ALPACA WORLD MAGAZINE Summer 2015 £7.00 where sold
“IT'S NOT ROCKET SCIENCE”
Alpaca Nutrition
Getting the balance right
The history of Embryo Transfer in alpacas
Whodunit? PARASITOLOGY IN ALPACAS
A VISIT TO WOLSTORM
Mite Patrol
New approaches to the management of Mange
CONTENTS
Classical Publishing Ltd Š 2015
WELCOME
The only independent magazine reporting on the international alpaca industry. Distributed by subscription worldwide and through country stores across the UK, Alpaca World Magazine reaches the largest readership in its market.
Issue 54 Summer 2015 ISSN 1477–7088 Editor: Rachel Hebditch Vulscombe Farm, Pennymoor, Tiverton, Devon, EX16 8NB Telephone: 01884 243579 Mobile: 07540 748803 Email: rachel@alpaca-uk.co.uk Advertising: Heidi Hardy Telephone 01598 752799 Email: heidi@ alpacaworldmagazine.com Copy deadline for the next issue: 18th September 2015 Design and Production: TRG Design Telephone: 01392 279371 Email: info@trgdesign.com www.trgdesign.com Printed in England by: Advent Colour 19 East Portway Ind. Est., Andover SP10 3LU The material contained in Alpaca World Magazine is compiled by the publishers for information purposes only. Although the material included has been obtained from sources believed to be reliable, no guarantees are given as to its accuracy or completeness. Readers are reminded that expert advice should always be sought in individual cases. Whilst every care has been taken in the compilation of the material contained in this issue the publisher does not accept responsibility for any loss arising out of such changes or inaccuracies nor for any other loss suffered as a result of information contained in this issue. Notice to Advertisers: It is a condition of acceptance of advertisement orders that the publishers, Classical Publishing Ltd, do not guarantee the insertion of a particular advertisement on a specific date, or at all, although every effort will be made to meet the wishes of advertisers; further the company does not accept liability for any loss or damage caused by any error or inaccuracy in the printing or non appearance of any advertisement, or if we decide to edit or delete any objectionable wording, or reject any advertisement. Although every advertisement is carefully checked, occasionally mistakes do occur. We therefore ask advertisers to assist us by checking their advertisements carefully and to advise us by the deadline given should an error occur. We regret that we cannot accept responsibility for more than one incorrect insertion and that no republication or discount will be granted in the case of typographic or minor changes which do not affect the value of the advertisement. Cover photo: Fowberry Alpacas.
MOST OF YOU WILL NOT HAVE MET OUR ADVERTISING MANAGER HEIDI HARDY BUT WILL HAVE SEEN HER EMAILS AND NEWSLETTERS AND TALKED ON THE PHONE. In this issue Heidi appears in her running gear after completing the 10K Race for Life in Barnstaple in aid of Cancer Research UK. We salute her and if you want to give her a belated fundraising boost, the website is https://www.justgiving.com/HeidiHardy/ In this magazine we report on the first South African conference on camelid health, watch the progress of Teeny Tiny Cody, visit a Dutch alpaca mill Wolstorm and discover an awful lot about parasites from Sue Thomas at Lyme Alpacas.
CONTENTS Alpaca World Magazine Summer 2015 NEWS 4 Alpaca Riviera 5 Expert Cast for Classic 5 It's Showtime Again! 6 Three Counties Show 6 Devon County Show 8 Royal Bath & West Show 9 South of England Show 9 Swedish Show 10 Herd Auctions in North West England 10 Heidi's in the Pink REGULAR ITEMS 64 Ask the Vet 74 Breeders directory
34
FEATURES 14
The History of Embryo Transfer in Alpacas
20
My Faecal Friend: Alpaca Manure
24
Heather Firby: Textile Graduate
28
Whodunit? Parasitology in Alpacas
34
The Teeny Tiny Alpaca
40
Mite Patrol: Mange in Alpacas
44
A Visit to Wolstorm
54
South African Health Conferences
55
Gastro-Intestinal Disorders
56
Alpaca Nutrition: Getting the Balance Right
58
Fowberry Alpacas
24
58 www.alpacaworldmagazine.com ALPACA WORLD MAGAZINE | Summer 2015 | 3
NEWS
If you have news of events or developments within the alpaca industry which you would like to share with others please send it to: The Editor, Alpaca World Magazine, Vulscombe Farm, Pennymoor, Tiverton, Devon EX16 8NB, United Kingdom Email: info@alpacaworldmagazine.com
ALPACA RIVIERA!
Schools get creative for Torbay Alpaca Trail TORBAY, THE ENGLISH RIVIERA, is playing host to thirty five life-size resin fibre glass models of alpacas. The alpacas have been transformed into works of art by young people and are part of a trail around the area. Thirty five schools, primary, secondary and special schools, each took delivery of an alpaca which they have painted and given an identity. The alpacas are being exhibited throughout the summer holidays in schools and a few are in public areas such as Sainsburys, Waitrose, Berry Head and Occombe Farm. There will be a map of the
n to To Coming soo
trail at www.torbayalpacatrail.co.uk and there is an element of treasure hunting as each alpaca will have a letter on it that is needed to solve a word puzzle. Why alpacas? Claire Mitchell, leading teacher for art in the Torbay Teaching Alliance and class teacher at Oldway Primary School, explains: "All primary school children now study a South American country as part of the humanities curriculum so the alpaca project fits in with their learning. We thought the alpaca trail would be really, really good fun.
"The children were so excited to see the alpacas arriving. We
wanted to do something to get everyone talking about and enjoying art". The official opening of the trail is on July 20 at Occombe Farm, Preston Down Road, Paignton, TQ3 1RN, which is part of the Torbay Coast & Countryside Trust, a registered charity that exists to protect and care for over 1700 acres of Torbay's green and coastal spaces, including Berry Head, Cockington Country Park and many others. The alpacas were made by local company The Jolly Roger model company, based in Bovey Tracey.
rbay…
rail Alpaca Art T ’ ls o o ch S y Torba these life nting one of pai n Torbay are istristributed 35 schools i hey will be d T ! as ac lp ays. s a id as ol h gl er er ib m f um sized g the s Torbay durin them all? throughout able to find e b ou y ill W Trail ools Alpaca Torbay Sch
site s next month. rom our web e available f Herald Expres Maps will b rail.co.uk and rbayalpacat .to ww /w http:/
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"The children were so excited to see the alpacas arriving. We wanted to do something to get everyone talking about and enjoying art".
NEWS
EXPERT CAST LINED UP FOR CLASSIC
Alpaca Classic, 5 & 6 September 2015 THE ALPACA CLASSIC, jointly hosted by The Alpaca Stud and Bozedown Alpacas, has fast become a much loved and anticipated event in the UK Alpaca Calendar. 2015 will be no different with the weekend of September 5th and 6th bringing yet another educational but fun event with plenty of the usual twists and turns to keep things interesting. At the 2015 Classic we are offering you the opportunity to think about your next step towards breeding success. Shauna Brummet, PhD, runs Hobby Horse farm Alpacas in the US state of Ohio and is a leading voice on Estimated Progeny Differences in alpacas and it is this subject that
Another educational but fun event with plenty of the usual twists and turns to keep things interesting
she will be speaking on at the 2015 Alpaca Classic. This topic is a real eye opener and of huge benefit to anyone who is serious about making the most of every breeding decision. The Alpaca Classic will also be running discussion panels which will enable you to ask the questions you want answered. EPDs, whilst fascinating, can throw up a lot of questions – don’t panic though as our team of experts, including Shauna Brummet, will be on hand to answer your questions from the floor. Our second panel will consist of some of the UK's most experienced alpaca professionals.
They will be at your disposal to answer your questions on husbandry, fibre, nutrition and much more. As in previous years both Bozedown Alpacas and The Alpaca Stud will release some of their most coveted genetics to be offered for sale at the Alpaca Classic. This year we offer you the chance to select from an elite group of alpacas we refer to as The Spectrum. In this group there is every colour available for your consideration so something to suit any breeder's programme. This year’s sales will be both an auction of ten lots and a pen sale
with a twist. In addition to the normal weekend of events this year’s Classic will open its doors on the evening of Friday the 4th of September to anyone with a keen interest in Suri, established or just simmering beneath the surface. The evening will be a celebration of Suri and not to be missed. And never fear, he’s back, Brett Kaysen will be on hand once again to liven things up, keep us all on our toes and amongst other things participate in the panels including his extensive experience of EPDs in practice.
IT'S SHOWTIME AGAIN! Alpaca Showtime, held at the Houghton Hall Equestrian Centre in Cambridgeshire for the first time last year, is back on the weekend of October 31 to November 1. The show, organised by Houghton Hall Alpacas, Bozedown Alpacas and The Alpaca Stud, is a colour championship, entries will be opening soon, and the entry fees are £25 per halter entry and £35 per progeny entry. You will find more information about the event at www.alpacashowtime.co.uk
ALPACA WORLD MAGAZINE | Summer 2015 | 5
NEWS
West Shires Alpaca Show at the Royal Three Counties A WONDERFUL FEW DAYS were spent at the Royal Three Counties doing all things alpaca. With so many fleeces entered, Rob Bettinson joined us on Thursday and Friday, together with apprentice judge Julia Corrigan-Stuart, to ensure that they could be judged, prior to display for the public. Friday saw the usual footfall of school children and we were pleased to show them the whole process of fibre production from alpaca to product. With displays of both shorn and unshorn alpaca, raw fibre, carding, tops, spinning, felting and a host of finished product, all kindly done and contributed from our members, the children were able to have a go at many of the tasks and ask lots of questions. The fleece judging was finalised, with Rob articulating to the public
what he was doing, seeing and why it was important, with the Supreme fleeces being: Huacaya – Ashwood Hope; Suri - Pinkney Dragon. With the halter show following on the Saturday, over 100 alpacas arrived in the morning to be penned and inspected with suri well represented with over 40 alpacas entered across all the colours. A busy day ensued for Mary-Jo Smith and Juila Corrigan-Stuart with the classes being judged alternately between the Suri and Huacaya in Mary-Jo’s inimitable style with clear, concise and reasoned oral explanations to the placings. The Supreme Champions were awarded to: Houghton Most Wanted of Houghton Hall Alpacas – Supreme Huacaya; Houghton Bright Spark of Houghton Hall Alpacas – Supreme Suri.
FUN, FLEECE and FIBRE Drawing flocks at Devon County Show
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THIS YEAR THE ALPACA CLASSES at Devon County Show were compressed in to two days rather than three so that the third day - the Saturday - could see the marquees given over to trade stands selling alpaca products and regular shearing demonstrations by Colin Ottery. Mary Jo Smith was the judge and the Champion Suri and Reserve, both owned by Popham Alpacas, were Popham Suri Twiggy and Popham Suri Carlos. The Champion Huacaya was Classical MileEnd Priam II, owned by Classical MileEnd Alpacas and the Reserve was Ashwood Havanna, owned by Ashwood Alpacas.
Contact Roger Mount
on 01386 853 841 or 07711044106 Email: snowshillalpacas@btinternet.com Web: www.snowshillalpacas.com
Snowshill Alpacas,
Snowshill Hill Barn, Temple Guiting, Cheltenham, Gloucestershire GL54 5XX
Snowshill Beethoven
Snowshill Ciscero
sire: Virococha Prophecy of Anzac dam: Merungle Audrey of Anzac
sire: Eringa Park Lionheart of Cambridge dam: Silverstream Escudo of Anzac
Snowshill Nicodemus
Snowshill Oberon (Suri)
sire: Snowshill Samuel dam: Snowshill Amelia
Snowshill Peregrin
sire: Wessex Cosmos dam: Hermione of Willaston
Snowshill Raphael (Suri)
sire: Andean Legacy of I-Spy dam: Snowshill Letitia
sire: Snowshill Raphael dam: Bozedown Dividend
Blackmore Vale Shaston Prince
sire: Coricancha Fernando of Wessex dam: Patience
Snowshill Shadow Dancer
sire: ARU Cambridge Ice Cool Lad dam: Cambridge Chocolate Button
Wellground Imber
sire: Moonstone Ridgway of Bozedown dam: Eve of Atlantic
Snowshill Orlando
sire: Virococha Prophecy of Anzac dam: Snowshill Perdita
Snowshill Ramises
sire: EP Cambridge Navigator of Accoyo dam: Snowshill Alexandra
Snowshill Vivaldi
sire: Blackmore Vale Shaston Prince dam: Snowshill Abbigail
Above is a selection of our Stud Males available for services in 2015. Fees range from ÂŁ350 to ÂŁ650. Significant discounts apply for multiple matings. Progeny can be viewed. We also have a number of alpacas for sale from pet to show quality. Please phone/email for details. ALPACA WORLD MAGAZINE | Summer 2015 | 7
NEWS
BUILDING MOMENTUM AT BATH & WEST
The SWAG fleece and halter show at The Royal Bath and West Show 27-30 May, by Mark Steele, SWAG Chairman THE ANNUAL South West Alpaca Group halter show took place once again at the Royal Bath and West Showground near Shepton Mallet. This year also saw the return of the SWAG fleece show. The organising team, led by Di Davies, had been given a new location at the showground for 2015 but had lost the large marquee, previously supplied by the Bath and West Show, due to financial pressures on the show organisers. However, with an improved location, previously known as the Countryside Arena, and using the newly purchased but much smaller SWAG marquees, there was a concerted effort to stage a full agenda lasting the four days of the show. With visitor numbers to the show anticipated to be well in excess of 150,000, making it one of the biggest agricultural shows in the country, we were committed and determined to provide an alpaca presence for all four days. This was achieved and momentum built over the four days culminating in a large public crowd gathering in the sunshine to watch the Supreme Championships being awarded on Saturday afternoon.
FLEECE SHOW Day one saw a group of skilled crafts people transforming a skirted fleece into various garments, knitted, woven and felted. The whole process was overseen by Val Fullerlove who gave a talk to the assembled public on the qualities and versatility of alpaca fibre. This talk was replicated again in the afternoon and although the public hadn’t quite discovered the alpaca marquee in droves the numbers were building. On day two Val was joined by apprentice judge Julia Corrigan-Stewart to tackle in excess of 80 fleece show entries. Members of the public did pop in and out of the fibre marquee both to witness the fleeces being judged and to ask questions of the assembled fibre processors who stayed bravely in the strong gusty winds to parade their skills and wares.
HALTER SHOW On Friday morning the livestock trailers started rumbling in for the start of the halter show with 180 alpacas expected from 34 different breeders. In order to provide shelter if the weather turned nasty and making use of the larger area that we had been allocated, the trailers were driven into the ring with pens constructed behind them. As the ring filled up we expanded into the grassy area surrounding the arena and a splendid alpaca community was formed. This undoubtedly had an effect on the visiting public as the alpacas could be seen from a long distance away and the crowds really did start gathering during the halter show. The halter show itself was judged by Shirley Bettinson assisted by apprentice judge, Jo Bridge. Shortly after the judges were introduced, in true UK weather style, the heavens opened and
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for an hour or so it absolutely poured down. It is at this point that the large marquee was missed the most with the gusty wind propelling the rain sideways it became difficult, despite gazebos and trailers being utilised, for anyone or anything to remain dry! However, the show must go on and when the rain eased off the judging of the black classes began in somewhat snug and humid conditions inside the larger of the two SWAG marquees. Thankfully the rain soon abated and we all moved out into the large outside ring. The halter show had reverted from its usual format of an age championship to the more inclusive colour championship format with Suri and Huacaya classes being judged alternately.
