The Ice has melted !
What a relief that the ice has melted. Warm water for our 50 odd alpacas 4 times a day has taken its toll on the humans (aka 'the staff'). They are back outside today after two weeks in the barn and we are looking forward to the Spring and this years crias....
We are delighted to see Movement Books now available for breeders from the BAS. Accurate record keeping is essential and we are happy for anyone to look at all our records before they purchase our alpacas.
We are offering for sale a selection of solid coloured, grey and white females this year as well as some very well handled wethers and a superb young black future stud male.
You will receive as much information and advice as you can handle from an experienced breeder and Vet Nurse. Advisory visits to your land and follow up help is all part of our service to you.
Alpacas in cold weather!
Alpacas are suited to the prolonged cold icy condtions we have at the moment but UK alpacas are not. Ensure they have shelter and warm bedding to sit on, the opportunity to drink fresh (warm) water at least twice a day and plenty of hay / haylage. Camelid feeds can be increased and animals should be weighed /condition scored weekly. Also ensure they are up to date with doses of Vitamin D.
Decisions, decisions...
We have decided to restrict our herd movements during 2010 and beyond. We will not be showing any animals, agisting any animals or allowing mobile matings until we as an industry develop better biosecurity at shows and between breeders. We feel strongly that individuals must learn about and develop good biosecurity and effective accreditation schemes.
Shame because we have some stunning cria this year....However our alpacas and our clients come first.
We have also decided to sell the only male Piaso has produced. Chalford Phoenix is an up and coming black intermediate male who we feel sure will go on to great things...
The Dreamcoat Alpaca Stud
The quality of black and coloured alpaca are improving all the time and we are are very pleased to welcome some new arrivals! Unique black, fawn and grey bloodlines have arrived at Alpaca Power from America. Four like-minded breeders have joined together to form the Dreamcoat Alpaca Stud. Details to follow.
Show Results 2009
We have had some excellent results again this year and our blacks are excelling again! Our junior male Phoenix was made Black Male Champion at the Devon County Show after demonstrating a distinct lack of colour contamination in his fleece. We believe strongly in developing black fleece with no white fibres so are delighted with this result. Phoebe was made Black Female Champion and has now retired from shows to start producing her own award winning progeny. See our Show Page for full details.
Premier Camelid Bucket
We are delighted to be able to recommend Camelid mineral buckets, containing trace elements camelids need. Developed by JG Animal Health and following on from their excellent work with mineral drenches for Camelids, we wanted to be able to give our alpacas free choice to select for themselves what they need from their environment. After all, they are selective grazers!We have had excellent results so far with all alpacas using the lick to greater or lesser extent. Alpacas can lick but also scrape it with their teeth and drink off water after rainfall.
Please note that this product is an additional supplement and should not replace anything you currently provide for your alpacas and llamas ie. usual pellet supplements and ADE injections or paste. Not every animal may use the bucket and it is difficult to ascertain how much they have taken.
Galvanised Hurdles and Handling Pens
A range of hurdles, handling pens and systems are available from Batemans via your local Countrywide store.
Courses and Events for 2010
Our courses continue to be very popular with delegates from the UK and Europe. We have expanded our calendar of events to include more courses and training days. As usual, we will be hosting Camelidynamic's 2 day workshops. The next date is April 24th and 25th 2010.
Proven Black Stud Males
Our solid black stud male, Mariah Hill Mambo of Wessex has produced numerous progeny for us and we are very pleased with the results we have of Mambo over Koricancha Sinbad of Wessex's progeny. Mambo's cria are well covered with very fine, dense, medium crimp fleeces with long stable lengths. The progeny are almost always the same colour as their dam and often a shade darker, giving us high quality cria of a known colour.
Chalford Black Jack - Solid Bay Black
Chalford Black Jack has started work and we look forward to seeing his progeny next year. Jack's dam is a prize winning blue black female and his sire is Koricancha Sinbad of Wessex. Jack is a compact male with a dense, crimpy fleece and excellent conformation. Shown three times last year, he has always been placed first and is described by judges as 'a complete package'. We believe he is ideal for those seeking to produce a well balanced, well covered alpaca with density, character and style within the fleece. Jack is available at an introductory price for this year only. Contact us for details. Chalford Black Jack is co-owned by Alpaca Matter.