Latest News

Things have been a bit busy lately.

Romie has had six puppies.   See Photo Gallery on our website.  http://www.alpacas-for-sale.co.uk/.  Three girls and three boys.  

The goats have been shorn and are really feeling the cold, but they are supposed to be shorn twice a year.  We delayed doing it in January because of the snow etc:  but unfortunately the postponed date of the 10th February was still very cold.    They really needed to be done, however, as Colin, the shearer, found it tough going as it was.   Their fleece is really thick and crimpy/wavy and unlike alpaca fleece is quite oily.  They also have Soft rolling skin which makes it even more difficult, so he would have been struggling even more if we had delayed again.

I have increased their food and they are staying in the goat house all the time until their fleece grows back a bit.

The buck had foot rot last week and Nick pared his nail right back.  We gave him some anitbiotic and sprayed it.  Subsequent checks have shown no signs of its return and he is able to stand on all feet again instead of limping.

The Chardstock 6 are very happy.   Now they are no longer in quarantine we have given them an extra paddock which is near our own alpacas but has a little more grass than their original one.

We have moved the farm shop to the ground floor and we have stocked it with some new gifts, and some locally made biscuits. We are also selling logs, free range eggs and our latest line is felt made from our own alpaca wool.  It is very unusual and would make lovely jackets or throws I should think.  After Easter we plan to have a picnic area and will sell snacks and ice creams from the shop.  I have nearly finished pricing and labelling everything and it certainly looks really good.

The website has been revamped and the online shop has just gone live.   This was another time consuming job as I had to upload all the details, prices, photos etc:  It is actually very easy but as it is all very new to me it takes a long time to do.

We are also planning a coffee/open morning in the spring in aid of the Devon Air Amulance.

Although it is not really hard work,  it does seem a bit relentless this time of year when it is very cold and all the animals need feeding daily.  The main herd are in the winter paddocks at the bottom end of the farm but we still  have various groups in the top paddocks - Alario on his own because he is the fighter, 4 Adult males, then the weanlings and finally the Chardsock 6.

In the summer it is a lot easier because they don't eat much hay and of course the grass is much more plentiful and nourishing.