PIC number - do you have one?

When buying any livestock, please ensure you have a PIC # for your property. What is a PIC #?

A Property Identification Code (PIC) is required for all farms, including hobby farms.

A PIC is an eight-character code allocated by the state department of agriculture (or an equivalent authority in each state or territory) to identify a livestock-producing property. The PIC forms the basis of Australia’s food safety and traceability programs and is used in cases of disease outbreaks, bushfires and animal emergencies.

Individuals must, under law, have a PIC if they own or keep one or more cows, sheep, goats, pigs,  deer, alpacas, llamas, horses, ponies, donkeys, or more than 100 poultry (i.e. domesticated fowl, chickens, ducks, geese, turkey, guinea fowl, pigeons, quail or pheasants) or ten emus or ostriches.

In NSW, all livestock owners and occupiers of land carrying livestock must have a PIC, regardless of whether the livestock is moved. This is a requirement under the Biosecurity (NLIS) Regulation 2017 and Biosecurity Act 2015. 

When purchasing livestock, dealing with a reputable breeder who is transparent in their information is crucial. A top-notch breeder will ask for your PIC # before the livestock sale transaction and provide theirs. By engaging with a trustworthy breeder, you can avoid livestock scams and confidently make informed purchase decisions.

Contact your Local Land Service to obtain your PIC today.   Click here on how to apply.

Watch the Local Land Service video on PIC’s here.

When purchasing an alpaca from Little Valley Farm, please ensure your PIC code is ready and can be easily obtained from your Local Land Services. Refer to the link above to obtain yours. We will include your PIC number on our invoice for traceability.

The image above is courtesy of Cheryl Warning. Autumn 2017 at Little Valley Farm.

Poisonous Plants for Alpacas

Compared to other animals, alpacas have smaller livers, making them more susceptible to liver damage and poisoning if exposed to toxic plants for prolonged periods.

Alpacas seldom suffer from acute poisoning caused by the consumption of toxic plants. As grazers, they tend to steer clear of poisonous vegetation when alternative feed is available. However, it's crucial to control the growth of harmful weeds in paddocks. Additionally, many ornamental plants are toxic, so it's best to prevent alpacas from grazing in garden areas where these species may be present.

Various types of plants, including exotic trees, shrubs, and pasture species, can contain toxins. However, most of these plants have bitter alkaloids that make them less appealing to consume. Feeding mouldy hay or drinking water that supports algal blooms can also lead to poisoning.

The toxicity level of plants can change depending on the season and the stage of their growth.

• Wilting in dry conditions and rapid growth after rain can increase the toxicity of some plants.

• Applying fertiliser to promote lush growth may increase toxicity.

• Some plants may only be toxic when growing in particular soil types.

• Stressful growth conditions, such as drought or insect attack may cause toxins to concentrate in a

plant.

• Plant parts can vary in their relative toxicity.

• Herbicide treatments can increase the palatability of plants.

• When livestock are hungry, they may gorge themselves on things they would not normally

eat. Therefore, do not introduce hungry livestock to areas where toxic plants are known to be growing.

• Livestock grazing in an area for extended periods may become accustomed to eating small amounts of toxic plant material. New mobs introduced to the same area will not have the same tolerance.

Poisonous plants can vary in toxicity according to parts of the plant and stages of plant growth. Typical indicators of plant poisoning can include:

• loss of appetite

• abdominal pain (alpacas will sit on one hip with a leg extended and roll). They may not be able to stand.

• restlessness

• diarrhoea

If you think your alpaca has been poisoned, it's important to bring samples of the plants they may have ingested to the veterinarian for identification. This will help in getting the appropriate treatment for your alpaca. 

Other Things to Do 

• Besides calling your vet.

• Move your alpaca to a secure small pen with a companion. Have drinking water and hay available.

• Take the temperature of your alpaca and record it and the time. Just use a standard chemist rectum thermometer. Check and record several times throughout the day or night.

• Pick and bag suspected plants as well as faecal sample of the animal.

• Check eyelids and gums to see if they are pink or turning white. Record and or take a photo as it will help record the time.

• Take a video of your alpaca, which can be handy when explaining to your breeder or vet. 

  Plants that are toxic/poisonous to alpacas.

