News

The lockup continues with the government resisting all attempts to deal with movements rationally and safely during these winter months before the midges infect the rest of the UK and Southern Europe in the spring. If you live in a so-called clean area ask your local abattoir whether they have seen any blue tongue carcases over the last few years. 50p to anyone who gets the answer “no”.

I am having one final go to enable the whole country to attend the Futurity using everything in my little black book relating to serving politicians to try and “persuade” DEFRA that there is a way of doing it. More on this soon.
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Gossip

An Australian judge resident in England but who has no UK judging qualification to judge the suris at the Bath and West? He is a great guy and I have no criticism of him, but don’t we need to get our rules sorted out? We now have 13 British qualified judges and about 17 shows including the very small ones. And our judges have to go through a tough recertification every 2 years. Should we not be giving our own judges what little live experience we have to offer?

Very many thanks to Philip O’Conor for his years of service on the BAS board. I was always impressed by his eloquence and more often than not by the content of his interventions. He will continue on the British Camelid Trust with Nick Weber. This means that another director of the BAS board needs to be appointed to the BCT. I hope the appointors are very careful in reaching a decision as to who that should be as the Trust manages a lot of money which we all directly or indirectly provide to the industry. It is important that the appointee is someone who is regarded as having impeccable integrity and balanced judgment as I believe have Nick and Philip. Please make the right decision, as the wrong one could have serious implications.
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Advice

We have been weaning after 4½ to 5 months this year subject to weight. A number of females were scoring a little under 100% when we did the last group a couple of weeks ago and we ordered up more food for the winter than last year as a consequence. Perhaps an expensive mistake! Today all the cria are in great condition and so are the mothers, all restored to full body score. I think we have generally been too inflexible with our weaning times by rigidly sticking to 6 months; once the cria is over 25 kilos and in rosy health there is no harm in weaning them. However, we always put them in a field with some “aunties” to keep them company and so far have never had to revisit the decisions.
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For Discussion

Is the pricing structure, so far as one exists in this country, right? We now appear to have sales of Geldings from £200–£1000, Females from £1500–£12000+, Stud Males from £2500–£100,000. Prices are largely affected by the price at which importers can deliver to our door. Breeders returning from the Fiesta speak of “good” females being priced at $10,000 on the alti plano, which maybe is manageable with the dollar at its lowest for 35 years but at a more usual exchange rate, this turns into £6000+. Add $2000 for Peruvian quarantine including extras, $1500 for Pierre San Michelon quarantine and 2 long haul flights at say $1000, you are looking at a £9000 alpaca landed UK with all the risks of injury, health problems and keeping the same alpaca which you selected.

Chilean Peruvian alpacas are cheaper. It is cheaper for them to walk across the alti plano border than go through the customs post and they can leave without 6 months quarantine.

My point is not to repeat my Buy British mantra which these figures clearly support but to look at what we charge for our alpacas. What figures are acceptable to expand the market and allow breeders to make a reasonable profit?

First Geldings: Any price is acceptable for a good home and if it is furthering the alpaca market but I think anything less than £300 for an ordinary white is a little silly and prices go up with youth, appearance and colour.

Dams: I think anything less than £4000 for a pregnant female is a mistake and damages the market. Really smart girls with a really good mating should be £6000–£8000 and for those stunners from a top line with an exceptional mating, the sky&rsquo's the limit.

Stud Males: If a young macho has what it takes in terms of phenotype, fleece and preferably pedigree then you may be able to pick up a bargain in the £3000–£10000 range but you may lose out as the boy will not be proven. However, if you go for a proven stud where you can examine lots of his progeny and he is throwing exactly the characteristics you want then you will have to expect to dig very deep indeed if you want to buy him outright. You can lessen the burden by buying a share in a top male which also provides you with an annual income from that male’s outside services. We offer 2 shares in all our top males on this basis.

