Criary-Diary

Quarter House Alpacas

June/July 2009

The shearing went very well, and despite a period of showery weather, we were lucky to have a dry day. The shearers can still work when the animals are wet, but it’s a very messy job, and drying the fleeces would be a major challenge – one I hope we don’t have to face. The Alpacas all look very elegant now in their luxurious suede coats, and they have really appreciated this in the recent hot weather. We did however decide to let Doogle, our male Suri Alpaca (the others are all the more common type, Huacaya) keep his fleece so that he can grow it into dreadlocks again.

This year’s shearing seems to have had unintended consequences for some of the herd, and for Hosta in particular. A few days after shearing we noticed that Hosta was being bullied by one of the others, possibly because she looked very different without her fleece. Fortunately, Suki (who arrived here last year with Hosta’s late Mum Asa) intervened to protect Hosta. Since then Hosta has stuck closely with Suki who seems to have ‘adopted’ her, perhaps missing her own cria Hendrix who has gone off to live with the other boys. Hosta appears to have gained a Mum again, and Suki seems very happy with Hosta as a companion, so the shearing has done them both a big favour.

We will begin to `skirt` the fleece during the next few weeks to get rid of any twigs, grass etc before we send the fleeces away for processing. This year we are having them ‘carded’ in preparation for use in felt making. The cria’s fleece are always the hardest to skirt as their fleeces are incredibly fine and collect any passing twig, stalk, seed, or anything that moves. The skirting is done by spreading the fleece on a mesh table that allows all the dirt to drop through, and you pick through every inch to remove all the debris. It can take up to 3 hours of back-breaking work to skirt a cria fleece thoroughly, but the product is beautiful.

As well as preparing the fleeces, we are also watching for signs of the first births. Fleur is due first in late June, and her udder has already started to fill and she is spending a lot of time lying in the shade. This will be her last cria as she is our oldest alpaca, and she is going to be allowed to spend the rest of her life to concentrate on her role as the herd matriarch, keeping the rest of the ladies in check. We are expecting 5 cria this year by the end of July, from a careful selection of sires from several herds in the region.

Although it seems to have flown, a year will soon have passed in the Criary Diary, and soon the cycle begins again with the drama of births and raising the cria keeping us extra busy once more. No doubt there will be new trials and challenges ahead and we’re happy to carry on with these monthly instalments for as long as you’d like to read them. It has been very encouraging to get feedback from people who have enjoyed them, and don’t forget you can still keep up with the latest pictures and all of the Criary Diary entries at www.qhalpacas.co.uk . It is probably time to make way for some new features in Outlook on Oxney, so with thanks to those of you who have said how much you’ve enjoyed the Criary Diary, we’ll sign off now. Do feel free to contact us if you want to know more about Alpacas, and don’t forget you can still keep up with the latest pictures and all of the Criary Diary entries at www.qhalpacas.co.uk

Peter & Jane Burnett