Based in the beautiful Blackmore Vale on the borders of Dorset, Somerset and Wiltshire in Southern England
Come and find out about these amazing animals
Explore the advantages of ownership
Discover the historical background to the UK alpaca industry
Visit the Blackmore Vale Alpacas
Register your interest
This is one of the UK's finest herds of alpacas specially selected and bred for the quality of their fleece.The breeding policy of the Blackmore Vale herd is to improve the fleece while ensuring that only the best quality males are retained as potential stud animals. This ensures that the stock from this herd are healthy and retain the finest characteristics of the animal. We are committed to the long term development of the UK alpaca industry and promoting the ever increasing quality in both the fleece and the animals throughout the country.
Visitors to the farm are always welcome by prior appointment. However beware; once you are with these fascinating animals it is difficult to resist their charms!
Bred solely for their fleece Alpacas are the ideal animal for those wishing to start a small enterprise on a limited acreage for profit and pleasure.
Alpaca Facts
Average life span 15 - 20 years.
Average gestation 335 days.
Average weight 50 - 80 kg (110 - 176 lbs).
Average height about 1m (3ft) at the withers, 1.5m (4ft 6in) at the head.
Mature females can breed at 14 - 16 months, males begin to work at 2 - 3 years.
Weaning at about 5 - 6 months.
Feeding requirements are any grass, at a rate of up to 6 per acre on good grass. Some hay and supplements during the latter stages of pregnancy.
Maintenance
This is minimal compared to nearly every other type of farm animal. Annual shearing, toe clipping two or three times a year and occasional worming. A routine inspection is all that is normally required of the owner. Unlike most other animals, one can leave them unattended over a weekend.
Housing
Although they are quite happy to live outside in any weather, some form of barn or open shed is a sensible precaution to provide shelter in the worst storms, shade in summer and for housing the newly born alpaca for the first few hours of its life.
Fencing
Normal stock fencing is quite adequate for retaining alpacas. They are generally placid and gentle, and do not try to escape!
Veterinary Costs
These are remarkable low as there are no specific medical problems inherent in these very hardy animals. The births are usually trouble free and take place during daylight hours. (In the Andes this would ensure the newly born is up and about by night time)
Alpaca terms
Cria (pronounced 'creea') Young or baby alpaca
Weaning Cria taken off its mother's milk and weaned on to grass
The Income
The income is generated both by the breeding of the animals and by the annual production of the fleece. It is therefore important to understand something of the qualities of the fleece as this is the end product.
The Fleece
Alpaca fleece is much sought after throughout Europe and the USA for use in high fashion knitwear and in tweeds and other fabrics. Because of the limited amount of fleece available world-wide it is not subject to the same price fluctuations as sheep's wool. The fleece has to be handled to really appreciate its qualities. It comes in 22 different natural colours, it is hard wearing, very warm and yet lightweight. It washes easily and when it gets wet it does not suffer that awful woolly smell. Alpaca fleece is very fine and so has a wonderful silky feel to it; it can be favourably compared to cashmere. Alpaca products are not cheap and this reflects the qualities of the fleece which of course fetches a high price in its raw state.
Frequently Asked Questions
Do they get on with other animals?
Alpacas are often grazed with other animals. In some countries they are used as guards for flocks of sheep or other valuable stock as they will see off marauding dogs, foxes or wolves. Once accustomed to their new environment they will happily tolerate the pets of their owners. Not surprisingly there will be exceptions to this, particularly with aggressive dogs.
Do they travel?
They are content to travel. The usual way is to put them in a stock trailer where they will happily sit down and enjoy the journey. Some people transport their animals in the back of a van or large estate car.
What is their breeding rate?
Alpacas very rarely produce more than one offspring at a time and as the gestation is for 335 days it is safe to say that they produce one cria each year from Year 2 to about Year 15. Because they are induced ovulators they can be served at any time of the year. However this means that there is no form of artificial insemination possible so the female must be run with a stud animal for about a month to six weeks to ensure pregnancy.
Are Alpacas dangerous?
Alpacas have a wonderful nature. They are gentle, placid creatures, are very easily trained to a halter and can be handled quite safely by children. Unlike Llamas, they rarely spit.
How much land do I need?
Anyone with a couple of acres has enough land to keep Alpacas. A stocking rate similar to sheep of around 6 animals per acre throughout the year is a good guide.
What sounds to they make?
They communicate constantly with each other by various means including body language. The sound most commonly heard by humans is a soft humming which they usually make when they are unsure of things.
How do they relate to Llamas?
Alpacas, llamas, vicunas and guanacos are all members of the camelid (or camel) family. Alpacas are smaller than llamas and have their very special fleece which is of a higher quality to that produced by all the other camelids (except Vicunas, wich are not farmed). Being camelids they have a very soft tread which ensures that they do little damage to fields even in the wettest weather.
What are the downsides to owning Alpacas?
Breeding females are expensive to purchase as they are relatively rare animals in this country. To compound this, they cannot survive on their own as they are essentially social by nature. Consequently a decision to purchase one alpaca inevitably means having to purchase another to keep it company, although the second animal could be a castrated male which is relatively cheap.
