practice examines the theory behind nutrition and offers valuable practical advice on what to implement within your herd.

G

ood nutrition is essential to ensure good health and wellbeing of your alpacas. First, we will delve into the science behind how much we need to feed and what it must contain for good nutrition. The amount any animal can eat in a day with all the moisture and water content being removed is called dry matter intake (DMI). This is used to calculate requirements as it accounts for the variability in water content in different food stuffs.

An average alpaca’s daily requirement for their DMI is 1-1.3% of their bodyweight. For a 68kg alpaca, they require 680g-884g of DMI a day. Considering grass contains approximately

1

25% dry matter, an alpaca is required to eat approximately 2.7-3.5kg of grass to make up the DMI they require. Concentrates such as Camelibra have a higher dry matter content so 1.1kg would account for their full DMI. However, alpacas require fibre in their diet so feeding only concentrates would not be advisable as it would upset their digestive system.

Alpacas at different stages of their lives have different DMI. A growing animal will have a DMI of 2% of their bodyweight and a lactating female will have a DMI of 2.5% of bodyweight. This means alpacas have the great ability to increase how much they eat based on their requirements, so it is important to ensure that they have

Body condition scoring classification

Emaciated

• Very steep angle along spine and curves inward • Ribs are very easily felt • Hard bony v-shaped chest, sternum extremely boney • Very increased space between rear legs • Very little muscle and absolutely no fat

30 Alpaca #92

2

3

4

5

Thin

Optimal

Overweight

Obese

• About 45 degree angle along spine • Ribs felt with slight pressure • Firm muscular chest • Chest makes straight line between front legs

• Convex shape between the backbone and upper ribs (ideal for adolescent huacaya under one year old) • Ribs felt with some pressure • Somewhat rounded soft feeling chest • Inner thighs smooth and less defined

• Backbone looks flat (normal in suri and cria <6 months) • Firm pressure needed to feel ribs • Rounded soft feeling chest • Large area of contact between rear legs • Little or no definition on inner thighs

• Spinal slope more than 45 degrees • Ribs can easily be felt • Hard chest with a slight v-shape, very little fat covering sternum • Some increased space between rear legs • Some loss of muscle

(for adult huacaya) (for adult huacaya) (for adult huacaya)

sufficient food available to match this change.

Another thing to note is that alpacas DMI is very small comparatively to other ruminants such as sheep. This means food meant for sheep would be less energy and protein dense, so is unlikely to be adequate for an alpaca diet.

Energy and protein requirements

Metabolizable energy is another important variable to consider. Roughly, alpacas need 1MJ per 10kg of animal bodyweight. We need to consider the energy density of foods; with concentrates being more energy dense with more energy per kilo of dry matter.

Generally, our non-breeding healthy alpacas should be able to obtain enough energy from grazing alone providing grass is of a good quality throughout spring and summer. Alpacas should be stocked at approximately five-seven alpacas per acre. This should allow them to access sufficient forage.

These calculations are based upon moderate to good quality grass which is not too long for the alpacas to pick up. In winter, the grazing is poorer quality so most will require further supplementation of both concentrates and hay.

The best way to determine if this is required, is to get your hay or haylage analysed (in winter assume little to no nutritional value from grazing).

This knowledge allows you to assess the quality of the forage you are feeding and calculate what further supplementation is needed. Our lactating, pregnant and growing alpacas require more energy, and more protein so are likely to require concentrate feeding throughout the year.

At a minimum, alpacas require more than 8% crude protein in their diet which correlates to 80g/kg within the feed. This requirement is increased if animals are undergoing any stress such as showing, growing, pregnancy or lactatation. Aiming for a 12% crude protein (120g/Kg) would be best practice.

Dry Matter Intake (DMI) Metabolizable Energy Protein Hard feeds formulated specifically for camelids will provide vitamins and minerals as well as energy and protein You can use these hard feeds to supplement forage feeds up to a maximum rate of 1g/kg bodyweight of Camelibra or 2g/kg of bodyweight Fibregest – above this rate you risk causing problems with the bacterial population in the animals’ gut.

When supplementing camelids with hard feeds you need to ensure there is adequate trough space so all can eat their fill. Monitoring at feeding time to check less dominant alpacas are not being bullied off their food is essential.

This is even more important in alpacas with poor teeth as they may struggle to eat quickly. All feed including forage needs to be palatable, so alpacas are keen to eat it; check hay and haylage for signs of mould or spoilage.

Monitoring

Ongoing monitoring of your alpacas is essential to know that the nutrition you are feeding them is right for them. Body condition scoring (BCS) is the best way to monitor this.

Follow the chart to determine a score for your alpacas and monitor this monthly so you can notice any changes. Aim for a score of 2.5-3.

Frequent body condition scoring can also aid all early detection of other causes of ill thrift such as lameness, bad teeth or parasites including coccidiosis and fluke. Alpacas with a low or high BCS could be separated out and fed separate tailor-made rations. Grouping animals based on if they are pregnant or not is also beneficial due the differing energy and protein requirements in pregnancy and lactation. This will prevent non-pregnant animals from becoming fat and give dams the best chance of raising a healthy cria.

Vitamin D

Camelids require vitamin D supplementation as our wet and rainy environment means they do not have enough access to UV sunlight compared to their natural habitat. This UV light is essential in vitamin D production and without adequate vitamin D, rickets can occur.

Being deficient in vitamin D means they are unable to absorb adequate calcium and phosphorus from their gut and kidneys. Instead, they mobilise this calcium from their bones for use in other metabolic processes and deplete this store resulting in bone thinning and being more prone to fractures. Some alpacas are at a higher risk for vitamin D deficiency, this includes dark/heavy fleeced alpacas, alpacas undergoing

Daily requirement calculations

For a 68kg alpaca

1-1.3% of bodyweight

680-907g

70kcal/kg x bodyweight0.75

1650 kcal

3.5g Crude Protein x bodyweight0.75

80g

Alpaca condition or body scoring, a health check

Quick and simple to do and can be easily done on a regular basis. ✔ Check the spine as per diagram ✔ Keep a record of each body score ✔ Check the ribs at fibreless area behind elbow ✔ Look at upper rear legs ✔ Feel the chest ✔ Look at front legs and chest Score 1 requires vet inspection asap. Score 4 and 5 may require nutritional advice, or just a diet (no extra feed). Beware of sudden changes in body condition. prolonged housing, pregnant animals or growing animals. This is more problematic in cria born in late summer due to minimal vitamin D levels in colostrum as the dams’ levels have been depleted and low UV levels in their early months of life.

Rickets is a painful and debilitating condition.

Affected alpacas may present with valgus (limb angulation laterally), short stride, bunny hopping gait, reluctance to play, toe dragging, “elephant on a ball” stance, painful and poor growth.

Diagnosis can be confirmed by blood vitamin D and phosphorus levels or x-rays of long bones.

To prevent vitamin D deficiency, supplement all alpacas from November to March. There are various different products available to use.

Injectable products deliver a reliable dose and are not required to be repeated as frequently as other methods of supplementation, using a dose rate of 1,000-2,000IU should be able to maintain adequate levels for three months.

Pregnant animals should receive another dose one month prior to unpacking.

Unfortunately, there are problems with availability of injectable forms of vitamin D this year and so other methods will be necessary for many. Oral supplementation needs a higher dosing level and frequency of 100,000IU once a month throughout the risk period. It should be remembered that formulated hard feeds are another source of vitamin D. Feeding 50g/head/day of Camelibra should provide adequate vitamin D to non-breeding animals through the winter months.

This article is based on an alpaca bites zoom talk which took place in January. For future talks register at: www.langfordvets.co.uk/events

Andrea Turner qualified from the University of Cambridge in 2011, after which she completed a production animal internship at the Royal Veterinary College before spending some time in practice in the South East. For the past eight years Andrea has worked as a farm animal clinician at Langford vets; a first opinion farm practice associated with the University of Bristol, becoming lead clinician in February 2022.