The point I am finally getting to for discussion is how we improve our national herd? The answer is male certification. Nick H-S is on record as far back as 2000 putting this forward, and I agree with him. This means that only certain males are approved for use as studs which will stop the sale of inadequate males to smaller breeders which carry characteristics that will destroy their breeding programme. Sadly this is going on as we speak. How certification is achieved is a topic for another day but we must have a seal of approval for males which will take herds forward, which everyone can rely upon.
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News

I am going to boast! However, as no one believes boastfulness, no harm is done! But the facts are these: I went through our first group of 2007 weanlings this week—about 30 of them—and I have never, NEVER seen weanlings like them before in terms of stunning quality and consistency. To try and give this statement a little more credence, Nick’s view is the same! Produced from our North American males and some home bred: Jacquinto (white), Benjiro (black), Sumar (fawn), Jivan (white), Nelson (suri white), D’Angelo (white), Atardecar (lustrous brown suri), Tarka (white...I could go on; they are superb. Anyone who reads this will say the proof is in the pudding, and rightly so! Whilst shows are not everything, one should be able to win them with alpacas of this quality. I can’t wait!

For anyone reading this in France, we are about to position one of our very top white Huacaya males there for next season. More details soon with photographs of him, his incredible fleece, how you can use him...and how much he will cost!

The Futurity IS going ahead in February (unless World War III breaks out in the meantime). It may be unfair on some breeders if the zones remain as they are. The show at Newbury is in a Blue Tongue zone. We are working hard to find a way to open it to all breeders but, if we fail, I still believe it is better to go ahead with those who can make it rather than shut up shop altogether.
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Gossip

Well, it appears that our intrepid travellers to the Australian National finally departed those shores alive and in one piece. But, wait a minute, why were they departing on an American Airways flight? All other return flights full? I don’t think so. Could it be that this same group with pockets still bulging, having not found enough to satisfy them in Oz, were off to spread their largesse elsewhere? Could this be the same group which arrived the next day at the illustrious Snowmass farm in the US? The dollar is wrecked. There must be bargains galore with only the inconvenience of shipping via Canada and fitting in a quarantine on the way. Well, it looks as though money was committed and our explorers returned home apparently fulfilled. But what can have happened to change their mood? Surely Snowmass didn’t decide they did not want to supply? Why can that be? Did someone upset them? Was the bargain too hard? I am sure all will become clear when someone writes up their notes on the trip for one of our magazines. It sounds as though it will be a very interesting article!

Time for a bit of free investment advice. Put the kitchen sink into Locktite shares now! Why? Well if what I see happening here is reflected round the country the production of Superglue is going to expand tenfold. I have not seen Nick for days, and the only way I can locate him is to follow that trail of little tubes around the farm. What on earth is he up to? Well, being a responsible breeder, Nick tries to carry out every detail of every pearl of wisdom which drops from the lips of our illustrious Health and Welfare Committee. Their hot off the press advice to deal with problems of fly strike and maybe even mites, is to attach a repellent pad to our girls’ and boys’ tails. How? With superglue of course! Nick tells me that if he is careful he can make a tube last for two alpacas but, from what I can see, I don’t thing Nick will ever again be bitten by a mosquito (or anything else for that matter!).
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Advice

A very short one this week: get stuck in to injectible A, D and E! We are using more of it than we have ever done, and BOY is it making a difference! Don’t exceed the appropriate dosage but just don’t do it once; repeat it every month or two through the winter particularly on those alpacas who are not body scoring 100% or mothers feeding their cria through some or all of the winter months. The results are incredible. We import it in some bulk from Australia and sell it, making less than £1/bottle for our trouble. But when you see what it does for the alpacas it must be worth it.
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For Discussion

Still no discussion on Registry closure. Does that mean most people are happy with letting importers supply people’s needs rather than the growing number of UK breeders, or is it just good old British apathy? I don’t get the impression that anyone is pushing our Board to sound out the membership or start any form of debate. If everyone is happy with this and accepts the way forward based on large imports rather than home grown sales then the way to achieve this is to do nothing. Otherwise, everyone needs to press the Board for a debate—NOW!
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News

The National Beef Federation have sensibly petitioned the government to consider making the whole of the UK effectively a Blue Tongue zone as the zones are now a bit of a nonsense. There is no doubt that the midges will cover the whole country when the weather warms up, and it would make far more sense for the government to accept that now and order the vaccine as the rest of Europe is doing. It ain’t going to go away.

However, I understand that our board led by Graham Reed and others will have none of it, leaving the government free to dilly dally until it’s too late. I can understand breeders outside the zone maybe not wishing to volunteer entry, but our industry is not big enough to operate as two different zones which cannot cross. It also enables the government to force farmers to buy vaccine from the vaccine bank, whereas if vaccination was compulsory the government would have to dig deep.