  As a general guideline, it's essential to be aware that certain flowers, flower buds, seeds, and berries may be toxic. We take great care to maintain our paddocks and regularly inspect and remove any fireweed. Although plants like bracken fern and Privett are located on the other side of the fence in the bush, they may encroach on the paddock if left unchecked. As responsible animal caretakers, we make it a point to mow our paddocks to keep them well-maintained regularly. Our alpaca herd undergoes a weekly paddock rotation as well. Additionally, we incorporate cross-grazing with our donkeys, which also benefits. We also leave a large bucket of hay and or chaff so alpacas can help themself, especially during the Wintertime when the grass is not so great.

If you're interested in learning more about alpacas and are new to the subject, we invite you to attend our upcoming weekend workshop. Daniela

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Farming Alpacas in the Hunter Valley

Have you ever wanted to learn more about farming and caring for Alpacas?  Do you have a small herd or recently purchased a property with an interest in livestock?  Little Valley Farm, based in the Lower Hunter Valley, has been working with alpacas since 2012. Our alpaca workshops are one of the most well-recognised and attended in NSW since being established in 2019. Workshops happen throughout the year, at least monthly. 

Little Valley Farm is based in the Wollombi Valley at Laguna, under two hours from Sydney and 90 minutes from Newcastle. 

Most attendees come because they love Alpacas and want to know more about them before purchasing their farm or acreage property. 

Little Valley Farm reviews essential topics such as Alpaca care, fencing, shelters, feed, shearing and all alpaca husbandry needs during these workshops.  People also learn how to handle alpacas carefully and confidently. It's a great insight into the world of a small hobby farm and the personalities and character of each alpaca. 

The workshop ends with a chat and morning tea overlooking the farm. This is a perfect chance to gain from other people's experiences and properties and to meet other alpaca and small farm enthusiasts. 

Photo credit Matt Hoorspol

Alpaca Workshop for August 2022 Hunter Valley

Ok, let's get back on track after two floods this year!

The July 2022 flood knocked us around, so we will resume our workshops early August.

We have a Friday edition on August 12th 2022, and then Sunday, August 21st 2022, starting at 10:30 am.

Workshops are a great way to find out if alpacas are suitable livestock for your farm and your lifestyle. We also have the free Alpaca Husbandry Hands-on, which is a deep dive into handling alpacas so you can gain confidence when handling them. We run the husbandry workshops only a couple of times a year and are exclusive to our LVF VIP members.

If you already have alpacas at your farm and would like Euan and me to run a workshop there, drop us a note and your location and number of people and alpacas.

Alpaca Workshop - The Starter Guide - come join us on Friday 12th August 2022 or Sunday 21st August 2022. It Starts at 10:30 am at our farm in Laguna. Adults $159 and including our alpaca book for you to take home and morning tea.

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Who is this good-looking stud?

Welcome the Lieutenant to Little Valley Farm.

He travelled from South Australia and arrived the weekend of the Hunter Valley flood!

Our third working stud as part of our breeding 2023 program. I love his fleece and gentle temperament.

Thanks to James of Kobler Alpacas for this lovely stud.

We are always doing something new and exciting at Little Valley Farm, so if you have any ideas or want to learn more, please get in touch with Daniela. We have a couple of females coming up for sale as pets, as well as our beautiful alpaca yarn that you can purchase online.

Don’t forget we have our adult accommodation at Little Valley Farm for four people. So you can have the farm to yourself (no other guests) and enjoy bonfire nights, wood-fired pizzas by the train and our new dry sauna in the Shearers Studio.

Book direct and save with us. Now taking bookings for October 2022 onwards.

HINT: Subscribe to our website and you will receive a discount voucher to use for your accommodation. Saving you over $100.

Startect

We have ordered a five litre bottle of STARTECT to use on our alpacas. If you would like to find out more please do drop me a line. Thanks Daniela

Find out more and how it will assist with your worm control program here.

Farm Bio-Security Foot and Mouth Disease

Bio Security at Little Valley Farm - PLEASE read before coming to our farm.

From one disaster straight into another. We have had two years of non-stop action. As I write this blog, we have just encountered our worst flood impact and are recovering from the March 2022 flood and the 2021 Flood and La Nina events. So now, with news from Indonesia this month, it's time to think and act on FMD - Foot and Mouth Disease and stop it from entering Australia and our farmland.