Best of British winner Valley Alpacas The General
WINNERS Both top prizes and congratulations went to Mick and Liz George of Houghton Hall Alpacas with the Supreme Huacaya award being claimed by the adult white male, Houghton Bellino and the Supreme Suri title awarded to the intermediate white female, Houghton Made You Look (ET). The best Huacaya fleece prize was awarded to the white fleece of Ashwood Hope, owned by Steve and Chris Powell of Ashwood Alpacas and the Suri prize went to the beige fleece of Pure Ruby, owned by Jay Holland of Pure Alpacas. The Best of British award, given to the best alpaca born in the UK from UK bred sire and dam, was claimed by Valley Alpacas the General, owned by Mr P Lane and Miss D House of Lane House Alpacas. All in all the new show format was a resounding success, with positive comments coming from both exhibitors and judges as well as from the organisers of the Bath and West Show itself. It is certainly something for the organisers to build on for next year. Thank you to all who entered fleeces or came along with your alpacas, we hope to see you all next year.
Champion Huacaya Houghton Bellino
Huacaya Fleece Champion Ashwood Hope
Champion Suri Houghton Made You Look
Champion Suri Fleece Pure Ruby
As the ring filled up we expanded into the grassy area surrounding the arena and a splendid alpaca community was formed
NEWS
SOUTH OF ENGLAND SHOW Liz Barlow was the alpaca judge at the South Of England Show at Ardingly in West Sussex. Supreme Champion Huacaya was awarded to the grey Alpaca Stud Nyetimber of the Alpaca Stud and Houghton Perry took reserve. The Suri Supreme Champion and Reserve went to Houghton Maddox and Houghton Galactic Powers of Houghton Hall Alpacas. The best British Bred Huacaya was Alpaca Stud Jewell and the best British Bred Suri Wealden Pernilla.
SWEDE INSPIRATION
Swedish National Show, 18-19 April 2015 THE 2015 SWEDISH NATIONAL SHOW was held at a well-known equestrian centre just outside of Skovde in central southern Sweden. With a fleece show scheduled for the Saturday morning, and nearly 150 halter entries a busy weekend was guaranteed. BAS judge Tim Hey was soon busy judging fleeces and once scorecards were available to be examined, it became clear that the fleece show was very competitive with some beautiful fleeces on display. Champion Light fleece was awarded to Nybo Inspiration owned by Jurgen Larrson and Champion Dark fleece was awarded to Royal Baron Brown owned by Sandra and Nils-Arne Holmudden. Attending the event were breeders from across the many countries that form Scandinavia, as well as from Belgium, Germany,
Australia and the UK giving this show a truly international feel. After the lunch break halter judging started with blacks and moved swiftly through to an early finish on fawns to allow everyone to prepare for the show dinner. Saturday evening saw the show dinner hosted at the venue with an excellent meal on offer and with superb attendance a party atmosphere prevailed‌.of course the open bar didn’t harm the atmosphere! It was said even the
judge had a drink or two, but he had certainly earned it. Sunday saw the competition hot up, as well as the dress code, and Tim was seen to have to concentrate hard to make his placements and deliver his oral reasons, which he of course did in his usual assured style. With all categories being contested, we were treated to an excellent display in the progeny classes with Tim explaining how impressive this line-up was. Following the progeny classes, the Supreme Championship
was judged and once again Tim was working hard to make his final decision. With him closely comparing two alpacas in particular, Nybo Inspiration belonging to Jorgen Larrson of Nybo Alpacas was given the nod, and duly awarded the Supreme Champion trophy. All in all, two days of competitive showing in an impressive equestrian centre demonstrated just how far the Swedish alpaca industry has progressed, and in such a very short time.
ALPACA WORLD MAGAZINE | Summer 2015 | 9
NEWS
HAMMER FALLS ON HERDS IN NORTH WEST Call for a more professional approach to alpaca auctions TWO ALPACA AUCTIONS took place within fifty miles of each other on the May Bank Holiday weekend. The first at North West Auctions located near Kendal and the second at Borderway Mart, Carlisle. The first was a dispersal sale of the Town End herd, based at Crosthwaite, near Kendal and owned by Brian Raine and Kim Kearney. There were seventy one alpacas, all of which were sold. Top price at the sale was 1650 guineas for Town End Bunty, a dark fawn pregnant female due in late summer whilst the best price for a yearling female was 1500 guineas for Town End Sprite, a light grey. The stud male Town End Plato fetched 1350gns with young pet males reaching 950gns. Mike Griffiths of Greenside Alpacas was at the sales: "The alpacas offered for sale were in a variety of colours and of very well known bloodlines. As with most auctions, most of the people attending were 'lookers' and there were other auctions going on during the day at this location. The alpaca auction room was reasonably attended and a friend made note that the alpacas sold to 21 separate buyers. I always find Dispersal Sales very sad, depending on circumstances. The sellers have invariably worked very hard to build up their herd with love and care for their alpacas. To see them sold off for small amounts of money must be very hard to bear." The auctioneers Harrison & Hetherington auctioned 123 alpacas at the second sale of the weekend in
Carlisle which included the dispersal of Northumbrian Alpacas on behalf of Judith Russell and consignments from fourteen other breeders. The highest priced stud male sold for 1600 guineas and the highest priced female went for 900 guineas. Mike Griffiths takes up the story; "The second auction at Carlisle was a similar story, but just too many white alpacas being offered on the day. The attendance was low with probably fewer buyers than the first auction, but with more alpacas for sale. Some new buyers I noticed were buying on price alone and would not pay more than 350gns for a female. Three yearling boys were sold for 65 gns each as a group. Once again the atmosphere was subdued and by the end of the auction there were just a handful of people left in the room. Looking at my experiences of alpaca auctions, there must be a better way to offer alpacas in a more professional manner. This may help to raise the profile of alpacas and their prices at auction. It is time we stood up and realised there will
It is time we stood up and realised there will always be alpaca auctions, but we as breeders need to control them always be alpaca auctions, but we as breeders need to control them. A person or maybe a group of people could get together and create a business organising these auctions
professionally. Some sales “on farm” and others using auction marts, but controlling the manner in which they are sold. As with many auctions, now an internet link could be done to enable buyers to take part from all over the UK and Europe without moving from the comfort of their own home. I went some time ago to a sheep sale and the Auction Mart operated a “Upset Price” for each lot. The breeder published in the catalogue the minimum price they were prepared to take for that lot and the auctioneer started at that price. All but one lot out of 80 sold."
HEIDI'S IN THE PINK!
HEIDI HARDY, Alpaca World magazine's advertising manager, took to the road on July 5 to run the 10K Race for Life in Barnstaple. The race raised £85,000 overall, Heidi raised £500 and completed the 10K in one hour and nineteen minutes. She says: "I'm one of PinkyBlinders, a group of women who want to keep healthy, young and beautiful and raise some money for charity too. I did this to help make a difference for Cancer Research UK because both my parents died of cancer".
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ALPACA WORLD MAGAZINE | Summer 2015 | 11
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* SEE Australia’s finest alpaca livestock appraised by international judges
* SELEC T & BUY elite Australian alpaca genetics in revised format Auction
* CONNEC T with leading alpaca industry members
* CELEBRATE 25 years of Australian Alpaca at our SILVER ANNIVERSARY DINNER
ALPACA WORLD MAGAZINE | Summer 2015 | 13
EMBRYO TRANSFER
The history of embryo transfer in alpacas, or...
“It ain’t ROCKET SCIENC By Jane Vaughan BVSc PhD MACVSc Jane is an Australian veterinarian who obtained a PhD studying control of ovarian function in alpacas. She has been performing embryo transfer in Australia, New Zealand and Britain since 2001.
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NCE”
EMBRYO TRANSFER
Figure 1. Dr Julio Sumar in the show ring, judging alpacas in Arequipa, Peru 2014 (Photo kindly supplied by Robin Näsemann).
I
n 2015, the Australian Alpaca Association is celebrating 25 years since its inception, providing a perfect opportunity to look back over the years to see how different facets of the alpaca industry have evolved. Alpacas are bred for their soft, fine, lightweight fibre, which is processed into fashion garments and other luxury products. Alas, their gestation period averages 342 days, twins are rare, and males may take two to three years to sexually mature, ensuring slow genetic progress using natural breeding methods. Embryo transfer has provided the means to more rapidly multiply alpacas judged to possess high genetic merit (Figure 1), as artificial insemination is still not a commercially viable option. Embryo transfer has been performed in camelids for more than five decades. Initial attempts in South America in the 1960's (Novoa & Sumar 1968) and 1970's (Sumar et al. 1974) used surgical techniques combined with general anaesthesia to access the reproductive tract of alpacas and llamas. The 1980's saw the development of non-surgical techniques (Wilson Wiepz et al. 1985, Sumar and Garcia 1986) whereby a catheter was passed through the cervix
of a sedated animal and embryos harvested from a conscious but sedated patient. With the advent of veterinary ultrasound technology, where a transducer could be placed into the rectum of an animal to “look” at the reproductive tract non-invasively and on a daily basis, a better understanding of ovarian function was gleaned in both Old World and New World camelids (Figure 2; Adams et al. 1989, 1990, 1991, Bravo et al. 1990, 1991, Bourke et al. 1992a, Tinson and McKinnon 1992).
Figure 2. Dr Marcelo Ratto ultrasounding ovaries of a llama, University of Saskatchewan, Canada in 2003
ALPACA WORLD MAGAZINE | Summer 2015 | 15
EMBRYO TRANSFER
Multiple embryos
Multiple ovulation, combined with natural mating and non-surgical collection and transfer of embryos has been performed successfully since
the early 1990's in llamas (Bourke et al. 1992b, 1992c, 1995) and camels (Figure 3; Skidmore 1992, McKinnon and Tinson 1994, Musa et al 1993) and more latterly, alpacas (Ratto et al 1999, Hopkins 2002). Embryo transfer in camelids has allowed commercial breeders to more rapidly increase selected genetics in their herds, be it fleece in alpacas and llamas, or milk production or athletic ability in camels. The commercialisation of the technology in South American camelids has occurred in various countries such as the United States (Taylor et al 2000), Australia (Clancy 2002), Europe (Hebditch 2004) and Peru (Figure 4; Watters 2007). Embryo freezing has been performed on a very limited basis (Aller et al 2002, Skidmore et al 2005, Sansinena 2007) and has yet to be commercialised. The main barrier to success is the large size of embryos at the time of flushing, and that they have “hatched” from the protective zona pellucida or gel coat, which protects embryos of other domestic livestock such as sheep and cattle during freezing, thawing and transfer of embryos (Figure 5).
Figure 3. Dr Lulu Skidmore flushing a dromedary camel, Camel Reproductive Centre, Dubai in 2001.
Figure 4. Dr Rito Huayta searching uterine flushing fluid for embryos, Pacomarca, Peru in 2007.
Repeated, trans-rectal ultrasonography of ovaries in different species of domestic livestock has shown that ripening eggs develop in waves (Adams 1999). A small group of follicles (the fluid-filled structure on the ovary that each contain an oocyte or egg) develops on both ovaries, and one follicle is selected and keeps growing, while the rest of the follicles in that cohort regress and the eggs within them die. Sometimes two follicles develop simultaneously and become dominant, resulting in the release of two eggs if mated, leading to sporadic twinning. It has been determined that the optimal time for applying any hormonal treatment to stimulate the growth of multiple eggs rather than one or two, is at the time of new wave emergence. This is the basis of developing multiple ovulation (commonly known as “superovulation”) techniques in all species.
MULTIPLE OVULATION
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Jane Vaughan flushing embryos
Embryo transfer in camelids has allowed commercial breeders to more rapidly increase selected genetics in their herds Figure 5. Alpaca embryos 1-2 mm in diameter, under the microscope prior to transfer. Embryos hatch out of their zona pellucida during descent down the oviduct and enter the uterus as hatched blastocysts, thus rendering them more difficult to freeze compared with un-hatched embryos of sheep and cattle.
New Champion HerdSires for 2015
Contact Chas or Rachel for drive-by and mobile matings at realistic prices
USE OUR GENETICS TO ADD VALUE TO YOUR HERD CME PRIAM II Sire CME Tulaco Centurion Standing at Stud
CME CAPELLA Sire Dovecote Jaquinto of TAS Standing at Stud
CME ANDANTE Sire CME Paris Standing at Stud
CME ELEGY Sire Bozedown Omen Standing at Stud
APPLEDENE COMMANDER IN CHIEF Sire Eringa Park The Commandante of ACC Standing at Stud
Benefit from our 18 years’ experience and buy with confidence from a range of world class bloodlines Classical MileEnd Alpacas is a bio-secure farm with wildlife fencing on the entire farm perimeter and a strict policy for the management of risk from infectious and contagious diseases. Buy with confidence from a company that takes the health of its alpacas
1
Vulscombe Farm, Pennymoor, Tiverton, Devon, EX16 8NB Telephone: 01884 243579 Alpaca World Magazine Winter 2009 Email: rachel@alpaca-uk.co.uk
and bio-security very seriously. We can offer packages of high quality alpacas and stud services at affordable prices with full after sales support and training. Please get in touch if you would like to visit our farm.
Owners of: Proud Sponsors of the British Alpaca Futurity
ALPACA WORLD MAGAZINE | Summer 2015 | 17
www.alpacaworldmagazine.com www.ukalpaca.com
EMBRYO TRANSFER WHAT YOU NEED TO KNOW Whilst embryo transfer is not rocket science, it is based on biological science and a sound knowledge of camelid anatomy and physiology. The ability to harvest embryos from donors and transfer embryos into recipients goes hand-inhand with the welfare and on-going fertility of the animals undergoing embryo transfer (Figure 6). Success is linked to a sound understanding of camelid reproductive function, and how best to
implement optimal husbandry with appropriate pain relief to ensure animals are comfortable during the implementation of any programme. There is no doubt that embryo transfer has allowed breeders utilising the technology to more rapidly advance the quality of their alpacas, thus allowing the production of more and finer fleece (Figure 7). On-going research by scientists to improve embryo transfer techniques continues across the globe. The Camelid Satellite
Figure 6. Former dentist, Paul Taylor watches wife Sally flush a donor llama in Montana, USA 2003. Use of pain relief is integral to optimising welfare while flushing and during transfer of embryos in camelids.