Make your feelings known to our board, as whilst the new directors are a huge improvement on the last lot (of which I was one!) they still don’t always seek the views of their members on really major issues.
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Gossip

I suppose it is the Manchester yob in me, but I did relish the stories coming out of Australia of fisticuffs at the poorly attended National Show which sadly lacked atmosphere before this incident. I know one of our colleagues was involved and I trust he is OK, as he must have been severely provoked to have to defend himself in such a vigorous way. My sympathies to the main protagonist and I trust he survived the hospital food. All you australiophiles had better consider taking protection on your next buying trip.

I understand British currency was again flowing into the Aussie economy. Let’s keep our eyes open for any Australian winners at this year’s shows.

For all you lucky people going to this year’s Arequipa festival I hope you enjoy it and see Di Condon do a good job. For a bit of fun after lunch position yourself next to Ron for a robust commentary on her progress, and please give him my regards.
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Advice

You have a ½ year old male alpaca with perfect conformation, a Yocom McCall micron measurement of 18 microns and pretty good SD, Cof V, fibres>30microns and, that busted flush-curvature. You show it to an experienced breeder and incredibly he or she is not interested. Why is that? You demand to know. Have you missed a spot, a jaw swelling? Could it be an F1 or an F2. Plucking up courage concealed by outrage you ask to be told. Great alpaca you are told. Got everything; lovely boy. Yes-well? Well I’m afraid his fleece is going to blow! Blow? What does that mean? Why? How do you know? Well I may be wrong but I think that his fleece will coarsen, perhaps severely, and I would not want to use him ’till I was convinced I was wrong.

The reason: Experience. When you see an alpaca with a medium amplitude high frequency crimp which might be described as “lazy” then ancient wisdom is that the fleece will deteriorate year by year losing quality. This is in conflict with some of the perceived wisdom of the “rolling-skin” theories, but speak to many of the long term practitioners and breeders both here and in the US and they will tell you it still applies.
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For Discussion

Our judges are still deep in thought about the definition of a grey. But there is another colour they need to focus on: Black. What is a true black? Can they really see whether an alpaca is really black at its roots, particularly in the flickering light of some of our show halls (has anyone ever seen the lustre on a suri at the Newark and Nott’s without going outside?). With at least one of our judges colour blind and others with thickening pebble lenses isn’t it time we accepted Bay Black as a colour class and have done with it?
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News

The country is now well and truly divided between Low risk areas, High Risk areas, FMD, Blue Tongue, Movements to slaughter, Standstills, Pick Ups and goodness knows what. If you don’t stay glued to your DEFRA website you are likely to do something illegal. All this goes on whilst our beloved Gordon campaigns on how strong the government is in “standing firm” against the very FMD virus which they released. And, do you know, I don’t believe Joe Public really cares!

I hope those breeders who moved alpacas in contravention of the DEFRA controls are taken to task. If you know who they are please name and shame. They have made it worse for all of us.

If all these restrictions have messed up your breeding programme, why not equip a barn, stable or your kitchen for winter 2008 to allow you to continue with late mating this year. It is a little more work but it can have advantages in terms of the stage some of your crias are at for the shows.
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Gossip

I am sure many of you shared my horror at seeing the recent publicity (certainly in the FT and The Independent) associating the alpaca market with all those well known rare breeds such as ostriches, warthogs, Mongolian tree shinners and the lesser spotted red-topped Tasmanian devil. Back we go to the stone ages in people’s perceptions. If the reply is: “all publicity is good publicity” then maybe it’s time we started writing articles about the virtues of Suri for the Butcher’s Chronicle!
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Advice

What do you conclude if your number of non-breeders starts to increase? Well, if it’s one male involved you must think he is the likely culprit. By all means give him a copy of Penthouse Alpaca or even have his sperm count taken. But it may not be his fault. You can of course try some A, D & E, mineral supplements, antibiotics, Estrumate, expensive human oestrogen treatments on the failing females, or one or two other preparations which your vet may recommend. However, if all else fails, or even before, take a look at your farm or at least the particular fields where the girls were housed. Do you know what your selenium levels are? A neighbouring farmer may be able to give you an indication from his own levels and whether he applies any corrective to his soil. Selenium can affect females’ receptiveness and one of the ways is by giving the girls Vitenium. Please discuss any radical treatments with your vet before applying them.
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For Discussion