And if you haven't learnt anything from the 2019 fires and 2021 - 2022 floods, learn one thing ~ preparation. #everybitcounts

What is FMD - Foot and Mouth Disease?

Image Animal Health Australia

With Australian borders freely open international travel is now back on the cards. If you're travelling to Australia from Indonesia, including Bali, you must take the appropriate precautions to help prevent Foot-and-mouth disease from reaching our farming communities.

The steps you can take include:

• Thoroughly clean and disinfect your shoes and boots before returning to Australia, or even better, leave them behind in Indonesia.

• Inform Customs if you've been in contact with cattle, pigs, sheep or goats, if you've been to rural areas, and/or if you're carrying animal material or food.

• Do not bring into the country any food, or medicine, including any alternative medicines. 

• If in contact with cattle, pigs, sheep or goats overseas, stay away from these species for at least 28 hours after contact – the virus can survive in your nasal passages

Things to do now for your farm:

1. Have your farm Bio-security plan in place.

2. Ensure all visitors are registered before entering your farm.

3. Limit the number of access points for visitors.

4. Shoe bath upon arrival and ensure all genuine hygiene practices are in place.

5. Ask the question if your farm visitors have been to Bali, Indonesia, since June 2022.

6. Ask all visitors to bring boots or indoor and outdoor shoes.

7. Jump on the Animal Health website for more things you need to do, as they have some great resources.

There are some great resources on the Animal Health Australia website, so make sure you take the time to protect your farm, your animals and the whole of Australia. 

If FMD does enter Australia, thousands, if not millions, of livestock will be euthanized and then burnt. It also means that infected farms will not be able to have livestock on their lands for many years - this includes hobby farmers.  Yes, FMD does affect alpacas and llamas.

Keep up to date via the Agriculture Gov Au Bio-security and Animal Health website.

Euan and I were working and living in the UK when FMD broke out, and it was devastating and a reminder of how things can go so bad so quickly. Article from BBC on the 2001 UK FMD.

What is means to us?

Death to all our alpacas in the area and the ban on farming for many years. Heartbreak and heartache watching our beloved livestock being put the death.

Frequently Asked Questions and our BIo-Security Polcy read here.

Hunter Valley Alpacas

For those needing help or advice after the Hunter Valley July 2022 floods.

We are there for our amazing animals through fire, flood, drought, and illness. If you have alpacas and are stuck in the current Hunter Valley flood, please contact me for support or advice. No question is too big or small or silly - just ask as someone else may have the same question as you.

I am not a vet but may be able to offer some guidance and pathways to other experts.

Floods for us are a way of life here, but this one was huge. We were prepared; donkeys and alpacas are all up at the house. The water covered our paddocks and took out the use of some sheds for now. It's raining today, so fingers crossed we will see some more sun tomorrow.

Feel free to DM me.

Daniela Riccio Little Valley Farm - Alpaca Farm

Laguna, Wollombi Valley, Hunter Valley

Photo of Miss Abs - the look on her face says, it all!

If you would like to direct message us or email dani (@) little valley farm.com. au

Alpaca Husbandry Session

Alpaca Husbandry Session

Suitable for people wanting to learn how to trim alpaca nails, conduct regular body scoring, carry out drenching and administering vitamins.  The essential hands-on experience for potential alpaca owners or current alpaca owners. 

Your animals deserve to be happy and healthy. With that in mind, you have an ethical responsibility toward their welfare by providing a safe and caring environment such as good food sources, clean water, and shelter  - so they can always reap the benefits of living on your farm. 

The best way to keep your herd healthy and productive is by keeping them vaccinated, with updated vaccinations and parasite control. It's important that you watch the herd constantly so they don't get sick especially as we now are experiencing dramatic seasonal changes. 

 You may think that alpacas are indestructible, but they're not. When one of your alpacas becomes sick it can be difficult to tell how much damage the illness has done because these animals will rarely show any signs of being ill or injured. This makes prevention more important than cure!

Alpaca Husbandry what we will do:

• Quietly move alpacas into the holding pen 

• Learn how to safely and quietly herd them  

• Pen, handle and hold each alpaca 

• Handling difficult alpacas. 

• Trimming their toenails 

• Vaccination, Vitamins, Drenching (oral or injection) 

• Body Scoring each alpaca 

• Checking eyes 

• Recording notes for each alpaca 

This is only for adults and for people who are interested in owning alpacas or current owners who want to know more. It’s a great introduction to see if they are the right fit for your farm and become confident when handling them. You will see the good side and the not-so-easy to handle alpacas and how we do it. 

