Christmas Greetings

Hi All,

We would like to wish all our readers a very Merry Christmas and a fantastic New Year. It has been a good year for us and we are very much looking forwards to 2013.

Lily our daughter is really getting excited about Santa coming tonight and I'm sure will be spoilt to bits, she is going on a train ride this afternoon to meet Santa, which is quite nice as they get to travel on a steam train and then meet Santa in one of the carriages.

We are officially an island again, we have never experienced flooding like this, although we are still great full that we are more fortunate than others during this dismal weather.

So again to all that we know stay dry and keep warm, from all of us at WillowBank Alpaca Stud,

Merry

Christmas

Found The Lead!

Hi All,

Well I found the lead for the camera Lisa had hidden it!! Only joking in fact it was Lisa that found it, in a place that I had already looked in.....now how has that happened because I didn't see, I'm sure women hide things to try and confuse us men into thinking we are going mad!

So here are the pictures that should have gone with my last blog. Here is "Willow" the puppy, she is now five weeks old and growing fast.

The follow pictures are of Lisa and Lily with Willow showing Lily's classmates the new puppy followed by the chickens that Donna and Niel dropped off for us a couple of weeks ago also being shown to the class.

I have only one day left at work until finishing for Christmas and can't wait to spend some time back on the farm and with the family.

Well that's it for tonight, the rain is pounding the caravan, the central heating is on and Lisa has just made me a cup of tea.......perfect.

Lost Camera Lead!

Hi folks,

Only a short one tonight as my original plan of putting some pics on the blog has been hampered by not being able to find the lead that links my camera to the computer, how annoying. I will endeavour to find the lead and get the pictures to match the words!

Well since the last blog and our visit from Donna and Niel from Honeyfield Alpacas, who very kindly delivered our daughter some new chickens (pictures on camera) we have been very busy keeping up with the bad weather and the alpacas being in for the majority of the days gone by. Lisa is working like a machine and keeping the barns in tip top condition for the alpacas, they sure do appreciate it. We are lucky to be able to bring all of our alpacas into our barns and after the new stud pens that we created, it has become less of a juggling act.

Today Lisa took Lily to school with a couple of folks in tow, some of you may recall from a previous blog that our Jack Russell had a single puppy that we called "Willow" (I wonder how we came up with that name) well today they briefly visited Lily's class mates for them to see the new puppy, Pebbles got herself dressed up for the occasion and was proud to show off her baby, now with the puppy being the only one obviously it has all of the goodness that Pebbles can offer and is on the plump side, puppy fat is i think the correct term! Now I'm not one for normally complaining to much but as Lily teacher comments that the puppy is a little fatty, Lily turned round and said "my daddy is fat too" thanks Lily, that's just great!

After the puppy it was time for the new chickens to strut their stuff, well strut is probably not the correct term as they were being held by Lisa but even so they were just a pleased to see the children, Lily was proud as punch to be able to show off her pets to her class mates and we always get such good feed back from the school.

Well that's all for tonight as without the pictures it's not the same.

Visit From The South

Hi folks,

Just a quick one tonight as we are expecting visitors shortly. Today was our daughters day of excitement. Lily has been waiting for a delivery of some new chickens well today they arrived hand delivered from all the way done south! So the arm chair detectives were sent on a little wild goose chase as delivering the chickens were Donna and Neil from HoneyField Alpacas. It was a pleasure catching up with you again, and it also gave us a chance for a fleece rummage through the alpacas and a look around the farm. I am pleased to say that the puppy has remained here with us and was not smuggled away with Donna and Neil when they left, thanks again guys Lily loves her new chucks.

We are releasing some more alpacas for sale and pictures will follow tomorrow as the batteries are flat in the camera at the moment.

So here is just a run down on the latest releases. First up we have "Cambridge Ginny" sired by "Wellground Legend of Spartacus" with cracking genetics in his line and "Ginny" dam is "Yuralee Katia of Cambridge" who also has some fantastic genetics herself.

"WillowBank Polly" sired by "EP Cambridge Gianmarco's Masterpiece" again amazing genetics in this line and on the dam side is "Yuralee Katia of Cambridge"

Finally we are offering "Yuralee Katia of Cambridge" sired by "Jolimont Manfredo" with sort after genetics in his line, her dam "Yuralee Crysatalglen Kyle" we are pleased to be offering Katia with a female cria at foot sired by our very own herd sire "Wellground Relentless" who has some desired genetics all of his own, like "EP Cambridge Samson", "Wellground Ruffo's Reflection", "NWA Ltd Ruffo" to name but a few.

