Alpacas at Blair Athol

Diane and Daryl Lehmann have turned an interest in alpacas into a thriving business on their 6ha property near Stratford. In the past three and a half years they have increased their herd numbers to peak at around 50 animals, with the current count at 34 females (including female cria) and 12 males (including a male cria and two stud males). The Lehmanns show and sell alpacas, as well as fleeces and products made from alpaca yarn. It is a busy “retirement”.

Alpacas are native to South America. They are members of the camlid family, related to camels and llamas and have been valued for their soft fleece for hundreds of years. Alpacas are a good option for lifestyle farmers with limited livestock experience. They eat pasture grass and hay, requiring little maintenance, apart from shearing and toenail clipping, as well as innoculation and worming once or twice a year. Normal fencing is enough for alpaca, although it is sometimes recommended that boundary fences are dog-proofed. Shelter trees or hedges are also appreciated by alpacas to provide protection from wind and sun.

There are two different types of alpacas. The Suri has a high lustre fleece that grows parallel to the body in long ringlets. The more commonly raised animal for fleece is the Huacaya, which has individual strands that grow vertically from the body, creating a very fine wool-like fleece. A single animal will produce between 2 to 5 kgs of fibre per year.

Alpacas stand around 1 metre high at the withers, making them easy to handle for most people. Their life expectancy is around 25 years. A baby alpaca is called a cria, and is usually born without assistance, between mid-morning and mid-afternoon on fine days.

The Lehmanns originally worked on the family dairy farm near Stratford, leaving to live in Waitara for a number of years. Eventually they returned and subdivided the property for their family, keeping 6 hectares for themselves. Diane has always been interested in alpacas and eventually persuaded Daryl to get “a couple of pets”. They subsequently built a barn on the block and turned part of that into living quarters when their alpaca herd began to grow.

Originating from South America, particulalry Peru and Chile, alpacas are reasonably easy to care for. They are shorn once a year at Blair Athol, generally in December or January. They are not prone to flystrike or footrot. They are hardy, intelligent animals, and are happy to remain outdoors throughout theTaranaki winters (despite Daryl building a shelter for them in their paddock).

Alpacas only come into season when they have been paired up with a male, so mating times can be controlled by the alpaca owner. If a female sits with a male, she is “open” and will allow the male to mate with her. This can take around 45 minutes. At this time, the male and female are separated, then reintroduced 14 days afterwards. If the female spits at the male, she is likely to be pregnant. The couple are separated again at this stage and reintroduced another 14 days later. If she repeats her spitting, the pregnancy is confirmed. All being well, a cria (baby alpaca) will be born approximately 11 ½ months later.

Stud alpacas can fetch between $10,000 and $170,000. A mating fee can be around $1,200 per pregnancy. Studs are sometimes taken to the females’ farm, or females stay for a time at the stud’s property until pregnancy is confirmed.

The characteristics of alpaca fleece enable a wide range of textiles to be created. Fleeces are classed according to their type, style, colour, lustre, fineness (micron width) and condition, with a number of standards set by the Alpaca Association of New Zealand. Alpaca fleece is used for garments, accessories, duvet inners and other homewares.

Diane has a craft room, where she creates textiles on a hand loom. She also knits with alpaca yarn that has been carded and spun (off-site). Diane has 12 different colours in the Blair Athol herd of the 22 possible in the alpaca range; from black to white, as well as greys, caramels and coffee colours.

Daryl and Diane show some of their animals, which requires the selected alpacas to be halter trained, a process which generally takes around two hours. They enjoy sharing their love of alpacas and host a number of farm visits. Diane says it began as a request from a local floral club and has since grown to incorporate visits from local schools, rest homes, rural women’s groups and other organisations. Diane says the curious and gentle nature of alpacas make them ideal for this activity.

Although alpacas are often considered better suited to lifestyle farmers, Diane believes there is a place for them in more conventional farming. Diane says they are clean animals, low maintenance, and their fleeces can fetch a very “good price”. The recommended stocking rate is about 5 animals per 0.4ha.

The first Sunday of May each year is designated National Alpaca Day, when alpaca owners around New Zealand open their farms to the interested public. There are around 30,000 alpacas currently in New Zealand. Blair Athol also has other open days throughout the year, including on the Monday of Labour Weekend.

Go to http://www.alpaca.org.nz for further details.