The morning is around 1.5 hours and we will end the session up at the house with a relaxing morning tea. 

What you need:

- Closed shoes for safety 

- Please wear long pants/jeans for safety

- Sunhat 

Time: Approx 1.5 Hours (one and half hours). 

This event is not suitable for children and please do not bring your dogs to our farm.  We run this event only 2-3 times a year. We keep the numbers limited so hands-on learning time is maximized.  There is also our alpaca management manual if you would like to purchase that also on the day.  We will go ahead in moderate rain and would only cancel if there is a threat of fire, flood or deluges. 

Alpaca Husbandry Session exclusive to Little Valley Farm

This workshop is free of charge for people who have already attended our Sunday alpaca workshop and is the next step to gaining hands-on experience and confidence in handling alpacas.

Expect to get a little farm dirty at this Alpaca Husbandry Session.

NSW DPI Get Ready Animals Evacuation Plan for Livestock owners

Euan talking to NSW Department of Primary Industries for the "Get Animals Ready" campaign right after the 2019/2020 bushfires.

How times have changed since the 2019 bushfires and this month the focus is on our flood evac plan - Let’s hope we and all the other livestock owners do not need to use it.

Have you updated your fire and flood plan this year?

NSW Department of Primary Industries NSW SES Australian Alpaca Association #littlevalleyfarm #huntervalley

Shelters for Alpacas

Alpacas need shelter, please don’t let others convince you of anything different to that fact. The most essential & basic shelter are trees, they can provide deep shade in Summer and protection from rains and wind in Winter.

A permanent structural shelter with sides, is extremely important particularly for the protection of newborn cria and recently shorn alpacas. Simple shelters of poles and shade cloth can be erected in the absence of trees, but we highly recommend having a permanent shelter or shelters.

We have several different types of permanent shelters at Little Valley Farm. A 4 x 4 metre or larger is useful and can be used on your annual shearing day or in extreme weather conditions such as rain and windy conditions. Not all alpacas will use the sheds but it gives them the option and is extremely useful for penning them when necessary.

Fresh drinking water is a must in or around each shelter especially if penned. Alpacas will drink two to ten litres per day.

Feed bucket to help keep the feed dry avoiding mould build-up and helps reduce feed wastage.

Alpaca ‘Summer Palace’

Here are some examples of sheds we have. Below is our Alpaca Summer Palace with lots of extra shade provided by the trees and excellent cross ventilation inside. The shed has 1/2 earth and 1/2 brick floor. They prefer the earthen floor, we like the brick which stays drier longer. The shelter has opening shutters to control wind and light. Cold rainy days we close them but mostly they are open. The back are has two gates which can be closed if we need to catch them. The alpaca’s love sitting out the front of the shelter looking over the paddocks and towards the house.

Below is our Twin Shed is nicely situated in between two paddocks, so it is convenient when we do our weekly paddock rotation of the alpacas and mini donkeys. It also provides us a couple of pens to catch the Alpacas.

It has lot of cross ventilation and plenty of trees for deep shade on the northern side. The summer western sun is an issue but they move towards the large trees down the paddock on hot and sunny afternoons.

The drinking water trough is close by and they love the dirt floor to roll about in.

Twin Shed placed in between two paddocks

Twin Shed lot of gates to help create small pens and plenty of ventiliation with a solid wall to avoid the wind and rain.

Want to read more about managing your own herd? We have some great reading material to get you started. Click here. Attending one of our weekend workshops. Click here for workshop info.

More about Daniela and Euan at Little Valley Farm here.

Why Miniature Donkeys?

Miniature Donkeys are a recent addition to the farm. They are cute, fun, highly inquisitive and just a bit silly. So why not have them! However, the main role of these little beauties is to help us in the application of a ‘regenerative system’ to manage the farm.

Alpacas are excellent small farm or acreage animals. But as the herd grows potential issues with animal health and pasture management becomes more problematic. When we started our journey on the farm we always had multi animals on the paddocks; free-range chickens, low line Angus and Belted Galloway Miniature cattle and even some Dorper sheep. Each had their issues and advantages.