In 2016 Andrea was selected by the British veterinary camelid association to attend a four day camelid training course in Ohio. Since then Andrea has used and built on the knowledge and skills she learnt on this course to offer camelid specific care and services to her clients and to train other vets in the practice in camelid case management.

Alpaca #92

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HEALTH

THE PARASITE LANDSCAPE Photos: ©Sue Thomas

Sue Thomas, Lyme Alpacas explains how a holistic approach to parasite control can benefit your alpacas and help curb the growing problem of drug resistance.

> Modified Stoll's Test training

T

What’s the problem?

he way we think about parasite control can have a profound effect on the welfare and wellbeing of alpacas. It’s easy to think about worming medicines, or ‘anthelmintics’ as an approach to solving problems. Whereas taking a holistic approach, there are many options which can help avoid drug administration almost completely. This is highly desirable as resistance to even the most effective anthelmintics is a growing problem around the world.

There is no one size fits all when it comes to reducing the cost of parasitism, every farm is unique. Local weather conditions vary as do previous grazing and land use, stocking density, pasture quality and management, feeding regime, nutritional status, cria production and numbers pregnant, the list goes on….

Major parasites of concern

Don’t underestimate the complexity of parasitic worms. They are highly evolved complex organisms and very successful when it comes to adapting to changing environments. When considering camelid worms many immediately think of ‘Barbers Pole’, languishing in the C3 stomach compartment, devastating health with their blood sucking behaviour. But don’t forget Nematodirus battus, Trichuris and many others.

Gut parasites aren’t restricted to roundworms. The Eimeria group 32 Alpaca #92

> Small eimeria and trichostrongyle eggs

(coccidia) includes five species which specifically infest camelids. The biggest threat to alpacas and llamas is from the notorious Eimeria macusaniensis or E.mac. This and other large coccidia can have devastating consequences, particularly for cria and elderly stock, wreaking havoc in the small intestine with sometimes fatal consequences.

Parasite burdens

Parasite management requires an understanding of parasite burdens in our stock. The main way to achieve this is through faecal testing. This can be done very simply by smearing a fine film of faecal material on a microscope slide, adding a drop of water and a cover slip then viewing using a simple microscope. If there are worm eggs or coccidia present, you may be able to see them. The downside is that this method doesn’t give a number, simply a yes or no.

Effective decision making is driven by understanding numbers of worm parasites or coccidia present in individual alpacas. Alpaca parasites follow the 80:20 rule. This means, a small percentage of your stock carries the greatest number of parasites. The clever bit is identifying those alpaca continually harbouring parasites and recognising that they themselves may be unaffected.

However, they do generously share their burden with more vulnerable co-grazers. Parasites like to share; their evolutionary success depends on it!

Having identified alpacas with worrying egg counts, you may take veterinary advice on treatment. To evaluate the success of that treatment, a

repeat test is performed up to two weeks later. This is known as the Faecal Egg Count Reduction Test (FECRT)– the ‘has the treatment worked test’. Here lies the rub. Testing costs money, both in laboratory and veterinary fees and takes time. Treatment and re-testing costs money too.

How much better to run the analysis yourself, on your own farm, with results in minutes rather than days, enabling fast treatment, if required.

Speed and accuracy of on-farm testing means you can track ‘direction of change’ of egg counts. If counts are increasing, treatment may be advised but remember, an alpaca immune system can deal with parasites when not overwhelmed, so don’t aim for zero.

Parasitology courses

One day courses are delivered on a 1:1 or 1:2 basis in my laboratory in Lyme Regis and are designed to teach you everything you need to know to accurately and quickly perform your own alpaca faecal analysis.

Who attends the courses?

Over the last decade, hundreds of camelid owners from a wide range of backgrounds have benefitted from this training, including bakers, teachers, vets, gardeners, surgeons, engineers, nurses, electricians, managing directors, grocers, computer programmers and decorators. All share a desire for inexpensive access to information about their own alpacas, without seeking outside services. They want to minimise cost and retain control.

Introduction to Parasitology Course

This is a practical course which takes attendees step by step through basic herd faecal testing. Learning about test types, flotation solutions, parts of the microscope and its correct use. Supported by high resolution microscope photography, diagrams and models, there is a guide on the major parasites of alpacas and learning techniques for accurate identification. Following

a demonstration and video, attendees learn the McMaster Technique, capturing all worm eggs and coccidia oocysts, which is sensitive down to 25epg. Testing samples from your herd, you leave at the end of the day, not only with new found skills but also with your first parasite profile data.

Advanced Parasitology Course

To extend learning the advanced course begins with an insight into the physiology of the alpaca gut and gut microbiome. Looking in more detail at testing procedures and learning the double centrifugation, more sensitive, Modified Stoll’s Test. Life cycles of different worms are discussed along with the unique life cycle of Eimeria. This informs improved husbandry techniques, breaking the cycle of parasite infection. Some worms can’t be identified from their eggs alone, eggs must be incubated, hatched and grown on prior to identification, a technique that never ceases to amaze. Anthelmintic classes are reviewed to demonstrate that a different name doesn’t always mean a different drug. The extensive issue of growing ‘resistance’ is explored demonstrating why ‘refugia’ is vital.

Both courses begin your intricate, fascinating, huge parasite journey, but don’t worry, I have never left anyone behind.

To find out more or to book a course email Sue: alpacalady@live.co.uk Full course details, location and costs can be found at: www.lymealpacas.co.uk For help with alpaca parasite identification and a fun perspective on this subject, follow Sue on Instagram at #alpacachatter

Alpaca #92

33

FIBRE

PLANNING FOR SHEARING DAY

Katie Franks has fourteen years’ experience of shearing at Thorn Alpacas and although each shearing day may be different forward planning is always essential.

Photos: Rose Hubbard, Alpaca Shearing UK

S

hearing day is a welcome relief for alpacas especially heavy fleeced ones and when the weather is hot. It is absolutely necessary and kind to have your alpacas shorn otherwise they suffer from heat stress. It is also an exciting, if not nerve wracking day, especially for the first time but with careful planning it is also pleasurable and fun.

The essence of shearing day revolves round many factors including: communication, compassion, consideration, calmness, comfort and confidence so that the welfare of the alpaca is paramount.

Here at Thorn Alpacas we have fourteen years’ experience of shearing and each year it is different, but I’ve found that it is always essential to forward plan. So, I set out a timeline well before shearing day and hope I haven't forgotten anything important.

Months before shearing season

I liaise with our shearer, Ian Horner and his secretary Katherine. We set a date and time and ensure we have up to date home and mobile phone numbers, number of alpacas to be shorn, whether any are pregnant and when they are due to give birth.

You will need to inform your shearer if shearing is to be done outside or inside and if there are fixing points and electricity. Ask helpers so they can put a date in their diaries although you may not need extra help with animals or fleece if you only have a few animals.

34 Alpaca #92

> Alpaca shearer Ian Horner (pink top) at work showing the shearing process

Weeks before shearing

Check the fields and ensure they are as free as possible from brambles etc that stick in fleeces. Hang hay nets low so cria don`t get covered in hay.

I tend to leave straw down in the shelters in case they have to be kept in overnight before shearing day. I also make sure there are enough plastic or potato bags for the fleeces.

One week before shearing

Label bags with name of alpaca, colour, saddle, neck, seconds and date and have a dustbin to hand for wet unusable fibre. I also check the skirting table and have towels available for mopping up urine.

The day before shearing

Check the weather forecast and bring in the alpacas if rain is due.

Fleece must be dry for shearing otherwise it will rot if stored damp or wet. If there are no dry facilities shearing day will need to be rearranged with your shearer. I make sure there are brushes or a hoover for picking up fleece bits and refreshments for shearers and helpers.