Pictures of all above will be uploaded tomorrow but you must agree a cracking chance to purchase some fabulous genetics.

Well that's all for tonight, back tomorrow with those picture.

A Bit Of This, A Bit Of That

Hi All,

Well the time just runs away with me these days, so here is another quick blog to keep you going.

The weather we have all been experiencing has been absolutely atrocious, although we have been more fortunate than others in the country. Our village officially became an island! We have four possible routes into our village with only a couple passable with care in a 4x4. We took a quick drive round to take some pictures as this was history being made for our village and our daughter to tell her kids in years to come, although with the alleged global warming this could be the sign of things to come!

Lily has been busy starting to halter train our new up and coming herd sire, Wellground Moody Blue he has such a gentle personality and didn't mind the halter at all, which was rather a surprise as he is the youngest that we have started to train. Lily with a little help from me and reassurance was over the moon to be leading Moody Blue along, Lily just kept saying this is my alpaca isn't it, are we keeping this one! Lily being only five hasn't really got to grips yet with how our business works and that selling alpacas is something that we do, although she is right on this occasion we will not be selling him.

Lily and Wellground Moody Blue

We have just had a lovely phone call from some good friends of ours who have asked to come up and see us on Saturday, unfortunately I can't mention who at the moment as I forgot to ask their permission to be named on the blog, but more on this after Saturday......Jayne another armchair detective moment for you!!

Pebbles the Jack Russell and her new puppy that we have now decided to call Willow are doing really well, Willow is two weeks old today and as she is loved by all that have seen her, we will need to keep a close eye out on Saturday when are friends leave to make sure that she has not been smuggled away!

We are going to be releasing some more alpacas for sale shortly with some sort after genetics so watch this space for more details and pictures.

That's all for now, back soon.

A Little Bundle

Hi All,

Just a short blog tonight as I am absolutely shattered, I think I'm actually slightly under the weather but that's enough about that me. This week has been very hit a miss with the weather, one minute it's beautiful sunshine which from inside leads you into thinking its summer again (until you open the front door) then the next minute we are under a blanket of fog and you can't see anything. The rain has turn our paddocks that were already saturated into horrible sponges, but that's the British weather for you I guess.

Wednesday saw a new arrival here at WillowBank, no not an alpaca or donkey as some have suggested but a little puppy. Our Jack Russell gave birth to a single puppy and is now so smitten by it she will not leave it alone for one second, a perfect mother which is good.

Relentless our stud boy seems to have had a personality bypass this week, he is now stamping his authority over our other males, when we bring in the males into their individual bays Relentless screams his head off, charging up and down the fence line trying his hardest to get stuck in and show them how is boss.

Well that's all for now, back soon.

A Nice Surprise

Hi All,

Well what a beautiful day it has been, the sun has been shining all day and the alpacas have loved it, although I must say so have we, its such a great feeling you get when the sun is out and you can feel some warmth on your face.

I managed to get the camera out and grab a few shots in between mucking out and preparing the barns with Lisa ready for the alpacas coming back in tonight, it's great knowing that we have the facilities to bring the alpacas in during the winter months.

Wellground Relentless

Wellground Relentless is one of our herd sires here at WillowBank. He has really matured into a true gentleman and is a pleasure to have on the headcollar when needed. Relentless is sired by EP Cambridge Samson and his grand sire is EP Cambridge Peruvian Spartacus. Wellground Relentless dam is Wellground Ruffo's Reflection who's grand sire is NWA Ltd Ruffo so as you can see Relentless has some cracking genetics that he is know passing on to his progeny.


Wellground Moody Blue

Wellground Moody Blue has settled in like he has always been here, making friends and influencing other. Wellground Moody Blue is one of our up and coming herd sires with those fantastic genetics to match. Moody Blue is sired by EP Cambridge Samson with EP Cambridge Peruvian Spartacus as his grand sire. Moody Blues dam is EP Cambridge Adelaide Blue who was sired by EP Cambridge Peruvian Spartacus, so this young man is hopefully going to grow into a cracking herd sire to keep an eye on.

 This little one is know one in particular and is nothing really to write home about but he just has a beautiful face and colouring that really stands out, another one for pet lovers out there!

