Judith Newman-14 March 2022

Talking of exciting things the BAS National Show is almost upon us and what a celebration that is going to be after a three-year absence. Good luck to everyone who has entered and to all those of you who are visiting the show have a great time and make the most of the opportunity to have a look at some of the best alpacas in the world. Once exhibitors have finished showing an alpaca, they are often very happy to let you have a closer look at them so don’t be afraid to ask.

We are sad that we are unable to attend the National Show this year but will be watching the livestream with enormous interest.

”

The Farm Manager and I are sat at my desk, actually it’s our dining table, in my office, which is our dining room, in Somerset, surrounded by heaps of alpaca related paperwork looking out at the heavy rain falling on our paddocks that were drying out nicely but are now getting very wet again. We are doing my annual performance review and I’m sad to report that it is not going well.

On the positive side, the days are getting longer, the grass is growing and its only 7 weeks until our first cria of the year is due. We are almost there and things are getting exciting!

We have been busy getting a number of halter trained males castrated and ready to move to their new homes. This includes testing their poo for any parasites and treating if required, making sure they are bang up to date with their vitamins, toe nails nicely clipped, facial fur removed where needed for clear vision and last, but very importantly and not least, bTB tested using Enferplex with our usual zero antigen results. We like our prospective new owners to come and spend some time with us covering all the husbandry aspects of taking care of their alpacas, feed and shelter, recognising when your alpaca may be poorly, body condition scoring, etc. They are then delivered to their new homes complete with a full handover report, shearers details, and ongoing free husbandry support. The new owners can then relax and get to know their alpacas without having to do anything invasive until such time as they are all comfortable with each other.

 “