REFERENCES • Adams GP. Comparative patterns of follicle development and selection in ruminants. J Reprod Fert Supp 1999; 54:17-32. • Adams GP, Griffin PG, Ginther OJ. In situ morphologic dynamics of ovaries, uterus and cervix in llamas. Biol Reprod 1989a; 41:551-558. • Adams GP, Sumar J, Ginther OJ. Effects of lactational and reproductive status on ovarian follicular waves in llamas (Lama glama). J Reprod Fert 1990; 90:535-545. • Adams GP, Sumar J, Ginther OJ. Form and function of the corpus luteum in llamas. Anim Reprod Sci 1991a; 24:127-138. • Aller JF, Rebuffi GE, Cancino AK, Alberio RH. Successful transfer of vitrified Ilama (Lama glama) embryos. Animal Reproduction Science 2002b; 73:121-127. • Bourke DA, Adam CL, Kyle CE. Ultrasonography as an aid to controlled breeding in the llama (Lama glama). Vet Rec 1992a; 130:424-428. • Bourke DA, Adam CL, Kyle CE, McEvoy TG, Young P. Ovulation, superovulation and embryo recovery in llamas. In: Proceedings 12th Int Congress Animal Reprod 1992b; 1:193-195. • Bourke DA, Adam CL, Kyle CE, Young P, McEvoy TG. Superovulation and embryo transfer in the llama. In: Allen WR, Higgins AJ, Mayhew IG, Snow D, Wade JF (eds), Proceedings of the First International Camel Conference. R&W Publications, Newmarket, 1992c; 183-185. • Bourke DA, Kyle CE, McEvoy TG, Young P, Adam CL. Superovulatory responses to eCG in llamas (Lama glama). Theriogenology 1995a; 44:255-268. • Bravo PW, Fowler ME, Stabenfeldt GH, Lasley
18 | Summer 2015 | ALPACA WORLD MAGAZINE
Symposium of the International Congress on Animal Reproduction, previously held in Budapest in 2008 and Vancouver in 2012, allows researchers to share recent findings and latest technologies. New information is also published in international reproduction journals, which allows scientists throughout South and North America, the Middle East, Asia, Europe and Australia to share their findings on camelid reproduction and artificial breeding. Figure 7. The first crop of English-born embryo transfer alpacas in 2004 (Photo kindly supplied by Rachel Hebditch).
BL. Ovarian follicular dynamics in the llama. Biol Reprod 1990b; 43:579-585. • Bravo PW, Stabenfeldt GH, Lasley BL, Fowler ME. The effect of ovarian follicular size on pituitary and ovarian responses to copulation in domesticated South American camelids. Biol Reprod 1991b; 45:553-559. • Clancy B. Shaking up alpaca breeding. The Weekly Times 8 May 2002; p102. • Hebditch R. Alpaca embryo transplant in the UK. Alpaca World 2004; Autumn edition. • Hopkins D. Alpaca embryo transfer – the present situation. The Australian Alpaca Industry National Conference Proceedings 2002; p19. • McKinnon AO, Tinson AH, Nation G. Embryo transfer in dromedary camels. Theriogenology 1994; 41:145-150. • Musa B, Sieme H, Hago BED, Cooper MJ, Allen WR, Jochle W. Manipulation of reproductive functions in male and female camels. Anim Reprod Sci 1993; 33:289-306. • Novoa C and Sumar J. Collecion de huevos in vivo y ensayos de transferencia en alpacas. Tercer Boletin Extraordinario. IVITA Universidad Nacional Mayor de San Marcos. Lima, Peru 1968; 3:31-34. • Ratto M, Gomez C, Wolter M, Berland M, Adams GP. Superstimulatory response and oocyte collection in alpacas. Proc II Congreso Mundial sobre Camelidos, Cusco, Peru 1999b; 96-7. • Sansinena MJ, Taylor SA, Taylor PJ, Schmidt EE, Denniston RS, Godke RA. In vitro production of llama (Lama glama) embryos by intracytoplasmic sperm injection: effect
of chemical activation treatments and culture conditions. Anim Reprod Sci 2007; 99:342-353. • Skidmore JA, Allen WR, Cooper MJ, Ali Chaudhry M, Billah M, Billah AM. The recovery and transfer of embryos in the dromedary camel: results of preliminary experiments. In: Allen WR, Higgins AJ, Mayhew EG, Snow DH, Wade JF (eds), Proc 1st Int Camel Conf 1992a; pp137-142. • Skidmore JA, Billah M, Loskutoff NM. Comparison of two different methods for the vitrification of hatched blastocysts from the dromedary camel (Camelus dromedarius). Reprod Fertil Dev 2005; 17:523-527. • Sumar J, Franco E. Informe Final IVITA – La Raya, Universidad Nacional Mayor de San Marcos, Lima, Peru 1974. • Sumar J, Garcia M. Fisiologia de la reproducion de la alpaca. In: Nuclear and Related Techniques in Animal Production and Health. IAEA, Vienna 1986; 149-177. • Taylor S, Taylor PJ, James AN, Godke RA. Successful commercial embryo transfer in the llama (Lama glama). Theriogenology 2000; 53:344. • Tinson AH, McKinnon AO. Ultrasonography of the reproductive tract of the female dromedary camel. In: Allen WR, Higgins AJ, Mayhew IG, Snow D, Wade JF (eds), Proceedings of the First International Camel Conference. R&W Publications, Newmarket, 1992; 129-135. • Watters M. Peru alpaca mission. Geelong Advertiser 20 November 2007; p18 • Wilson Wiepz D, Chapman RJ. Non-surgical embryo transfer and live birth in a llama. Theriogenology 1985; 24: 251-257.
ALPACA WORLD MAGAZINE | Summer 2015 | 19
ALPACA MANURE
A little while ago Peter Swann of Sunnydale Alpacas was asked to help out on a research project to tackle a problem of manure at a large equestrian operation. Large quantities of strawy stable manure were being produced and composted.
20 | Summer 2015 | ALPACA WORLD MAGAZINE
ALPACA MANURE
Taking up to a year to fully break down, the quantity being held, and the risk of rain water runoff getting into local water courses, was drawing the unwanted attentions of the Environment Agency. Something had to be done...
MY FAECAL FRIEND
T
he company I was helping in coming up with a solution, Biotechnical Energy Ltd of Okehampton in Devon, manufactures machines primarily aimed at the waste food sector. However, the technology could be applied to any organic material. The machines work by taking in the organic waste, churning it to add air, warming it up and adding in specialist high temperature bacteria. Those bacteria break down the cell structure of the organic material, releasing the moisture and turning the waste into a dry crumb. And it all happens within 24 hours. The process can be continuous, or carried out in batches. The residue, coming out after treatment is called digestate, and looks a little like dried coffee grounds. It has some interesting properties, which can be summarised as:
1. REDUCED WASTE DISPOSAL CHALLENGES If the waste is to go off to regular disposal routes, there are many advantages to processing it first. The digestate shows a reduction of up to 80% in both weight and volume from the original input. Because it is dry and odourless, there is no attraction to pests, such as flies, wasps, rodents etc. and it can easily be stored in dry conditions.
2. SOIL CONDITIONING In this particular project, the client was keen to Table 1: Chemical Analysis of Processed Stable Manure
get the nutrient value of the waste output back into the land. They had been shipping out the fully composted stable manure to local farms where it was ploughed into arable land. It meant a slow degrading of the mineral content of the soils on the farm, which had to be made good with expensive fertilisers. They had considered spreading the composted manure on their own pastures, but the risk of raising the worm burden on the ground and of spreading such organisms as e-coli, had prevented that option. Examples of the fresh stable manure were run through Biotechnical Energy's own test machines. Samples were taken at various stages during the processing and sent to two laboratories for chemical and biological analysis. The results were astounding. Table 1 shows the pH of the final product is neutral, and the mineral content is definitely worth having back on the sward, especially as it is “Free�. The biological tests were even more impressive, the high temperature and bacterial action taking place within the machine totally destroyed all worms, worm eggs and pathogenic bacteria within the first hour of an 18 hour process. See table 2. The clients vets were completely sold on the concept of putting the manure through the Biotechnical Energy machine and spreading onto the pasture the following day.
Table 2: Biological Analysis of Shredded Faeces and Bedding
a) Gut Roundworm
C
41.6%
H
5.5%
N
1.0%
O
36.0%
S
0.13%
P
0.24%
c. perfringens enterotoxin
Negative
K
1.31%
c. deficille tox. A/B
Negative
Moisture
20.9%
Salmonella culture
No Salmonella spp.isolated
pH
7.0
(Analysis by Liphook Equine Hospital)
Before Treatment
50 eggs/gm
After 2 hours treatment
Negative
After 6 hours treatment
Negative
(Analysis by North Park Veterinary Group)
b) Pathogens
ALPACA WORLD MAGAZINE | Summer 2015 | 21
ALPACA MANURE
The output can go safely straight onto my fields, with the certainty of complete pasteurisation of pathogens and worms. Poo picked today, can be safely returned to the fields tomorrow. 3. APPROVED BIOMASS FUEL The dry crumb has excellent characteristics as a biomass fuel. It's calorific value is higher than wood, and nearly as high as coal. It burns with a hot flame. Typically, it can be added to wood pellets and burned in a suitable pellet burner. In many cases, the heat produced will qualify under the governments Renewable Heat Incentive scheme with substantial financial rewards for committing to the reduction in use of fossil fuels. As the owner of my own alpaca herd, I instantly recognised the potential to the mid – large equestrian or alpaca operation. Like many others, I have a paddock cleaner, so I have a regular supply of manure. Like many other farms, I have plenty of other organic material that I have to dispose of, from kitchen waste to weeds from the vegetable patch and the muck from my hen-house. It can all go in. The smallest unit that Biotechnical Energy manufacture is the BeD200 which takes up to
22 | Summer 2015 | ALPACA WORLD MAGAZINE
200 Litres per day of organic waste and costs around ÂŁ18,400. So if I put in 200 Litres of waste, and achieve the sort of results that are typical for strawy manure, I could expect around 100kg of digestate. This output can go safely straight onto my fields, with the certainty of complete pasteurisation of pathogens and worms. Poo picked today, can be safely returned to the fields tomorrow. Alternatively, especially in the winter, that 100kg of biomass fuel will generate about 450kwh of heating, which would replace about 40 litres of heating oil. Biotechnical Energy also produce larger machines that can take up to 5 tonnes a day of organic waste, but these are aimed at larger scale operations such as hotels, supermarkets, food factories and similar. The smaller unit described above is aimed at mid -sized restaurants, or anybody who produces more than about two or three wheelie bins of food waste a week.
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ALPACA WORLD MAGAZINE | Summer 2015 | 23
HEATHER FIRBY
Textile graduate Heather Firby used British alpaca fleece for her final collection at Chelsea College of Art.
24 | Summer 2015 | ALPACA WORLD MAGAZINE
HEATHER FIRBY Heather spent four weeks spinning the yarn for the collection at Coldharbour Mill, a working wool museum in Devon, using 19th and 20th century industrial machinery. Colours were blended through the spinning process in order to achieve subtly varied colours in the yarn, and where possible colours found naturally in the wool were used. The knitwear collection also used naturally coloured alpaca yarn from UK alpaca, yarn sponsors for the project, who grade their yarn in Tiverton, Devon and source from alpaca farms across Britain. Heather has set up her company and website Woolly Minded Knitwear. She explains: "Woolly Minded presents complete traceability, illustrating the whole textile process from sheep to jumper. Growing up keeping Shetland sheep, I have always been immersed in the textile process, and I wanted to celebrate this interest in my final graduate collection. Our clothes are of increasing importance in our lives, yet the process of their production is often completely hidden from us and many of us
do not know how they were made or where they have come from. Every fibre for this collection was ethically sourced and each stage of the textile process has been recorded through photography and video, allowing us to reconnect with the whole journey of how our knitwear is produced. Â My inspiration comes from nature and the beautiful things that I notice when immersed in the outdoors. Growing up in Devon, the natural world has always been an important part of my life and, for me, is a way to reconnect with myself and with reality. In fast-paced and increasingly digital modern life, I think it is important to maintain this connection. My knitwear is strongly informed by the British countryside, with subtle illustrations of landscapes constructed through the knitting that when you look twice can be interpreted as lines of trees or muddy tracks on fields. Waste from different stages of the spinning process are also used in my knitting to connect my knitwear further with the spinning process."
"Woolly Minded presents complete traceability, illustrating the whole textile process from sheep to jumper�
ALPACA WORLD MAGAZINE | Summer 2015 | 25
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ALPACA WORLD MAGAZINE | Summer 2015 | 27
WHODUNIT
A glorious country setting, a hapless body in the library, a multitude of possible villains and an unlikely sleuth brandishes her knitting. Slowly and masterfully the red herrings are sifted from those characters with means, motive and opportunity. Clues rain down, and we try our best to identify the killer. The climax is reached at the ‘big reveal’ when we discover identity of the perpetrator – we find out whodunit.
By Sue Thomas, Lyme Alpacas Parasitology Services
W
hilst I have yet to hear of a sick or deceased alpaca in a library and am a hopeless knitter, the nature of parasitology is a little Marple-esque. All too often clues are submitted to my laboratory a little too late to turn the fortunes of a stricken beast, but gathered on a regular basis, clues can provide all the evidence required to keep parasites at bay. Of course alpacas can lose weight, become lethargic, unthrifty, lag behind the main herd, and sometimes die for many reasons other than parasite infestation. But if you suspect parasites in your herd, simple testing will allow you 28 | Summer 2015 | ALPACA WORLD MAGAZINE
to identify or rule out parasites as a first step in your investigation. Testing is inexpensive and yields fast results leading to decisive, appropriate treatment. I would urge all alpaca owners not to wait for clinical signs of disease before acquainting themselves with the potential killers on their pasture. Just as toe-nail clipping, winter vitamins and vaccinations are planned husbandry events, integrating twice yearly screening of some or all of your herd for parasites can prevent unnecessary suffering, improve alpaca welfare, improve fleece quality, reduce veterinary and medication costs.
WHODUNIT
Chorioptes mite
If you are selling alpacas, think of the positive impact for your client if you can provide a clear parasitology report prior to delivery. Our parasitic villains of the piece fall into two main camps. Some attack from the outside, feeding and dwelling on or in the skin, these are the ectoparasites, such as mites, fleas and ticks. Other invisible villains which feed and reproduce within the gut or organs of the body are known as endoparasites, such as worms, coccidia and fluke.
ECTOPARASITES Alpacas in the UK can be adversely affected by mites at any time of year. They are susceptible to several types of mite, the surface dwelling Psoroptes and Chorioptes species along with the deeper skin dwelling Sarcoptes and Demodex mites. In epidemiological research conducted in all counties of England, Chorioptes was the most prevalent ectoparasite identified in faecal samples and skin scrapes from alpacas. Skin wipes, scrapes and tests to detect mites can often yield negative results but the visible evidence on the skin of the alpacas, provide a clear clue to diagnosis. The skin between the digits, on the lower legs, axilla, ears, abdomen and base of tail can become crusty and inflamed. If you part the fleece you may see dry skin debris and flaking. The alpaca will show signs of itching and soreness, often losing weight as increasing hours are spent scratching rather than feeding. Nutritional status drops, the alpaca becomes stressed and the infestation can spiral. Owners often arrive at my lab with skin scrapes for testing having already injected their alpacas with ivermectin. This is ineffective in eradicating the surface dwelling Chorioptes sp. as this mite feeds too far from the skin's blood supply to receive a lethal dose of the drug. The
Demodex mite
injected ivermectin fails to deal with the mites but is also a ‘wormer’ which may not have been required. Frequent and under dosing of wormers encourages worm resistance, removing a vital tool for future treatment. When mites are suspected but skin scrapes fail to capture evidence of the parasite, it is useful to consider faecal testing. As the infested alpaca scratches and grooms to relieve itching, pieces of fibre along with the offending mites may be swallowed. These transit the gut along with regular feed and are often identified in a faecal test. One would almost certainly fail to identify Demodex mites with a regular skin scrape although I see this mite often in faecal testing. Demodex lives deep down in the hair follicles, causing intense itching and irritation to alpacas. It is easily identified, from its long cigar shape, in a faecal analysis. Identification is vital as only then can the appropriate medication can be provided, linked to organism life cycle and epidemiology.
