Aloka Holistic Alpacas

Here is a short snippet of video showing us flipping Florino over halfway through shearing so we could do the other side. It was an oversight not including it in the previous post showing us shearing him.

Grant

Florino was the first stud that we sheared, having got some experience with the females & cria. Florino is our largest stud & normally cuts quite a bit of fleece.

The FLV Flash video below will download & start playing only when you click. It is about 8 minutes & 50MB.

Grant

After much consideration we decided to give shearing a go ourselves. After much ebay stalking I got a new electric handpiece at a good auction price in the wee hours when it finished.

However that was the easy bit, there was lots more to do. I decided to make a solid table for the first year as it is apparently quite practical to roll an Alpaca onto a shearing table if it is at the right height.

Here is a photo of the shearing table I made, sorry about the poor lighting.

The new shearing table, with restraints.

I was rather pleased with my efforts, especially the mechanism that connects the two out-riggers together so that they both swing from one side of the table to the other together. (You can’t see what I mean in the photo.)

Well you can’t have a shearing table without a skirting table, ie to pick over the fleece.

The Skirting Table

Well, it was good to finally make use of the two old single bed frames I had been hanging on to for many years.

Anyway, then there was cutters & combs & getting them sharpened. Fencing around the shearing area. Lighting, overhead support for the handpiece cable, oil can etc for the hand piece. Tubs for the fleece, plastic bags, sample bags. Welding apron for kicking protection. Toe nail clippers, hand shears for fringes & tidy ups. It seemed to go on & on.

And yet that was still really the easy bit. I still had to get to the point of actually putting live shears to an Alpaca. So some personal development work to release as much of that as I could tune into.

And then I needed to have some idea of how to actually shear of course, having never tried it before. So lots of web surfing, reading & video watching. I also attended a couple of shearing days at another local Alpaca Stud to see the whole production line in action. Julie came along to one of those too. Also lots of talking with another local Alpaca stud owner who shears their own.

Anyway, the day finally came & we did our first two. In retrospect I didn’t have the handpiece tension firm enough & fibres were getting under the cutter & then teh comb was riding up the fleece. So two chopped up fleeces, but no cut Alpacas or humans. It went better after that, with the help of some more Emotional Freedom Techniques (EFT).

We have now done 4 females, 3 mums & 3 cria. We still have the three studs, new mum Tessa & two other females to go. (Oh, & the first two got a quick second run through to tidy them up too.)

A few of the shorn.

I used a deeper comb which leaves a bit of fleece on to provide some sun protection, and a bit of a help for the remaining cold/wet days before it gets hot. It also helps prevent nicking the Alpacas.

Reina & Ruffiano - mother & son.

Still need to work out the shearing of the legs better, particularly between the knees & thighs.

Lucina & Solano - mother & son.

I didn’t know how I would go shearing a Suri, as the fleece is very different & hangs down in smooth dreadlocks. However it went pretty well.

Titicaca, a Suri - look at that shine.

 The three cria were an extra challenge as new shearer, with very fine fleece, and long – on a smaller body. We did the mum first each time, with the cria nearby. Then let mum & baby be with each other for a while before then shearing the cria, with mum nearby. All three cria are still feeding from their respective mums, so we are glad it didn’t mess up their feeding relationship, although if natural weaning had occured they are all big enough now. 

Ruffiano - does my face look big in this?

So the saga continues, with the studs & 3 females still to go. 

Of course I have only been talking about the shearing itself – that is only part of it. Julie has been right there, helping get them on & off the table, collecting, sorting, baging & labeling the fleece, reminding me to take a fleece sample, and to do the toe nails, and don’t forget the fringe… all with our 11 month old baby on her back in a sling or safely nearby!

Grant

We had wondered if Tessa was pregnant & sure enough, on 18th October she gave birth to a little boy cria. We were there for the birth, which all seemed to go very well. We named him Atuanya which means surprise. He is white with fawn/brown spots, an Appaloosa like his dad.

Atuanya shortly after birth - with training legs.

Atuanya, all dry & fluffed up.

Atuanya is doing very well. Starting out at close to 9kg, he was about 10.5 kg after 5 days & up to about 12kg by 10 days. We have been handling him a bit most days to get him used to it, and have also given him his first lesson on halter.