Free Range Chickens; there is nothing better than real free range eggs and when chickens roam you really get to know their wonderful personalities. They were great at breaking down manure on the paddocks, especially older manure the dung beetles didn’t get to. But Chickens are excavating machines, we lost gardens, grassy areas and spent large amounts of time keeping them out of vegetable patches.

Sheep; we never really bonded with the sheep. If you eat meat they have an advantage, but our lush summer rainfall meant constant problems for their feet. They also leave manure everywhere which was ignored by chickens and dung beetles and an additional worm-risk when running alpaca. They also require different fencing, usually 6 plain wires with a low electric strand, which we did not have. It took a year but they figured that out and soon ate every edible tree they could find. They did not lost long.

Miniature Cattle; we loved having the cows, and even loved our temperamental and destructive lowline bull. We produced some wonderful calves and even experimented with on-farm butchering (with some purchased steers). Once you get to know cows well, you soon turn off meat-eating and just love being around them. Cattle manure is easily spread and the dung beetles did a beautiful job putting nutrients into the ground. In 2019 feed costs skyrocketed, and a small farm like ours with a heavy winter frost and very little winter rain does not stock cattle so easily. In good years we were fine, but bad years made it unsustainable.

We sold all our cattle in 2019 and have had a much larger Alpaca herd even since. But a single breed of animal has its own issues.

Alpacas have some incredible advantages, they are gentle on the land with soft feet, they eat comparatively little for their size, they have a couple of limited manure piles, they don’t break fences, are easy to handle with lower infrastructure costs and they are selective grazers who are gentle on the pasture. But from a regenerative process pov many of these advantages are disadvantages. Eventually the pasture has highly productive areas around the manure piles and very little nutrients is put back into the other areas. They also prefer shorter grass and when our summer grass gets to knee high they will often avoid it and over graze other areas. In a short time we noticed they were forced to eat closer manure piles and in March 2021 we had our first ever problems with intestinal worms.

The system we ran with the cattle and alpaca was perfect to help control worms and manage feed and pasture fertilisation with limited mechanical intervention. Bovines and Equines actually help break the worm cycle for the Alpaca. They also ate grass and hay the Alaca would not eat, and we ‘harrowed’ their manure, or it was spread out by dung beetles and chickens, returning nutrients more evenly to. the pasture. We did not strip graze, but we were able to use 22 acres split into 13 small paddocks very effectively for rotational grazing.

So why Miniature Donkeys? in short they will help us for the same reasons as the cattle, but with a few other advantages: they are wonderful with people, they are small (150kg vs a 300kg cow), and they have great personalities. In the end they are the next evolution of finding and perfecting a sustainable system on the farm. They are not the only part, our planting system is also key - but that’s for another post!

Alpaca Sales in the Hunter Valley

Besides running workshops in the Hunter Valley, Little Valley Farm also provides mentoring and guidance for new alpaca owners.

If you are looking into having alpacas on your farm and are not 100% sure then this booklet by AAA called "Managing Alpacas in Australia", is a great and super easy read to get you started.

Also, at our workshops, we provide the Ag guide 'Farming Alpacas' which is a more in-depth overview of managing alpacas.

For now, check out the booklet on alpacas and you can purchase online from us. Simply click here.

We will be updating our livestock sales list later this month. Click here to see what is currently available.

Alpaca Workshops for small farms and acerages

"Knowledge will give you the opportunity to make a difference on the farm and for your new herd of wonderful alpacas."

Join us for our unique alpaca workshops at Little Valley Farm.

Simply contact Daniela for availability in 2020. Classes are kept small due to our COVID safe procedure.

Click here to see our workshop info.

Parasite Control and Conditions in Alpacas

Though we had a nasty start to the season due to the effects of prolonged drought exacerbating the fire season, and now the current Covid19. We now have predictions for a wet winter.

With rainfall comes insects and parasites, and we are reminding alpaca owners to remain vigilant as we approach winter, especially since we have been enjoying warmer weather right through to late April.

Conditions are right in many regions for insect populations to ramp up, which is reportedly already happening with flies across Australia’s central region and brings a host of issues for livestock owners. 

Pasture growth is always a blessing, however, it can drastically increase survivability for internal and external parasites in paddocks. That means greater monitoring to ensure the health of our alpacas. 

Conditions from tics due to the remaining warmth keeps them active in the ground, roaming snakes seeking shelter and food, ryegrass seed complications, weed poisoning and conditions such as rickets, barbers pole and staggers, just to name a few.