If you are selling alpacas, think of the positive impact for your client if you can provide a clear parasitology report prior to delivery
ENDOPARASITES Worms, coccidia and fluke are all endoparasites that can cause illness and death of alpacas. A fully fleeced alpaca may look healthy and robust but be emaciated beneath the fluffy covering. As diarrhoea is not always a clinical sign of internal parasitism, other visible clues take on greater significance. Anaemia offers a clue to condition and a quick ‘on-farm’ diagnostic tool is the FAMACHA score- card. This is a simple colour card where you can match the colour of alpaca mucous membranes with the shades of red to white on a colour chart. If the mucous membranes of the eyes are white it suggests anaemia and possible presence of barbers pole worm, Haemonchus contortus, directing further testing. ALPACA WORLD MAGAZINE | Summer 2015 | 29
WHODUNIT
Hatching Nematodirus battus worm, with lashing tail, about to emerge from egg capsule
BENCHMARKING As part of ongoing research projects and improving husbandry techniques, I benchmark my own and many client herds each year. Benchmarking involves taking a faecal sample from every member of the herd and running a full screening analysis to identify all endoparasites present. A small herd of 36 alpacas was benchmarked in December 2014 and the chart of worm eggs counts is shown. A similar chart is created to indicate numbers (oocysts per gram) of Eimeria, the coccidiosis causing protozoan. The chart gives us a visual, a parasite snapshot at a moment in time. The general picture shows a low level of worm infestation in alpaca adults (blue) with the expected higher level of infestation in the juveniles (red). This picture will vary from season to season and at key times in the alpaca year such as at weaning. The snapshot allows us to see at a glance where the parasites are harboured, which adults should be observed / retested and which cria should be weighed more frequently, particularly at weaning, when stress and hence parasite vulnerability increases. Worm eggs such as Trichuris sp and Nematodirus sp. are readily identified by morphology, looking at overall shape and external measurements. Other eggs are more difficult to identify by visual analysis alone. To get a complete species breakdown, further tests are required. Faecal samples are incubated, eggs hatch and are grown on in order to identify the proportions of different worm species in the sample. This information is vital in deciding which anthelmintic to use. If you knew a killer was on the loose and his 30 | Summer 2015 | ALPACA WORLD MAGAZINE
Worms hatched and grown to infective stage for identification
WHODUNIT
Eimeria alpacae
modus operandi was poison, there would be little point sealing all the kitchen drawers to restrict the knives. The same is true with parasites, the treatment must be consistent with offending species – identification is key.
EIMERIA The same is true when analysing a sample for Eimeria. Juvenile alpacas with developing immune systems are particularly vulnerable to some Eimeria sp, developing diarrhoea, lethargy and fast weight loss. Adults may also be affected particularly if stocking densities are high. Eimeria sp. are species specific and can easily be identified by faecal analysis. I commonly see five species of Eimeria (E. macusaniensis, E. ivitaensis, E. punuoensis, E. alpacae, E. lamae) which infest alpacas. They cause internal damage as they reproduce in several stages, each time infiltrating the intestinal tract, causing inflammation, bleeding and the potential for secondary bacterial infection. Identification is vital as some species are not harmful and self limiting, encouraging adaptive immunity and conferring protection in later life. Others species and groups of species can be very harmful, causing unpleasant clinical signs and spread the evidence of their disease (oocysts) across the pasture to contaminate others in the herd. So when we look at the line-up of villains the key to correct treatment is positive identification. Alpaca parasites all leave their own calling card, the space they inhabit on the animal, the nature of inflammation and fleece loss, eggs of a particular shape, size and colour and infective worms determined by length, head shape, number of intestinal cells and tail sheath.
Eimeria macusaniensis
Recognising that a minority of your herd harbour a majority of the parasites, it makes sense to get to know your alpacas inside and out. Sampling as a facet of good husbandry goes hand in hand with pasture management, sensible stocking densities, body scoring and good nutrition. Keeping one step ahead of highly successful populations of parasites begins with the knowledge of what is actually present in your alpacas. • Sample • Identify • Target • Treat
Recognising that a minority of your herd harbour a majority of the parasites, it makes sense to get to know your alpacas inside and out
LYME ALPACAS PARASITOLOGY SERVICES The lab service offered by Lyme Alpacas is a simple, fast and effective resource for managing your herd. Regular sampling will highlight any villains to be eliminated before parasite populations’ cycle up causing clinical signs and illness. We offer 4 key services. • Analysis of skin swabs & scrapes for identification of mites • Faecal analysis for worms, coccidia and fluke • Herd benchmarking, test a minimum of 10% of your herd • Parasitology courses – An introduction to parasitology and analysis, enabling you to test your alpaca faecals on your own farm. Introductory course length – 1 day.
WHICH TESTS ARE USED? All faecal samples supplied to Lyme Alpacas Parasitology Services are analysed using the sensitive Modified Stolls procedure, to identify ALPACA WORLD MAGAZINE | Summer 2015 | 31
WHODUNIT
and quantify the species of worm and Eimeria present in the sample. If you suspect coccidiosis on your farm, tests will highlight, identify and quantify the species present. Liver fluke, another internal parasite of alpacas, is identified by an alternative sedimentation test, although sometimes fluke can be floated. Be cautious with fluke test results as the adults shed eggs intermittently, so a negative result doesn’t always mean that your alpaca is free from fluke. If in doubt, repeat the test after a few days.
HOW TO USE THE SERVICE 1. Prior to sending, please email me (sue.thomas@lymealpacas.co.uk) to confirm I am in the lab and not at University or on a field visit to another farm. I analyse all tests personally. 2. Collect a faecal sample from a named alpaca (tag no.). For full fluke, worm and coccidia analysis about 20g (20 adult size pellets) of faecal material is required. a. Please collect fresh pellets – not from the poo pile! 3. If the alpaca has diarrhoea, collect in a plastic jar or sealed bag – around 4 teaspoons full. 4. Seal the plastic bag and double wrap in a secondary plastic bag to avoid leaks. 5. Cover in kitchen roll (in case of leaks) and securely pack all samples in a box or Jiffy bag for 1st Class postage. 6. Go to my website http://www.lymealpacas. co.uk/parasite-screening/ to download the parasite screen packing form. Complete this form and include it with your samples. 7. How to post: 1st class to Sue Thomas, Lyme Alpacas, Ware Barn, Ware Lane, Lyme Regis, Devon DT7 3RH
TO GET THE BEST INFORMATION FROM TESTING Don’t put samples from different animals together, you must be sure which alpaca gave which sample. It is recommended that you benchmark at least 10% of your herd. If you have less than 10 alpacas, then test them all. If you are concerned about a particular alpaca because they have lost weight, are generally unthrifty or lagging behind the herd, then test that alpaca first. Young alpacas are more likely to have higher counts that older animals so choose weaned cria and alpaca up to two years of age to test as a priority. If you want to test a number of alpacas, try to collect their samples on the same day and post them as soon as possible. Whilst you can refrigerate a sample for a day or two, fresher samples yield more reliable results. If you are in any doubt, email for more information. 32 | Summer 2015 | ALPACA WORLD MAGAZINE
It is recommended that you benchmark at least 10% of your herd. If you have less than 10 alpacas, then test them all. PERFORM YOUR OWN ‘ON-FARM’ TESTING If you are interested in the incredible life cycles of the numerous alpaca parasites and want to know more, why not join me on a parasitology course. I will guide you through the science of basic parasites, making flotation solutions, microscope best practice, preparing the tests and identification of endoparasites so that you can test your own alpaca faecals, on your own farm. Fast results can open up immediate dialogue with your vet without having to rely and wait for others. Drop me an email at sue.thomas@ lymealpacas.co.uk for more information or contact me through the Lyme Alpacas website at www.lymealpacas.co.uk
Sue Thomas is a Biology and Ecology graduate, Biology teacher and for the past ten years, an alpaca farmer. Her passion for optimizing alpaca welfare through research into camelid parasites led her to an MSc in Veterinary Parasitology from the University of Bristol. Sue later carried out further PhD research at the Royal Veterinary College whilst conducting a UK wide epidemiological study of alpaca parasite distribution and interactions. Full information regarding parasite screening for alpacas may be found at the website www.lymealpacas.co.uk/parasite-screening
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ALPACA WORLD MAGAZINE | Summer 2015 | 33
THE TEENY TINY ALPACA
ONE OF THE GREAT JOYS OF RAISING ALPACAS IS WATCHING THOSE PLAYFUL BABIES PRONKING ACROSS THE PASTURE AND MARVELLING AT THE WONDERS OF NEW LIFE. OF COURSE, ONE OF THE TOUGHEST CHALLENGES IS CARING FOR A CRIA WHO IS FAILING TO THRIVE. THIS IS THE STORY OF CODY, THE LITTLE ALPACA WITH A STRONG SPIRIT. BY AMBER ISAAC, SILKEN SURI ALPACA RANCH.
THE TEENY TINY ALPACA
34 | Summer 2015 | ALPACA WORLD MAGAZINE
THE TEENY TINY ALPACA
ON
August 6th, 2014, I found myself facing that very situation. A pregnant female who had always produced healthy babies, suddenly dropped a tiny, six and a half pound baby girl. While crias can arrive in different sizes, in my years of raising alpacas, I had never seen one that small. Sadly, her prognosis seemed grim. While she was too weak to stand or walk, I happily discovered she was eager to accept a bottle. With some warmed goat’s colostrum in her belly, she began to show real signs of life. That said, she still wasn’t mobile. With her safety in mind, I moved her into a pen in the house. I named her Cody. Bottle-feeding a cria through the night isn’t easy, but can be especially rewarding when the baby is eager to eat. Little did I know that this was the first of many nights of two hour feedings with tiny Cody. The next day, the vet came out to meet her. I didn’t forewarn her of Cody’s tiny size and her reaction confirmed my misgivings about the baby. After a long silence, she said “Well… do what you can. She can’t go out with the herd though. She has to stay inside indefinitely.” So began a long, exhausting routine of feedings and cleaning. Cody had rampant, watery diarrhoea for the first couple weeks of her life. While she greedily guzzled her milk, she was constantly fighting dehydration. I began giving her a daily meal of pedialyte to try to balance her electrolytes, as well as various antibiotics and oral medicines. Even then, her energy varied widely.
MERCY DASH After spending her first two weeks fighting for her health, it became quite apparent that she was losing her battle. One afternoon, as she became increasingly lethargic, I scooped her into the car and raced her to the clinic. The vet prescribed a plasma transfer for the next day and shot her up with antibiotics for the night. He said that the antibiotics were racing the infection and we’d have to hope that the antibiotics won. She weighed in at just over 7lbs. Hours later, Cody was lying on my floor at home, almost lifeless. The infection seemed to be winning and I had to accept that I was going to lose my little girl. Sobbing, I said good-bye. An hour later, still clinging to life, she weakly
rolled on to her belly. Without opening her eyes, she pressed her little lips into the blanket and sucked twice. It had been over six hours since she’d last eaten. I jumped up and raced to the kitchen to warm up a bottle for her. When I returned, she was asleep on her stomach, with her neck stretched out full length along the floor. Reaching out in front of her, I slid the bottle along the floor to touch her lips. Without even waking up, she rapidly drained the milk. It was her first sign of life all evening. Reassured, I settled in to watch her for more encouragement. I was rewarded an hour later when she finally raised her head and showed her first weak signs of consciousness. The night was long, but encouraging, with her eating regularly and getting stronger by the hour.
THE NEXT DAY The next morning, we set out for the clinic. Cody was much stronger thanks to the shots she had gotten the day before. Once at the vet, getting ready for the transfer proved to be difficult, given Cody’s tiny veins. After failed attempts to tap veins in three legs, the vet had to insert the catheter in her neck. That said, everything looked good to boost her immunity. Cody stayed at the vet for most of the day so the transfusion could be done slowly and gently. I returned later that afternoon to bring her home. When I returned, the tech said that Cody had just been outside to go potty, she was already housetrained and wouldn’t poop in her crate, and was almost done with the transfusion. She said the vet would be right in and she disappeared into the back room of the clinic. Forty minutes later, the vet finally returned to the room. She informed me that while the tech was in talking with me, Cody had crashed. They watched her fall to the ground, open-mouth breathing. They had managed to revive her with steroids and oxygen, but she was still on shaky ground. It seemed like she talked forever, while I only wanted to get into the back room to see Cody for myself. When we finally went back, I saw her cushed on the table in the arms of the tech, who was holding an oxygen mask over her face. Once she’d stabilised, the vet released her to go home. I, however, refused to leave with her until I had seen her walk, eat and poop without dying. We stayed until closing.
I slid the bottle along the floor to touch her lips. Without even waking up, she rapidly drained the milk. It was her first sign of life all evening
ALPACA WORLD MAGAZINE | Summer 2015 | 35
THE TEENY TINY ALPACA
Cody, star of screen...
The good news was that the transfusion cured her diarrhoea! While I don’t think she’s actually produced a bean to this day, she improved from life-threatening water to real and actual poop.
THE PRETTIEST STAR Now, one would usually expect to see a “happily ever after” right about now, but that’s not the case with Cody. For a while, her life settled into a routine of bottle feedings every two to three hours around the clock. At six weeks old, we were able to start stretching out her night time feedings until she eventually slept through the night. Since she was now the size of a regular cria, she even spent a couple nights out in the barn. Cody also made the morning news as Colorado’s smallest known surviving alpaca. People in Colorado, across the country and soon around the world started following Cody’s progress on Facebook. She was becoming a little celebrity. As a bottle baby, Cody needed around the clock care. When I attended events or shows, Cody came with me. When I went to visit family, Cody came with me. When she was two months old, we attended an alpaca event near my family.
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We decided to make a family evening/overnight visit out of it. That evening, Cody discovered that the hardwood floors at my father’s house were not her friends. A prolonged clatter and loud crash when she wandered off the carpet resulted in yet another vet visit the next day. X-rays showed that her legs had slipped out from under her like Bambi on the ice. Her fall caused multiple fractures in her front, right “elbow”. Happily, Cody’s bones fractured, but didn’t shift out of place. After multiple discussions between two vets, two large animal surgeons and one small animal surgeon, it was decided that Cody was young enough and small enough to heal with the help of a splint to immobilise the fracture, rather than risking surgery.
FIRST STEPS Thus, began our new routine of travelling to the vet every week for x-rays and splint changes. Cody’s first experience with her splint resembled that of a spoiled child who was being punished for the first time in her life. Suddenly, it seemed ALL of her legs were broken and she couldn’t possibly use any of them to stand. Her only option was to lay in her own misery and sulk. Thankfully, Cody’s playful energy eventually won and she began to tentatively take steps in her new splint. Tentative steps soon gave way to hopping and then all-out three legged running. Her weekly x-rays showed the bones staying in place and healing. At the point that she was doing grand leaps, the vet declared her healed and was ready to remove the splint. Given her activity level, I was reluctant to leave her fragile little leg bare. The vet agreed to leave a “soft cast” on. Shortly after returning home, I realized the soft cast needed to come off. She wasn’t using her leg at all, which meant it couldn’t get stronger. I removed the rest of the cast that night. Luckily, Cody was smart about breaking in her “new” leg. Barely touching it to the ground at first, she gradually began using it again. Soon she was walking like a pro. Soon she was running like a speed demon.
...and print.
Tentative steps soon gave way to hopping and then all-out three legged running. Her weekly x-rays showed the bones staying in place and healing.
