10 Things You Didn’t Know About Alpacas

We do know Alpacas are definitely cute and people love meeting them. Here are ten things you did not know about alpacas: 

1) There are only two breeds, the huacaya (wuh-kai-ya), which has fluffy hair (fleece) akin to a teddy bear, and the suri alpaca which has long wavy hair (fleece), that hangs off its body and kinda looks like dreadlocks. 

2) Like their cousins the llamas, alpacas spit when angry or annoyed.  Lucky for us, our alpacas are well behaved and only spit at each other when I have the food bucket.  I do have to admit, I have been caught in the spitfire a couple of times.  

3)  Alpacas are gentle on the land with their soft pads on their feet, which does not churn up the paddocks like a cow or horse’s hooves.  They do have long nails and we trim them every three months. 

4) They are known as good lawnmowers as when alpacas eat grass, they snip off the top of the plant unlike some other animals that pull the grass up by the root when eating.

5) They “cush” when seated, meaning they fold their legs under their body making them easy to transport in smaller trailers. 

6) Alpacas’ tails are used to express feelings to each other. If they’re bothered by something they will twitch it back and forth. If an animal is being submissive it will raise its tail over its body and crouch down. 

7)  Alpacas always poop in the same place. They line up to use these communal dung piles in the paddock. We then scoop it up and use in our garden beds as its known as 'alpaca gold' due to no weeds being transferred.

8) Mothers almost always have their babies in the morning. By having their babies in the morning, the cria will have the whole day to dry off, begin walking around, and nurse from its mother before the temperatures begin to drop. 

9) Females have an 11.5 month gestation period and about 90% of the time they don’t need help in the delivery of the babies.

10) Alpacas love to sunbathe.  The first time I saw them sunbathing, I freaked out as they look like they are dead. You can walk right up to them and they won't hear you in their deep sunny slumber. I wish I could sleep like that!  

Don’t forget about our 4 pax farm stay where you can enjoy a full weekend of interaction with these lovely animals. Fact 11, they love to hog the camera! See our farm stay for more details.

If you have small acreage and would love some wethers as fantastic lawnmowers, please contact us as we always have several available for sale. Training and alpaca workshops are also held at Little Valley Farm.

Hello Costa!

Last week I had the pleasure of visiting Sydney and meeting up with my all-time favourite person - Costa Georgiadis. You will recognise Costa.... and his beard from the iconic ABC's Gardening Australia show. 

More to come shortly..... on our meeting and podcast. All will be revealed shortly. 

Thank you to Costa for your never-ending energy, enthusiasm and dedication to our great Australian environment. You are a champion! See you soon Costa Georgiadis Official

#littlevalleyfarm #lagunansw #wollombivalley #huntervalley #touristdrive33#alpacafarm #lowerhuntervalley #alpacabreeder Little Valley Farm - Alpaca Farm Daniela Ricci

Costa and Daniela Sydney .JPG

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.

cria in jacket.JPG

Autumn at Little Valley Farm

The spotlight shines on autumn, a season renowned for its cooler temperatures and fall foliage. 

Autumn leaf color is a phenomenon that affects the normal green leaves of many deciduous trees and shrubs by which they take on, during a few weeks in the autumn season, various shades of red, orange and brown. A perfect setting for photographers. Visit Little Valley Farm and stay in our red rattler 1950's train and shepherds hut for your unique farm stay in the Hunter Valley. 

Tree change occurs Autumn so make the most of this beautiful farm in the Hunter Valley.Book airbnb https://www.airbnb.com.au/rooms/16481553?s=51

Tree change occurs Autumn so make the most of this beautiful farm in the Hunter Valley.

Book airbnb
https://www.airbnb.com.au/rooms/16481553?s=51

Roma Tomatoes by Little Valley Farm

Our Roma Tomato’s have arrived at Little Valley Farm. We have been growing these beauties for over five years and our customers love them. See what our customers are saying about our seasonal chemical-free Roma’s.

FullSizeRender.jpg

Its not easy growing produce right now due to the super dry-season in the Hunter Valley. We are constantly pumping water to care of our tomatoes. Our over 40+ degree days are a bit tough especially when its 3-4 days of non-stop scorching heat and then the hot wind blowing. I am cursing the weather constantly. Luckily, we had a sunflower ‘trick’ that helped shade some of our plants and are pleasantly growing acid free Roma’s right now. Our seasonal tomatoes will be available until March and then we start to prep the soil for our Turban Purple garlic.

Its time to make my passata. See you soon.

