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 Hands-on

Hi everyone, we will be holding an alpaca 'Husbandry Hands-on' event next month.

It's suitable for people who would like to get hands-on experience in cutting toenails, body scoring, giving oral vitamins and checking eyes for health.

We will be going through the entire herd and checking each one. It's full-on and has lots of handling, so enclosed shoes, sun hat and a refillable water bottle to keep hydrated.

Then you can hang out with the alpacas and get to know them after the event. The time for handing is approx 1.5-2 hours. 

No charge if you have already attended our main workshop. It's really to give people the next step in hands-on / exposure to handling alpacas and being confident with them.

Adults only due to safety and insurance.

Only open to people who have already attended our main workshop. 

Only 2-3 people at a time for this event.

If you are looking for accommodation, we have the shearers studio for a minimum of two nights' stay ($600), or you can stay one night at Noyce Brothers Wine/Grays Inn Wollombi, about ten minutes away right in the heart of Wollombi Village. Check out the Noyce website for their rates. https://www.noycebros.com.au/

Date: early July 2022 — at Little Valley Farm - Alpaca Farm.

We will aim to make this a monthly event for our LVF VIP members.

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Photo of Karine as she is a real character. She loves neck rubs, and when she is bored, she walks off. Her cria is super sweet and confident just like her mum.

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How to become a LVF VIP member? Book in for our Alpaca Workshops for new owners.

If you have not attended our main workshop, you can check out our dates and prices here. 

Alpaca Workshops for new owners

Getting ready for our Sunday workshop the first for Winter 2022.

Warm coats, beanies and gumboots are essential. It will be well worth it hanging out with these adorable alpacas.

If you have missed out on your workshop place we will be running a special Saturday edition on 11th June 2022 at 10:30am - places are limited so jump online to book.

#littlevalleyfarm

Alpacas at Little Valley Farm Hunter Valley

At Little Valley Farm, we have been working with alpacas since 2012. We pride ourselves on friendly, healthy and absolutely adorable alpacas. Our workshops are beneficial for potential alpaca owners or people who want to learn more before starting their alpaca journey.

Come, learn and fall in love with our Hunter Valley based alpacas.

Alpaca Yarn Get it online

I love Suki and all of the girls; they are my life. We spin their fleece into amazing wintertime jumpers that keep me warm every season!

Suki's personality is quite an original. She is quirky, inquisitive, and the first one to push the other girls out of the way so she can eat out of your hand. You can hear her saying nom, nom, nom whilst happily chewing away. She has lovely dense, soft fleece and has passed on her lovely fleece to her offspring.

She is also a snake bite survivor, and we are lucky to have her and her cria, Oberon, with us today.

How blessed we are to be able to hand spin the fleece, knit it and wear the garments that will last a lifetime. Thank you, Suki, our quirky alpaca.

The many funny faces of Suki above.

For a limited time only, you can purchase Suki’s yarn online from our shop cart.

We are selling the yarn in 2, 4 or 6 yarn balls in our kraft Gift Case.

These photos were taken on my iPhone today and I have tried to capture its natural colour. They also come in this handy kraft gift box. 8 PLY approx 75-80 g each yarn ball. Get it now before they disappear and you have to wait until we shear and spin again. It’s all handspun so expect rustic and many variations.

Daniela

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

Alpaca Suri Fleece available for sale

Shearing is done every October at Little Valley Farm. Fleece sorting is done randomly or when I get inspired to sort, spin and add it onto the website. It all takes time, and there is always a lot of beautiful fleece sort through.

So, where you can purchase our unprocessed fleece or handspun alpaca yarn? Jump on our website at @littlevalleyfarm.com.au or visit the stunning homeware and lifestyle shop in Laguna called @LagunaLuxe next to GNTP.

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I have just added three saddles of fawn SURI fleece to the website so you can order online and we will post them to you. P&P charges will be added to the shop cart.

Click here to order online as the next lot of fleece won’t be available until October 2022 after shearing day.