Shearing day

Initially, when we had four alpacas we were lucky with the weather and sheared outside, but the day came when it was wet and we moved into the garage in a panic. Luckily the alpacas were dry but we had no means of

securing the ropes that hobble and stretch out their legs so we tied one rope to a ride-on lawnmower, which someone had to sit on to weight it down. The other end was tied to the wheel of the car which had broken down outside the garage. It worked but the poor AA man who arrived to mend the car couldn't believe his eyes – recumbent alpacas in a garage! Since then, we use the garage as it’s dry, has space, electricity and now well placed ring bolts.

Our paddocks and shelters are spread out so we can secure the alpacas overnight to keep them dry but we do have to bring them down to the garage for shearing. This can pose problems when it is really raining hard but we haven't had to cancel so far.

I am always excited about shearing day but a little anxious that all will go well. We tend to have a slot at the end of the day so we can all relax at the end and enjoy the company of Ian and team and our helpers.

We have around 20 coloured male and female alpacas to shear. Our helpers arrive before the shearer so I have time to brief them and ensure they are happy with what they are doing.

On a fine day I pen the alpacas in the early afternoon so they are ready to be haltered as soon as Ian arrives. Ian and his helper lay out rubber mats in the garage that have been disinfected as has all the shearing equipment.

It is important for the shearer and the alpaca to have a dry flat surface for shearing. Meanwhile I bring down three alpacas at a time so we have a waiting line out of view of the shearing and they don`t get fussed.

Colour order

They are shorn in a colour order white, light, medium fawn, dark fawn, rose grey, grey, dark brown, black. One of our helpers will gather up the saddle as it is shorn and pass it on to the skirting table where I will roughly skirt it and a helper puts it into the appropriate bag. The neck, if it is good fleece, will be bagged separately from the saddle and the seconds. The bags are then moved to dry storage.

Most of our saddles are processed in a mill and I spin some of the grey.

Seconds are sent to DB Wools, a wool buyer based in Bradford, West Yorkshire or other sources such as Penrose Products who make pillows and duvets. Some fleeces go to hand spinners.

Nails and teeth are carefully checked and nails cut, if necessary, while the alpacas are stretched out. Some alpacas will sometimes complain about being shorn and will pee, so we have towels ready to mop up and minimise wet fleece. Any wet fleece goes into the dustbin. (It could be kept for using in the garden against slugs and snails.)

As soon as they are shorn the alpacas are taken back to their respective paddocks. There can be some disgruntled alpacas as they inspect their shorn companions. Are they envious of the new hairstyle or lack of fleece, I wonder? Throughout the afternoon my husband makes sure we are all fed and watered when needed as we try and make the day as relaxed as possible for everyone.

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A PACAS Nigel and Margaret Retallack Alpaca #92

35

FIBRE

SHEARING DAY CHECKLIST

Shearing day can be hectic. But making sure you are organised will help ease the stress and allow you to make the most of your fibre. The BAS fibre committee, chaired by Emma Taylor of East Anglia Alpacas and Mill, has produced a shearing factsheet to help owners prepare.

“

Getting organised not only helps your shearing day go smoothly but also helps with whatever you are going to be doing with your fleece,” Emma says.

The factsheet, available on the BAS website, highlights the need to be organised weeks ahead of shearing day and advises owners to: • book your shearer early in the year, especially if it is your first year. Dates may be confirmed nearer the time • check with your shearer about particular requirements such as power, anchor points and shelter etc • let your shearer know if you have undercover facilities to shear during wet weather.

Ideally owners should have somewhere dry to house alpacas the day/night before and be able to provide a dry undercover area for shearing to take place. If not shearing may need to be rebooked for when the weather has improved.

Paddock management and housing

Vegetable matter (VM) in fleeces is always undesirable and anything you can do to minimise this will produce a more saleable fleece and save you time in the long term. In the weeks before shearing: • minimise seed bearing weeds as seeds invariably have hooks and are difficult to remove from fleece • avoid topping or mowing to minimise grass getting stuck in fleece • remove hedge cuttings and cut out brambles from field edges • place hay racks low to but not on the ground to prevent cria getting covered in seeds • don’t place hay on the ground and pick up loose, uneaten hay • avoid bedding material such as wood shavings, sawdust and crushed stone.

Equipment list for shearing day

Check with your providers regarding any particular requirements beforehand but the factsheet outlines a general equipment list including: • mains power and extension leads (some shearers do have battery powered systems) • anchor points for shearing ropes • cleaning and disinfectant solutions made up to the correct dilution • floor sweeping brush to sweep up fleece between animals • towels and absorbent paper such as kitchen roll for spit and urine • small sealable bags or A5 envelopes for mid side fleece samples (only two staples of fibre required) • large plastic or paper sheets for laying out blanket fleece as it is shorn and for storing skirted blanket fleece • additional bags for neck fibre which is typically shorter in length 36 Alpaca #92

• • • • • •

bags for collecting thirds which should be clean and dry permanent marker pens for labelling bags scales to weigh the fleeces for animal records labels for identifying fleeces laid flat ready for skirting husbandry record sheets for making notes toe nail trimmers – your shearer may provide these, rubbish bags, for toe nails, paper towels, and antibiotic spray/super glue, first aid kit may also be needed.

• Rubber matting and knee pads for added comfort.

Help on the day

For owners with many animals, helpers are always appreciated and often necessary. Skirting fleeces should be done at the time of shearing with organisation and skilled help. Other tasks include: • moving animals to the penning area and turning them out afterwards • bringing alpacas from the holding pen to the shearing mat • sweeping between each animal • collecting and labelling fleeces of each grade • labelling fibre samples • carrying blankets away for skirting if shorn flat • providing refreshments.

The day of shearing

Your alpacas must be dry for being sheared and should have access to fresh water and hay all day if the shearing queue is a long one. Ideally keep them in their usual groups to minimise stress and potential sweating.

Top tip: If your alpacas can be kept inside the night before, off the grass, they are less likely to urinate during shearing.

If shearing early or late in the season, they will need shelter from very hot weather or protection from the cold. Alpaca coats should be at hand for vulnerable animals who may well feel the cold after shearing.

Discuss and agree with your shearer what your expectations are before starting; colour order, appearance, mid side samples, top knots, toes, teeth and who’s doing what. Ensure all equipment coming onto your farm is disinfected – either by your shearer or by yourselves ahead of shearing.

(Clean and disinfect all equipment coming onto your farm.)

Have a list of your animals prepared and know which fleeces are likely to be for show, production, thirds etc. Taking fibre samples ahead of shearing helps with knowing what you are likely to do with each fleece.

Mid Wales Alpaca Shearing

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Alpaca #92

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FIBRE

FROM FIELD TO FASHION Alison and Keith Thompson ensure fleece from their herd at Watership Alpacas is put to good use in a field to fashion enterprise that also benefits wildlife as Alison explains.

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estled in a valley below Watership Down, our 500-yearold farmhouse needed some animals to graze the small meadows around it. We decided to attend an alpaca handling course one wet March day and could not resist the beautiful humming creatures and Watership Alpacas was born, about 18 years ago!

We were both still working in our engineering and life sciences jobs, so we started with just enough females to graze the land. And so it continued, watching the seasons pass in this beautiful valley. Keith was keen to follow the current thinking and ensured that the females were mated with some of the best sires. Attending some of the BAS shows in those early years resulted in sufficient rosettes to know that the breeding was on the right track!

Meanwhile, I wanted to make sure that the wonderful yearly crop of fleece, was put to good use. A wonderful mill in Wales has been receiving the fleece every two years for carding, spinning and weaving. A Hampshire wedding dress designer and seamstress created the first elegant fitted coats and jackets that were on the “runway” at one of the early Alpaca Futurity events during the evening dinner “showtime”.

I have now been wearing my winter coat each cold winter day for several years - the fact that the coat still looks like new shows the incredible durability of this wonderful fibre! But it wasn’t until I finished my life science job, and 38 Alpaca #92

early Granny activities, that I had time to go back to fibre projects.

