Do you use alpacas as guardian animals? PHD student Paige Matthews from UNE is conducting a study to give valuable insight into how sheep producers are using alpacas and their effectiveness in reducing issues with feral pests and lamb mortalities. Here is the link to the survey. Get involved - help support the science to show how amazing alpacas are as herd guardians! https://www.surveymonkey.com/r/guardalpacasurvey.
@australianalpacaassociation
We sadly had to cancel our Australian Alpaca Association Open Day for May 2020 but hope to re-schedule for Spring/Summer 2020 sometime.
As numbers are always limited when visiting our farm please make sure you sign up so you don’t miss out on this unique alpaca farm experience with our amazing herd.
Our Little Valley Farm open days are a great way to find out more about alpaca’s for your farm, how to take care of them, handle them in a safe manner, what to feed, best shelters and pens required plus so much more. You also have the opportunity to ask as many questions as you want, get some hands-on experience and take some memorable photos and interact with our alpacas.
Sign up here for 2020 dates.
Hop on our alpaca list - https://www.littlevalleyfarm.com.au/about
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.
Hello Oberon. Born to Dam Suki-Oberon and cute as a button. Was an easy birth, which we are grateful for as Suki was bitten by a red belly snake when she was four month pregnant. So glad this worked out wonderfully and happy to be isolation with our herd of alpacas. There are many more births due later this month.
Great news, you can now purchase our alpaca fleece and yarn for sale. Here is the fleece from our wonderful Stud, Sir Richmond. Soft and luxurious fleece that is handspun in Wollombi Valley.
Purchase online here.
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.
It is impossible to say these are our favourite birds - but they are the birds that are mostly likely to make an impact on our guests. In a way they are favourites as we love seeing and hearing them all the time.
No.10 - Chickens
Of course our Barnvelder, Wine-dot, Italian White cross Silkie chickens make an impact, the Rooster loves to crow and the girls are pretty regular with eggs to eat and at hatching new chicks. But they are introduced here, and despite their exotic cross breeding, we know them all to well.
No.9 - Guiena Fowl
You can’t miss . Guinea Fowl especially if you are new to the farm. If anything is out of place they will let you know about it at XX decibles, and they will most likely block you from driving down towards the train. However they are again an introduced bird albeit still quite exotic outside of the homeland Africa.
No.8 Barking Owl
No.7 Bellbird
No.6 Butcher Bird
No. 5 Magpie
No.4 Yellow Tailed Black Cockatoo
No.3 Magnificent Blue Wren
No.2 Bower Bird
No1. Superb Lyrebird
Discover more about them when you come and create your own unique farm stay experience at Little Valley Farm.
That’s right, we did it! I am not sure if we did impress our alpacas but we certainly had a great time trying, stretching and laughing.
It was absolutely relaxing doing yoga in the middle of the paddocks with the alpacas surrounding us. A huge thank you to Joy, (it was Pure Joy!) and our amazing three guests.
Let’s do it again!
Follow us for our next yoga-with-the-alpacas.
Book your four-person glamping weekend farm stay here.
Coming soon to Little Valley Farm. Yoga with the alpacas. Let’s see if we can impresses Abigail and Lilly.
Our land is indeed for wildlife and shared with us and our alpacas.
Make it your next country destination and experience something truely unique.
#littlevalleyfarm #glamping #farmstay 🦙#somethingunique #lagunansw #wollombi 🦙
Early morning ride from our farm into Laguna Village for a relaxing breakfast at Great Northern Trading Post is the right way to start the day.
You can now hire premium Cannondale bikes when you book your glamping stay with us. Simply contact Hunter Valley Bicycle Company or you can try-before-you-buy an E-bike - check out Cessnock Bicycle Company.
Laguna is home to the annual Gravel Grit Laguna so it has to be something special riding around the Watagans and Olney State Forest once its re-opens after Summer.
Photo credit Euan Wilcox
We now have chemical-free garlic seed stock available for sale. The cultivar is purple and pink turban hard neck. Planting around Easter time. $22 per kilo for pick up Laguna or can be posted within NSW only.
Contact us here for your order.
The minimum order is 1kg. P&P charges apply.
Great story
Read MoreOur 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
We currently have some white, fawn and chocolate brown alpaca fleece available for sale. Perfect for spinners and felts. Huacaya and Suri fleece available and starts from $25 per saddle with pick up from Laguna in the Wollombi Valley.
Yarn balls available in approx 75 g for $10 per yarn. A great Christmas gift from #buyfromthebush. Simply contact us here for more info.
We are exciting to announce we are partnering with a new Hunter Valley startup Dulili Adventures (or Dulili.co) in bringing together small groups of people for off-grid glamping and local experiences or ‘adventures’. These experiences are not your every day tour they are usually highly unique and otherwise unavailable.
Each experience is highly personalised based on a discussion with the group initiator.
Little Valley Farm is excited to host the people in our accommodation including tents for small groups which you can’t otherwise book in other channels. The train and Hut are also available as you will have the run of the farm. We help feed people including BBQ’s and the always enjoyable wood-fired pizza.
Dulili.co recently took a corporate group to a local animal farm charity to help build them a new animal shelter! That was hard work but really fun, but it can be anything from 4WD touring to walking the Great North Walk or going for a Gravel ride to the Watagans.
Get in touch with them, or talk to us about ideas: 0409 988 457
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.
Baby Belle’s first shear and not one complaint. She was calm and relaxed, just like her Mum.
Contact us for fleece sales.
Baby Bina from the fettuccine family. Gets a cuddle and a clean before her shear. Her Suri fleece is lovely, long and silky. Am looking forward to seeing the garment made from Bina.
We now have raw fleece available for sale from $25+.
If you are looking at having a couple of alpacas on your hobby farm, contact us for alpaca sales. We have some lovely, quiet mum’s with bubs coming up for sale next month.