Now we had a lovely surprise over this weekend, one that we were not expecting to have. We had entered a fleece into the Scottish National Fleece Show and we managed a fifth place, now you may say fifth is not that great but after hearing why it was a fifth is a little annoying as it was marked down on skirting. Skirting is something that myself and Lisa always struggle with a little as we are nervous of taking away to much fleece or leaving stuff behind that we shouldn't be and this fifth place is a prime example of not skirting correctly, however we are still pleased knowing that if we had have skirted better we would have received a better position hopefully. Never mind we are still pleased as punch as this fleece has now been shown and placed in two different fleece shows and is from an alpaca we bred ourselves, we'll done WillowBank Little Miss Adelaide, sired by Eringa Park Lionheart and her dam is Wellground Cyan owned by ourselves here at WillowBank.

Thanks to Rob and Les from Wellground Alpaca Stud for popping in on their way home to drop our fleece and rosette off. We are really pleased for you guys can't wait for your blog!

Well that's all for now.

Our Delivery Arrives

Hi all,

We were up bright and early this morning, not due to the clocks going back and that we had forgot oh no, we had remembered that, as today was the day of our special delivery. For some this had been an easy investigation.....hey Jayne!

At around eleven this morning we got an advanced warning to get the kettle on as our special packages were nearly here, about ten minutes later the Wellground Wagon rolled into our farm with two special alpacas in the back.

Wellground Lora

Wellground Lora is sired by Cambridge Buckingham and her dam is EP Cambridge Giselle. Wellground Lora has been mated to Wellground Close Encounter so some special genetics coming through here.

Wellground Moody Blue

Wellground Moody Blue is sired by EP Cambridge Samson and his dam is EP Cambridge Adelaide Blue. Wellground Moody Blue is a future herd sire for us allowing us to offer further elite genetics throughout our herd. He is still only a youngster at the minute so he has some growing to do and so maturing before we can see exactly what will be passed through in to his progeny, however exciting times ahead we hope.

We would also like to thank Rob and Les from Wellground Alpaca Stud, for allowing us to purchase elite genetics directly from their own core herd, thank you guys, it is much appreciated to have been given this opportunity.

So we are set again now with our own core herd being in a better position with sort after genetics coming through the mix ready for release next year after our selection process has been made. Keep an eye out for what we are going to release next year.

Express Delivery Service!

Hi folks,

Well I have just walked in from work and decided it was time to update the blog again.

We are pleased to say that Nick and Sharon of Pine Tree Alpacas are getting on very well with their new herd, well done guys.

Last weekend we were busy concreting again this time creating purpose built stud pens and birthing pens, all of which are indoors with heat lamp facilities for those moments when you just never know when your going to need them. After the concrete had gone off it was time to lay all the blocks that were to form the partitioning. Well I'm glad that job is finally finished as with the weather turning colder it's nice to see the stud boys finally in their proper pens rather than hurdles making up the pens.

Tomorrow we are expecting a very special delivery or two, its on express delivery service, well as express as a van goes! But we are really excited to be receiving this package as its an important element to our business to help carry us forwards. More on this tomorrow!

Well for now that's it until tomorrow with news of the express packages!

A New Alpaca Herd Is Established

Hi All,

Well it's been an early start for us this morning as we loaded up the trailer and headed off to deliver a foundation herd to their new owners Nick and Sharon from Pine Tree Alpacas in Leicestershire. Nick and Sharon have been planning this day for sometime now with us and we are pleased to announce that their dreams are finally starting to come true for them.

Pine Tree Alpacas have selected a range of alpacas from our herd enabling them to offer a variety of packages, some show winners too!

Sharon and Nick, with a congratulating hug from Lisa

We would like to wish Nick and Sharon all the very best and every success in the future, hopefully see you at some fleece shows guys.

Well it was back home to relieve the farm sitter from her duties and a nice cup of tea was welcoming us on our arrival. It feels a little odd seeing the paddocks 19 alpacas lighter.

The recent weather situation has certainly not had the effects on us this time round after we invested the time and money into concreting the barns and organising the drainage, earlier this year with the severe weather we were constantly getting flooded out which after more than a few times of this happening, it starts to get a little annoying as you can imagine. The investment has certainly been worthwhile as not a drop has entered our barns this time, so smiling faces around.

Well that's all for now, take care all.

We Are Happy With A Second

Hi folks,

Well again it's been a long time but I'm back again. It's been very busy for us over the last few months with one thing and another going on, hopefully we can reveal some of what's been happening in the not to distant future.