Meanwhile, as seems to happen to so many who become bewitched by these lovely animals, more land was needed for our growing herd. So Watership Alpacas moved further west to our current location near the Thruxton Race Circuit – a few noisy days a year but fun when there is free entry for the locals!

Supporting wildlife

The farm is managed in a way that supports the health of the land, as well as the animals and nature. I studied agricultural botany, working subsequently as an agronomist and I have a life long interest in wildlife and ecology. So having a chance to support the natural environment with management of our alpacas seemed such a great opportunity.

Anyone who has been keeping up with the latest developments for agriculture and environment, including ELMS (the government’s environmental land management scheme) will be aware of the importance of soil organic matter. I am sure that most of us in the alpaca world enjoy our land and nature, and having animals on the land helps create a healthy cycle of nutrients that support both farming and wildlife.

Permanent grassland with varied grass species allows the development of herb-rich meadows. Deep rooted herbs bring more nutrients up providing

better nutrition for the alpacas and plenty of nectar for bees. Permanent grassland is an important carbon sink. We hand weed rogue problem plants including burr, ragwort and thistle. One meadow has so many herbs it positively buzzes in the summer and we call it the medicine meadow as it must be so good for the alpacas.

Keith loves to use his ancient Massey Ferguson tractor and even more ancient Massey Harris muck spreader to reapply collected and composted manure to the land in subsequent years. (Although he admits even more time is spent playing with engines and mechanisms). The very presence of the alpacas attracts insects and ensures mud around water troughs, both of which are important for the swallows that return to the stables and field shelters every year.

A field pond added two years ago already has a healthy population of dragonflies and other insect and amphibian life, while providing swooping and dipping opportunities for the swallows. Although all the land is fenced against badgers, there is a healthy vole population that provides food for birds of prey.

Field to fashion business

The Watership fibre project has now progressed again. I recently designed some classic, loose fitting coats and jackets for ladies and toddlers that were on display at the BAS National Show in the Fibre Zone and on the Watership Alpacas stand. Having joined ‘Make it British’ I found out more about the “fashion world” – not one I was ever much involved in as an agronomist in wellies!

‘Make it British’ is a scheme set up by Kate Hills, a former designer and buyer for companies including Burberry and Marks and Spencer, to promote British brands and UK craftsmanship, create job opportunities, save essential skills, boost local economies, lower the carbon footprint overall preserving UK manufacturing.

The cloths used for our Watership coats were professionally tested for their proposed end use by standard methods for tear, tensile strength, abrasion, pilling and dimensional stability to washing and dry cleaning. The jackets and coats are made by a small traditional manufacturer in Sheffield. All garments have sustainable linings and full care instructions and are sent out in sustainable packaging.

Our “field to fashion” business is based on a well-established, BAS registered herd breeding for increasingly excellent fibre for our own fibre project. Our focus is on the well-being of the alpacas and support for the natural environment while the fashion is based on sustainable traceable fibre, spun, woven and sewn in the UK. Use of alpaca fibre for fashion means no plastics in the waterways and oceans and beautiful durable clothing. Life has reached a very happy sustainable pattern!

www.watershipalpacas.com

Well established, BAS registered, friendly herd

Share our experience and joy of our alpacas and their fibre, that we use for our unique toddler and ladies’ jackets.

View alpacas and our clothing online at: www.watershipalpacas.co.uk

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Visit www.skin-imprint.com or email info@skin-imprint.com Alpaca #92

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FIBRE

BUSINESS BUILT ON LOVE

It was love at first sight for Louise Brettell when she was introduced to her first alpacas by her fiancé Adam Stoneman.

The couple went on to grow a business at Encore Alpacas in South Wales offering drive-by matings, shearing services and a clothing brand, Little Penny Boutique.

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dam and I had a different life planned before alpacas became our love, business and passion. I began my career in law, qualifying to become a property conveyancer and Adam worked for one of the biggest online retailers as an operations manager. However, he does have many years’ experience with alpacas, from time spent with his parents who own Amazing Alpacas.

When Adam first introduced me to the alpacas, it was love at first sight for these beautiful animals and it wasn’t long until an opportunity arose for Adam and I to purchase our first alpacas. We started off with four stud males and created a small business, the Welsh Alpaca Stud, conducting drive-by matings in South Wales. This enabled Adam and I to continue working our careers alongside keeping the alpacas. In 2017, we started our own family, and our daughter Penelope was born.

While I was on maternity leave, I spent more time around the alpacas, which I found to be great for my mental health as a new mother. I also noticed that the alpacas were gentle and friendly around Penny. The decision was then made to expand the alpaca business and have some breeding females of our own and the following year, we did just that. We took a giant step, packed in our corporate jobs and dived headfirst into the world of alpaca breeding.

We purchased fourteen females, creating the Encore Alpacas herd and welcomed our first cria in 2019, Encore Atlas. Since then, the herd has grown to thirty-eight with nineteen cria expected this summer and even more planned for future years.

At the same time as expanding the business, our own family was growing and in 2020 we welcomed our son Alexander into the world, who was born just before the pandemic. Challenging times now lay ahead for us with a new-born, a two year-old and a growing alpaca business, but we found the perfect balance. We saw how much our children loved the alpacas and how tolerant the alpacas were of them. There were plenty of ‘cwtches’ (Welsh for a cuddle) which was relaxing for both the humans and alpacas.

Tame, well behaved, people focussed alpacas became the primary goal for the business; to produce the friendliest alpacas possible. It was important to us that our children felt safe around the animals in the fields and having friendly alpacas ensured this. Some of our alpacas are so friendly that they won’t let us leave the field until they have had a fuss made of them, and you

Adam and I are completely addicted to alpacas and are hoping to help everyone else catch the bug too. Contact Louise and Adam at encorealpacas@gmail.com 40 Alpaca #92

never feel lonely in a field with them as they are so curious and inquisitive, following us around. It is always rewarding to hear from other people who come to view our alpacas, just how friendly they are. We pride ourselves on achieving this.

Other opportunities

To make the alpaca business work for us, Adam and I have ventured into other business opportunities that alpacas offer. Alongside the existing business model of external stud services and selling alpacas, we utilise the fibre and run a small clothing brand named after our daughter, Little Penny Boutique, producing hand knitted garments for adults and children. We also offer client husbandry services to existing customers of Encore Alpacas as an aftersales service, as well as to other alpaca owners.

Adam and I had been looking for that elusive service that would help to unify our client husbandry with the Little Penny Boutique business, eventually landing on it last year. Adam learned how to shear alpacas, under the tutelage and patient training from Bob Shaw, who was fantastic. Having spent years watching others shear alpacas, it was an eye-opening experience for Adam, who readily admits that it is not as easy as the experienced shearers make it look! But Adam was in the great position of having a large herd of alpacas to practice and hone his skills on. As a result, starting this year, Adam now offers this as a service to other alpaca owners and he is already filling his diary.

Our plan is to own a bigger breeding herd. With our children now spending time at school and nursery, we have a bit more time to put into our business. We are currently soaking up knowledge from wherever we can and are participating in a course run by Claire Whitehead on reproduction and birthing and have already completed a parasitology course run by Lyme Alpacas and evaluating alpacas with Mary-Jo Smith from Bozedown Alpacas.

You can never know too much.

PRIZE WINNING DESIGN

Chris Edge, Snooks Farm Alpacas won first prize in the homeware fibre class at the National Show for her stunning needle felted rug. She explains how she fell in love with alpacas, their wonderful fibre and needle felting.

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ike many alpaca owners we never realized how addictive these gorgeous creatures are. We started with two pet males and now have a herd of 64 alpacas, ranging in age from newborn to our oldest who is 23.