Do you want colour championships or age championships? For some reason the judges, the show organisers and the Board cannot decide, or rather they all seem to want different things. What’s the problem? If we continue with age championships whites and fawns will continue to win—unless one of our judges goes for glory or accepts a brown envelope! Some of us may think that is a good thing as any viable fibre industry will depend on high quality white and some fawn. However, if we are going to extend the numbers of greys, browns and blacks being bred in this country then Colour Championships are a great fillip. My vote is to move entirely to Colour Championships at ALL shows.
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News

First, for everyone who was at our open day last Saturday, we are pleased to be able to tell you that the young cria who had just lost its mother and developed pneumonia is now fit and healthy running around with its colleagues.

8 births to go and frost is forecast! How can you ever plan with a year like this one? There is a lot to be said for an early cut off, leaving many mothers open for the winter and starting promptly at the end of March. All well and good with a few alpacas but when you have 150 births to deal with, and a lot more next year, it is a big ask to move all the matings into just a few weeks.

Our 2005 stud male imports have all now proved themselves. In summary:

• Jacquinto, a true superstar, who has delivered his extremely fine, dense and incredibly crimpy fleece to EVERY cria always leaving the mother's colour. (Stands here and at Classical Mile End)
• D’Angelo, an excellent foil to be used with Jacquinto cria next year. A stonking phenotype, dense, incredibly soft and crimpy coming through in every mating. (Standing here and at Langaton Alpacas)
• Sumar, a big, beautifully balanced fawn with fine, phenomenally bright fleece (surely lustrous!!) with rolling crimp being passed to his progeny. Excellent character throughout. (Standing here, Alta Lynn Alpacas and Spring Farm Alpacas)
• Benjiro-Oh! What a black. Still no white fibres found except one claimed by Vicki Agar (I claim it was after lunch!). His cria have the lot: many pure blacks as visitors to our open day were able to see. Bright, crimpy and very soft. Just ask anyone with his cria this year

More next time...
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Gossip

It appears that very few breeders are following up on my tip about going for the Swedish market (OK I know you can’t at the moment) but meanwhile Geoff Scott is having a heyday with Chilean exports. Congratulations Geoff! All is fair in love and Alpaca breeding! It is up to us to beat you if we want an export market.

Board meetings have always been vigorous, well they certainly were in my day, but a board member getting close to throwing himself across the table at the Chairman? Surely not! Our Chairman is such a clear thinking, decisive and polite person. I must have heard it wrongly!

Anyone with interesting stories is welcome to send them to me. I shall of course vet them for libel, but scurrility has never been actionable!
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Advice

If you are still birthing, the frosts are coming. Keep a look out for late births as the seasons change; have a coat handy, some powdered milk, a tube(for tubing if all else fails) and some plasma in the fridge. Also, it is good to have a barn or stable with some straw and a heat lamp.

Clarification on the last BAS FMD movement notification. You ARE free to licence and move alpacas from a Restricted Zone to one of the excluded counties. Clearly, once in an excluded county they can’t come out, and an extra safety precaution is to take delivery (trailer to trailer) away from the collecting farm. This is not a “clever” interpretation of the Rules. The Rules state very clearly that licenses cover movements of susceptible animals within the Restricted zone so long as the movements do not ORIGINATE in one of the named counties. I am not recommending it, but it is legal.
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For Discussion

Anyone want to be a judge? Then you had better get a move on. From what I am picking up it will no longer be 3 courses and being let loose on the innocent public, but a lot more classroom, apprenticeships and larger hurdles. No criticism, as we have to get better, and we don't have enough shows for a lot of judges. However, we do need to make sure that the present incumbents are up to scratch. At the moment there is no way of giving feedback, other than telling them to their face what you thing. I know they re-certify, but a little more transparency would be nice so we can see how they are doing, and why can’t we have a sample of breeders marking them at every show. We are all grown up enough not to let the fact that he or she placed you last affect our judgment...aren’t we??
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News

Despite the problems, the lack of movements and the fact that many of our males were standing with co-owners, we decided to go ahead with our Open Day on Saturday. We thought we could always talk to each other!

