Paca News

'Alpaca Blogs' - a new feature

Welcome to our latest feature - a blogs site for our alpacas, their mates and a few comments from 'Dad'! Our own Dr. Doolittle will translate ... so we hope you enjoy an insight into life as an alpaca!

Council Appointment Sought
'Sasha' - Council Secretary - 8 June 2008

We, the Council, seek volunteers to stand for the honourable position of 'Keeper Liaison Officer'. Required skills include constructive negotiation skills linked to the ability to cuss and spit at long range. Previous green-spray campaign medals are encouraged but not essential.

Snow and Wind Warning
'Poppy' - Right Honourable Secretary-General - 6 June 2008

We, the Council, are pleased to announce the successful conclusion of negotiations with our keeper over fresh hay to be distributed to all alpacas during the coming severe weather anticipated by the Council. Appreciating grass is plentiful we do advise all alpacas to allow Council Members first access to fresh hay and all alpacas to formally queue while waiting for Council Members to complete their Council Duties.

Alpaca Council Sub-Branch
'Poppy' - Right Honourable Secretary-General - 1 June 2008

We, the Council, are pleased to announce a new commune of alpacas has formed under our previous Liaison Officer, Fair Miss. May her traits and spitting capability be spread amongst the good alpaca folk of the North Island.

Resignation
'Fair Miss' - ex-Keeper Liaison Officer - Alpaca Council - 23 May 2008

As our presence expands around New Zealand I am pleased to announce Fair Miss will lead a move of some of our finest colleagues to a new home near Wairoa on the North Island. Traveling in the luxury "alpacamobile' Fair Miss will lead her commune to their new home. All are wished 'fruitful' in the fruit basket of New Zealand.

Winter Thoughts
'Poppy' - Right Honourable Secretary-General - 14 May 2008

A reminder to all mothers to keep a careful eye on all of our offspring as we enter winter. Vitamin D deficiency and the associated lack of recovery of phosphorus in the digestion cycle can lead to symptoms of rickets - such as discomfort moving around the paddock and poor bearing and confirmation, as well as joint discomfort amongst youngsters. Please be aware the Council can coordinate directly with our keeper for extra Vitamin D reserves - the first programmed distribution is due shortly and all parents are encouraged to monitor their cria for this preventative treatment. The programme of distribution has been approved by Council - hail the magnanimous actions of the Council in supporting this programme!

Olympic Torch
'Poppy' - Right Honourable Secretary-General - 26 April 2008

Fellow alpacas, the Alpaca Council has agreed that, when invited, Council members will be approved to attend the opening ceremony of the Olympic Games in Beijing. GST of 25% will be introduced for all alpacas on lucerne hay and sheep nuts while basic food stuffs will be GST free. Hail the democratic actions of the Alpaca Council!

Stud Male Alpacas
'Poppy' - Right Honourable Secretary-General - 24 April 2008

It has been noted by Council that some stud male alpacas continue to ignore Council Decree Number Three requiring an application for any mating to be approved in triplicate by Council. Alpaca stud males are reminded NOT to lounge around and instead to complete A4s before services are provided! And those that are completing A4s are asked to improve the quality of their writing!

First Snow of Winter
'Poppy' - Right Honourable Secretary-General - 18 April 2008

Weather alert to all Flagstaff Alpacas - first snow spotted on the hills at Mount Cargill and Flagstaff. Advice from the 'Alpaca Council' is to store all hay and alpaca nuts. The Council has produced a leaflet for all alpacas on preparing for winter - young cria are asked not to eat it!

Ongoing Negotiations
'Sasha' (Council Secretary - Alpaca Council) - 13 April 2008

The Council is pleased to announce that negotiations with our Keeper over mating choices is progressing, although there is a degree of intransigence on the part of our Keepers negotiators. However, it is felt the attitude of the Flagstaff Alpaca stud males is counter-productive at this time - the boys are asked to calm down around us girls or we will withdraw all privileges!

Alpaca Council Appointments
'Sasha' (Council Secretary - Alpaca Council) - 10 April 2008

The Council is pleased to announce the appointment of 'Poppy' as the Secretary-General of the Alpaca Council. Poppy will be entitled to special rights including special access to all paddocks and first class in the 'Alpacamobile'. All alpacas are expected to address 'Poppy' as the Right Honorable Secretary-General.