We started keeping alpacas after I bought a small farm about 16 years ago. I wanted to raise animals that were not going to be killed for their meat and after some research alpacas popped up. Originally, we were going to breed alpacas for sale as a business but I soon realised I was not cut out for this because I became too attached to them!

I also fell in love with their fibre – it is wonderful. Alpaca fibre is not only sustainable but very soft with an amazing feel lending itself to all sorts of clothes and homeware products.

I use the fibre from all my alpacas to make

many different products from insoles, jackets, scarves and other clothing to rugs and cushions.

We have no waste – even the birds and plants benefit from what cannot be used. The birds use any fibre we can’t make use of to line their nests and it also makes a good mulch for the garden.

Making rugs and cushions

I did have some fleece spun into yarn many years ago but I am not a knitter, so a few months ago I decided to try and bring something different to the marketplace. I had a go at needle felting and although I didn’t learn from a course I made use of my imagination and YouTube!

The fleece is first washed in plant based detergent and air-dried on farm, each fleece is washed separately so I have complete

traceability for all my products.

I then card the fleece into batts or roving's using a drum carder and design my rug or cushion. I do need to curb some of my designs as I'm no artist and drawing a stick man would be a challenge! The pattern is then needle felted by hand on to a jute backing until I am happy with the design. I layer the fleece and needle felt until the pattern is complete. I then use a needle felt machine to complete the felt process to make the rug strong and durable.

With cushions and garments I use a wet felting process. The seconds are washed and air dried and used for cushion inserts/stuffing.

As well as producing products from my own fleece I also make commissioned items using alpaca or sheep fleece. I absolutely love doing it and in future I plan to make more rugs for sale through our website and other outlets.

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FIBRE

SELLING FLEECE What do you need to do to achieve the best price for your fleece?

Rachel Hebditch from UK Alpaca Ltd explains what the company offers owners, and what it needs to maximise fleece value.

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e buy alpaca fibre, the good stuff and the not so good stuff. Several tons every year to make high end worsted knitting and weaving yarns while the not so good stuff is sold on to duvet makers in the UK and Europe.

We know alpaca owners love the natural colours but what we want is white and more white,followed by fawn and this is reflected in the prices we pay.

42

White and fawn both dye into a wide range of colours whereas brown and black do not and therefore have a limited value to us.

To maximise value we like fleeces packed in transparent plastic bags as this means we can see the colour of the fleece making it easy to grade all the white fleeces together, all the fawn fleeces and so on.

Ideally skirted to remove high micron edges, free of colour contamination and second cuts, staple lengths over three inches and not tender with the neck fleece separated from the saddle fleece.

What we don’t like are high micron primary fibres, contrasting colour contamination, short staple lengths and second cuts, poor micron uniformity within the saddle, wet or moth in the fleeces.

Our current classing lines are the colours white, fawn, brown, dark brown, black and grey separated into Baby and Superfine. Baby is roughly 21 micron and under with low levels of high micron primaries. The Superfine line is 25m and under with low levels of high micron primaries. Both are determined by sight and handle as this is a textile business where the feel or handle of finished garments is paramount and alpaca is a much appreciated luxury soft fibre when classed and processed correctly.

There are two outsorts lines and we pay considerably more for the white as the market for this is currently strong. White outsorts consist of blanket and neck fleece that are too coarse and/or do not meet the minimum 3” staple length required for worsted processing. Coloured outsorts have the same parameters. Since outsorts proceed directly to the bale press (no

classing is required), we like all white outsorts bulked together and then all other colours bulked together. Please note outsorts are not the sweepings off the floor.

It would be helpful if breeders recognised the coarser fleeces from their older alpacas and put them straight into outsorts rather than bagging them individually.

Breeders can easily ruin their fibre clip so preparation should begin long before shearing day. Excessive contamination with vegetable matter means that many first fleeces are rejected.

Cria shearing is a big help here as it is the first tips that seem to hoover up seeds and hay. The alpacas should be kept in clean fields, no mowing please or bonfires as they will roll in the cold ash.

Plan ahead

Planning for a calm, organised and efficient shearing day is a must for you and your alpacas. Think clearly about how you will move the alpacas on to the mats and off again and their exit route. Keep children and dogs away from the shearing area.

If you are using contract shearers, remember it is you who are employing them so discuss how you want to proceed and how you want the shearing done. Allocate tasks to all helpers: alpaca handling, sample taking, saddle fleece collection, nails, cleaning, skirting, bagging.

Shear in colour and quality order starting with the youngest white. There should be a full clean up when you have a colour changeover and a partial clean between the same colour and quality animals. Ideally you should skirt the fleeces straight after shearing to avoid cross contamination of fibres if the fleece is pushed into a bag first.

It is also useful to have a list of alpacas whose fleeces you might want to show so that you can handle those with more care.

Processing of fleeces into luxury yarns is an expensive business, especially in small weight batches. To help and support owners who wish to add more value to their annual clips UK Alpaca offers a buy back system. Here, suppliers of fleece are entitled to buy any of our finished yarns at the wholesale price, with no minimum quantity restriction. Owners taking advantage of this scheme can then either sell the yarns at retail, making a good margin, or add further value by having finished garments made for eventual sale.

Please visit www.ukalpaca.com for more information under the ‘selling your fleece’ tab

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BAS REGIONAL SPOTLIGHT New BAS Regional Groups

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lpaca owners have launched new groups in three different regions, including the Southern Counties, the East Midlands and South Wales to meet and support each other, share knowledge and organise shows.

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Southern Counties Alpaca Group

eta Ives, Amy Campbell and Rebecca Block introduce a new group for the Southern Counties.

We are excited to announce the launch of a new BAS regional group for the Southern Counties of England. The aim of the group is to be fun, informative and inclusive, and create a social and education network for breeders and owners across the region, which includes Dorset, Hampshire and the Isle of Wight, Wiltshire, Berkshire, West Sussex and Surrey.

We aim to bring together the alpaca community in our region and provide back up for novice owners and breeders working together for the wellbeing of the animals. Of course we will be delighted to welcome members from further afield and everyone who wants to get involved.

Initially we plan to put on a few interesting and informative presentations, covering topics including shearing, parasite control and general husbandry over the summer and arrange a social

CHAIR: Peta Ives, Dunreyth Alpacas SECRETARY: Amy Campbell, Dunreyth Alpacas TREASURER: Rebecca Block, Castlings Alpacas

facebook-f ENVELOPE

@Southern Counties Alpaca Group scalpacagroup@yahoo.co

> From left to right: treasurer Rebecca Block, chair Peta Ives and secretary Amy Campbell

44 Alpaca #92

With more new owners joining BAS the regional groups offer a great opportunity to get together and learn more about alpaca management and enjoy social events as some of the group’s founder members explain.

get together or two across the region, where we can get to know each other and talk alpaca!

We are currently looking at potential venues to host a Southern Counties Alpaca Group Halter/Fleece Show for 2023, so watch this space!

It’s free to join for the first year as we get the group up and running, so please come and find us on Facebook at Southern Counties Alpaca Group or contact: scalpacagroup@yahoo.co Chair: Peta Ives (Dunreyth Alpacas) Bruce and I have had alpacas for 16 years we were both made redundant by our local private hospital and we used our redundancy money to buy our first females. We started offering alpaca walks the following year and have helped other farms start up similar businesses. We have a small breeding herd aiming to breed for quality fleece, nice nature and of course good confirmation.

Secretary: Amy Campbell (Dunreyth Alpacas) I moved home from Suffolk to West Sussex 10 years ago and started helping my parents on the

farm with the alpaca walks one day a week, it soon took over my free time and I am now found on the farm seven days a week. I also help local owners with husbandry tasks when needed.

Treasurer: Rebecca Block (Castlings Alpacas) I am based in Cowes on the Isle of Wight, and have a small breeding herd of around 30 Huacaya. It all started with an over excited raise of a hand when I purchased a pregnant female at an alpaca auction seven years ago. Initially they were kept on agistment in Suffolk, until I made the decision two years ago to move seven alpacas to Cowes and start a breeding programme.