In the event it was a lovely sunny day and a respectable number of people turned up. They all appeared to have a good time and even a little business was done! You may all have seen that there are alpacas on the farm in Suffolk where allegedly Blue Tongue has been identified. Fortunately, at the time of writing, they have not been affected but, if things continue it cannot be long before an alpaca falls within the line of fire of FMD or BT. I think it is vital that we have a co-ordinated policy if this awful scenario does arise. Our position here at The Alpaca Stud is that if we are involved with an outbreak of FMD in the herd then, notwithstanding our rights to oppose an order for slaughter, which the government would eventually overcome, it would be irresponsible to do so. However, it would not be irresponsible to require some certainty on levels of compensation before anything was done. It would be much more difficult after the event.

Let us hope this never arises, but if anyone finds themselves in this position then I would be only too happy to help with advice or in any negotiation, if requested.
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Gossip

It is an extraordinary fact that, despite now receiving the full backing of the BAS, there are breeders from two sizeable pockets of the country who do not participate in, support or attend the British Alpaca Futurity. We had always thought that it was the dreadful politics of the industry or the childish refusal by some to be seen at any event which is connected with someone in the industry who they have decided they don't like. Some of you reading this may find it difficult to believe, but this is still probably still the biggest problem standing in the way of our industry going forward more rapidly on a unified basis. None of us want to be friends with everyone we meet and, in commercial life, it is quite normal not to like a number of your suppliers or customers. But in the alpaca business sadly it is taken to the extreme of breaking the industry into groups who don’t deal with each other.

However, we have discovered that this is not in fact the reason for the non-attendance of a number of quite large breeders at the Futurity. The real reason is that they do not have confidence in their males to do well so they don’t sponsor them and thus deprive many of their clients from entering alpacas in the event. Shame on you! Well, this avoidance at least clearly demonstrates which breeders have the best males in the country and where you should go for services and to do business.
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Advice

What do you do about mating that lovely female alpaca in your paddock who has everything, or nearly everything, but she is a Multi (No! not an almost grey). Do you put her to a tried and tested male-even one of the country’s top studs who carries one of her main colours? I would suggest that whilst you may strike lucky in breeding a solid colour you can do a lot more to improve your odds of success. All males, even the best ones, have different breeding characteristics. If we take, by way of example, one of our own top studs who is producing cria to die for as we will demonstrate in the shows next year (I have everything crossed!), he has thrown tens of cria this year, all with his inimitable phenotypic style, and fleece in particular. He has put it into whites, fawns, browns, and even greys. A near miracle! However, my bet would be that, if put to a multi, we would get a multi cria. He is not colour dominant.

Therefore, if you want to remove “multiness” in one generation your best bet is to go to a male who can demonstrate consistent colour dominance. You may lose something in the qualities already possessed by that multi but if you want a single colour this is the way to go.
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For Discussion

Micron madness is still in the air. We all agree that alpaca breeding is ultimately a fibre industry, don’t we? Then why are we all madly seeking out finer and finer fleeces? There is no doubt that some fabrics produced with Baby or Royal fibre can have a superb handle, but then again finer fibre requiring higher twist may not be as pleasing in fabric as some higher counts. Give anyone in fibre production in Peru a few Pisco sours and he or she will tell you that fine suri is unprocessable and has to be blended with coarser fibre. Why are we aiming for finer and finer fibre and making this a show winning quality when the alpaca fibre industry does not require it? Should we perhaps look again at the weighting given to fibre characteristics and align them more to what will make the most money when the big mills start, for example cutting weights (staple length) and density?
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News

Sorry, on behalf of Gordon Brown and Hilary Benn (Ugh!), for causing many people inconvenience by having to move the date of the Futurity. We shall endeavour to make it even better to compensate. This means that many more alpacas will be eligible for entry and the silent stud auction will continue for much longer. Please take advantage of these opportunities.

If you consider that you have suffered loss directly as a result of the two closedowns AND can prove it, perhaps you would like to pull the details together. I am considering suing the appropriate government agency on behalf of ourselves and any other breeders who can prove they have a case and want to join in. We don’t have Class Actions in this country as they do in the US but the same result can be achieved by obtaining leave from the court to bring a Representative action. What this means is that a claim is made in negligence (or any other appropriate grounds) by one party. If successful, other parties relying on the same circumstances can then bring their damages claims without the need for a succession of trials.