Alpaca Council Oversight
'Fair Miss' (Keeper Liaison Officer - Alpaca Council) - 2 April 2008

In the interests of full representation of all alpaca democratic rights the Council has decided all correspondence and comments on the 'Alpaca Blogs' page must be approved by the Alpaca Council. Triplicate applications for 'Blogs' entries must be received seven days before anticipated publication along with an appropriate fee to all Council Members to support an application.

Free Elections to the Alpaca Council?
Reuben - son of Nutmeg - 1 April 2008

Speaking on behalf of all cria it is felt cria are not adequately represented on the 'Alpaca Council'. Why not? We want free elections so that our voice can be heard and so we have more access to the alpaca nuts and treats!

Response by Alpaca Council: The Council has asked our keeper to sell Reuben at the earliest opportunity - dissent amongst under-age alpacas is not encouraged.

Likely Lucerne Hay Feed Restrictions
Galena (Quartermaster - Alpaca Council) 15 March 2008

Message to all alpacas - it has been noted that our keeper has less Lucerne Hay delivered to the main shed than last year. The Council has asked for a explanation of this shortfall. Our keepers have responded that there are larger supplies of baleage this year. All alpacas should monitor baleage quality, especially around our youngsters.

Keeper Liaison Officer
'Tootsie' (Alpaca Council Elder) - 28 February 2008

The Council is pleased to announce the appointment of Fair Miss as the Council 'Keeper Liaison Officer'. Her responsibility is to conduct all negotiations with our farm keeper so please direct any complaints or requests to her. Fair Miss was elected ahead of other candidates because of her success in the spitting distance contest.

Decree Number One - Alpaca Council
'Tootsie' (Alpaca Council Elder) - 2 February 2008

The Alpaca Council is pleased to announce its first Decree - Decree Number One - affecting all alpaca. The Decree is Confidential so its detail is not available - the Decree will be strictly enforced.

Protecting Alpaca Rights - New 'Alpaca Council'
'Tootsie' - 1 February 2008

After some frantic alpaca shearing from our humans without apparent consent from some of our fellow comrades a number of alpaca females have colluded together and formed, democratically in our eyes, an 'Alpaca Council' to represent the rights of all alpaca. We hope all alpacas appreciate our commitment to this cause and a levy will soon be introduced to encourage support of the Council. The Council plans to meet when appropriate facilities are made available by our keeper.

Hot Summer - When will we be Shorn?
'Sasha '- 10 January 2008

Phew! What a wonderful summer but I could do with losing a few pounds - of fleece! Any ideas when shearing is planned? Fully appreciate we have had a few swift days of cold weather but forecast ahead looks good to me!

Shearing - too cold for me!
'Galena' - 12 December 2007

Rumour is shearing will be next week! Hope not - been cold here the last few days so I'm planning to hide in the back paddock until the weather warms up. Anyone going to join me?

Not that I'm Complaining??!!
'Ben Elvis' - 24 November 2007

Look you girls. Hope you appreciate that us stud boys will be at full throttle in the next few months!So if you are planning to spit at us give us a few clues first. Need to save my energy and would rather NOT chase you around the paddock or yard before I get a face full. Better still - can't you just text me and say you are not .... keen. My number .... 0800-UWANTME!

IAR Ugly
'Cherry's Dream' - aged nearly 4 years - 17 October 2007

See the 'look up a stud' on the IAR has been off-line recently? How do we girls check-out which male to choose from when the service is interrupted! Some of these boys keep boasting about the colour of their progeny but when I go on-line the site has been down.

Watch our for that Mitch ... he's always boasting this and that but when you check the IAR he's only fathered white and cream progeny. Cheeky bugger! Stay IT savvy I say in your choice of boys!

Broadband for Alpacas!
'Silky' - aged 4 years - 3 October 2007

Quick message to Nutmeg - see she's busy now she's delivered a fawn boy. Rumour has it we should be getting a laptop for each of our cria soon - just hope they are waterproof? Pity they don't run on dung but could always ask those boys at Prosouth - www.prosouth.co.nz - to work on modifying my AC adapter to be 'dung-capable'? They do plenty of work on alpaca projects so should be straightforward?

