It is that time of year when alpaca breeders need to start to think about preventative measures for countering facial eczema. A dairy farm at the same height as us just up the road got hammered last year and with the el Nino warnings rife we have reviewed what we are going to do this year. We had a bit of a scare last year too and although luckily both cases proved negative, we did decide to be more diligent about ensuring that all our alpacas get their fair share of zinc n

Up at 5.30 am to check on the patient and she was looking much better. She ate, drank and managed to stand up and straighten the bad leg which is really positive as we were worried about nerve damage. Later (second lot of physio, four more to go...) she tried to put some weight on it but stumbled. All the wounds are drying up and looking good. A huge relief. I think the problem wounds will be the ones on the back of her leg as they are still damp from her cushing. Whatever I

So the plan was a relaxing Christmas at home but unfortunately we have had a dog attack on one of our 2014 cria, Tiana, now aged about nine months. We had been out to the beach and found her when we got back. She was cushed but obviously in shock. There were quite a few puncture wounds to her front legs and abdomen and one in her neck. The one leg was pretty mangled. We called the vet and between us manged to hold her up. There was no break just muscle and nerve damage so she

A beautiful scarf arrived in the post today, a product of the Rumplestiltskin Project coordinated by Surico and Thistledown Alpacas and funded by the Ministry of Agriculture Sustainable Farming Fund. The project operated over the last few years investigating the unique properties of suri fibre to help develop a commercial suri fibre industry and as one of the breeders who donated fiber, we got a scarf to use as a sample of what you can achieve with suri fibre. The look and fe