More in a later Blog...
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Gossip

Can it be true that another Australian “stud male” has been bought by one of our smaller breeders for 10s of thousands of pounds? We wish them well with their purchase but are they sure they could not have achieved better value in the UK for at least the same quality?

With nothing to do on these days of closure, one interesting pastime is flicking through the Registry to see who owns what. It is quite informative going through some of the ever-changing herds up and down the country. It is also quite confusing looking back at known pedigrees, some of which mysteriously seem to have changed over the years!
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Advice

Are your alpacas receiving enough Vitamin D? How do you know whether this is the case? If you notice a general malaise in an animal, particularly a cria, a lack of joie de vivre, a falling appetite, a brittle fleece, an overall unhappiness, and you cannot diagnose anything specific (and you know your grass is generally good), then it is always worth trying a shot or two of Vitamin D. It certainly won’t do any harm.

Helpfully injectable A, D and E are no longer available in this country. You have to go to Ireland, Europe or further afield to get it. Here you can buy an oral paste but it’s not very good for our purposes. Keep some in stock. A number of breeders import it and advertise it on their websites, including ourselves. We don’t mark it up, only cover our costs. Another shipment is expected on the next steamer from Australia.
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For Discussion

There is a common legal term, now banned by that lupine anti-Latinist, Lord Woolf: Caveat Emptor, commonly known as Buyer Beware. It applies in many markets but has largely been lost in everyday life with the profusion of consumer protection legislation and built in free insurance with many of our credit cards. With livestock sales it would apply in the absence of any clear terms and conditions displacing it or actionable warranties and representations.

But should it have any place in our industry?

We want the Alpaca industry to grow and grow and for it to be spoken of as one with high standards and even a recognisable morality. There is also a Code of Conduct backed by the BAS. With all due respect to the Board, though, that Code of Conduct is vague and wholly unenforceable. The Board does receive complaints from time to time about the conduct of members involved in transactions where something has gone wrong. But it is very difficult for the Board to carry out a detailed enquiry into these events and be able to reach a conclusion as to who is wrong and what should be done about it. Yes, the Board should be aware of these events and certainly take action if there is a number of complaints relating to any one particular breeder, but the onus is on each one of us.

Every act of sharp practice damages our industry. Decisions based on short term success are usually the wrong ones. And yet our industry is full of them!

Every day people new to alpacas and some small breeders are being stitched up with deals that are wrong for them, overpriced and with alpacas that fall far short of the qualities which are held out for them. Every one of these deals enriches someone for the time being but is overall damaging to our industry and ultimately drives people out and gives us all a bad name.

We must endeavour to stop this. What about some basic sale standards and rights of recourse which every member of the BAS automatically signs up to and these are included or implied into every sale contract. These would make clear that they were not there to allow people to change their mind 12 months later but to allow recourse if it became clear to a Buyer that they had been sold an alpaca substantially different to how it had been described or charged an unrealistic price for what had been delivered. There could easily be a panel of judges from which a neutral one could investigate any material complaints and propose a general form of solution with the hope that the parties would use the proposal to negotiate a solution, failing which a Board committee would impose one. The very thought of going through this procedure may help to curtail some of our brethrens’ wilder excesses.
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News

The Alpaca Stud open day is still taking place on Saturday September 22 from 11.00-4.00.

British Alpaca Futurity: FMD Update.

Following a meeting of the Futurity’s organising Sponsors on the 18th September, it has been decided to postpone the event until the weekend of 16th and 17th February 2008. This decision was made after considering the uncertainty of the current FMD status.

Whilst we are obviously disappointed at having to make the decision, a disappointment we know will be shared by many; we are very fortunate in being able to hold the event early in 2008 and at the same venue. We are of course aware that the timing will make a difference in so far as more 2007 born cria will be eligible for showing and indeed more sires may have cria that warrant their nomination. Have faith in your sires and nominate now. We are of course extending deadlines and will post the new deadlines on the website shortly. All is therefore not necessarily bad news.

The Silent Herdsires Auction will continue on a weekly basis, albeit with a slightly reduced number of sires on offer each week.