We recommend you visit the Australia Alpaca Association for a list of known weeds, plants and tree’s that are toxic to alpacas.

Wet weather also brings us an ample growth of wild mushrooms so please remove them safety with gloves and dispose of carefully. 

If we do have a wet winter, parasite control is another thing to consider, as the seasonal conditions have meant there are much higher risks of worms and flystrike in some areas. So please ask your vet to conduct a worm count before drenching and remember - paddock rotation is the best natural method you can do. 

If you have coloured alpacas we recommend ADE for this time of the year - vitamin boost for colours but also recommend for all. 

Feel free to talk to us about which appropriate worming/drenching method to use. 

Here’s a photo of me with one of my breeding girls, Neve.

Daniela

If you are looking at starting your own herd of alpacas keep an eye on our website on alpaca sales or join our mailing list for the next herd dispersal sale.

Its called Alpaca 'Gold'

The alpaca is a ruminent with three stomachs. It converts grass and hay to energy very quickly, eating far less (as a percentage of its body weight) than other farm animals. Alpaca manure is lower in organic matter content than the manure from most other barnyard livestock (cows, horses, goats and sheep) but still has enough to improve soil texture and water-holding capacity. This lower organic content allows alpaca manure to be spread directly onto plants without burning them. It is the decomposition of organic matter content of the manure that indicates their efficient digestion system.

The nitrogen and potassium content of alpaca dung is comparatively high, an indication of good fertilizer value. Nitrogen, phosphorus and potassium are the major plant nutrients. Phosphorus is relatively low as in most livestock manure. The calcium and magnesium content is about average. South American Indians use the alpaca waste for fuel, and local gardeners find the alpaca's rich fertilizer perfect for growing fruits and vegetables. A herd of alpacas consolidates its waste in one or two spots in the paddocks, thereby controlling the spread of parasites and making it easier to collect and use on our garden beds. 

Photo credit to Richard of Incamon Alpaca Stud.

Little Valley Farm Open Day

Join us for our exclusive annual Spring open day at Little Valley Farm. Its your chance to visit this unique alpaca farm in the Hunter Valley. Usually closed to the public the farm opens up on November 23rd and you can purchase tickets now. Enjoy a day with the alpacas and learn more about these amazing animals.

Buy your tickets as limited numbers are available. Click here.

Snake bite on the farm

It has been one traumatic week and we are glad its over. One of our girls was bitten by a red belly black. This has never happened before and we usually encounter snakes all year round. It was just one of those ‘things’ that accidentally happened.

Having never encountered an alpaca in so much pain, falling over, not walking, shaking, crying in pain, not eating or drinking, we kept her in our quarantine pen in the shade with a companion. First thing we did was process of elimination and ran down every list of what it could be;

• Worm burden. Usually after a long dry period and then rain. Did the worm count and it was very low. The rest of the herd had no symptoms so we crossed that off our list

• Grass poisoning or staggers. Usually after a long dry period and then after the rain comes fresh green shoots but really did not have much change to our paddocks.

• Ticks but could not find anything. Plus back legs are the first to be paralysed is one of the first tick symptoms.

• Snake bite. We had seen them close to the girls paddocks the last 2-3 weeks.

• We did our ADE, 5:1 and worming as a back up. We ran a worm burden test and blood test. The most important thing we did was Vitamin C in liquid form and then the vet gave her a high dosage. Our girl struggled for a couple of days and I have to say, she really struggled, but once it passed it passed. She is now up and walking normally, eating and doing all the things that she should be doing.

  She is just a couple of months pregnant so we are not sure if this event will affect the pregnancy or the cria but I guess time will tell.

  We are keeping a close eye on Suki and very grateful that she is back with the herd. Let’s hope it never happens again.

Breeding Alpaca's

Autumn is here and so its finally time to join our stud alpaca with our girls. We have changed our mating dates in the last couple of years due to the scorching heatwaves and to make it a more pleasant experience for our alpaca mum’s and cria’s.

We now prefer our births from March to June as the weather is cooler and we have plenty of enclosures to keep the cria and mum warm and out of the rain for the first couple of weeks. Rain, wind and the cold can kill a cria so make sure you have fully-enclosed shelters/pens that will accommodate mum, cria and a companion alpaca in the shed when the weather is not so nice.