How much do they cost?
If all you seek is a herd of animals to keep the grass tidy and to provide an annual income from the fleece then castrated males cost about £750. Their annual running costs are negligible. Compare to the cost of purchasing a lawn mower or grass cutter, (including it's maintenance and the time spent driving it around) then alpacas are extremely cheap and a lot more fun that a temperamental machine!
If however you want to become an alpaca breeder then a pregnant female will cost anything from about £6,500 upwards. Crias which have not reached full breeding maturity will be cheaper. Again running costs are minimal but the annual stud fee will be about £750 and pregnancy and lactating alpacas should have some supplementary feeding at about £50 per year.
Only the very finest quality male animals will be kept intact for breeding. The cost of stud alpaca will be about the same as a breeding female but will increase for an individual animal when it gains a reputation for throwing outstanding off-spring.
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The Nature of the Alpaca
Gentle, placid and easy to train to be led by a halter, these animals give any owner enormous pleasure just by having them around the property. They are intelligent, highly inquisitive, taking a great deal of interest in everything that takes place around them. No visitor will arrive without being inspected at close quarters, many owners keep alpacas purely for the pleasure to be gained from having them around.
For those who do not like the idea of sending animals they have become fond of to the abattoir, alpacas are perfect as they are only bred for their fleece. This is an important factor for those seeking an enterprise for their hobby farm or small holding and who do not relish, for example, the lambs they have raised by hand ending up as dinner!
The Security of the Investment
For those wishing to find an agricultural enterprise which is underpinned with a degree of security alpacas are certainly worth considering. There is an established industry in alpacas throughout the USA and in Australia and New Zealand. Although it is a relatively new industry in the UK, it cannot be described as a 'get rich quick scheme' which has been the downfall of other alternative farming enterprises in Britain of late. The maximum breeding rate is one offspring a year and that cannot be dressed up by anyone to resemble a scheme with outrageous claims for quick and inflated returns. There is also a well established trade in the fleece which is underpinned by prices in the USA and elsewhere where quality fleece is traded at premium rates. Although there is no guarantee that the animals will not be rustled from fields, there is no obvious outlet for 'stolen' .alpacas as the market is small and most UK animals are protected by being micro-chipped for permanent identification. This is reflected by the insurance industry which will provide very reasonable premiums. These premiums also demonstrate that the mortality rate is very low world-wide.
Easy Care and Maintenance
The only regular treatment that alpacas need is to be wormed and have their toe nails clipped about 2 - 3 times a year, vaccinated 6 monthly and their teeth trimmed annually (usually while restrained for shearing). They do not require dagging, crutching, tail docking or dipping and, being camelids, they do not suffer from foot rot or bloat. For most of the year all they require is a routine inspection to ensure that all is well and that they have a supply of clean water available.
In winter when the grass is low they benefit from a regular supply of hay (usually about one bale per animal per month) although some owners provide hay all year round on an ad-lib basis. Pregnant and lactating animals should be given some form of supplement feeding, this can be calf nuts or a more specialist feed designed specially for alpacas.
Alpacas can be kept out of doors all year round but they should have access to shelter for the worst weather. Their camelid feet will cause little damage to fields even in very wet conditions. The fields will also benefit from their habit of defecating only in certain limited areas of the field. This makes collection of their rich manure for the roses extremely easy!
Crias (young alpacas) are usually born in mid morning and it is very rare for this to be other than trouble free. The timing of their arrival reflects on the conditions prevalent in their original natural habitat of the Andes where they need the heat of the day to dry and warm them sufficiently for the freezing nights.
Alpacas can be kept on any type of land however exposed and at any altitude, however the quality of the grass will dictate how many animals can be grazed to the acre and how much extra hay and supplements will be needed. A good guide is 6 - 8 alpacas per acre throughout the year.
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The herd is located in the beautiful Blackmore Vale which straddles the Dorset, Somerset and Wiltshire border in south west England. The herd originates from Chile and is registered with the British Alpaca Society which promotes the industry in the UK and ensures that standards of breeding are monitored constantly and that the welfare of the animals is extremely high.
Blackmore Vale Alpacas are bred specifically to ensure a quality animal which is not only healthy but has a very high grade fleece. This breeding programme is considered very important as it is only through careful monitored breeding that the gene pool is kept wide and that the best characteristics of the animal are maintained. All the nucleus stock were specifically selected for the quality of their fleece and the sires are carefully chosen to ensure that this quality is constantly being improved upon.
There is usually a reasonably wide selection of colours available for the sale in the herd and both mature adults and weaned crias at various ages.
When an alpaca leaves the farm we do not lose interest in it. We will continue to support our clients and their enterprises, ensuring that they receive the benefit of our experience and expertise in the husbandry and care of these valuable creatures. Where the client is a first time buyer there will be lots of questions to be asked long after the animal has been purchased; we can visit the client and provide advice when required and we can help in the marketing of the fleece to ensure that the best price is realised. The alpaca owning community is a close knit one and there is a thriving British Alpaca Society of which we are members.