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ALPACA WORLD MAGAZINE | Summer 2015 | 37
THE TEENY TINY ALPACA A TWIST IN THE TALE Now, one would again expect to hear a “happily ever after” right about now. Sadly, that’s just not how Cody rolls… Things settled down for a while. Cody enjoyed the holidays with the family, with added carpeting to prevent further crashes, and rang in the new year, healthy and happy. Shortly after the new year, I began preparing for a livestock show in Denver. Up until then, Cody had attended all shows and events with me. This show, however, included all livestock from horses and cattle to llamas and some alpacas. I knew the people who ran the show wouldn’t allow Cody to come and go as we had before. We had to make alternative plans. I found day care for Cody for that weekend at a ranch up the road. While she was anxious in a new place, I knew I’d be bringing her home every evening. She got through the first day unscathed. Halfway through the second day, however, my phone rang. I answered to find out that my little darling had leaped out of her caregiver’s arms and broken her leg… the same leg… again. The next day found us back at the vet. This time, the bone had moved and expensive surgery was unavoidable. I broke the news to Cody’s fans on Facebook. They sent multiple messages telling me to start a crowd-funding page so they could all contribute. By the end of the campaign, they paid for over half of Cody’s surgery! Cody owes a lot to
her loyal followers. I’m not sure who had a rougher time with the surgery. I was a wreck the night before, and couldn’t relax the entire day she was away. She did well, but was quite dopey for the next couple days. Surprisingly, Cody came home with a fat bandage covering the incision, rather than a cast. The surgeon decided she would heal better if the joint had some give, rather than being immobilised and hyper-extended.
UP AND ABOUT As the drugs left her system over the next few days, Cody slowly became more alert. The spring returned to her step and it became harder and harder to keep her happy on bed rest. Way too soon, she was sprinting down the driveway during her daily outside time. In fact, I got scolded about her activity level when the surgeon spotted her outdoor video on her Facebook page. In the end, the surgery was a success. Cody’s leg healed strong and sure. Her sweet nature continues to win the hearts of everyone she meets. While she still enjoys her bottle, she’s eating more hay and has even learned to drink out of a bucket. She has a children’s book due out this summer and thousands of followers on Facebook and Instagram. Through it all, she remains humble and gentle… a survivor who understands that she’s earned her life and the love she receives. I know she’s enriched my life, more than I could have ever predicted.
By the end of the campaign, Cody's fans on Facebook had paid for over half of the surgery! Cody owes a lot to her loyal followers.
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MANGE IN ALPACAS
New approaches to the management of mange By Lauren Ellse & Richard Wall
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MANGE IN ALPACAS
MANGE IS ONE of the most difficult to control parasitic conditions in alpacas, causing welfare issues for the animals and economic loss for their owners. The condition is widespread and a large proportion of UK herds suffer from some type of mange each year (Lusat et al., 2009). The severe irritation and stress some alpacas experience with mite infestations are caused by an immune hypersensitivity reaction which leads to alopecia, dermal scaling and crusting as well as skin and fleece damage caused by animal rubbing and scratching. In chronic cases a wrinkling and thickening of the skin may occur (Figure 1). The mange appears to occur year round, with many owners suggesting that they see it more often in summer (Figure 2), although this may be because it is more visible after shearing. In other cases it appears to be more common in winter and early spring, when animals may be housed and in poorer body condition. The precise pattern may depend on the specific conditions and seasonal husbandry in each herd. Even at times when animals appear to recover from mange it may then reappear a few months later, because the mites have not disappeared completely. Small populations have remained hidden away in protected locations such as wrinkles in the skin or the ears, only to re-emerge some months later. This apparent regression of the infestation is important because during this period asymptomatic animals may in reality carry small populations of mites and thus act as carriers. These carriers may then be introduced to other flocks and subsequently initiate outbreaks.
USUAL SUSPECTS Three types of mite are primarily responsible for mange problems in alpaca: Chorioptes, Sarcoptes, and Psoroptes. All life-cycle stages are found permanently on the host and transmission is primarily through physical contact between infested individuals and also from mother to offspring at suckling. Hence, periods of handling or housing, when animals are crowded together, are key points in promoting the spread of mites. Transmission may also occur via the environment, if the environmental conditions are suitable, mites can survive for up to three weeks in animal bedding, housing and contaminated equipment. Therefore, this off-host survival period should be considered when trying to control the mites, since it determines the time in which potentially infected areas on the farm must be kept clear, to ensure that treated animals do not become re-infested. Mange is a very difficult condition to control. The macrocyclic lactones (e.g. ivermectin) are the most widely used therapeutic choice however, these products are not licenced for use in camelids and the choice of dose requires considerable care. Selection of a dose appropriate for a sheep may result in significant under-dosing and ongoing infection. In addition, the relatively short period of residual activity of some of these compounds, means that animals must be moved to clean housing following initial treatment which can present major difficulties for many owners. In addition, most treatments do not moisturise or relieve the irritated skin associated with clinical presentations of mange, therefore emollient
Periods of handling or housing, when animals are crowded together, are key points in promoting the spread of mites
Figure 1 (left): An alpaca with severe mange, showing alopecia and crusting Figure 2 (above): The proportion of mange cases reported each month between January and December 2007 for alpaca herds in the UK. Brackets represent Âą95% exact binomial confidence intervals (Lusat et al., 2009).
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MANGE IN ALPACAS
cream application is often required in parallel or after treatment to repair the skin. Dosing a single infected animal with a macrocyclic lactone and then returning it to the herd is unlikely to give clearance of the condition.
RESISTANCE Over time, persistent under-dosing of herds is likely to hasten the onset of parasite resistance, both in mites and the parasitic worms that will be unintentionally exposed to the drug and the development of drug resistance will progressively undermine the use of conventional acaricides. In addition, restrictions on the use of some insecticides such as amitraz, organophosphates and pyrethroids, on environmental and safety grounds, has led to increased interest in the development of alternative approaches to ectoparasite management. The use of essential oils and their extracts is one such area of interest as many have shown a high level of biological activity against a range of parasite species including mites (Ellse et al., 2013). Essential oils are blends of approximately 2080 different plant metabolites which are usually extracted by condensing steam which has been passed through plant material. These metabolites are volatile molecules of low molecular weight. Essential oils usually contain two or three major terpene or terpenoid components, which constitute up to 30% of the oil. The insecticidal/acaricidal efficacy is often attributed to the oil’s major component(s). The mode of action of many essential oils or components is largely unknown although there is evidence of a toxic effect on the parasite nervous system. For example terpinen4-ol, a monoterpenoid found at high concentration in tea tree oil, inhibits
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The mode of action of many essential oils or components is largely unknown although there is evidence of a toxic effect on the parasite nervous system. arthropod acetylcholinesterase, an enzyme essential for transmission of action potentials. Alternatively, the hydrophobic nature of the oils may simultaneously exert mechanical effects on the parasite such as disruption of their cuticular waxes and blocking their ability to respire leading to death by water stress or suffocation. Recent studies have demonstrated that many essential oils may be used to help control ectoparasites such as lice and mites. Toxicity has been shown following immersion and physical contact with treated surfaces, but also after exposure to the vapour of these oils. Work carried out at the University of Bristol has demonstrated that application of an extract of an essential oil completely cleared mange (sheep scab) caused by the mite, Psoroptes ovis, in seven of eight sheep after a single application, while significantly lowering the mite burden in the eighth animal. Laboratory contact assays using
sheep scab mites also indicated high acaricidal activity and that the efficacy was maintained for up to 96 hours. However, getting the concentration and formulation right is important; many products on the market that contain very low concentrations of essential oil, or have the oil in an inappropriate formulation, are unlikely to have any effect.
POSITIVE TESTS Following on from previous work, in a study carried out this year in the south west of England, five alpaca farms with a history of mite infestation were asked to apply a cream containing essential oil extract to crusty lesions as part of their usual management routine. Photographs and a questionnaire were used to gauge the efficacy of the application. There was an overwhelmingly positive response, with visible improvement in many animals, such as scab/scale removal, softening of the skin and hair regrowth. The effect was so marked that most of the participants in the study have asked for a resupply of the cream and the product has now been made available commercially as ‘Alpaca Scab Dab’ (www. agrientlimited.com). It is not a veterinary medicine but an effective emollient which helps thickened, scaled skin to recover and represents a real alternative to this persistent problem. REFERENCES Ellse, L. & Wall, R. (2013) The use of essential oils in veterinary ectoparasite control: a review. Medical & Veterinary Entomology, 28, 233-243. Lusat, J.,Morgan, E.R. & Wall, R. (2009) Mange in alpaca, llama and goats in the UK: incidence and risk Veterinary Parasitology, 163, 179-184
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ALPACA WORLD MAGAZINE | Summer 2015 | 43
WOLSTORM
A VISIT TO
WOLSTORM THE SUSTAINABLE ALPACA FARM IN THE NETHERLANDS
by Jacqueline Weers When Margriet Moed and Erica Krikken first set eyes on an alpaca, they were smitten. Starting out with a small group of animals grazing in the pasture behind Margriet’s house, they now own a large herd that supplies the wool for the first eco-friendly Alpaca-wool mill in the Netherlands.
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WOLSTORM
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WOLSTORM
The welcomimg committee check out the new visitor
O
n a bright April morning, I drive along a deserted country road in the direction of Westerlee, a tiny village in the northern tip of the Dutch province Groningen. Apart from the occasional farmhouse, there is nothing but endless meadows as far as the eye can see. An iron gate with the sign 'Wolstorm’, shows me that I’ve arrived at my destination. Stepping out of my car, I am immediately surrounded by three frantically enthusiastic dogs that trail behind me as I look for the entrance to the wool mill. The first door of the building to my left opens on to a narrow hallway, which gives access to a huge open space with all kinds of impressive machinery. A woman emerges from behind one of the machines. She shakes my hand warmly and introduces herself as Margriet, one of the two owners of Wolstorm. We sit down for tea in a small showroom next to the mill, where strands of Alpaca wool in various natural colours are neatly stacked on wooden shelves. I also see socks, blankets and a collection of alpaca-wool lined muffs. I run my hands over the wool, amazed at its softness. A moment later Erica, the second half of the Wolstorm duo, enters the room. They don’t need much prompting to start a lively recount of the history of their enterprise. It quickly becomes evident that Wolstorm is much more than just a business for Erica and Margriet. These two women are driven by their undeniable passion for the alpaca. 46 | Summer 2015 | ALPACA WORLD MAGAZINE
ONE LOOK AND YOU’RE HOOKED It all started out as a hobby. After recovering from a serious illness, Margriet wanted to do something completely different with her life. A couple of animals in the backyard seemed like a good place to start, but what kind of animals? After considering horses and ostriches, Margriet saw a documentary about alpacas on television and became so curious about the animals that she decided to travel to Belgium and Switzerland to visit local alpaca farms. "Well, I learned the hard way that it’s dangerous to go and take a look," she explains. “Because once you see them for real, you’re hooked.” Margriet went home in the company of her first three alpacas, who received a spot in the pasture beside the farmhouse. But her quest was far from over. Margriet wanted to know more about her new protégés and ended up visiting various alpaca farms in Russia and later even travelled to Chile. There, in the highlands of the Andes, Margriet bought her first herd of sixteen alpacas, which were transported by air to their new dwellings in the juicy meadows of the Dutch landscape. Margriet also owes her encounter with business partner Erica to her alpacas. Erica's husband delivered the concrete for the new barn and told his wife about "Those cute little lamas in the pasture behind the Krikken farm." After she dropped by to see the animals for herself, she
It quickly becomes evident that Wolstorm is much more than just a business for Erica and Margriet. These two women are driven by their undeniable passion for the alpaca.
WOLSTORM instantly fell in love with the gentle, long necked fluff balls. That was the birth of a joint enterprise between the two alpaca-loving ladies.
LET’S DO SOMETHING WITH THE WOOL Their alpaca herd thrived, but Margriet and Erica felt they wanted to do something more than just breed and show off their alpacas during alpaca fairs. And it seemed like such a waste to discard all the wool left behind from the annual shearing rounds. In 2012, they got serious about the idea to ‘do something with the wool’. Trips to the United States and Canada soon followed, where they witnessed the ins and outs of alpaca wool spinning. They had to travel overseas to get their information, as the entire wool spinning industry has disappeared from the Netherlands. During the sixties, all the wool industry moved to the low-income countries and there are currently no Dutch wool mills left. After visiting various wool mills throughout the USA and England, they finally found machines that were small enough to fit into Margriet’s barn. A huge investment and yet, they still had no idea how to use their brand new machinery. So they had an expert from Canada fly over, who taught them the ropes of alpaca wool spinning during a six-week crash course.
ANIMALS FIRST For the Wolstorm duo, it’s paramount that their animals have a high quality of life, so they chose to follow the natural rhythm of the animals as closely as possible. Margriet: "Our herd is kept in a huge barn, which has an open connection to the outdoors area. The animals can venture outside whenever they choose. During the mating season, we allow one stallion at a time to join the females. If they feel like mating, that’s great and if nothing happens, that’s also fine with us. We leave it up to them. Outside of the mating season, the colts live in a separate pasture next to the herd, well protected by Quincy, our Lama. "Soon, the cria will be born which is always an exciting moment.” Erica adds. "We let the cria wean naturally. After about six months, the mother produces less and less milk and at a certain point, the cria will stop asking for it. It’s much better for the animals that way. " The floor of the barn is cleared out only twice a year. The manure is left to dry on the floor and covered with a new layer of straw on a regular basis. Two times a year, the thick plaque is scraped off the floor, after which the entire procedure is repeated. Margriet: “The layer of manure and straw produces an excellent insulation for the young alpacas. And It’s much
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WOLSTORM
Fleece from the picker
Carding the wool
“If you buy your products locally, at least you can be assured that no poison chemicals were used or that they were made with child labour. "
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more eco-friendly, as we only have to clean the floor every six months.” Wolstorm selects some of their registered alpacas as breeding stock to other alpaca owners, usually breeders who want to add a new bloodline to their herd or novice breeders. The males that are not suitable for breeding are usually castrated. The castrated males were available for petting zoos and hobby farmers and sent to their new owners in groups of at least three, true to their herd nature. Currently Margriet and Erica no longer give their castrated males to third parties, as they have decided to hold on to all the animals for their wool.
natural wool paint in various colours that we are currently experimenting with. At the moment we sell mostly comforters and pillows, but in the near future we are planning to expand our product range. You could think of sweaters, jackets and wool blankets. " Margriet: "We are convinced that there is a growing market for honest, eco-friendly and local products. People realize that you do not have to import your products from halfway around the world and there is an increasing environmental awareness. If you buy your products locally, at least you can be assured that no poison chemicals were used or that they were made with child labour. "
FROM FLEECE TO THE FINEST YARN
A FLUFFY LOT
They carefully shear their herd, which takes them about 45 minutes per animal. After the shearing process, the fleece is skirted by hand, washed in a tumbler and then entered into a picker machine, which blows the fleece to a fluffy mass. After the picking process, the wool is carded and combed on a draw-frame that pulls all the fibres into the same direction. The carded wool is then transferred onto a huge, multi coiled spinning machine and ultimately twined into cones. Erica explains: "Until recently, we only had the natural tones off-white, gray and brown. We wanted to add more colours to our palette, but it had to be an eco-friendly, non-chemical dye. After a long search, we have found a beautiful
I'm quite eager to finally see the alpacas and I can’t help but ask: “Could we … please visit the alpacas now?” Margriet and Erica break out in laughter; it’s obviously not the first time a visitor makes this request. We walk to the back of the barn, enter through a gate and there they are; a huge flock of white, brown and greyish creatures, incredibly endearing to an alpaca novice like myself. They cautiously approach us, occasionally emitting a sound that makes my heart melt. A moment later, I’m surrounded by brown eyes and soft nuzzles. "My first encounter was exactly the same," laughs Erica. "Love at first sight!” Behind us, a small herd of males hide behind a large llama that parades back and forth, eyeing me
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WOLSTORM BIG PLANS FOR THE FUTURE
Erica and Quincy the lama
disapprovingly. Erica introduces him as Quincy, the official guardian of their boys. “At first he did not like me at all, but now we are good friends. But do not come near his alpacas. He protects them fiercely. A llama can become quite aggressive, so no one will dare to come near them.” I decide to make an effort to get acquainted with Quincy. At first he sniffles my bag, then starts pulling at the leather strings attached to it. I pat him on the head gently, while he explores my coat and hair. Then he places his huge head on my shoulder. "You passed the test!" says Erica. As the highlight of the day, I am allowed to witness how the alpacas are released into the huge pasture, which lies right next to the barn. As soon as Margriet opens the fence, the entire herd bolts for the grassy plains in a long procession, descending upon the juicy grass and countless dandelions.