I have a degree in zoology and more recently a diploma in diamonds. I am particularly interested in animal behaviour and heritable traits of alpacas; as well as old cut diamonds and antique jewellery! I love learning and have learnt so much about this fascinating breed over the last couple of years, through owning, breeding, showing and BAS training. I strive for excellence and aim to breed happy, healthy champions!

> By the pond at Brakenfield Alpacas with interim chair Sarah McRow (centre)

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ENVELOPE DESKTOP

contact@eastmidlandsalpacagroup.co.uk www.eastmidlandsalpacagroup.co.uk.

East Midlands Alpaca Group

lpacas are an increasingly popular animal across the East Midlands, writes Sarah Rowley, Candleford Alpacas. From quirky lawn mowers, to therapy animals, trekkers and breeding herds, you can see more and more herds popping up as you drive around the local area.

It was conversations between some local owners that kick started the desire to have a regional group and over the last few months we have been working hard to get everything in place.

Our aim for the East Midlands Alpaca Group (EMAG) is to create a group for both current owners and prospective owners plus people who just love alpacas, including BAS members and non-members, which is dedicated to the support of alpaca owners across the region.

But why restart EMAG and not just create another Facebook group?

Well, we wanted an actual place for new owners to ask questions, learn and meet other owners, although, we do have a Facebook group.

We also wanted to create a place that ensures small herd and pet owners get the information and support they need, from group shearing dates to helping out with husbandry tasks or even keeping an eye out for each other. We all know the dread you feel that first time trimming toenails!

For larger herds and breeders, the group offers a place to showcase the hard work and dedication that has placed your genetics where they are today. There are a lot of resources and shows available through BAS and other regional groups, but there was nothing locally for camelid

owners across Derbyshire, Nottinghamshire, Staffordshire, Lincolnshire, Leicestershire and Northamptonshire.

So, who are we and what are we going to do for you?

Currently the team behind EMAG is made up of nine enthusiastic alpaca owners who collectively own almost 160 alpacas in Huacaya and Suri herds. Our journeys have taken different paths, some starting following a birthday treat of an alpaca walk, others fulfilling a lifelong dream and one of us meeting them through their career.

We all agree though, there is something about them we can’t resist from their quirky nature to the camaraderie between other owners – the addiction people warn you about is very much real!

Some of our members specialise in breeding for certain qualities including grey and appaloosas, others in breeding Suris. Some of us enjoy crafts and using our alpacas’ fleeces, others enjoy showing our herds, and one of us has an advanced veterinary practioner’s certificate in camelid practice!

Together we have experience in running experiences, building breeding herds, making hats from their fleece, hosting alpaca blood donation days and many man hours of husbandry and care.

EMAG will ensure there is a way for all members to share knowledge and socialise.

Additionally, we aim to: • ensure high welfare standards across the region • provide veterinary talks, keeping members up to date with the latest research and best practices

• help owners plan their husbandry tasks for the year ahead • host open days to allow owners to see other setups • help increase awareness and understanding of the potential of alpaca fleece and how to process it • work to provide members with discounts and offers.

We also plan to host craft, fleece and halter shows, giving all our members a chance to showcase their hard work.

So how can you join our group?

For 2022 membership will be at a discounted rate: single membership will be £10 and joint membership will be £15. The easiest way to let us know you want to get involved is to email or visit the website.

South Wales Regional Group

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new group is planned for South Wales (SWRAG) with support from BAS. It aims to share expertise, help with local welfare, organise webinars, socials and shows and to have fun, according to local owner George Morgan, Usk Valley Alpacas.

The group has a Facebook page, South Wales Regional Alpaca Group, for interested owners throughout the region to get in touch.

facebook-f

@South Wales Regional Alpaca Group

LETTER FROM NEW ZEALAND Anya and Frank Walkington from Shamarra Alpacas, Akaroa, New Zealand, breed high quality alpacas and manage a farm tour business in a quietly beautiful pocket of the world. The couple also produce luxury knitwear and blankets.

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fter 20 years of a Caribbean lifestyle on the island of St. Maarten, Frank and I decided to move ourselves and our three children to New Zealand in 2003.

Shortly after our arrival, we saw alpacas for the first time when we visited an agricultural show. What began as a fascination with their big, beautiful eyes, has now become an 18 year love affair and commercial enterprise.

Early on we realised that good breeding was primarily about good genetics. With that in mind, our aim was to breed and produce high quality alpaca and in turn grow high quality fleece for our fledging knitwear line.

We invested in top quality females to establish our genetic lines and today,

after many years, we can see the fruits of our decisions reflected in our show results and in the quality of our knitwear.

The introduction of carefully selected stud males has resulted in continued progress on our journey to producing our “ideal fleece”. Patagonia Celtic Rising Sun ET proved to be a game changer stud in our breeding endeavours, consistently producing progeny with ultrafine fleeces.

Windfall opportunity

We have always marvelled at the rare natural qualities of alpaca and regard it as one of the most beautiful natural fibres in the world. Like many alpaca breeders, we kick started our foray into fleece production by having > Shamarra Farm Shop

> Olympia with Apollo

46 Alpaca #92

> Isadora and Ozark

> Galactica Supreme NZAG 2021

our best fleeces spun and knitted into scarves and beanies. As our passion grew for this exquisite fleece and fuelled by demand, we focused on the expansion of fleece production and now offer heirloom blankets and popular, luxe sweaters that stand the test of time.

The catalyst for the development of our Shamarra Alpaca Knitwear was the addition of alpaca farm tours to our business which came about after the devastating earthquake that struck Christchurch in February 2011; cruise ships relocated to Akaroa Harbour. Having come from a cruise ship island ourselves, we understood what they were looking for in an entertaining tour. It was a windfall of an opportunity, and as numbers of visitors grew exponentially, so did the demand for our alpaca knitwear.

As we didn’t have sufficient fleece from our own herd to meet demand, we bought fleece from select New Zealand growers and then expanded to importing fleece sourced from Alpaca Fibre Network Australia (AFN).

Our collection process required every fleece to be hard skirted as quality was paramount, and to be individually micron tested and classed into lines of two micron bandwidths (eg. 16-18 micron, 18-20 micron, 20-22 micron), as well as by colour. We only produce undyed, naturally coloured alpaca knitwear, offering customers a truly natural product.

We are fortunate in New Zealand to have facilities to process alpaca on a commercial scale, however this is somewhat challenging and not for the faint hearted. Scouring (washing) takes place at Canterbury Wool Scours, where alpaca and other speciality fibres are scoured once or twice a year. In 2019 we processed 4,000kg of alpaca into five micron lines and five colour lines (white, fawn, grey/rose grey, pewter and charcoal) producing fully worsted yarn spun for our knitwear and woollen spun yarn for our blanket range.

> Shamarra Dimitri fleece – National Champion Mid-Dark fawn fleece 2021

Farm tours support sales

Before Covid-19 struck and cut off the steady stream of cruise ships and other tourist sources, our Shamarra Alpaca Farm Tours were running at capacity, with four tours a day, seven days a week. The high demand caused us to require a new visitor centre and farm shop in time for the 2019 tourist season.

What a year that was with over 17,000 visitors – a tourist operator’s dream! Customers were (and continue to be) blown away by the luxurious qualities of alpaca and the beautiful array of natural colours in our knitwear. As well as our farm shop, we also sell our products internationally thanks to our online shop.

With the arrival of the pandemic in 2020, we had to pivot and attract a domestic-only tourism market. This had previously been a small percentage of our customer base. Fortunately, alpacas appeal to just about everyone and we’ve had great support from New Zealanders, with our alpacas becoming firm favourites in the hearts of many. This can be seen clearly on our social media platforms with huge engagement from loyal fans! But with borders now opening, we look forward to the return of our international visitors.