We hope that you are able to continue in supporting this event which is designed to promote the “Best of British Alpacas” and will help make the new date as successful as the 2006 event. For up-to-date details go to www.britishalpacafuturity.com

The BAS board is soon to roll out a new and improved training programme making all levels of training available to everyone, wherever they live, without travelling huge distances.

A small number of breeders are successfully selling alpacas to Scandanavian countries. I have it at first hand that interest is rapidly increasing there. And they have a lot of land to fill up! Why not take a look at some marketing there?
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Gossip

Good quality alpacas in numbers have been spotted arriving at Purton in Wiltshire. What can be going on? The locals are expectant for further developments.

The judges are in the process of redefining the Grey Alpaca. Hmmm! Once the definition is available I think we need to look at the judges’ herds to see if they received any guidance from those sources.

Outside of the board does anyone know who now comprises our Show Committee?
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Advice

Do you notice when a new cria looks uncomfortable? It is really not always easy to detect. We are finding one or two at the moment, but only by very close observation. The problem? Constipation. as the bung come out? A useful product recommended by vets is Micralax which comes in individual 5ml dispoable applicator tubes.

But don’t rest on one application and leave it at that. The effect is quite rapid, but you need to keep an eye on what happens, what comes out and whether the discomfort is removed. Occasionally it is not. What you need to do then is give your cria an enema; we use warm powdered milk—some of which will even be absorbed through the intestine—and make sure the enema works.

If you are not quick and effective in dealing with a problem like this your cria will “lie down” within a couple of days and the likelihood is that its liver may be destroyed.

So if you don’t have the kit or don’t know how to do it get some advice on how to perform a cria enema.
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For Discussion

Two of our “sometimes resident” Australian breeders successfully judged UK shows this year having achieved full qualification through the UK system. Just as it should be! Our Australian friends do not allow our judges to judge in Aussy although it can be argued that our judges’ training course is somewhat more arduous than theirs. Currently we allow our Aussy friends to judge here without going through our system and rumour has it that a UK resident Australian will be judging one of our shows this year without going through the UK course. Against that we have a UK “judge” qualified in Peru who is not allowed to judge here without going through our Part 3 course. Level playing field?
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News

Suris are a slow market in the UK. Is that right? Well what about E.P Cambridge selling 260 suris at an eye watering price to a first time private buyer in Sussex, who will be promoting the market nationally on television, in national newspapers and magazines. Well done Matt and Cathy! I for one welcome this development and will be looking to pick up the momentum of this fantastic promotional initiative. We shall be giving Mr. X all the support he needs.
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Gossip

Is it true that a buyer/consortium is getting near to doing a deal on the takeover of a major West Country breeder? Who says the market is not active! And a breeder in France will soon be re-launching itself as a major player. Once it is official, let’s all give it all the support we can. The French market is going to be enormous for anyone who wants to play.
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Advice

Here’s some that I hope you won’t have to use but if you do it may restore your faith in the resurrection. If you witness or take part in a difficult birth and you are faced with a cria which is dead to all intents and purposes and is certainly not breathing, quickly try heart massage and don’t compromise on the pumping. However, if that fails and its eyes are not fully cloudy then try the old calf procedure: pick it up by its hind legs and whirl it round vigorously for a minute or so. I did it to one this week and now have a lovely healthy boy!
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For Discussion

Right, let’s start with that hoary perennial but now really urgent question: Registry Closure. For those of you who don’t know the position, this country is starting to be flooded with cheap low quality imports that in the main will do nothing for any reputable breeder but a pet breeder. Why do we continue to allow it? You will hear people bleat that we still have not got enough alpacas here and the national herd grows slowly or that we need better genetics here. To both arguments; bxxxxxxs!

The best genetics in the world are available in this country in profusion and the national herd does not need to grow by cheap imports all of which prevent our investor/hard working breeders from selling their alpacas or selling them at a price above cost.

We MUST start supporting each other and putting what money we have back into our own industry. We are not “helping our competitors’ by buying what we may need but don’t have from a breeder down the road. We have to develop an intra UK market. Just look at the e-mails and offers from importers and now in particular Australian advertisements dominating the Alpaca publications. By all means let us have a free market but one which is reciprocated both in imports and use of top UK judges. The longer we delay, the lower our prices will get and the weaker many of our breeders will become. Speak now! Let’s hear your views and tell them to the Board.

See you in a few days.
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