Grant

Our initial mating attempts went very well.

Florino was first up with Lucina & after a couple of feisty minutes things settled down for 17 minutes of mounted orgling.

Florino mating Lucina, with a kiss.

 Next up was Surenio with Gaia. Somewhat less feisty than Lucina & after a couple of minutes of introductions they settled in for a 22 minutes of mating.

Surenio & Gaia, also time for a kiss.

Next up was Beinvenido, our unproven stud, for his first opportunity….

Beinvenido with Katinka... Is this what I'm supposed to do?

We have now tried Beinvenido with a number of girls, but he hasn’t quite worked it out yet. Often prefering to munch on some grass with them instead.

Grant

Today I gave all 16 Alpacas their regular dose of Vitamins A, D & E and Cod Liver Oil. This is part of the regime used by La Granja Holistic Alpacas where we purchased them from.

This is given by mouth via a conventional syringe, without the needle.

Adding the Cod Liver Oil.

Bienvenido about to get his dose.

Beinvenido closer up, not quite there yet.

You can read about these methods in Joy’s book, Alpaca Addiction, shown below. (Click over the picture for the website page.)

Alpaca Addiction - A Holistic Approach To Alpaca Rearing

Well, I can’t believe it has taken me so long to get back & update this! We have had a lot of rain over the past week & the creek is really flowing.

Creek Flowing

The three studs came through this a few minutes earlier. I didn’t see it, but just had to photograph the water anyway. It was lower by late today & it was Bienvenido that lead the way accross, rather than the older studs.

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So now going back to early August we let the girls & cria into the paddock where our 500 year old River Red Gum resides.

The crew around Alkar's tree.

Our first born is buried in the base of this hollowed out tree.

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I have been busy making up a crush for the studs and 5 panels that can be attached to make a catching & holding pen. The panels can also be attached across a gate opening.

Crush Test Stud Round-up

Next Please

Shown is the Mark II version which has the crush part framed up properley, whereas the first version did not & it also had longer legs.

Here are the girls & cria checking out the other paddock they have been in recently. The white electric tape fence is to keep the other end of the paddock for hay making later in the year. (So far they are honouring the fence.)

Checking Out the New Paddock

Katinka on Halter

Reina on Halter: with Katinka pretending to be a male for Gaia.

Julie & baby with cria Artemesia & Solano on halter.

Up close with Artemesia

Wow, it has been a busy week, learning as we go.

Here is an early feeding photo, complete with safety glasses until I was more confident with the whole spitting thing. They all get a feeder each, with a few spares, one of which I am holding. When Julie tried this at the end of feeding one day she copped a face full, with the girls anxious to get what was in the last feeder.

Feeding time: Titicaca, Arco Iris & Katinka

Solano on halter, mum staying close.

Studs looking on: Surenio, Bienvenido & Florino.

I have progressively been connecting with the girls & giving them a neck rub when the opportunity to catch them arrises. Reina, Alegria, Arco Iris, Gaia, Katinka & Titicaca the main recipients so far.

Grant

It is nice that we are not getting rain for their first few days, but that tends to mean clear skys & cold frosty mornings. We don’t get that many like this each year.

Frosty Morning, they did have optional shelter.

Frosty Cow Spotting

 

The Studs Exploring

Happy to have seen all three crias breast feeding now. Also managed to give more of the girls/mums a bit of a neck rub today. They all seemed more relaxed today, a lot more laying around in the sun on the fresh green grass. The two boy crias enjoyed a bit of play fighting which was cute to watch. The studs seemed happy to go off exploring & munching on their own, & still came back in for a late afternoon snack of La Granja Mix.

Picked up the Zinc Methionine supplement today & also 20 litres of apple cider vinegar for the mix.

Grant

Very happy this morning to find them all where we left them last night. Spent time mingling today & watching for pees, poos & breastfeeding.

 The studs explored the other side of the creek today with me. Once they got a bit further away from the girls they settled into exploring, & got a sneek peek at the cows too. I think they enjoyed being able to look back at the girls from the top of the hill too.

 Here are some snaps from everyones first day here.

Look at me mum, no hands!

The Studs - which seem to be getting on quite well together.

The Studliest Stud - Florino

Florino on the move, leader of the pack.

Some of the girls relaxing in the sun.