What we do:

1. Summer in the Hunter Valley can reach over 43+ degrees with several days in a row at this unpleasant temperature. So please ensure you have adequate shelter (deep shade) in each paddock. If its hot for you its hot for the alpacas.

2. Make sure all your alpacas are shorn every year. We shear every October when the sun is not burning hot as we have witnessed sunburn on alpacas shorn December and January when the sun is at it hottest.

3. Ensure your alpacas have deep shade as well as a large shed as a backup. They do prefer to sit under tree’s but will definitely use the shed when hail or heavy rain appears.

4. Make sure all your water troughs are placed in a shaded area and not sitting out under the sun. Change the water daily to keep it fresh and cool and use an auto-filler trough. Some days we place ice cubes / bags / bottles inside the trough to keep it chilled.

5. Shower the alpacas under their bellies on hot days and wet their legs where their sweat glands are. Give them the dam but please ensure they do not get their long skinny legs stuck in the mud and drown.

6. Summer time is tick time and your young alpacas are more susceptible to ticks. We have found the older alpacas seem to fight it off. So make sure you shear October when the ticks are out and check them all the way until Autumn. Its easier to find a tick on an alpaca once they have been shorn. We have guinea fowl that roam the paddocks looking for ticks also.

7. For cria’s born in the wind and rain make sure you have a alpaca jacket (dog jacket) for them to wear. Keep the jacket dry at all times and depending on the weather place the jacket on late afternoon and then secure in a fully enclosed pen with mum. Remove jacket early morning.

8. Make sure your trim your alpaca’s nails every three months. Don't let them get to long and out of shape as they will never be comfortable, look good or be easy to trim again. So trim regularly and it will make the whole process a whole lot easier for you. Hint also trim after the rain as the nails are lovely and soft to cut.

9. Lucern hay for mum and cria in the pens and some hay for cria to sit on and keep itself warm.

Extreme heat in NSW - taking care of your alpacas

We are all feeling the mercury rise, and this week extreme heat is emerging as an issue around the country.

Managing animals in high temperatures requires good forward planning. Keeping an eye on the weather forecasts, and developing a plan for days of high to extreme temperature is essential in ensuring that your animals will have sufficient shade and water on those very hot days.

Extreme heat causes significant stress for alpacas. There are a few simple guidelines you can follow to reduce the impacts of high temperatures on animals.

• The provision of a plentiful supply of clean, cool water and shade is essential.

• Water troughs or containers should be large enough and designed in such a way that all animals have easy access. The number of watering points and/or water flow should be increased if a large number of animals are kept together. Troughs or containers should be firmly fixed so they cannot overturn. They should be kept clean and should be designed and maintained to prevent injuries.

• Animals need to be provided with shelter during extended periods of extreme temperatures. Shelter is especially important for very young or old animals or animals that are in poor condition or birthing.

• It is recommended not to handle animals in extreme heat unless absolutely necessary. If necessary, make sure it is done as early or late in the day as possible when temperatures are lower.

Animals at high risk of heat stress include young animals and dark coloured animals These animals should be watched more closely for signs of heat stress during days of high temperature. Remember that alpacas are more prone to heat stress than sheep and goats. There are many signs of heat stress that you can look for in your animals. Some general signs of heat stress include:

• panting

• increased respiration rate

• increased water intake

• loss of appetite

• listless/lethargy

• increased salivation

• in severe cases may become unconscious.

Remember: The most important things you can do for your animals in hot weather is to provide them with rest and shade in the hottest parts of the day, and plenty of clean cool water.

You have a responsibility to ensure the well-being of animals under your care. Animal Welfare - it's your duty to care.

This information taken from the Australian Alpaca Association. Visit their website for more information on caring and health of Alpacas. https://www.alpaca.asn.au

Registered Alpaca Breeder in Wollombi Valley

Little Valley Farm is a member of the Australian Alpaca Association. That mean’s we have a registry of our alpaca’s and their birth lines. It also means for new alpaca owners, when you purchase an alpaca from us, you know what you will get - a happy, healthy, friendly alpaca.

Little Valley Farm also runs alpaca working shops and training days. Follow our facebook page for our 2019 event listings.

Alpaca fleece buyers day happens Nov - Dec - Jan every year where you get to purchase our beautiful fleece in white, fawn and chocolate brown.