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Little Valley Farm is based in Laguna in the Wollombi Valley, Hunter Valley. We are only 90 minutes from Sydney but feels like a million miles away. To check availability for our couples only glamping experience contact Daniela via email.

Frequently Asked Questions here.

Little Valley Farm In the Media

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.

Get Glamping in 2022 with Little Valley Farm

January 2022 is just around the corner and now is your chance to start the year right. So grab your three best friends for a weekend of glamping with the alpacas on our eco-farm.

January offer ~ book direct 4 adults

Enjoy a complimentary bottle of Noyce Brothers Wine and Incy Wincy Cyder on arrival.*

3-4 adults $1000 weekend rate. 2 nights.*
2 adults $ 560-weekend rate 2 nights *
*This offer is for January 2022 bookings only.

Also, Australia Day public holiday is Tuesday 26th January 2022 so take Monday off work and enjoy a 4 day weekend.

Book direct with Daniela and save on platform booking rates also. Email dani@littlevalleyfarm.com.au

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Want to shake it up a bit? Check out these recommendations of things to do when in Laguna.

Yoga with the alpacas at Little Valley Farm

When staying here, make sure you book your private yoga class with our friendly alpacas. Instructor Helena will come here, and you can do yoga out on the paddocks, train deck, or shearers studio.

Phone Helen for yoga rates and book in dates. 0412369291

Get creative with Art N Sip. 

Bring out your inner art enthusiast as you sip wine on the train deck overlooking the alpaca paddocks or visit Heather's art studio in Wollombi. BYO wine and Heather will bring the art.  Make sure you book this direct with Heather and lock in your session.

You can do Art N Sip here or at the Wollombi Studio. For art prices please visit the Hollybrook website.

Cyder tasting with the Wollombi Cyermakers

You can book the cidermakers for tastings on the train overlooking the alpaca paddocks. Jump on the Incy Wincy Cyder website to book it in.

There is so much more to do and experience so jump on the link below and book your Laguna adventure. For activities please book direct with the contacts on the list in advance. There is plenty more option to do so continue reading on this link - Click here to read more

For accommodation booking please email Daniela for dates.

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Alpaca Fleece For Sale - Little Valley Farm

We have just completed our shearing for Spring 2021, and now our alpacas are ready and relaxed for the hot Summer days ahead. Freshly shorn and out of the sun, they enjoy the shade of the old Liquid Amber trees.

Biscuit and Flirty pictured here.

I will be spending the week sorting out which fleece we should spin and felt for our Summer 2022 projects. So far, we have counted 40+ saddles to work with and more for me to clean and sort out.

So if you love spinning or felting alpaca fleece, we have a range of white, fawn and brown fleece for your home projects. We have mostly Huacaya and some long fawn Suri fleece available.

Our alpaca fleece sale will start early November, and we will have saddles ready for spinning from $10, $15, $20 and $30. Our saddles have been partly skirted, (we have removed the neck and leg fleece). But, of course, there will always be some vegetation matter and dirt as they love to roll in the ground just before shearing.

Huacaya or Suri fleece?

Alpaca garments are often sought after for their softness and warmth. The two types of alpacas, Suri and Huacaya, offer different qualities in wool that can be used to create unique pieces of clothing. Learn more about the difference between these animals, so you know which type is best suited to your needs!

Alpaca fleece sales

Our sale day will be held up at our house, and please note, we are open via appointment only. Our fleece sales do not include feeding the alpacas as we are limited with our time and workload already. Also, please do not bring your dogs to our farm due to our strict bio-security policy.

As we are a COVID safe business, you will be required to QR code check-in on arrival.

Feel free to email us for raw fleece sales and what you are looking for. If you can’t make it to our farm we can post our fleece to you. Jump on our shop cart to view prices.

We will also have some more alpacas coming up for sale November-December. Simply email to be added to our livestock waitlist.

www.littlevalleyfarm.com.au/shop

Check out these adorable faces below?

Alpaca Transportation Service

Our compartmental alpaca float can move up to six (adult-sized) alpacas within the Hunter & Central Coast area.