The word about the Dutch wool mill has already spread and Wolstorm is receiving requests for information from all over the world. “People calling at all hours of the day asking us if we can spin their wool for them or give them courses”, says Margriet. But we’re careful. We only want to handle organically produced wool. If you have a great batch of natural wool, but it has subsequently been processed with chemicals in China, can you still assume that you have an organic product? We want to keep control over these things.” Currently, Wolstorm sells a lot of wool to local artists and several designers. Erica adds: "We want to start out with daily guided tours of the farm, the wool mill and our farm shop and ultimately also focus on the overseas market. We are still in the process of establishing our business plans and many things have yet to take shape. But the beginning is already there. Erica shows me a separate space next to the spinning machine, where an information room with rows of seats and a beamer is in the making. It is time to say goodbye. To the alpacas and to Margriet and Erica, who run their business with so much dedication and love for their animals. As I drive through the gate, I pass the herd, which is nibbling peacefully on the fresh spring grass, while the sun shines on their woolly backs. What a great alpaca life!
As soon as Margriet opens the fence, the entire herd bolts for the grassy plains in a long procession, descending upon the juicy grass and countless dandelions.
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Wolstorm is an eco-friendly wool mill in the Netherlands. Contact: Hoofdweg 33 9678 PE Westerlee/the Netherlands 00-31-(0)6-50122091 email: info@wolstorm.com
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HEALTH CONFERENCE
The South African Alpaca Breeders’ Society held its first Alpaca Health Conference on 17 and 18 June 2015 at the Drakenstein Veterinary Clinic, Winelands, in Western Cape. Alison Notley of Helderstroom Alpacas reports.
IN GOOD HEALTH
M
embers of the South African Alpaca Breeders’ Society were excited to be able to bring to Cape Town Professor Christopher Cebra from Oregon State University to talk at our ‘milestone’ conference – the first in South Africa on alpaca health. Forty-five delegates attended the SAABS Alpaca Health Conference which was held on 17th and 18th June at the Drakenstein Veterinary Clinic a purpose built facility providing unparalleled veterinary care in the Western Cape predominantly for horses but also for livestock and small animals. The growing alpaca industry in South Africa is already placing an emphasis on fibre and the finished products. This typically includes exclusive knitted fashion-wear, woven products, top end felting as well as luxury alpaca fibre-filled duvets. The society is becoming more cohesive and structured and the time seemed right to proceed in the direction of alpaca health education which was the focus of this two day conference.
NATURAL ENTHUSIASM Professor Chris Cebra has been working with camelids for over twenty years having started as an intern on the East Coast of the United States and working his way steadily westward. He has written and co-authored over 70 scientific camelid research projects and attends and presents at conferences worldwide. Professor Cebra is currently Chair of the Department of Clinical Sciences at the Oregon State University College of Veterinary Medicine. Attendees included alpaca owner-breeders, animal health technicians, pharmaceutical company representatives, as well as eighteen veterinarians drawn from around the provinces. Despite a somewhat chilly conference room – it is winter in the Cape in June – Professor Cebra’s natural enthusiasm quickly fired-up his audience which led to a very relaxed atmosphere in the meeting. Topics under the spotlight included neonatal health care including a video of a birthing sequence – useful for new breeders as well as 54 | Summer 2015 | ALPACA WORLD MAGAZINE
Professor Cebra demonstrates on an alpaca
the pharmaceutical representatives. Diseases specific to South Africa were also discussed, and here Professor Cebra was assisted by Professor Montague Saulez a South African specialist in equine internal medicine and who also has extensive knowledge of camelids. A recent suspected case of West Nile Fever in the Western Cape as well as the 2010 outbreak of Rift Valley Fever were both discussed and much emphasis was laid on parasitic problems, their symptoms and effect on alpacas. Because of the diversity of climatic and geographical conditions in South Africa there is no one feedstuff which is specifically directed toward camelids and it was interesting here to discuss nutrition in some depth, the nutrients required by alpacas, minerals needed for healthy alpacas and what safe supplement to include in the feed. Montague, Christopher, Pepper and Alison
The presentation on bloodwork was of immense value most specifically to the veterinarians who, undoubtedly, would have liked more time for this paper as was the case for both practical sessions where ultrasound was demonstrated, its value to diagnostic imaging discussed and its use for pregnancy scanning.
CALL FOR MORE A fairly wide spectrum of alpaca and camelid related issues was covered in this two day programme, with the intention of narrowing down the topics and becoming more focussed in future workshops and seminars. To this end delegates were invited to evaluate the event and put forward suggestions for the future. Conclusions? That, in the main, delegates would like to see longer presentations and definitely more practical hands-on sessions. Christopher Cebra’s delightful wife Margaret and three children flew in to Cape Town two days after he did and had slept off their jet-lag by the end of the conference when several Society members enjoyed supper in Franchhoek, centre of the Winelands, with the Chris and his family, Montague Saulez and his wife and Ian Heyns, senior veterinarian at Drakenstein Veterinary Clinic. Local sponsorship saw enough cash raised to pay for Professor Cebra’s very long flight from Portland, Oregon, to Cape Town via Amsterdam while other forms of sponsorship included copies of Alpaca World Magazine which we dropped into delegates’ bags.
HEALTH CONFERENCE
Professor Chris Cebra delivered a whole series of papers at the conference. Here are two of them, on gastrointestinal dirorders and nutrition.
Gastro-intestinal disorders and the digestive tract of ruminants S
everal surveys have indicated that digestive disorders are the most common causes of illness and death in New World camelids. In spite of this, there is relatively little scientific information concerning these disorders, and popular discussion has focused on certain ones, such as gastric ulcers, clostridial infections (and Johne’s disease), to a degree disproportionate to their importance. In recent years, we have tried to publicize some of the more important (though often neglected) disorders, including tooth root abscesses, grain overload, gastrointestinal obstructions, and infectious and parasitic diseases of the abdomen. Unlike ulcers and clostridial disease, some of these other disorders have real treatment and survival possibilities, which count of course on correct and early identification of the disorder. Signs of digestive disease include: facial masses, malaligned teeth, dropping feed from the mouth, salivation, regurgitation, gurgling sounds from the throat or abdomen, a fluid wave in the neck, weight loss, weakness, obtundation, a staggering gait, retroflexion of the head over the back, dehydration, high or low body temperature, high or low heart rate, high or low respiratory rate, laboured breathing, congested mucous membranes, sudden death, lack of abdominal fill, abdominal distention, colic, straining, fresh blood in the stool, tarry stool, lack of defecation, and diarrhoea. Some of these signs arise early in the course of the disease, others late. Some are relatively specific to certain disorders or at least gastrointestinal disorders. Others are general findings common to many diseases of different organ systems. Finding any one of the signs warrants further investigation, possibly including a more thorough physical examination, laboratory tests, and other diagnostic modalities. In some cases, the sign is obvious. In others, it requires careful examination. Observation of the animal and frequent monitoring as discussed above are the best ways to detect problems early.
COMMON PROBLEMS The most common DIGESTIVE PROBLEMS OF THE HEAD are tooth root abscesses and malocclusion. Tooth root abscesses (impacted teeth) are infections around the base of the tooth and are most common on the cheek teeth of the upper jaw. Hard lumps and occasional drainage
are the most common signs. Antibiotic treatment or surgical removal of the infected tooth may lead to resolution of signs. Malocclusion usually relates to how the incisor teeth (lower jaw) interact with the dental pad (upper jaw). Alpacas especially have problems with incisors that are aimed more forward than up. In some cases, a too-short upper jaw is at fault. Malocclusion may affect the animal’s ability to eat, especially on pasture, and is usually treated by corrective trimming. The most common DIGESTIVE PROBLEMS OF THE NECK are choke and megaesophagus. Megaesophagus is a result of ineffective muscular contractions of the esophagus, and is especially important in camelids because of their upright neck and the need to regurgitate cud back up the esophagus. Common clinical signs include salivation, weight loss, abnormal cud spilling, and a fluid wave in the neck. Choke, or esophageal obstruction, causes the same signs and is often the result of megaesophagus. In other cases, a dental abnormality, greedy chewing, inflammation of the esophagus (from Rhododendron family plants), or especially fibrous feedstuffs can lead to choke. Choke is usually relieved by passing a stomach tube. Megaesophagus may be managed by a careful feeding protocol – pellets fed from a height is my preference. The most common GASTRIC DISORDERS are Grain Overload in the first compartment and Ulcers in the third compartment. Grain overload is the result of over-ingestion of carbohydraterich feeds (grains or fruits). We believe that camelids are relatively susceptible, as they evolved in environments where nutrients were scarce. Accidental overfeeding, animals escaping into the grain store or orchard, and bullying by certain animals in a group are the greatest risk factors.
Signs start as weakness with obtundation,. anorexia, and a staggering gait, and progress to recumbency with the head flopping over the back. Multiple camelids may be affected. Medical treatment with oral and possibly intravenous alkalinizing fluids is usually successful. Ulcers are still a bit of a mystery. They appear to be the result of stressful situations and possibly high-energy feeds (including copious lush pasture). These may slow emptying of the stomach into the intestine and hence promote gastric acid retention. Signs are often very subtle and treatment is controversial. The third compartment is also the site of infestation by STOMACH WORMS. These are mainly the same worms that affect sheep and cattle, and hence can be shared between these species. Loss of blood, protein, and weight lead to an unthrifty animal, and diagnosis is made by faecal examination. Treatment is through deworming medication and possibly some pasture management. Resistance to some common dewormers including ivermectin is becoming a problem. Worms can also affect the intestine, as can PROTOZOAL PARASITES. The most commonly reported protozoal parasite is Eimeria spp. or Coccidia. This mainly affects juveniles between about 1 and 18 months of age, but can affect older camelids that have poor immune function or are confronted with a large parasite load (overcrowding). Multiple camelids may be affected. Cryptosporidium can be an important parasite of young crias, and in some areas Giardia is common. The protozoal pathogens cause loss of protein and weight, and frequently also cause diarrhoea. They are diagnosed by faecal examination and treated with appropriate medications and pasture management. The most common VIRAL INFECTIONS of camelids at our practice also affect the intestine. Coronavirus, and to a lesser extent Rotavirus, damage the intestinal lining and cause diarrhoea. Dehydration, anorexia, and obtundation may be present in severely affected camelids. Younger camelids are affected most frequently, but Coronavirus at least also affects adults. Outbreaks are common. Diagnosis is by faecal examination by electron microscopy, which should be available at the local veterinary diagnostic laboratory. Treatment consists chiefly of supportive care ALPACA WORLD MAGAZINE | Summer 2015 | 55
HEALTH CONFERENCE with fluids, and possibly antibiotics to prevent secondary bacterial infections. BACTERIAL INFECTIONS of the intestine appear to be less common in camelids in our practice than in other large animal species. Salmonella infections occur sporadically, as do a variety of other bacterial including E. coli, Actinobacillus, and Clostridium. Unfortunately, many of these infections are highly invasive and lead to a rapid demise of the animal. In some cases, we believe the bacteria invade existent lesions, possibly originally created by viruses. Diarrhoea is a less consistent finding than signs of sepsis: congested mucous membranes, high heart rate, anorexia, and obtundation. Diagnosis is by clinical signs and blood work. Treatment is a course of antibiotics and usually anti-inflammatory drugs. OTHER INFECTIONS IN THE
ABDOMEN can affect the gastrointestinal tract. Ruptured ulcers are one uncorrectable source. Streptococcus zooepidemicus is another infection that frequently inflames the lining of the abdomen. Affected camelids usually have a fever and a history of exposure to horses. Diagnosis is by cultures of blood or abdominal fluid, and treatment consists chiefly of antibiotics and supportive care. INTESTINAL TWISTS AND OBSTRUCTIONS are relatively rare, but are certainly seen at any large camelid practice. The list of possible lesions is long. As a few general rules, blockages near the end of the stomach cause mild pain signs, but also cause abdominal distention, dehydration, obtundation, and anorexia. Blockages further down the intestine cause more violent pain signs, and
possibly straining. Because “gas colics” are rare in camelids, any camelid showing signs of abdominal pain should be examined by a veterinarian. A variety of diagnostic options are available, with treatments depending on the identified lesion. The above list is not comprehensive, but should address the majority of the digestive ailments. Some items are common, others are more sporadic. Some can be avoided or managed. Regardless, early and correct identification offers the best treatment success, and as the owner or farm manager is the one in most frequent contact and most intimately aware of the individual camelid’s habits, it often falls to that person NOT to make a diagnosis, but to recognize that an abnormality exists, and thereby initiate the process to seek a diagnosis and a cure.
Alpaca Nutrition: GETTING THE BALANCE RIGHT Old and New World Camelids have shown remarkable abilities to survive in some of the harshest environments on Earth and to endure almost inconceivable feed and water deprivation. These have led to the mistaken conclusion that camelids can survive on almost nothing. In fact, they excel at seeking out the best quality nutrition in an otherwise poor environment and also have a number of key features that allow them to endure periods of privation, as long as they are adequately prepared going in and have the means to recover coming out. Superficially, camelids have many similarities to cattle, including that they are forestomach fermenting, rechewing herbivores. Their forestomach behaves similarly to the rumen and is populated with similar microbes. The basic fermentative products are also the same. They are more efficient water absorbers than cattle, and behave in that way more like sheep and goats. The extensive spiral colon plays a key role in this and dry faecal pellets are the result. They are also browsers, especially alpacas. They have certain key differences from ruminants. The stomachs are differently formed and have a different lining. They tend to keep solid feeds in their stomach longer, whereas fluid flows through more quickly. They generally eat less. This combination of eating less and keeping feed in their stomach longer allows camelids to extract more nutrients than ruminants on the same feed, but it also means that camelids are required to obtain their requirements from a smaller quantity of feed. Thus, the quality of what they eat becomes important. In South America, they live under cool, dry conditions for much of the year, with a brief wet season. The wet season coincides when crias are born and allows the greatest grazing potential. The rest of the year, the grazing environment is poor, but in moister microclimates, good quality feed may be found. In North America, some animals are heavily pastured whereas others are mainly fed hay. They also often receive expensive mineral and vitamin supplements. North American camelids tend to be larger than the average in South America, and also tend to have higher body condition scores. Whether this is healthy or not is a matter of debate.
