Rescue Alpaca and alpaca workshops

We have come along way with building trust with this female.

We rarely rescue alpacas, but we take them in to help out whenever we can. We aim to restore their health, address trust issues, and teach them to interact with other alpacas and humans again.

I dedicate much time to building trust with and desensitizing the alpacas. This is crucial for us to handle them calmly, trim their nails, shear them, and administer vaccinations and vitamins. This level of care helps them thrive once again in the paddocks.

All alpacas are handled in a 3 x 3 m pen that is safe for both animals and humans. 

This particular female alpaca picture below was quite feisty and had not been handled or had her nails trimmed properly. We had to work on gaining her trust and improving her behaviour. Today, we reached a milestone as she allowed us to kiss and cuddle her, and even smiled. There was no kicking, screaming, or running around the pen. 

She's a gorgeous girl, and I've received many more cuddles from her since then. Her nails are now looking much better and she is thriving once again.

Join us for our monthly Sunday workshop on handling and farming alpacas. They are beautiful animals. Can't make it to our workshop? Then, we have the alpaca farming manual available for purchase online.

Our next Sunday alpaca workshop will be Sunday 16th June 2024 at 10:30am. Book online to reserve your place as numbers are limited.

Remember: Alpacas are not suitable as house pets. They are livestock and should not be treated like dogs or cats. Improperly raised alpacas can become dangerous and may need to be euthanised if they have not been properly socialised. Please look up Berserk Male Syndrome.

If you want to buy alpacas, make sure you have a PIC# from your Local Land Services and purchase livestock from a reputable breeder who will also mentor you.

We are members of the AAA

Alpaca Workshops in the Hunter Valley

We would like to invite you to the upcoming alpaca workshop at Little Valley Farm. The spots for this event are limited, so be sure to book your reservation online before June 18th, 2023 to secure your place. During the workshop, we will introduce you to the majestic creatures from Laguna, and the event will begin promptly at 10:30am. This is an experience that you won't want to miss!

Meet Summertime Opal by Suki and Sire Richmond, Huacaya Alpaca

“Feeling intimidated by farm life? No need to worry! This starter guide gives you the courage and foundation needed for a successful farming adventure. Get ready - your journey begins here!”
— Daniela

Learn about the different alpaca breeds.

The Suri breed, which is rarer of the two breeds, has long dreadlocked fleece that hangs from their body like tassels. Their fleece is vibrant in lustre and has a silky soft feel. This fleece is primarily used to make fine and luxurious cloth for high-end fashion garments.

Huacaya is the most common of the two breeds making up 90% of the world's population; the fleece is similar to that of Marino sheep and grows out from the body with crimp; it is bright and shiny but has no lanolin. The fleece is used in the production of knitted garments like jumpers and scarves and in the manufacture of luxury carpets, and seat covers through to duvets, doonas and pillows.

Llamas

We do not keep llamas. However, it is worth noting the difference between llamas and alpacas. The primary difference is their size. Alpacas are smaller, measuring around 90 cm at the shoulder and weighing between 55 and 65 kg. On the other hand, llamas are larger, standing at about 120 cm at the shoulder and weighing approximately 113 kg or more.


What do we do with all our alpaca fleece?

At Little Valley Farm, we hand-spin wool into yarn balls and send some of it to the fibre mill for skein processing. We also use the fleece to make our own cushions, and some of our clients use it for their soft toy making. We also make our own duvets, which you can find online. See them online here.


Little Valley Farm is a unique alpaca farm located in the Hunter Valley. We take great pride in providing hands-on training to our friendly and adorable alpacas, and their care is our top priority. Our daily routine involves spending quality time with them, hand-feeding them, and frequently relocating them to new paddocks to ensure they have access to the freshest grass possible, which is essential for their overall health.

