Solitaire

Autumn is slowly but surely rolling over into winter. The last of our cria for 2017-2018 season has been born ( a little girl, now named Solitaire), and most of our last matings for the season have reached their final spit-off status.

We added 4 black girls to our herd last month, acquiring 2 mothers and their female cria, to help build up our herd again following a number of successful sales over the summer period. We are also in negotiation to buy a grey female and her cria, and a weanling female, so we have had quite a few changes to our herd over the last year.

We expect to have females for sale again in the very near future as some of our girls have their pregnancies confirmed, so if you are looking to buy, don’t hestitate to get in touch.

Buzz

Buzz was wethered (castrated) today, and now officially joins our pet boys as a farm ambassador. He has already been taking our visitors for walks for several months, and has proven a star at this task, so he will remain with us for the next few years with the other wethers (geldings) who fulfill this task. At the moment he is in a small paddock together with our oldest and calmest wether, Bracken, while he heals.

If you have read our page, Grey and Roan Alpacas, you will know we asked a question about Tessa – is she brown or rose grey? Genetically, she could be either, as she has a rose grey mother, however to look at, she is simply a brown alpaca with white markings. The correct answer is: we will never know, unless she gives birth to a grey cria, who has a solid coloured sire.

Tessa

The question has now been answered: last Thursday, Tessa gave birth to Zorro, a lovely little grey male, sired by our black stud, Yaringa Masterclass. As a result, Tessas breeding value has increased immensly: no longer just a brown alpaca, but a rose grey, who may have more grey cria in the future – here’s hoping!

The National Show was held in Feilding this year. As Feilding is only a couple of hours travel away, The Alpaca Place was well represented with a show team of 7 alpacas. 

Liz obviously looks like an expert: she was approached by a reporter from a small local newspaper to answer questions about alpacas ….. and then to our surprise, not only did the article feature locally, but also found its way to the USA where it was reproduced on an Alpaca News website! You can read the article here: national-show-brings-out-338-of-the-best-alpacas-at-feilding-s-manfeild-stadium

Last week, Liz and Cheryl attended New Zealand’s National Alpaca Show together with a small show team of Alpacas. The AANZ National Show is New Zealands Premier Alpaca Show, with the top alpacas in the country on show. Held annually, the National Show alternates between the North and South Islands, and while the National Show is normally held at the northern end of the North Island, this year it was held in Feilding, a town only a couple of hours from Masterton, so was a chance to exhibit some of our better alpacas.

As New Zealands premier event, it has long been considered that to win any kind of a ribbon at a National Show is an achievement, so we were delighted to return home with 2 ribbons, Huari Strike!! taking a 4th place ribbon in the medium/dark fawn junior male, competing against 13 of NZ’s top junior males, and Huari Resonate was awarded a third placing in a class of 9 Junior Black Males (yes, he is black,en though he looks brown in the photo). We are delighted with their success!

We are delighted to announce the arrival of 2 top stud males to our herd, with the addition of Forestglen Tarquin and Arcady Zegna. Until this week these Australian imports were based at Waimarie Stud in Hawkes Bay.These males will be vital in continuing the quality cria we have been getting from our current top male, Highway Star Gold Flash. Like Flash, both Tarquin and Zegna were sired by impact males (Tarquin – Purrumbete Inti, and Zegna – Jolimont Conquistador). For more information about these exciting males, vist our stud Services page

Forestglen Tarquin (Imp Aust), solid white

Arkady Zegna (Imp Aust), dark fawn

A recent article in our local paper, The Wairarapa Times Age, featured Liz and I and The Alpaca Place.

If you would like to read the full article, follow this link http://times-age.co.nz/sisters-know-done/

Each year, we pick out the best fleeces of each colour and keep them on hand to sell to craftspeople, both as raw fleece (straight from the alpacas back), or the “best of the best” we have carded for those buyers who prefer to have their alpaca fibre ready to spin or felt.

This year we struck a problem when our carder was unable to card our alpaca fleece as it was too fine . What a problem to have! The hunt was on for a new carder who could deal with our quality fleeces.

We settled on Kane Carding who assured us they would be able to deal with our superfine alpacas fleeces, and we are very happy with the result. The photo shows our carded fibre waiting to be unloaded. We were told by Kane Carding they had never carded such fine fleece before – proof that our breeding programme using the power of pedigree is paying off!

Being on a farm involves ongoing maintenance, and sometimes that includes building maintenance as well. Many of the fittings were poorly installed before we bought the property, and we have gradually repaired and replaced most of what was sub-standard. This month was the turn of the garage windows, which were originally 2nd hand, and installed without flashing, so the wood surrounding them gradually rotted. We now have brand spanking new glass windows with aluminum surrounds, and flashing!

Before replacement commenced The old windows out New windows installed

Now that we have reached late Autumn, our summer tasks are ending, and winter ones beginning. Matings are over now until Spring, although we still have some pregnancy scans to confirm pregnancy happening later this month. Our Spring cria have now been weaned and have started their halter training, this will continue on an ongoing basis as the summer and autumn cria reach 6 months of age, and are weaned in their turn.

We have sown the last of our pasture to be regrassed. This has been ongoing over the last 3 years, and our pasture is showing the effects (see the photo  of  Masterclass standing knee high in grass). The last paddock has been fenced off with a temporary raceway at one end so we can get the alpacas down to the roadside paddock to graze. This new fence caused some consternation with our alpacas the first few times we used it, as they didn’t know where it was taking them!

Cheryl has also split the roadside paddock in two with temporary fencing. This will give us more management control by enabling us to leave paddocks ungrazed for a while to recover and regrow. It is a temporary fence only, as this large paddock is also our hay paddock, so the fence will come down in Spring to enable the hay to grow. By then our resown pasture should be ready for grazing, so the temporary raceway will come down then too, with a more permanent fence going in down the fenceline that has been just a row of posts for several years!

Masterclass kneehigh in our new pasture