Alpaca Tribe

Ted & Bessie is the great trading name for Catherine Price who designs and produces sustainable and ethical knitwear from alpaca fibre. Hear her talk about the journey and the challenges overcome to achieve this. LINKS Jenny & Howard at Meadow Farm British Hand-made Alpaca Knitwear – JandJ Alpacas For British hand-made alpaca knitwear including scarves and hats please get in touch with Jan...

With 20 years of alpaca experience, Julie Taylor-Browne is a passionate exponent of Camelid Dynamic's kind and practical approach to handling alpacas and llamas. Her heart and ethos come through so clearly along with her infectious enthusiasm. In Julie's view, llamas get an undeserved bad reputation and her suggestion is we all go and make friends with a llama. She loves alpacas too of course and...

I had the chance to make it to the British Alpaca Society Annual Alpaca Show this year. It is a while since I have been and I was looking forward to seeing some familiar faces and making some new aquaintances. It was a three hour journey each way to get to the Telford International Centre but it was worth it. The satnav took me the scenic route - though it insisted it was shorter. I came back via...

Trimming fringes etc - I use Jakoti shears Birthing kit (basics not a full itemised list) Disposable gloves - purple with long cuff Lubrication Gel Scales Harness Iodine Digital thermometer Disposable paper towel (blue roll) Pleated cotton wool bucket conforming bandage Three things to check Feet Fringes Body condition score Three equipment essentials Hurdles Diary or wall planner (to double as a...

Sometimes you start with a thought and you get nudged into it quicker than you were expecting. Jeremiah and his wife had talked about maybe sometime they might get some alpacas but suddenly the option of two who needed a new home started them on their journey. Not uncommonly they came home with seven! It helped out the owner who was having to move state and it started them on their alpaca journey....

Mike Griffiths is an experienced alpaca farmer who has been breeding them since 2001. He has been involved in a wide variety of activities involving alpacas and shares his experience and thoughts on what new owners will find helpful to know. New owners - key things to bear in mind Adequate fencing no access to poisonous plants good shelter fresh water hay good husbandry routine (vaccination and wo...

Steve & Emma Cooper of Tynewedd Alpacas have been steadily advancing their alpaca business in Carmarthenshire, South West Wales. Ringing the changes and knowing his customers, he puts on his sun cream and sells hats and scarves to summer tourists in St David's, while through the winter he has a presence in a more traditional local market. Follow his alpaca journey as we discuss how they have a...

Here are some basic principles that will help you get started Alpacas are herd animals and like to stay together as a group (mostly) therefore, it is easier to treat them as one and move the whole group whenever possible. They respond to herding pressure – as you move towards them they will tend to move away. When they understand what you want of them they are more likely to cooperate - new situat...

When you are around alpacas, It doesn't take you long to realise that they are different from each other. I'm not just talking about the way they look for example colour, confirmation or fleece coverage. It is also true of the way they behave. In this episode I want to take some time to consider this individual nature of alpacas and how you can use this to help you care for them – so you learn how...

Hannah Williams started 7 years ago with 3 castrated male alpacas but with a year she was buying females and began breeding and currently has a herd of 36. Experienced in farming she discovered alpacas are similar but different from other livestock and are both delightful and rewarding. She sells pet boys and breeding stock and has developed the use of the fleece, selling crochet kits among other...

Could I keep alpacas? Seen alpacas and think you would like some of your own? You need to know what is involved and the questions you should answer before buying an alpaca. Have you got enough? money; land; knowledge; capacity Business or hobby? Large or small? Breeding or pets? Will you show them? Looking from another perspective: Why do you want alpacas? Who will you get them from? What kind wil...

In this episode, we will be considering how alpacas and holiday-lets can work together to make a great experience for visitors and how alpacas can be added to what you are already doing. I first met Nick and Joe Davies at one of our home-farm open days. They had a look in their eyes and asked the kind of questions that suggested alpacas had grabbed their attention. They had relatively recently mov...

Hi Steve here With most things in life, it is important to get started well and have an idea where you trying to get to. This applies equally to keeping alpacas. The Alpaca Tribe is for anyone who is passionate about alpacas and through this podcast, we are wanting to particularly help people who have only a few alpacas, or are in the process of considering keeping them. There are a number of issu...

Over the last few years, Jen Delucia has been hand spinning and producing yarn for sale, as well as to use in her decorative wall hangings, both of which she sells on Etsy . Some of her inspiration comes from family connections with Patagonia as well as the coastal area where she lives. Her small business is called Tierra y Mar (which is Spanish for land and sea). Keen to learn and develop her ski...

Rowan Flindall-Shayle, well known in the alpaca world, is both gregarious and passionate about alpacas since she first met them and found herself through her work, suddenly made responsible for a group of eight alpacas and having to learn how to care for them and deal with the practicalities of the how-to's e.g. shearing and toenail trimming etc. A wide-ranging discussion of her approach and exper...

If I told you that there is an alpaca tribe, would you want to be part of it? The good news is that if you are here, you probably already are. Over the years I have noticed that some people, in particular, get Alpacas; they connect more than other people. Sure, everyone likes Alpacas and their cute cria but for some people, it goes deeper. I call it the alpaca gene and if you have it you are alrea...

##Introduction A trailer introducing the Alpaca Tribe podcast for all things alpaca. Discussion with guests on a wide range of topics relating to keeping alpacas, working with their fleece and providing alpaca services. If you have the alpaca gene you need to be part of the alpaca tribe. Need help or want to know more? This is your place for wisdom guidance and great stories on all things alpaca....