Green, green, green ... but not quite feeding an IT revolution amongst Alpacas!
Nutmeg - aged 4 years - 20 September 2007

Here's me waiting for my latest arrival and all I can do is sit and watch the rich green grasses return. Another typical close to winter for Dunedin - bright and settled weather for September but, no doubt, the rains will return in October! Just as my youngster is due ... !!!

When your feeling like ... bursting ... it would be nice if us girls were given mobiles just to text mates around the paddock ... or some quality wireless broadband for the laptop ... rather than have to wander behind friends to catch-up with any gossip. They always say New Zealand is behind the IT race and think there should be some consideration given to getting us alpacas on-line! All I want is a gigabite a month. What more can a girl expect?

Alpaca Luxury Resort!
'Carouselle' - aged 6 years - 20 July 2007

What would a luxury weekend away look like for an alpaca. Well I'd choose a dry spot to really get some grit,soil and sand into my fleece - on a small slope so not too much strain on my figure - pregnant that we girls usually are!

Top picture right shows my own personal resort choice .... dry, shaded, rich sandy soils .... wish the goose would bug-er off though!

Ice Age!
'Briony Girl' - aged 27 months -15 July 2007

I have never seen ice like it! Watch those water troughs as the ice is at least 20mm. Thankfully our humans have been around giving a helping hand but running water does have its advantages? Glad my fleece is alpaca - no trouble suffering sub-zero nights and days! Look at them cria run - are they immune?

Sea Change - winter pregnancy
'Sea Change' - aged 6 years -12 July 2007

Just preparing for my first winter birth - and this will be my fifth cria. No difficulties so far and seem to get prime choice of hays and feeds from our owner! May issue is discomfort in the cold winds but there is plenty of cover. Tougher time for my pending offspring - need to be hot on her/his feet soon after birth.

Lovely Snow
'Sunday' - grey 3-year old female - 22 June 2007

What is it about snow and some of these alpaca mates of mine? Its below freezing and they are all rolling around as if they were in the pond in the middle of summer. Guess it comes down to these luxury coats we carry around ... most of the year! Can't believe these two-legged feeding stations have this mad need to give us all haircuts?

Baleage
Cyprus II - three year old white female with cria - 12 June 2007

First taste of baleage this year although there seems to be plenty of foliage around the paddock? Boy it smells good ... very GOOD! Main problem is our cria can't get through the crowd to feed while us mum's pull off the main bale. I know they try to be patient but boy that smell - lovely - like freshly baked sheep nuts or rich lucerne hay - the old juices can't help running! But girls think we should let our cria have first pickings - then they won't need so much milk off us!

Excuse Me?
Tiara - aged 4 years!

Excuse me 'girls' but my little 'Tiffany', a white female by Southern Warrior, is likely the last cria this season - thank you! More than happy to be on the ground Tiffany and I are very content in the home paddock at Flagstaff Alpacas thanks with plenty of cover and green feed for the winter! Tiffany was born 8 May quite peacefully and now happily charges around the paddocks amongst friends. And this wonderful weather has helped. Now I need to be thinking about a new partner ...

Last Cria ... again ?
Bonny - aged over 10 years!

Looks like I'm the last mum for the season again - and a little copper-grey suri boy called Phoenix. Why is it my cria always seem to have the most energy and are quickly bounding around the paddock using up all my valuable milk? But, as always, he seems healthy despite the onset of winter. I only wish you other mothers would encourage him to slow down. Thank goodness for the quality hay around this year and, girls, I need more than my fair-share! Now .... who do I fancy to be my next mate for my 2008 cria .... ????

Winter coming?
Smoke - aged 4 years - 9 April 2007

Phew - the relief as this hot spell has temporarily broken and we can look forward to some winter feed - plenty of good hay appears to be in the shed but the gate is still closed!? I've got my new youngster on the ground and she is enjoying this sun but do like a good bit of dry feed in my diet and very tempted to raid the shed tonight? Any takers?