Talk to us for more info and price based on pick up and delivery location and the number of alpacas.

Please only enquire about A L P A C A S. As we don’t move any other animals.

Please ensure paperwork and livestock movement certificate is all in order before pick up. No documents. No pickup.

We are alpaca breeders based in the Hunter Valley and have worked with many small farms and hobby farms over the years. So if you have any questions please feel free to drop us a line. Thank you

Huacaya and Suri Alpacas at Little Valley Farm

Which alpaca is four weeks old and the other is six weeks old can you guess? Huacaya or Suri can you tell? Why...

Posted by Little Valley Farm - Alpaca Farm on Wednesday, January 13, 2021

Fibre of the Gods!

Sustainable, renewable, ethical, biodegradable. Alpaca is one of the finest animal fibres in the world, comparable to mohair, cashmere and other rare fibres.

No wonder its referred to as the Fibre of the Gods!

There are two types of alpacas – Huacaya (pronounced Wuh-kai-ya) and the Suri. Huacaya fibre is similar to sheep fibre with a crimpy structure to the fibre but without the lanolin. Suri fibre can be described as a flat fibre that handles and behaves like silk when processed and dyed. The fibre hangs in locks from the alpacas and is considered a premium fibre.

Check out this four-star chart comparing alpaca to wool, cotton and feather/down.

So be sustainable and get into alpaca now.

Contact us for raw fleece, yarn supplies and also in-fills for cushions, bean bags and soft toys.

Alpaca Fleece

Shearing has been done for 2020 and our beautiful alpacas are now ready for Summertime.

We have now saddles available to purchase for $10, $20 and $30 in white, fawn and chocolate in Huacaya and Suri fleece.

Pick up is in Laguna via appointment only from November 1st. We have over 40 saddles currently available that are perfect for spinning and felting.

We also have raw fleece available suitable for stuffing for handmade knitted toys or cushions from $10 per bag.

Handspun 8 ply alpaca huacaya fleece

Alpaca Sales and Workshops in the Wollombi Valley

Alpacas are fascinating animals, but they require special management. Join Daniela at Little Valley Farm for their unique and hands-on workshop that is perfect for people living on small farms or acerage and that are thinking of having alpacas as pets.

You will also be given a copy of the AgGuide - Farming Alpacas book to take home.

A basic guide to some of the skills and practices of alpaca production. This guide covers information on alpaca production including health, breeding and farming, nutritional needs and breeding to improve fleece.

Book in now for Sept and October 2020 dates in the Hunter Valley.

Click here for workshop info.

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.

Fairytale Farm

Some days it just feels like a fairytale being surrounded by these adorable fluff balls.

This is what you get to enjoy when you book your farm stay with us. Our farm is exclusively for farm stay guests and also the alpaca workshops that we run for new alpaca owners.

We don’t open for day visits as we are super busy with our farm duties. We do however have an open day once a year, usually in Autumn or Spring but you need to register for this once we release the dates.

Stay in touch via our Facebook or sign up here and we will let you know when you can purchase your tickets for our exclusive open day.

Alpaca GOLD

The beauty of alpaca manure - big beautiful sunflowers and amazing produce at the farm.

Alpaca manure is called alpaca gold and for very good reason.

Although lower in organic matter than other traditional manures, alpaca manure has a lot of value in the garden. In fact, many gardeners find this type of manure to be an excellent source of nutrients for optimal soil and plant health.

Using alpaca manure as fertiliser is beneficial. Even with its lower organic content, alpaca manure is considered a rich soil conditioner. Alpaca fertiliser improves the soil quality and its ability to retain water. It is also good for plants, providing a fair amount of nitrogen and potassium and about average levels of phosphorus. Since alpaca manure is mostly found in pellet form and is weed free, it does not need to be aged or composted before use. You can spread it directly onto garden plants without burning them.

Best of all, it does not contain any weed seeds to contaminate your garden beds.

This years large sunflowers. nothing added except organic matter and alpaca gold.

Millions of fungi spawn after rain.

Great pumpkin growing.