Photoshoot at Little Valley Farm

Yesterday we had the most magical photo shoot at Little Valley Farm. Neve, the friendly Laguna Alpaca did not disappoint. Soon as she met the kids, she gently ate from their hands and then plonked herself right in between the kids and posed for the camera.

Neve, the friendly Laguna alpaca is amazing with her desire to be with people. She picks her people and will happily sit with them for hours in the paddock. The look of disappointment when we get up to leave is hysterical and yesterday she just wanted to sit with the kids under the huge liquid amber tree and just smile away. There are times and its always on her terms, that when she is done, she simply gets up and walks away but she really loves hanging out with people.

Before we introduce Neve and the other alpacas whom are mostly pregnant and a couple of cheeky weathers. Our working stud is in another paddock watching over us. Our advise to people when meeting our alpacas for the first time is to walk slowly to the alpacas, no loud talking and try and whisper, don't try and pat them on their head but when they are ready gently stroke their necks. Moving slowly and quietly the alpacas feel calm and relaxed and will come up to you. One thing for sure is that we keep the working stud (entire male) away from the alpaca herd and especially when we have guests over.

Alpacas are inquisitive and gentle creatures but will occasional spit when food is present. They really don’t have the the desire to spit at you but you could always be standing in the line of fire! Maybe our Little Valley Farm alpacas are just well behaved, beautifully treated and know that they are very much loved.

IMG_4227.JPG
IMG_4214.JPG

Little Valley Farm is a member of the Australian Alpaca Association and sells registers and unregistered alpacas. We sell wethers as guards, alpacas as pets and or breeding females. Our alpacas are shorn every October and are regularly groomed - nails trimmed, teeth check, fleece check, vaccinated and wormed.

If you are a small farm owner and are looking for alpacas, simply let us know what you are looking for and how your farm is set up ie., shelters, fencing, water and small pens so we can give you the best advise for housing alpacas.

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

 

aaa sign .png

What to do with your alpaca fleece?

We have been asked many times, what we do with our left over fleece. So here is a tip or two.

  1. Scrappy leg fleece. To short and course for spinning and felting. We use it as mulch in the garden. Simply break it loose and spread about. It will eventually break down and even better is when you see the birds, sneaking some out of the garden to make their Spring time nests.

  2. Saddle - the good fleece. Even if its course, simply grab a laundry bag, use LUXE clothing wash detergent. Make sure you break down LUXE flakes in a jar of hot water and let it melt. Do not put flakes direct in your washing machine! Once you have washed the fleece, leave it in the sun to fully dry and make a cushion or pillow stuffing out of it.

  3. You may need two or three washes to get the fleece clean but at least you are using the fibre. The best way to wash the fleece is by hand and we would only do this with quality fleece as its very time consuming.

  4. You can spin your fleece raw but it needs to be a good long length. We dislike to see fleece thrown out so the best you can do is use it in your garden as mulch.

Poor Harry. The entire-male

Alpacas are mostly inquisitive, sweet and charming but this does happen (male beserk syndrome), and if you have ever been body-slammed by an alpaca or any other livestock over 80 kilo's - it truly hurts, if not deadly! Sadly, we do hear stories like this one about Dirty Harry. Now Harry is an entire-male (not castrated male). You should only keep entire-males if you have a large herd or if you are a breeder. There is no need to have an entire-male if you just want pets -  so please get yourself females and or wether alpacas which are castrated males as they have lovely temperaments and fleece!

The best advise, as an alpaca breeder for over 6 years now is... make sure you purchase the correct animal for your hobby farm, visit the breeder and don't buy from a farm that only ever had one alpaca mixed in with other livestock (This is a recipe for disaster).   Alpacas need to be trained and should have some human contact from birth to adult life (but not treated like a puppy). You should always purchase alpacas from a registered breeder, like us, or from a member of the Australian Alpaca Association.

Sadly, Harry the brown alpaca will be euthanized, which is just plain sad.

Happy to report the two ladies are now recovering and doing well.


Little Valley Farm provides training days for people wishing to have a couple of alpacas as pets. Find out more on our website at www.littlevalleyfarm.com.au

Read the full ABC article here 

 https://mobile.abc.net.au/news/2018-12-05/alpaca-attack-had-wa-women-fearing-for-their-lives/10581494?pfmredir=sm&sf203631986=1&smid=Page:%20ABC%20Rural-Facebook_Organic&WT.tsrc=Facebook_Organic

#littlevalleyfarm #littlevalleyalpacas #lagunansw #australianalpacaassocation #wollombi #huntervalley #alpacabreeder #alpacafarm  @australianalpacaassociation Little Valley Farm - Alpaca Far

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.

aaa sign .png

Alpacas coming up for sale

A couple of times a year, we release several of our alpacas for sale. The best time to purchase alpacas is after shearing so you can see what’s underneath their beautiful fleece. 