Another happenstance opportunity from Covid-19 was the addition of Livestream Alpaca Tours. These have been especially popular in this new “Zoom world” for the corporate environment; we have groups of colleagues join us online to tour the farm and enjoy the quirky world of Shamarra Alpacas together for team building.

Show wins

With genetics and breeding at the heart of our business, we take great delight in attending numerous alpaca shows every year. Again, Covid-19 has impacted the showing circuit, however, we have been fortunate to get into the show ring and have our alpacas compared with the best in the country. And our results have been hugely rewarding with multiple championship wins as well as being awarded supreme titles.

Every year, we release a limited number of alpacas for sale, with the majority being sought after by overseas alpaca breeders. It is incredibly satisfying watching from afar our genetics enhancing herds in Europe and the UK.

> Children with Harlequin

Alpacas for sale

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

SOUTH EAST

ALPACA ANNIE Breeding quality, friendly alpacas on the Romney Marsh, we pride ourselves on the relationship we have with our animals and our high welfare standards.

Many of the herd have been halter trained and are great walking companions. We can help you find anything from a fleecy friend to a show winning fleece.

For new keepers we have well bonded starter herds available with a full support package including – training with our head herdsperson, home visits, shearing, ongoing phone/ face-to-face support and a ‘Home for Life’ guarantee as standard. So please come on down and meet the herd!

TEL: 01303 870527 EMAIL: office@alpacaannie.com WEB: www.alpacaannie.com

LIGHTFOOT ALPACAS

MORALEE FARM ALPACAS

Lightfoot Alpacas are situated in Hawkhurst in the Weald of Kent. We have been breeding alpacas since 1997 and have over 250 Huacaya. Lightfoot is a closed herd, we believe that the bio security and health of our animals is paramount to their breeding and care. We have a range of colours and ages, mainly Huacaya and some Suris. Our animals are known for being friendly as we spend time with them and know them individually.

Moralee is a family-run alpaca farm in West Sussex. We care for a herd of high-quality Huacaya alpaca with award-winning genetics.

We provide after sales advice and back up services when we sell our animals. Whether you are looking to improve or expand your herd or just thinking of alpacas as pets, why not contact us to arrange a visit.

TEL: 07802 263589 WEB: www.alpacabreeder.co.uk EMAIL: graham@alpacabreeder.co.uk

SOUTHERN ENGLAND

SCOTFIELD ALPACAS We are a family run farm in Warfield, Berkshire, breeding high quality Huacaya and Suri alpacas from show winning sires. We would like to welcome you to Scotlands Farm to see our wonderful herd of both white and coloured animals.

Faerie–Tale Alpacas is a small family run farm based in Kenilworth in Warwickshire J15 of M40. We focus on breeding sound, healthy, friendly, elite alpacas with gorgeous fleeces and top class genetics at very reasonable prices.

We breed both Huacaya and Suri alpacas (approximately 80% are Huacaya). Although our breeding programme is biased towards the darker colours, we do also have superb quality whites and beige alpacas.

TEL: 01386 853841 or 07711 044106 EMAIL: snowshillalpacas@btinternet.com WEB: www.snowshillalpacas.com

SOUTHERN ENGLAND

We offer a range of courses including: ‘Introduction to alpacas’, ‘Birthing’, ‘Husbandry’, and a day long ‘Advanced’ course.

Alpacas for sale in all colours, at prices to suit all pockets, but more importantly from elite herd sires and proven bloodlines.

PENNYBRIDGE ALPACAS The PennyBridge Herd and Stud. One of the first alpaca farms set up in the South of England, still producing show winners from champion stock. Good quality starter herds, proven and potential stud males, fancy grazers and sheep guards available.

‘Home of The Alpaca Experience’.

Our farm in Hertfordshire offers: feed, supplies, coats, halters etc. Importantly we deliver total customer care. See website for customer reviews and details of our award-winning herd sires.

Situated in North Hampshire, close to the Surrey and Berkshire borders with good access to ports and airports, less than five minutes drive from both J5 and 6 of the M3.

tel: 01763 271301 or 07802 433155 emAil: beckwith904@aol.com Web: www.hertsalpacas.co.uk

TEL: 01256 764824 or 07801 132757 EMAIL: joy@pennybridgealpacas.co.uk WEB: www.pennybridgealpacas.co.uk

EAST MIDLANDS

WEST MIDLANDS

JANDJ ALPACAS

TOFT ALPACAS

The family run JandJ Alpaca herd was established in 2005 with four breeding females, today we have over 90 beautiful animals. We are located in Lincolnshire on the Nottinghamshire, Lincolnshire, Leiceistershire border just off the A1.

Based in North East Warwickshire we offer over 120 pedigree alpacas in all colours, ages and price ranges. We run a number of prizewinning stud males and offer on farm and mobile mating services. We are confident that our prize winning herd will live up to all your alpaca expectations.

Shirley and I have been qualified BAS judges for a great number of years and have judged throughout the UK and Europe.

With years of experience our aim is to help you choose the best alpacas to start you journey, whether it be breeding females, stud males or pet boys.

We run regular alpaca husbandry workshops every month throughout the year. We have been breeding alpacas for 25 years and are dedicated to sharing our extensive experience to guide you towards realising your own alpaca aspiration whatever that maybe. Please ring to book.

Stud services also available from top coloured genetics.

TEL: Martin or Clare 01636 626990 EMAIL: sales@jandjalpacas.co.uk WEB: www.visitalpacas.co.uk

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CENTRAL ENGLAND

FAERIE TALE ALPACAS

TEL:

15 years of selective breeding and dedication has successfully proven our genetics both in and outside the show ring, winning multiple Herts Alpacas championships and of course one of the British Alpaca Futurity’s major Best Breeder awards.

TEL: 07809 731164 EMAIL: claire@moralee.farm WEB: www.moralee.farm

Established in 2002 and situated on the North Cotswold hills close to the picturesque village of Snowshill, the current herd numbers over 300.

Full range of alpacas for sale, attractive pets to top show quality breeding girls and stud boys. Large choice of stunning stud males available to service your girls. Also offering natural alpaca fabrics made in the UK from the fleece of our own herd.

Herts AlpAcAs

Our services include: the sale of Females for Breeding, Drive-by Stud services and Male-Field Pets.

SNOWSHILL ALPACAS

We are happy to discuss your requirements, be it for pet males, stock guards, or breeding females to suit your budget but with no obligation to purchase. We have over ten years of experience with these adorable animals. Give us a call and let us see if we can help you.

Sue Hipkin 07770 455533 Lisa Hipkin 07770 455534 WEB: www.scotfieldalpacas.co.uk

Our mission is centred on breeding for improvement – focussing on white and light-coloured alpacas with fine fleece in a gentle and caring environment. All our alpaca are kept in small groups, so are used to human contact and receive lots of attention.

TEL: Shirley 07970 626245 / Rob 07973 123008 EMAIL: shirley@toftalpacastud.com / rob@toftalpacastud.com WEB: www.toftalpacastud.com

We know each alpaca and have most colours available from blue black to dazzling white. Whether you are new to alpacas or wish to expand your herd we have an alpaca to suit you! Prices to suit all budgets and with full after sales support given.

We offer: • Quality breeding stock • Starter herds • Stud services • 2 hour alpaca experiences • Alpacas for weddings and events • Luxury range of hand knitted alpaca garments and accessories using our own fleeces TEL: 07950 671672 FACEBOOK: Faerie Tale Alpacas EMAIL: info@faerietalealpacas.co.uk WEB: www.faerietalealpacas.co.uk

SOUTH WEST

DARK SKY ALPACAS

Located in rugged and beautiful North Cornwall, we focus on Suri and have a herd of elite alpacas with some of the best and varied Suri genetics in the country. Alongside our own animals we have invested in top quality alpacas from specialists in the UK and New Zealand.