Apart from advice our after sales service can include:
* The provision of a quality stud to serve the client's female (note: this requires the female to come to us as the servicing needs supervision)
* Arrangements for shearing, foot trimming and other essential husbandry
* The running of a data base for a client's herd
* Marketing of the fleece
* Regular inspection visits
Blackmore Vale Alpacas is a Centre of Excellence in the South West of England, breeding animals of outstanding quality and providing clients with all the services necessary to set up their own highly successful enterprises with these most attractive animals.
The Field Director of the
Blackmore Vale Alpacas is:
John Gaye
C/o. Blackmore Vale Alpacas,
Windmill Farm,
East Knoyle,
Salisbury
SP3 6BP
Phone/Fax: +44
(0)1258 821300
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The History of Alpaca Products in Britain
Back in Victorian days no self respecting artisan would consider not possessing a working coat made from the finest pure alpaca fleece. The coat would have almost certainly been made in the mills of Bradford in Yorkshire and latterly in Sir Titus Salt's mill in the model mill town of Saltaire which he built on the back of his highly successful trade in alpaca products. His mills still stand to this day and on the walls can be seen quite clearly the carvings of a .........llama! As there were no photographs available and no alpacas in Britain at that time is not too surprising that the stone masons got the proportions somewhat wrong.
The Victorian working man would treasure his coat as it provided him with tremendous warmth, it must have been one of the most waterproof materials available, it was very comfortable to wear and above all it lasted forever. So much so that alpaca coats became family heirlooms and were passed on down from father to son. They still appear in some old family wardrobes or hidden in attics.
Gentlemen also wore them on a regular basis. Going through a diary recently, written in 1868 and describing a gentleman's travels through Europe on the Grand Tour, there was a list of essential items to be taken on tour; almost at the top of the list was 'An Alpaca Coat'.
Sadly for Sir Titus Salt and his mill workers, the supply of fibre from South America suddenly dried up and the mills reverted to producing products from a more conventional source of raw material.
Today's Industry
For some years there has been a small but very enthusiastic number of alpaca breeders in the UK. These breeders obtained their animals from various sources but most of them came from zoos around Europe as there was a complete embargo on importing stock from South America. However in the late 1980s Mrs Pat Bentley, who had the largest herd of alpacas in the UK on her farm in Cumbria, applied for a MAFF licence to import some fresh stock from Chile. The wheels of government ground exceedingly slow and eventually a licence was granted in 1994. For various reasons Mrs Bentley decided to ask a very successful breeder of alpacas in Australia to take up the commercial opportunity granted by this licence.
This Australian, Alan Hamilton, is one of the leading lights in the very successful Australian industry and he jumped at the opportunity to set up a new enterprise in the UK. The result was a vast injection of both capital and animals into Britain. 600 animals were carefully selected from the vast numbers available in Chile. They were deliberately chosen for outstanding quality of their fleece and then put through many months of quarantine both in South America and in a special lairage in Cumbria. All the animals of the Blackmore Vale Herd come from this very carefully selected group of animals and their outstanding qualities have been enhanced by selective breeding since their arrival.
Recently the total clip from these South American animals, together with that from Mrs Bentley's herd in Cumbria, was graded by Mr Peter Gilbert who is a third generation wool and mohair classer in Bradford and his verdict was that this was "some of the best ever seen in Bradford".
The Present and Future Market
Alpaca owners can usually sell their fleeces for very good prices to local spinners and weavers for their hand made products.
There is currently insufficient supply of fleece in this country to support an operation on the scale of Sir Titus Salt's Victorian industry. However, with the recent injection of 600 animals with the highest quality of fleece from South America, there is renewed interest in the marketing of alpaca products and there are plans for the major breeders and owners to organise their own production and market the products in selected high quality retail outlets. This should give added value to the price that can be currently achieved at the 'farm gate'. (Fleeces were selling at £50 UKP per Kilo in summer '97)
One of the principal aims of the newly formed British Alpaca Society is to improve the market for the alpaca fleece by direct liaison with potential manufacturers and by constantly supporting the improvement of the quality of the fleece nation-wide. As the total number of alpacas in the UK grows and the consistency of the quality becomes apparent then our goal of large scale production of alpaca textiles will become reality.
The British Alpaca Society
The Society was formally incorporated at the end of 1996. Its aims are to:
* To advance the education of members and the general public in the science and best practices for breeding, rearing and the care of alpacas.
* To undertake and promote research deemed necessary to improve alpaca husbandry and alpaca breeding stock, with special attention to fleece quality.
* To investigate and instigate methods of processing and marketing members' annual fleece crop.
* To establish and run efficient registers.
* To monitor the welfare of alpacas in the UK and take any action necessary to relieve the suffering of any animal found to be in need of care or attention.
In addition it provides for members:
* A starter pack
* Quarterly newsletters
* Seminars, farm visits and other events for educational and social purposes
* The opportunity to register herd names and alpacas
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