WHAT TO FEED? New owners, especially those without previous livestock experience, often are at a loss what to feed. They know a variety of forages at supplements exist, but don’t know what their advantages and disadvantages are.
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Camelids are notoriously fickle eaters and drinkers; their ability to fast seems to give them the right to refuse spoiled feed and stagnant water. They drink less than cattle, with an increase with lactation. Hay and pasture can vary immensely in quality. While they can survive temporarily on poor quality forage, they risk filling their stomach without being able to extract enough nutrition. Camelids require 63-85% of the energy of sheep of the same size, but eat only 50-70% as much forage. The amount they require is increased by growth, lactation, pregnancy, exercise, and various stressors. Protein requirement increases as well. Gastric capacity does increase somewhat, but generally, the forage needs to contain more potential energy. Legumes, high quality grass, cereal grains or other supplements can be used to meet the needs. If exercise is the major stressor, increasing the dietary protein is not always necessary. To know if caloric needs are being met, weight, growth, and/ or body condition should be checked at least monthly in males and non-breeding females, and up to every 2 weeks in breeding, lactating, or growing camelids. Camelids require slightly less protein than comparable sheep, but again, they must reach that on less feed, so the protein content must be higher. Eight to 10% protein feed is only suitable for camelids with only basal demands. With pregnancy, lactation, or growth, feeds of 12% to 16% may be necessary. Supplements are used to make up the deficiencies in forage. In Oregon, selenium and vitamin D are the most common supplements. Other mixes may be necessary in different areas.
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EMAIL: lulu@lusialpacas.co.uk ALPACA WORLD MAGAZINE | Summer 2015 | 57
FOWBERRY ALPACAS
ALPACAS... THERE AND BACK AGAIN 58 | Summer 2015 | ALPACA WORLD MAGAZINE
FOWBERRY ALPACAS
“It is interesting where life takes you. Little did, husband, Graham and I know that meeting alpacas in the Highlands of Scotland would change our lives forever.” Jenny MacHarg, of Fowberry Alpacas, writes.
W
e were visiting family when we heard that a friend had been left a herd of alpacas in someone’s will. We loved them at first sight and considered swopping our wild young thoroughbred horses for some even wilder alpacas. Graham received a quote for three alpaca females with three female cria at foot and commented that he could buy 10,000 sheep for that price! Eventually we made a poor judgement, bought our first alpacas, one of which was aberrant and put Graham in hospital for a week. We didn’t intend for alpacas to take over our lives, but once
we owned them and they had employed their battery of enchantments, they had us hooked. We then felt that having secured the herdsire who made our business what it is today, it would be wrong not to continue enthusiastically. Graham had been offered a choice of two males by Matthew Lloyd at EP Cambridge. Tim Hey was able to check out both in Australia and our preferred choice, EPC Top Account (white) was the outcome. Thirteen years later and we run alpacas on 50 acres of our farm, but only as many as we can remember individual faces - names, sires, dams, siblings, aunties and uncles, without
the use of ear-tags. At the moment that is 68 alpacas with 15 cria arriving this summer. In ten years time as we deplete our brain cells, we may be down to five. It would be difficult to say exactly what we most enjoy about alpacas. For Graham, perhaps ‘everything’, sums it up, including their inquisitive nature, their intelligence, but most of all the trust that they have in us to ensure that they are properly cared for. I enjoy the babies arriving, although Graham says I am far too hard on them, because I only rate two or three a year. I also have a teaching qualification from the British Horse ALPACA WORLD MAGAZINE | Summer 2015 | 59
FOWBERRY ALPACAS
We are determined to offer the kind of information which wasn’t available to us when we were making the decision to buy alpacas Society, so I do enjoy the training at the different alpaca courses we run from our classroom. After working with and learning about alpacas for the day, we love to see delegates spinning out of the session with the same enthusiasm, positivity and encouragement that the BAS National show gives to established breeders. We are often asked on our courses how intelligent we think alpacas are and I tell delegates that our home-bred and half-owned herd sire returned to us after nearly two years away; he is a big, bold, confident male with many progeny, yet when he first heard my voice he crouched submissively with his tail flipped and then sniffed around my neck like he used to do. Our seven year old female, Kat, may not have seen our daughter for months, but she recognises her from a distance and runs to her, showing real affection by putting her head on Rosie’s chest. In 2013 our top female Keiko, having given birth perfectly four times, came up to Graham to hum loudly in his face and tell him she needed help with her fifth cria. She did need help. If I didn’t think our non-alpaca-owning friends would lose the will to live, I would literally dine out on these stories.
COURSES THE KEY Hosting alpaca courses at our farm is important to us; we are determined to offer the kind of information which wasn’t available to us when we were making the decision to buy alpacas. To the extent that we would like to see the British 60 | Summer 2015 | ALPACA WORLD MAGAZINE
Alpaca Society spending a lot less on judge training for the minority of breeders who want to become judges and to acknowledge the benefit to the industry of basic subsidised courses to introduce people to alpacas: assessing quality of conformation and fleece without resorting to show results; alpacas’ requirements; alpaca carers commitments, financials, income and particularly how to market themselves, their alpacas and their farm etc. Maybe then we would not have welfare cases, including one recently played out on a social media platform, of a breeder threatening to slaughter her pregnant females if they didn’t sell. Surely this type of education is a prerequisite for a healthy alpaca market and certainly better than sending alpacas to livestock auction marts, with an uncertain future and poor prices. Alpaca auction prices achieved this year leave the industry damaged and well before we have a sustainable fibre market to rely on. If a young female sells at auction grossly undervalued, in the hundreds of pounds range, how does the outlay for her stack up in terms of birthing, raising, feeding, shearing, vaccinating and attending her needs up to the age of being pregnant and market ready? The over abundance of ‘cheap alpacas’ concerns us, especially when new owners feel that they have got ‘value for money’ with their cheap alpacas. On the contrary this may turn out not to be so. One of our females cost us £11,500, eleven
FOWBERRY ALPACAS
years ago. Of the world-class, fine-fleeced progeny she has given us, her sons are herd-sires; in 2010 she produced a daughter who was Best in Show at the biggest show in Europe (2012). At the age of thirteen, she produced her fifth daughter who was 1st Junior White Female at the National 2015. Her daughter, grand-daughter and great grand-daughter have been sold into Europe and commanded top prices. This is value for money! For a medium size farm our show success has been a huge reward, especially considering our first cria tested at 31 microns at 9 months old and then ten years later winning twice, back to back, Best in Show at the British Alpaca Futurity. We believe if you want a racehorse to win a race, you don’t feed it pony cubes; you look after it in a certain way; it must be properly bred but it is not just about genetics. It is about your alpaca’s ability to express its genetic superiority and that requires the correct environment, including nutrition. Consequently, for our alpacas to perform to their best ability in growth, fleece, health and productivity, we attend to their physical and emotional needs. Meticulous feeding of top quality fodder assists our aims, but we don’t always get it right and our alpacas came out of the mild winter of 2013/2014 fatter than when they went in. I find it an additional responsibility that I can sense when an alpaca is not happy - alpacas make you develop your intuition to farm them better. Helpfully, from a few days old, all the alpacas respond very well to my voice. Graham
has learnt to as well! Looking to the future, we would encourage the BAS to employ a marketing strategy to promote gelded males to the farming community nationally, as herd and flock guards. Making boys more valuable alive than slaughtered for meat and also continue the good work to raise the profile and demand for alpaca fleece and breeders’ knowledge of it.
OUR TIPS FOR NEW BREEDERS 1. If an alpaca seems unwell, act immediately, don’t wait and see. If you feel that something is wrong, it probably is. 2. Never underestimate an alpaca’s need for thorough and regular vitaminisation. Rickets is a scourge in alpacas; it is a painful condition and can affect adults as well as youngsters. 3. Always give a Camelid-specific feed; essential considering alpacas evolved in one of the most highly mineralised places in the world. 4. Only buy the best, top quality genetics with uniform (low SD), fine fleeces, to maximise the success of your herd; this will also help towards our goal of a national and international demand for UK Alpaca fibre.
ALPACA WORLD MAGAZINE | Summer 2015 | 61
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ASK THE VET
ASKTHE VET
HERD HEALTH PLA
64 | Summer 2015 | ALPACA WORLD MAGAZINE
ASK THE VET
ANNING Are you
up to scratch?
Remember the old adage “prevention is better than cure”? That is exactly what herd health planning is all about.
H
erd health plans provide a routine, planned schedule for preventing or minimising the impact of disease. In terms of the bottom line, prevention of disease is far more economical than treatment and potential losses. At the end of the day, you want to protect your financial (and time!) investment in your livestock. No single plan will work for each farm or smallholding due to the varying conditions found in each – for example, animal numbers, amount and type of available pasture, location and geographical conditions, type of soil, ratio of different age groups and genders, timing of birthing and breeding, and locally important disease issues…. This is why it is essential to have a plan that is tailored to your own farm and your own unique set of circumstances. Whether you are a new owner or breeder just starting out, or someone with an established herd, it can never be a bad idea to have an independent assessment of your herd health plans. An outside view can help identify weak points that could improve the health and productivity of your alpacas. Sometimes you can get so hung up on small details that you can’t see the whole situation clearly. Herd health planning is a vital part of owning alpacas: if you forget one aspect of it, deficiencies in that one area could have a significant negative impact on the herd with consequent associated costs and losses. In addition, there are always new diseases becoming known, new drugs coming onto the market while other drugs become ineffective due to resistance, and potentially significant new information available for producers to continue to learn from, which gives the opportunity to modify or ALPACA WORLD MAGAZINE | Summer 2015 | 65
ASK THE VET enhance current plans. This is potentially even more important in the alpaca world since new discoveries are not usually headline news and it can take a while for information to filter down. It’s just not likely that you can expect other owners and your own regular vet to know the most up-todate information. This is where consultation with a vet with a focussed expertise in alpacas can be particularly valuable and complement the services provided by your regular vet on a day-to-day basis. Some of the most frequently asked questions that I receive as a vet specialising in camelids are: “When should I vaccinate?”, “What should I vaccinate with?” and “What wormer should I use?” Herd health planning is far more than just when to give your vaccinations and wormers and what drugs to use. For example, if worming is necessary, it should always be targeted at the particular parasite types found on a faecal test and only wormers known to be effective against those types should be used. Also, not all worm burdens require treatment. Herd health planning involves a holistic approach to the maintenance of health in all animals in the herd that takes into consideration all aspects of farm and individual animal management from farm layout considerations and issues around biosecurity through parasite control strategies and nutrition to dealing with individual animal issues.
Quarantine procedures should be employed for new animals as they arrive on the farm. Quarantine is a key biosecurity tool and should not be bypassed. Subclinical problems may become apparent during a quarantine period. Detection and treatment while in isolation prevents transmission to the main herd.
SO WHAT DOES HERD HEALTH PLANNING INVOLVE?
3. Animal Management: Ensure Animals are in the Best Shape to Resist Disease Camelids are acutely sensitive to stress from a multitude of different sources: transportation, handling, attending shows, moving animals between different groups and even changes in the weather constitute stress to camelids. Manage and handle your animals in a way that minimises stress. Stress results in immunosuppression, making individuals more susceptible to disease and this will then have a potentially significant impact on reproduction (fertility), growth and performance (eg fleece growth). Some diseases can also exist in animals where obvious signs of
There are a number of key areas to consider with regard to Herd Health Planning. These include the following: 1. Prevent Exposure to Disease It is important to decrease the likelihood of disease being introduced to the herd. Newly introduced animals represent the highest health risk to the herd. Controlling exposure can be achieved in a number of ways including veterinary health checks, pre-movement testing and prophylaxis where appropriate.
2. Farm Management: Prevent Environment from Becoming a Host for Disease One simple measure here is removing faecal material from the pasture. If this is done regularly (at intervals of less than 3 days) you can effectively prevent hatching of worm eggs onto the pasture and minimise exposure to grazing livestock. There are various mechanised options available to help you achieve this relatively painlessly! Bedded areas should be kept clean: moist damp conditions are perfect for pathogens such as clostridial organisms, other bacteria and coccidia to accumulate. Deep bedding can be a particular risk. This includes any indoor bedded areas in winter time. Sick pens should not be re-used without first cleaning out all bedding and disinfecting the area. Birthing areas also can become contaminated if used extensively: rotate these areas to ensure that bugs don’t accumulate and have the chance to infect highly susceptible newborn crias.
SIX REASONS FOR HERD HEALTH PLANNING 1. Cost Saving • Reduced vet bills overall • Some measures will reduce the amount of money spent on drugs such as wormers • Reduced financial losses associated with death • Less money wasted getting animals back to full health 2. Time Saving • Up-front time investment pays dividends: avoids problems later
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3. Less emotional trauma associated with sick or dying animals 4. Protection of your significant investment 5. Proactive • You’re not just reacting when problems occur: prevention is better than cure 6. Improved welfare • Benefits from optimum health and productivity and realise their true genetic potential!
