Annual Shearing at Little Valley Farm
Neve the friendly alpaca
Neve day dreaming…
Sleepy Laguna
On a very beautiful Winters morning in Laguna. You coming?
Book your two nights farm stay with us. 4 adults in our rustic red rattler train and tiny shepherds hut. See our website for full dets.
The Alpaca Nursery
Book your four person farmstay with us and get close up and personal with the alpacas. There are some very inquisitive little cria’s running around the paddocks right now.
At night we keep them safe and warm in our alpaca nursery with mum and listen to them humming away.
Visit our website www.littlevalleyfarm.com.au to book your farmstay via AirBnB.
Discover a world of Little Valley Farm
So much has been happening on the farm this season. From cria births to our annual event, afternoon-on-the-farm alpaca workshop plus our goofy Guinea Fowl as well as Winston the Alpaca - a fabulous drawing by local Hunter Valley artiste. Tonight we say farewell a very warm Autumn and here comes the cold.
Click on the images to view our full Little Valley Farm Instagram page.
Thank you! Alpaca Open Day
Thank you to all the friendly and amazing people who visited us on our inaugural Open Day. We hope you’ll be back.
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.
Afternoon-on-the-farm at Little Valley Farm
Open Day Sunday 26th May, 2019
12:3pm to 3pm. Book your tickets before they sell out. Book here
Alpaca Paddock Sessions
Sitting on the famous vintage red rattler train deck enjoying the girls antics. The wethers are in the other paddock on the hill and the stud is sun basking near the summer palace.
Sunday afternoon on the Alpaca farm. For buyers and lovers
Afternoon-on-the-farm is a great way to learn about alpacas for anyone who is interested including those with small acreage and those just who are just dreaming of having a couple of alpacas as pets or lawnmowers.
You will get to know them, feed them and enjoy food and drinks in the park like surrounds of Little Valley Farm.
It will be a great way to learn about;
* alpaca health,
* best shed layouts for shearing and small pens,
* appropriate shade,
* best feed, grass and paddocks,
* nail trimming, grooming, shearing and vaccinations
*alpaca fleece, spinning and knitting.
Get some hands-on experience and ask any questions you have about these amazing creatures.
This day is suitable for people wanting to buy or even just dreaming to own alpaca’s. Little Valley Farm is a registered breeder with the Australian Alpaca Association.
Cost: $20+gst per person.
Sunday: 26th May, 2019
Please do not bring your dogs to our farm.
Wood-fired pizza snacks and drinks on the train deck in the afternoon.
Buy tickets through Eventbrite (link) and email us at danielariccio@hotmail.com to let us know your coming.
Times are 12:30pm to 3pm.
Location: Laguna, Hunter Valley, you will be emailed a map.
RSVP: A must as limited places available.
Payment: Info below. Ticket price + gst & booking fee.
Buy your tickets here before 23rd May, 2019.
Small Acerage Alpaca Workshop - Considering buying alpacas?
Afternoon-on-the-farm is a great way to learn about alpacas if you have small acerage and are considering having 2 or 3 as pets or lawnmowers then this is for you.
Its a great way to learn about;
alpaca health,
best sheds layouts for shearing and small pens,
appropriate shade,
feed, grass and paddocks
learn how to trim nails, grooming, shearing and vaccinations,
Find out which alpaca is best for you - females / wethers / entire male.
Get hands-on experience and ask questions before you embark on your alpaca journey.
This day is suitable for people wanting to buy or are looking at buying in the future. Little Valley Farm is a registered breeder with the Australian Alpaca Assocation.
Cost: $20 per person.Time: 12-2:30pm.
Children to be over the age of 12.
Please do not bring your dogs to our farm.Wood-fired pizza snacks and drinks on the train deck in the afternoon.
RSVP via email to danielariccio@hotmail.com to confirm your place as numbers are limited.Payment: Via bank transfer.
Location: Laguna, you will be emailed a map.Find out more about Little Valley Farm on our website at www.littlevalleyfarm.com.au
If you would like to stat at our farm, we have our rustic train and shepherds hut for 4 people. You can book here. http://www.littlevalleyfarm.com.au/accomdation
Bucket List - Get photobombed by an alpaca
Only at Little Valley Farm. The alpacas love the camera and will definitely show-you-up! I am sure alpaca photobombing is on your bucket list.
Get booking for our unique farmstay for 4 people in our rustic train and shepherd’s hut. Laguna’s favourite farm stay experience.
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.
Beanie
100% alpaca beanie
Grown, spun & knitted in Wollombi Valley
Waterfall Cardi
100% grown, spun & knitted in Laguna.
Socks
Alpaca bed socks
Autumn has finally arrived and so has our 100% grown, spun and knitted alpaca garments. We are so pleased to have all these garments made in our valley. They are 100% alpaca fleece and handmade - either spun or knitted.
Our beanie with bed socks will def keep us warm this winter and we are looking forward to wearing our 100% alpaca waterfall design cardi. The cardi is one of my favourite pieces and all the fleece spun is from our herd at Little Valley Farm. For now, we are testing the knitted garments to see how the yarn reacts after several months of wearing. So far we love it!
Don’t forgot you can always buy our handspun yarn. Simply send us an email for price and quantity.
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
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:
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.
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.
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.
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.
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.
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.
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.
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.
Lucern hay for mum and cria in the pens and some hay for cria to sit on and keep itself warm.
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
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.
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.
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.