Our farm has been ‘custom made’ for alpacas, with biosecurity and welfare of paramount importance, and we love and care for the herd ourselves.

We offer full stud services and in particular Suri starter herds, quality breeding stock and luxury alpaca products.

WENDY: 07712 136949TOM: 07825 105530 EMAIL: tomandwendy@darkskyalpacas.com WEB: www.darkskyalpacas.com

NORTH WEST

POTTERY ALPACAS

Pottery Alpacas are a family run farm located in Blackburn, Lancashire, we focus on breeding high quality animals from elite bloodlines. We have a wide range of alpacas for sale, with everything from Pet Quality males and females to Stud males and show quality stock. We offer first class support and advice with every purchase and are more than happy to discuss your requirements with no obligation. We are here to help you every step of the way on your alpaca journey!

Herd Reduction Sale MARK: 07540 115329 AMANDA: 07882 456084 EMAIL: mark@potteryalpacas.com WEB: www.potteryalpacas.com

Fibre Processors and Retailers ANIMAL HEALTH

JG ANIMAL HEALTH High specification organic chealated nutritional supplements suitable for all camelids.

• Premier Camelid Drench • Premier Mineral Supplement • Premier Mineral Bucket • A, D3 & E Paste TEL: 07866 607466 EMAIL: jganimalhealth@aol.com WEB: www.jganimalhealth.co.uk

PROCESSORS OF FIBRE – MINI MILLS AND OTHER

CLASSIC CARDER Classic Carder produce a full range of British, handmade drum carders for fibre preparation. Featuring our unique interchangeable drum system which allows quick and easy drum change for carding different fibres.

TEL: 01746 714130

RETAILERS/WHOLESALERS IN BRITISH ALPACA PRODUCTS

HOMESTEAD FARM SUPPLIES Everything you need for your alpacas delivered to your door! We are a one-stop-shop for alpaca supplies, including headcollars and leads, vitamins and nutritional supplements, healthcare and welfare supplies, colostrum, coats for cria and adults and microchipping equipment.

We also have a good selection for your other animals, including dogs, chickens and horses, as well as a range of farmhouse items and gifts, including our famous home cheese-making kits.

We are alpaca owners ourselves and we are always happy to help with your questions and enquiries.

Order direct from our website or by phone. You can expect fast, friendly service and advice.

TEL: 01295 713188 EMAIL: homesteadfarms@btinternet.com WEB: www.homesteadfarmsupplies.co.uk

M.R.HARNESS M.R.Harness was founded in 1995 after existing part time for a number of years. Mary herself is a qualified engineer and is well placed to assess materials and their useage.

Company policy is to test as many of the webbing designs as possible before release, as each item is unique to the animal it is designed for. This has led M.R.Harness to become the supplier of choice for headcollars, leads, coats and harness for all the various smallholding animals, but specialising in alpacas and llamas, and working ponies.

All items are hand crafted ‘in house’, in England, so you can be assured of good workmanship and quality products that last.

So please come and try the ‘Choice of Champions’.

TEL: 01299 896827 EMAIL: mary@mrharness.co.uk

EMAIL: paulbrittain@mac.com

BAS Members exclusive BAS Members get free membership to My Society and can benefit from a number of exclusive offers. Here are a few:

Medisave

The Professional Solution

20% OFF

5% OFF

ALL products Safe4disinfectant www.medisave.co.uk Terms and conditions apply

Discounted Prices on Microchips*

Terms and conditions apply

10% OFF

AGRI Shelter®

WEB: www.classiccarder.co.uk Terms and conditions apply

DBWOOLS

www.ellipsefabrications.co.uk Terms and conditions apply

ALPACA FIBRE COLLECTION 2022 We buy fibre shorn from all parts of the alpaca and collect

2 FREE worm counts worth £40 for NEW BAS members then 25% OFF Worm Counts after that*

from your door in most areas of the UK. We will purchase fibre from current/previous seasons if kept in good condition so don’t let it go to waste!

Wildwood Animal Health www.wildwoodanimalhealth.co.uk

Free bag of Camelibra NG2

Terms and conditions apply

Terms and conditions apply

Collection times/dates to suit your shearing schedule.

Part of the Standard Wool group

(worth £28 & free delivery)

TEL: Michael Cooke 07494 151166

Checkout these and many other offers on The My Society page on the BAS website by going to the moving carousel on the home page and clicking on the My Society link www.bas-uk.com

EMAIL: michaelcooke@dbwools.co.uk WEB: www.standardwool.co.uk

Become a BAS member

Single membership – £84 per annum Joint membership – £105 per annum £10 discount for direct debit payers Herd registration fee – £25

The British Alpaca Society cannot be held responsible for any issues regarding products, offers or services offered under the My Society scheme. All offers can be withdrawn or changed without notice. The British Alpaca Society does not endorse or recommend any of the companies listed under the My Society Scheme. * Full terms and conditions of the My Society offers can be seen on the BAS website.

www.bas-uk.com

www.bas-uk.com Alpaca #92

49

WEAVING FOR UKRAINE

The horrific events unfolding in Ukraine following the Russian invasion in Spring 2022 were painful to watch for everyone, writes Carole Christian. Here at Auld Mill Alpacas, our thoughts were centred on two wee boys whom we had hosted in 2010 on a respite visit organised by the Chernobyl Children’s LifeLine charity.

Y

oungsters living under the shadow of the Chernobyl disaster in 1986 were in 2010 – and still are – living with poor health, reduced life expectancy and difficult family circumstances.

And that was before their country was devastated by a brutal war. It was hard to think that these two Ukrainian boys, Andriy and Viktor, now young men in their early 20s, would be in the front line, defending their country.

So, what to do to raise some money to provide some relief for the people of Ukraine? The golden yellow and vivid blue of the Ukrainian flag was everywhere and those colours provided our inspiration. We were going to weave a scarf and sell tickets to win it! We had a rummage in our box of alpaca yarn, spun up by The Border Mill, and found three promising 50g balls – two blue and one yellow.

The loom was warped up and the scarf began to grow! We started to sell tickets to win the scarf at £5 per ticket via our Auld Mill Alpacas Facebook Page. And we also added a facility to make a straightforward donation for those not so keen on the “lucky draw” concept. The sales grew at an astonishing rate! By the end of the second day, we had made a donation of 50 Alpaca #92

£1300 to the British Red Cross Ukraine Appeal and, ten days later when the winning draw was due to be made, that had grown to a total of £2068!

We used a “random name” app to make the draw and we were delighted to find it was Paul Shrimpton of Nero Black Alpacas! Paul, Kathryn and their family had very generously supported the project and so we were pleased it was heading in their direction. And so, a couple of days later the scarf was duly finished, parcelled up and posted to Paul in Northumberland.

Meanwhile, Paul had been thinking… and he takes up the story. While we were delighted to win the raffle, all set up so well by Carole and John, writes Paul, the news coincided with the announcement from the BAS National Show committee of the Saturday night auction in aid of the Ukraine appeal. I spoke to Carole and we agreed it would be nice to allow the scarf to “go again” in this new fundraiser.

Everyone was over the moon when it raised a further £200 with Becky Block from Castlings Alpacas being the lucky winner. It was also great to see Becky wearing the beautifully hand crafted scarf with pride for the rest of the evening.

Taking care of animal health, naturally.

OF&G organic approved & safe for breeding mothers

We weren’t happy with the worrying amount of man-made chemicals given to animals on a daily basis. So, we decided to do something about it.

With advice from world-leading medical herbalists, we created a completely natural range of ways to support animal intestinal hygiene. And we’re really proud of it.

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

Tasty supplement Vet approved 100% natural al herbs Intestinal control

A herbal supplement to restore and maintain gut vitality

For all detailsFor visit all details visit

Sire: Toft Timogen Dam: Inca Jazmin

Inca Memphis

incaalpaca.co.uk

Inca Lewesdon

Inca Moonshine