Herd health planning is a vital part of owning alpacas: if you forget one aspect of it, deficiencies in that one area could have a significant negative impact on the herd with consequent associated costs and losses
ASK THE VET
disease are absent but the disease is still causing “subclinical effects” that are not easy to detect but continue to cause undetected losses and these animals may spread disease to others. It is important to have proper plans for all aspects of farm and individual animal management in order to keep all animals in top physical condition as this will maintain good immunity to disease. For example, animals not provided with decent shelter during inclement winter weather will be stressed and also have to use more stored resources in keeping warm. These combined effects will result in stress-induced immunosuppression, increased susceptibility to disease, and increased costs associated with feeding in order to maintain body condition. 4. Observation and Timely Action Spotting early signs of disease is important in terms of being able to institute appropriate action before things become critical. Do not delay seeking veterinary attention in these cases. Camelids are prey species and are exceptional at masking signs of illness such that when even subtle signs of illness are spotted, you have a chance to initiate investigations early and treat at a stage of illness that may be more amenable to treatment. If you are a new owner/breeder, monitor your animals closely and learn their behaviour so that something out of character
will become obvious to you in time. If nothing is obvious on veterinary examination, which may very well be the case early in a disease process, insist on further diagnostics such as bloodwork and faecal examination to investigate further – camelids may often be a lot sicker on paper than they appear… Furthermore, since vets are not given any standard training in Camelid medicine, seeking advice and direction from a vet with Camelid-specific expertise can be quite valuable. I can provide that consultation through any of my Camelid Health Packages (see below). Early detection (and treatment) of disease is also likely to help prevent spread to others in the herd – see next point… 5. Control of Disease When it Does Occur When animals do succumb to disease, separate them as soon as possible from other animals in the herd, pursue diagnostic investigations in consultation with your vet and treat them appropriately. 6. Reproductive Management In this article I have focussed on disease control, but when you are running a breeding herd, reproductive management is just as important as disease control. Other than the routine breeding and behaviour testing, you should confirm positive behavioural
tests of pregnancy by ultrasound examination. Any non-pregnant animals can then be re-bred or have fertility evaluations performed prior to the onset of winter and this avoids unexpected failure to produce the following year. A year wasted may cost dearly since alpacas have a limited reproductive life expectancy and females produce only one cria per year. Male breeding soundness examinations before the start of the breeding season will also ensure fertility success and minimise wasted breeding attempts. Never buy a reportedly breeding-sound male without having its fertility independently evaluated. It is foolhardy to part with potentially large sums of money without either a good fertility assessment or reproductive guarantee. The former protects both the buyer’s wallet and the seller’s reputation because once the animal has changed hands, it can be harder to establish the time of an incident that results in infertility with awkward disputes between parties that could have been easily prevented… If females have difficult birthings, especially those that have been assisted by either yourselves or a vet (including c-sections), have a post-partum reproductive check performed about 7-10 days later to ensure that there are no parturition-related problems present that could be easily dealt with in that short window of opportunity, but if left could result in delays to rebreeding or infertility. ALPACA WORLD MAGAZINE | Summer 2015 | 67
ASK THE VET EARNING A REPUTATION An added benefit of having a good Herd Health Plan in place, apart from protecting the health of your own animals, is that the chances of you selling an animal on to someone else that will develop problems is low and this will enhance your standing as a reputable breeder. The effects of stress-induced immunosuppression will be lessened for those animals, and they are less likely to be carrying subclinical problems that become clinical secondary to stress. For example, the most common types of problem that may be being kept under control by an individual’s immune system until animals are subjected to stress are gastrointestinal parasites (worms and coccidia) and mange mites. While this article aims to provide you with an overview of herd health planning, in order to apply the tools presented to the best advantage for your individual herd circumstances, it is advisable to consult with either your regular vet or to seek outside Camelid-focussed veterinary consultation. Herd Health Planning is one of the many Camelid-specific services offered by myself through Camelid Veterinary Services (CVS). I have over 25 years of experience with alpacas, and 14 years of experience as a vet doing almost exclusively Camelid work with nearly 10 years performing second-opinion work within a specialist hospital setting. Because of this specific focus, and my on-going involvement and commitment to teaching and to research into
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Camelid health and production, I am ideally placed to have the most up-to-date information at my disposal. Herd Health Planning can be included as part of a Camelid Health Package that will enable you to have access to the best help and advice available when you need it. CVS Health Packages are designed to provide owners and their vets with timely advice when required from a Consultant Camelid Vet and also allow you to spread the cost of this out over the year permitting easy budgeting for Camelid-specific veterinary care.
An added benefit of a good Herd Health Plan, apart from protecting is that the chances of selling an animal that will develop problems is low and this will enhance your standing as a reputable breeder
There are 3 off-the-shelf packages for you to select from but bespoke packages can be customised to suit individual requirements: 1. Advice Package 2. Advice + Faecal Diagnostics 3. Annual Herd Health: includes a farm herd health visit in addition to faecal diagnostics and advice, ensuring the optimum in customised herd health planning for your farm from a Consultant Camelid Vet. The main benefit with these packages is having a direct line to the best advice when you need it. My services are not in any way a substitute for the services already provided to you by your regular veterinarian, but should be regarded as complementary to them, bringing that additional knowledge to the table. The overall goal is improving the welfare of your animals while reducing the total cost of veterinary care as you will not waste time and money performing unnecessary or inappropriate diagnostics and therapeutics. Within this Teamwork Trinity of you the owner, your regular vet and the Consultant Camelid-focussed vet, we aim to work together with you to provide the optimum Production Package. Please see the leaflet included with this magazine for further details about CVS Camelid Health Packages as well as the other services that we offer. Further information is also included on my website at www.ukalpacavet.com.
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ALPACA WORLD MAGAZINE | Summer 2015 | 69
ADVERTORIAL: STEPHEN LOCKE ASSOCIATES
CHANGES IN THE PLANNING SYSTEM – COULD YOU BENEFIT?
By Stephen Locke, Rural Planning Consultant A thriving rural community depends on the collective support given to the maintenance of a prosperous rural economy and the provision of rural housing. Rural planning has experienced numerous changes in recent times. The 2014 changes to permitted developmental rights to allow barns to be converted to dwellings resulted in unintentional confusion and diverse interpretation across local councils and has ultimately lead to the issuing of yet more guidance in an attempt to stimulate more positive development. Furthermore, in April this year the government consolidated their ‘General Permitted Development Order’, with one of the major changes being that permitted development barn schemes must be completed within a period of three years starting with the date of prior approval. Working through such changes we continue to guide our clients through the maze of planning opportunities, providing detailed and sound planning advice but in a simple and straightforward manner. In terms of new housing, local planning authorities are advised in the
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National Planning Policy Framework (NPPF) to avoid new isolated homes in the countryside unless there are special circumstances, such as the essential need for a ‘rural worker’ to live permanently at or near their place of work. Rural dwelling guidance has gradually been relaxed and it is possible to obtain permission for dwellings required for alternative enterprises, such as alpacas, where an essential need exists. Planning guidance also requires local and neighbourhood plans to support the creation of individual new plans and boost economic development. It is important to engage with plans as they are drawn up and liaise with your local authority. While we as a rural planning consultancy inevitably experience a mix of both positive local planning and resistance to rural development, the rural economy is increasingly supporting a wider variety of diversified businesses. Overall the opportunities for farmers, landowners and food producers have never been so good, but it is vital to work within the latest planning guidance to ensure your projects progress positively.
Mid-Cornwall’s premier alpaca herd Our breeding aim is to maximise fibre production and improve fibre quality generation upon generation, with a view to providing the ultimate fibre for yarn production. alpacas usually for sale. Higher Carpalla Farm Foxhole St Austell 01726 338580 07974 796792 nigel@nigelretallack.co.uk
a pacas Nigel and Margaret Retallack
ALPACA WORLD MAGAZINE | Summer 2015 | 71
Colin Ottery: The Alpaca Shearer Alpaca Shearing Since 2005 Please telephone for a friendly and professional service with competitive rates 01884 38782 / 07773 440354 Email: alpaca2shear@yahoo.co.uk
The Pennybridge Herd and Alpaca Stud
‘Love The Alpacas’ • • • • •
Starter Herds & Starter Herd Agistment Champion Stud Services Both Mobile & Drive-By Pretty Pets & Sheep Gaurds Free Advice & Support
www.pennybridgealpacas.co.uk Contact Joy or Peter joy@pennybridgealpacas.co.uk 01256 764824 • 07801 132757
Based in North Hampshire near the Surrey/Berkshire Borders. Less than 5 mins from M3 J5. Close to Ports & Airports.
drum carders for The Perfect Carder ,ibre For Alpaca and All Fine Fibres preparation
www.classiccarder.co.uk Tel: 01746 714130 Email: info@classiccarder.co.uk
72 | Summer 2015 | ALPACA WORLD MAGAZINE
UK Alpaca Ltd
Supporting British Alpaca Breeders
2015 Fleece Collection
UK Alpaca will buy ALL your huacaya fleece including leg and short neck. All grades of fibre have value and we are pleased to say that all your fleeces are used to make a variety of yarns in Britain with the lower grades going into cushions and bedding. Keep British fleeces in the UK. Support us in developing a reputation for supplying the best high quality British alpaca yarns into the wholesale and retail markets. Prices paid for the 2015 clip will be as follows. Contact us for your copy of our shearing guidelines including tips to maximise returns from your clip. Grade
Colour
Skirted Price/kg excl VAT
Unskirted Price/kg excl VAT
Baby
White
£12
£10
Baby
Coloured
£8
£6
Fine
White
£8
£6
Fine
Coloured
£5
£3
Skirtings, short neck, coarse and shearing waste
All
£0.40
Please do not consign your yearling necks to ‘waste’. They should be bagged separately and if the neck staple is more than three inches long will go into the top grades. UK Alpaca specialises in British alpaca yarns with full provenance and aims to support alpaca breeders by maintaining our reputation for high quality product. If you sell us your fleece you are entitled to buy back stock yarns at wholesale prices with no minimum order.
For more information contact Chas Brooke or Rachel Hebditch on 01884 243579 or rachel@alpaca-uk.co.uk UK Alpaca Ltd, Vulscombe Farm, Pennymoor, Tiverton, Devon EX16 8NB
www.ukalpaca.com
To be certain of obtaining future copies of Alpaca World Magazine fill in the subscription form below and return it to the address on the form. The only way to be sure of receiving every issue of Alpaca World magazine is by subscribing. The annual rates are: UK £28, Europe £38 (approx. €45) and the rest of the world £48 (approx. $72). Subscribe now by doing one of the following: 1 Using your credit card at our website: www.alpacaworldmagazine.com 2 Fill out the form below and post to us complete with your cheque or credit card details 3 Complete the form below and fax back to us with your credit card details I would like to subscribe to Alpaca World Magazine for the next 4 issues at an inclusive rate of UK £28, Europe £38 (approx. €45) and the rest of the world £48 (approx. $72).
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www.alpacaworldmagazine.com ALPACA WORLD MAGAZINE | Summer 2014 2015 | 73
BREEDERS DIRECTORY
Alpaca World Magazine’s
BREEDERS DIRECTORY BEDFORDSHIRE
DORSET
HAMPSHIRE
Rushmere Alpacas Jo Parker & Neil McAndrew, Little Cuppers, Rushmere, Leighton Buzzard, Bedfordshire LU7 0DZ. Tel: 01515 237416. Fax: 01525 234068. Email: j.parker101@btinternet.com Website: www.rushmerealpacas.co.uk Quality herd on the Beds, Bucks and Herts border offering a superb service to new and experienced breeders. Pregnant/maiden females, stud and pet males. Free training and 24/7 support.
Alpha Alpacas Di Davies, Woodstock, Mapperton Lane, Melplash, Bridport, Dorset, DT6 3UF. Tel: 01308 488661 / 07739 382483. Email: didavies@alpaca.fsnet.co.uk Web: www.alphaalpacas.com A small elite herd of Huacaya alpacas where top quality fibre, biosecurity and supporting our clients is paramount. The quality of our herd has been confirmed by their superb show record. Stud services available, breeding stock (male and female) and pet males for sale.
Pennybridge Alpacas Joy & Peter, Pennybridge Farm, Greywell Road, Up Nately, Hook, Hants RG27 9PJ Tel: 01256 764824 / 07801 132757 Email: joy@pennybridgealpacas.co.uk Web: www.pennybridgealpacas.co.uk The Pennybridge Herd & Stud. Alpacas for sale. Most colours available, even the rare appaloosa. Quality starter herds, proven and potential stud males, stud services, pets and sheepguards. Free advice and after sales support provided.
CAMBRIDGESHIRE Houghton Hall Alpacas Mick & Liz George, Houghton Hall Alpacas, Mere Way, Houghton, Cambs P£28 2BL. Tel: 01480 461510. Mob: 07764 469132. Email: info@houghtonhallalpacas.co.uk Website: www.houghtonhallalpacas.co.uk BAS National 2014 Double Supreme Winners. Proven Award Winning Genetics. Elite Stud Males. Top Quality Pregnant Females. Premium Huacaya & Suris in a wide range of colours. Pet Males. Full Support & After Care. We have an alpackage© to suit you. DEVON Classical MileEnd Alpacas Rachel Hebditch & Chas Brooke, Vulscombe Farm, Pennymoor, Tiverton, Devon, EX16 8NB. Tel: 01884 243579. Mob: 07970 415638. Email: rachel@alpaca-uk.co.uk Website: www.alpaca-uk.co.uk Professional breeding farm with 18 years alpaca experience. Show winning herd sires with British, Australian and American genetics available for outside stud servicing. Wide selection of quality alpacas for sale as pets or breeding stock. We maintain rigorous management of on farm bio-security including full farm perimeter wildlife fencing. Excellent customer support and training with visitors welcome by appointment.
GLOUCESTERSHIRE Pure Alpacas Jay & Hilary Holland, Torsend House, Main Road, Tirley, Glocs. GL19 4EU. Tel: 01452 780327. Email: jay@purealpacas.co.uk Web: www.purealpacas.co.uk A family-run herd of both huacaya and suri with a range for sale from pets and guards to elite breeding stock. Sensibly priced and all backed by professional, unrivalled support and advice. Our herdsires are all proven and available for outside services. We run a variety of courses which cater for all levels of experience. Exports to Europe a speciality. Snowshill Alpacas Roger Mount, Snowshill Hill Barn, Temple Guiting, Cheltenham, GL54 5XX. Tel: 01386 853841 / 07711 044106. Fax: 01386 854791. Email: roger.mount@btinternet.com Web: www.snowshillalpacas.com Breeders of prize winning Huacaya and Suri alpacas in Gloucestershire. We usually have alpacas for sale, from pet to show quality. Stud services available from a wide selection of proven sires. After sales support and advice. We also have fabrics for sale, all made from our own alpacas and spun, woven and finished in the UK.
Watership Alpacas Keith Taylor, Greenacres, Thruxton Down, Andover, Hants SP11 8PR Tel: 01264 889206 Email: info@watershipalpacas.co.uk Web: www.watershipalpacas.co.uk Watership Alpacas invites you to visit and meet our prize-winning alpacas. We have all colours of BAS registered huacaya breeding females, young males, potential studs and pets for sale. Inexpensive stud services all with full support and guidance. NORFOLK AzSu Alpacas Nikki Lenk, The Low Farm, Letton, Thetford, Norfolk, IP25 7TB. Tel: 01362 820097. Mob: 07798 522178 Fax: 01362 821333 Email: nikki.lenk@azsualpacas.com Web: www.azsualpacas.com Norfolk’s largest breeder offers potential and existing owners a friendly and complete service. High quality studs; breeding females and wethers for sale; practical training; caring agistment; fleece conversion; sound advice on all aspects of these magical animals.
Burnt Fen Alpacas Ann Nickerson, Burnt Fen, Horning, Norfolk, NR12 8LA. Tel: 01692 630553. Email: annie.alpaca@icloud.com Web: www.burntfen.co.uk We are long established alpaca breeders and have developed a fantastic friendly herd bred from excellent pedigree stock. We sell quality breeding females through to gorgeous pet animals with genuine after sales support and processing advice for your fleeces. YORKSHIRE Fowberry Alpacas Jenny MacHarg, Crambe Grange, Barton Le Willows, York YO60 7PQ. Tel 01653 619520. Email: info@fowberry-alpacas.com Web: www.fowberry-alpacas.com Supreme Championship winning herd, including the overall Championship winning Huacaya Sire of the biggest show in Europe (2012). We offer super-fine genetics; correct conformation and happy healthy alpacas; knowledgeable advice and after-sales assistance; regular introductory and advanced courses; on-line shop and as importantly, our support to achieve your alpaca goals. WARWICKSHIRE Toft Alpacas Rob & Shirley Bettinson, Toft Manor, Toft Lane, Dunchurch, Warwickshire, CV22 6NR. Tel: 01788 810626. Fax: 01788 522347 Email: shirley@toft-alpacas.co.uk Web: www.toft-alpacas.co.uk Alpaca Stud Farm, est 1997. Pedigree stock for sale in all colours. Superior stud services. Stud males for sale or lease. Pets for sale. Introductory and advanced husbandry workshops. Fleece and fibre workshops. 24/7 advice and support. Holiday cottage on farm. Luxury alpaca products online and on-farm shop.
Book your space in the Alpaca World Breeders Directory now by telephoning Heidi Hardy on 01598 752799. An entry is priced at just £35 to cover FOUR issues.
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