This month, we will be releasing a couple of wethers. They are 3 to 5 years old. They are great mates and should be kept together. Remember alpacas are herd animals and need to be kept with other alpacas, not other livestock.

Wethers are known for their lovely soft fleece and also good guarding nature.  Please note, they can challenge a fox or kill a small domestic dog but they can not fight off a wild dog or a pack of wild dogs.  

Alpaca's need to be shorn every year and we shear every October.  We can give you a rundown on their annual vaccinations, worming, drenching, teeth and nail trimmings.  

Little Valley Farm runs training days a couple of times a year so let us know if that is something that you need to do. We can also give you advice on the best shelters and pens to house alpacas. 

To find out more about our alpaca's send us an email. 

Alpacas start from $550++ depending on age, sex and fleece quality. 



Loves to be hand fed, will follow you around the farm with a bucket of food, inquisitive and lovely natured.

Get your PIC ready before purchasing livestock

Ready more on our blog to find how we use the alpaca fleece.

Fibre Fest 2018

Today we visited Singleton’s Fibre Fest 2018 organised by the Knitters Guild NSW. It was a pretty huge turn out on their Sunday ‘retail-day’. Saturday was full of fibre workshops. Now just one spinning wheel demo and now I want a new spinning wheel and a weaving loom…. oh, plus I want more coloured alpacas.

The alpaca yarn and rovings on sale today was absolutely amazing quality and we know its something that we can produce at LVF down the track.

Here I am demo-ing a two peddle spinning wheel which is made in Holland. Its super easy and I just need to get my hands drafting the alpaca fleece a lot faster. The perfect wheel to spin our alpaca fleece at Little Valley Farm.

#littlevalleyfarm #alpacafarm #alpacabreeder #lagunaNSW #huntervalley #alpacafleece FibreFest #fibrefest2018 #getspinning #getweaving

IMG_1003.JPG

Summer Natives

Summer natives are out in force and paddocks back to their deep green. Thank you for the rain. 156 mls fell in the month of October. Loving Spring again.

Our glamping train and shepherds’s hut is booked out until December 2018. From January you will be able to book for a one night stay as summer is hot-hot-hot in the hunter valley and our alpaca’s love to see visitors.

Visit our Farmstay rustic train carriage alpaca-farm Laguna here.

#lagunaNSW #wollombi #littlevalleyfarm #visitwollombi #touristdrive33 #alpacafarm #farmstay #alapcabreeder #alpaca #alpacalove #alpacafarmstay www.littlevalleyfarm.com.au

Team building stay at Little Valley Farm

Working behind the scenes again…. Little Valley Farm organised a team building event last weekend with our tents, our petite Shepherd’s hut, our unique Train stay plus our huge hang out deck overlooking the alpaca paddocks.

A wonderful snag bbq dinner by Daniela followed by entertainment provided by Neve, Allessandro and Winston the alpacas. I forgot to add the alpaca's in the video! oopps!

Camping and dining at LVF and building down the road at WPF check out the video of the new duck home at WPF.

duck house .jpeg

Alpaca supplies

Alpaca shearing season has started so make sure you have your vaccinations, worming, vitamins ready.  If you are low on supplies we have supplies available to purchase. Simply email us what you need and we can arrange pick up at Laguna. Please note, we don’t post as most of the supplies requires proper refrigeration.

Ivomec Injectable

Cydectin Injectable  

UltraVac 5:1 Injectable 

Propaca vitamins  (powder) 

ADE supplement Injectable  

IMG_2296.JPG

You can ask your your local vet to run a fecal worm count before worming so you don’t run the risk of over or under worming. We can supply the supplements in 1, 2 or 5 ml syringes so you don’t need to buy in bulk if you only have a couple of alpacas.

The day after shearing

The day after shearing. We are exhausted. Now it can rain! The alpacas are a little naked but happy. We are now ready for the hot summer days.

A very big thank you to our shearing team. The Cole family, Kierran, Socie, Frank, Frances and Drew Shearman Our favourite shearer who is gentle and kind with our alpacas. It’s a long exhausting day in the shed with a touch of spit-dodging.

The fleece is drying and our ‘fleece buyers day’ will be happening some time in November.

#littlevalleyfarm #alpacafarm #alpacabreeder #shearing #alpacagleece#alpacas  #lagunaNSW #wollombi #visitwollombi#touristdrive33 Daniela Riccio Drew Shearman Thank you!

I will do nothing today! Thank you, Daniela


Our dear sweet Lilly.

Our dear sweet Lilly.