 |
 home
page
 who
we are
our
champions
learn
with us
buy
alpacas
getting
started
farm
information
buy
products
stud services
studs
for sale
fibre
insurance
articles
links
contact
|
|
|
Southern Alpacas News
We provide a steady stream of news and
information of value to many of our customers
and visitors.
Bookmark this news page and return often to
see our updates.
Below you'll find
Seasonal Hints,
for alpaca
work to be done now.
Pictured: Top Stud ILR Alpine Fiber's Brutus
|
|
|
Want to receive our occasional email newsletter ?
You can do so here by typing in your email, and
clicking GO. |
|
|
|
Alpaca
Autumn Newsletter
2007
|
|
|
Welcome to our autumn
newsletter. Yes, it really is almost that time. In the south we are having the
last of our births for the season, and our studs now head north for their
seasonal change of climate and girlfriends.
|
|
|
|
Using all our
Alpaca
Fibre
|
In
recent weeks we've sent out 200 kgs of fibre to yarn manufacturers, and another
400 kgs to manufacturers of alpaca products.
Much of this was
our own fibre, along with contributions from all over the country.
 We'll
be buying more fine fibre in white and light fawn, under 24 micron,
as we already have another order from the yarn manufacturers to be filled prior
to next summer's shearing. So, use those winter evenings cleaning and classing
to make your fibre saleable and let me know what you will have available.
We now have our
shelves full of carded and blended fibre ready for the annual Creative Fibre
Festival. This year it is in New Plymouth just after Easter. We sponsor an
award jointly with Adobe Alpacas to encourage the use of fine alpaca in an
alpaca rich fashion garment. |
|
|
Studs on Tour |
|
|
Many of our top
stud boys are hosted in the North Island from April to September.
So if your girls
are planning a date with one of our boys, don't delay - book in today. Each stud
has his own web page with his credentials, so
take a look.
Already
Highland Smoke is in Napier and Manawatu, Encounter and Maipo are in Taranaki,
and Brutus and Chief Big Foot (champion son of Irraquoy) are in Wellington. Next
Aldo and Big Foot move to Rotorua and Waikato, and Irraquoy and Brutus head up
to Auckland and Waikato. Encounter, Maipo, Big Foot, and Aldo will also go
further north later.
You can see
where the boys are expected to be and when they return south again on our
Stud Location Guide.
This is a guide only as their location may change subject to bookings and how
girls react to their advances !
|
|
|
Promoting and Selling
Alpacas |
|
|
Our alpacas continue to make the
journey to new places - all over New Zealand and now to Europe. And our studs
now have progeny in paddocks in the UK.
This last week in March is the South Island Agricultural Field Days at
Lincoln, and we'll be there, in the CRT Lane, highlighting alpaca farming and New Zealand grown fibre in New
Zealand made products.
We are having an open day and alpaca sale at the week's end so take a
look at our website and enquire about our prices for this period. Call us
for more information.
|
|
|
|
|
|
For us in
the south, drought, low grass, and then 40mls of rain has given a flush of green
grass. This is a recipe for rye grass staggers. Keep vigilant. Be aware of the
signs (a tremble or shake of the head in the first instance through to
staggering behaviour in more serious cases).
Get the
alpaca (and a companion) off the ryegrass and into an endophyte free paddock, or
onto a hard/dry feed diet like alpaca chaff and lucerne hay until it clears up.
Vitamin B injections (Duojet B) help, as does Equiguard sprinkled on their dry
feed for 48 hours to extract the toxin. Above all reduce stress levels.
Now is the
time to be scanning pregnancy for those girls who took pregnant in spring. Scan
at 90 days. If you still have a pregnancy -- you will keep it through to
birthing. If you do not, you have time to get the female back to the male for a
re-mate. Better to find slippages at 90 days, than at 365 days!
There has
been a call to shear your alpacas for the Spring Shows. We actually prefer to
shear our alpacas for their fleece – when it is ready for commercial use. But
for those of you choosing to shear your very young cria please be careful you do
not lose the bonding of dams with their cria, which can have tragic consequences
as some have found.
|
|
|
|
|