Winter coming?
Smoke - aged 4 years - 9 April 2007

April Fool's Day!
Cassandra - aged 2 years and very pregnant - 1 April 2007

Well waiting for my first youngster and felt like a right fool today! Some unusual antics in the paddock and 'internally' had me thinking my youngster was about to arrive. But was just a false alarm as think my little-one was simply repositioning within his/her warm shelter? Did have me rolling around the dust bowl trying to get comfortable but now all seems to have settled down.

Some of the older girls tell me that is fairly standard and I'll get a few false alarms but does beckon the question - why do alpacas not have pre- and post-natal courses to help expectant young mum's?

Off his Rocks!
Sea Lass - aged 3 years - 8 March 2007

Well our owner has gone off his rocks completely!!!! Now I don't mind Van Morrison but do we have to listen to it - full volume - in the middle of our paddock for 6 hours? Some of us want some peace-and-quiet so we can have our babies. Do you think we can apply to the AANZ Disciplinary Committee for some protection, or to Delta Electricity to have the power cut-off?

Life in the Old Girl Yet!
Tootsie - aged ... a lady never ... need ... mention her age ... 8 March 2007

Well my owners may think I'm in my ... autumn years ... but pregnant again ... no problems ... to young whipper-snapper Enrico. He does have a tendency to dribble .... what us girls have to put up with! But the pleasure is all mine and I'm looking forward to more motherhood next February. Don't you think we girls are simply not appreciated ... I'm thinking of starting a 'Give us More Herb and Lucerne Hay' campaign ... You senior pregnant girls in ??... what's a few extra kilograms at our age!

Summer ... at Last
The Seeker - aged 7 years - 4 March 2007

You can tell the summer heatwave burst through late here in Otago. New cria everywhere! Must be at least seven around the paddocks and all full of life after a wonderfully green summer. Now my problem is catching-up with my youngster and give her some rest from the sun .... slip, slap, slop between feeds is my motto!

Hay Spy!
Mustang - aged 5 weeks - 28 February 2007

Watched, with my mum, our winter feed be baled and stacked - looked lovely and plenty of it this year. Roll-on snowy days ... well that's what my mum says is the best time for hay! Can smell it in the barn but, for some reason, the gate is closed on the hay ... wonder why?

World Speed Record?
Amy - aged 6 weeks - 25 February 2007

Do you notice a pattern with our cria this year? They just seem full of energy as they charge around the paddocks early morning, middle of the day and ... favorite time ... early evening? Can't see what all the fuss is about but, personally, just feel compelled to follow! Must be off ... to lead the charge!

Masterton's fun!
Ben Elvis and Ottoman - 15 February 2007

Quick message to paddock mates back in Dunedin while we are on our 'stud holiday' in Masterton. Andy and Tracey are crazy about handing our sheep nuts so plenty of 'paca smiles here on the North Island. Plenty of girls here guys but you can't see the beach ... and they drink Tui not Speights ... makes our human hosts very giggly. Hmm ... can't taste any in our water trough though?!!!? See you guys in late April!

Diary - Thought for the Day !
Mitch - 5 February 2007

Thankfully shearing season is nearly over - means us boys are the focus of attention! Lots of cria around so guess our girls ... would like some company?! For those .... interested ... they can e-mail me, Mitch, at mitch@wonderfulalpacas.co.nz . See you later .... ladies!

Lovely, lovely lucerne!
Kiama and Cadbury - 30 January 2007

Watched some lovely, lovely lucerne arrive and be hidden away in the shed. Makes you wish the winter was a little closer? Just love lucerne and hope we see a few treats before May! Thankfully there is plenty of feed around - our favorite is the chicory - crisp and fresh at the moment - alpaca heaven!

Alpaca Haircuts - Love It!
Enrico - 18 December 2006

Quick note to fellow 'machos saying its haircut time for me so I'll be looking for more work - and won't faint on the job. Do other boys and girls have to wait eleven months for a haircut? Its a disgrace that good looking chaps like me have to wait so long! Phew - the relief of losing this coat - and its a great way to lose 6 kilograms in 15 minutes ... bring it on!

Watching for Ragwort
Belladonna, Judy and Sea Lass - 17 December 2006

Heads and necks-up to all alpacas - few heads of ragwort emerging so warn your cria ... not too nibble!

There is more general alpaca news on our 'Paca News' page