We want to invite you to join us at our next monthly alpaca workshop, where we will cover all aspects of alpaca health and welfare. You will learn how to enjoy and get the most out of living with these wonderful animals. We look forward to seeing you there! Any questions, drop me an email via the contact page. Thank you, Daniela

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.

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

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.

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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

Handspun 8 ply alpaca huacaya fleece

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.

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

Millions of fungi spawn after rain.

Millions of fungi spawn after rain.

Great pumpkin growing.

Great pumpkin growing.

Bloopers at Little Valley Farm staring Neve the alpaca

Neve decides to spend the afternoon with us filming in the paddock. She is a real star and the video bloopers are hysterical.

The humans have been in isolation way to long and look forward to re-opening our farm stay mid year as we have been closed since November due to the Summer bush fire season.

Fingers crossed, stay covid safe and hope to see you mid year.

Alpacas on the Old Wheat Paddock

Taking some of our alpacas for a stroll past Platypus Walk and into the Old Wheat Paddock on this hot summer afternoon.

Its always fun having the alpacas follow me around the farm. Highly recommended and alpacas love a new paddock every couple of weeks. Paddock rotation is extremely important for us and for the health of our herd. Find out why, when you book into on our on-farm workshops.

If you are looking at starting your own herd, why not book in for one of our alpaca training workshops and we will show you how we manage of herd of huacaya and suri alpacas.

See more on our website.

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.

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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.

Types of Alpaca's

Our most common question is what is the difference between a Huacaya and a Suri alpaca. Our favourite shop, The Australian Alpaca Barn states it perfectly below.

At Little Valley Farm we have both types of Alpacas and we adore working with both. We are now venturing in the world of coloured alpacas in the next couple of months - and we are super excited!

We currently have super soft handspun alpaca yarn for sale and also raw (unprocessed) fleece for sale. Click here to purchase online.

Photo credit The Alpaca Barn. Check them out in the Hunter Valley, Blue Mountains and Sydney Rocks area.

Photo credit The Alpaca Barn. Check them out in the Hunter Valley, Blue Mountains and Sydney Rocks area.

Alpaca fleece for sale

Our valley has been surrounded by fires recently and we had to cancel our open day.

We have huacaya and suri raw fleece available for sale. Prices start from $20 per saddle and perfect for felting, spinning or using as cushion or toy in-fills. PM for more info. Pick up Laguna.

#alpacafarm #alpacafleece #littlevalleyfarm #lagunansw #wollombi #huntervalley #alpacalove #fleece

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Shearing Day 2019 for alpaca owners in the valley

We have confirmed our shearing day of 19th October, 2019 with Drew Shearman.

If you would like your alpacas sheared on this day please ensure the following;

  1. Visit Drew’s website and book in your date. He will be coming to Laguna-Cessnock area on 19th October so if you are on this route, please contact him now before his time slots book out. https://www.shearmanlivestock.com.au

  2. Confirm costs with Drew including any additional services such as your annual 5:1 vaccinations, worming and nail trimming.

  3. Have a small alpaca enclosure ready. Ensure Drew is not chasing the alpacas on the day. This will result in additional cost (and stress) to you, the alpacas and will also delay Drew in his back to back farm visits. So be prepared!

  4. Ensure you have cash to pay Drew on the day. He can always invoice you later.

  5. Once the alpacas have been shorn, keep them out of the hot sun for a couple of days to avoid sun burn.

  6. Keep your fleece, use the saddle for felting, spinning or making cushion infills. Use the scrappy leg fleece as garden mulch.

  7. Rain or hail we shear so make sure you have some decent undercover for Drew and his equipment.

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Hello little ones!

May is a busy time for us with lots of cria’s unpacking plus our alpaca open day. A big welcome to Roscoe-Lilly and Boey born this month. The weather has been perfect and when winter eventually comes around we have our little coats on and plenty of alpaca shelters.

Lilly and Roscoe on the right and Zoey and Boey on the left.

Don’t forget we currently have some wethers for sale as pairs so contact us for more info.

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