We are still in birthing mode with out latest female cria being born yesterday morning, a solid white female from Wellground Cyan, sired by Wellground Relentless, we are excited about this one but will have to wait and see what becomes of her as you just never now.

Today was an early start as I was off to the GWR Fleece and Fibre Show in Frome. I made the trophies again this year and sponsored the Supreme Champion Huacaya and Suri classes. This is a fantastic show concept that we have attended now for the last three years being placed with our fleeces each year, this year being of no exception and coming home with a second place from a class of thirteen in the Junior Huacaya Fawn, we are more than happy with that as this is a result of our own breeding decisions. Congratulations to all the other entrants that won.

It feels good to be back blogging again, let's see if I can keep up with it again, I know a certain Scot will have something to say!!

That's all for now.

Another Cria Born

Hi Folks

Well the sunshine has brought us another cria today. This time it is from our very own herd sire "Wellground Relentless". We have been waiting patiently for this years cria's to see what Relentless will pass on to the new born.

"WillowBank Cadberry"

"WillowBank Cadberry" a solid fawn boy Sired by "Wellground Relentless" our very own herd sire here at WillowBank Alpacas. "WillowBank Cadberry" looks like he is going to be a little cracker, we will just have to see how he progresses as time will only tell!!

"WillowBank Cadberry"

"WillowBank Cadberry" was born 14 days early but that doesn't seem to be a problem as he surveys his new surrounding looking for his new play mate that was born yesterday.

Sitting Proud 

We still haven't decided a name for this young man yet, but we are sure it will come in time. He just loves to pose to the camera and is more than happy to just sit and take it all in, until he is hungry that is then there is no stopping him on the milk bar!

That's it again for tonight who knows what tomorrow will bring.

Our First Cria Arrives

Hi All,

Well again it's been such a long time since we last blogged.....disgraceful!

We have been busy redesigning the website and putting adverts in magazines, which has been paying off for us. A little dickie bird told me that getting the advertisements right is an essential part to our business, that dickie bird was right of course and we believe we have got it right.....well the phone is ringing so we must be doing something right.

The shearers came Friday just gone the 22nd, they said bright and early as they arrived at 07.30 and we all got stuck in. We are so lucky to have the barns enabling us to bring the alpacas in during this bad weather, which also allows us to operate our carousel design in the barns rotating the alpacas round for shearing, the day well went really well like a well oiled machine.

Today saw our first cria of 2012 born here at WillowBank Alpacas......a cracking solid white male who's sire is Wellground Close Encounter and the dam is Wellground Beyound Compare both parents posses fantastic genetics which we are sure their traits will have been passed onto this fabulous boy, I think this could be one of those to keep a close eye on.

Here is the fella sitting happily in the barn as the weather has been really hit and miss here all day, so we didn't want to risk him getting cold and decided to keep him in all day with mum. We will get some nice out in the paddock shots as soon as the weather permits.

Well that's it for tonight, but with us now being in full swing of birthing it's only a matter of time before we have more cria popping along.

WillowBank Prime Contender

Hi All,

Well after a kick up the rear from an email.....you know who you are!! we have finally managed to find time to update the blog. I really need to put more time aside to keep this updated, it's no excuse but with the commitments of my full time job and longer hours being required from me the blog has been the last thing on our minds. However we are going to try and get back in the flow of blogging and catch up again of whats going on with you all.

No saying that, I have actually had a week off from work this last week and have managed to get so many jobs completed around the farm. Lisa has been a star and has kept the farm running whilst I continue with my other work commitments, it's a good job she is as understanding as she is. We have finally completed fencing off the rest of the land and created more paddocks allowing us to manage the land better and rotate the alpacas onto fresh grass every few weeks, it's so satisfying to finally see the land completely fenced how we originally had planned, a good job done and ticked off.




We have know separated another up and coming stud "WillowBank Prime Contender". WillowBank Prime Contender is sired by Wellground Close Encounter and his dam is Wellground Beyond Compare. We are really excited with the young potential stud, his fleece is perfect in every way he really has taken traits from both parents and is possessing a fleece to die for, you really have to see this fleece to believe it.

We will be getting a sample of fleece sent away and will keep you posted of the results, I will try and get some pictures of his fleece but as we all know getting those pictures to come out is a challenge in it's self.

Talking of fleeces we have just received our bags from the Natural Fibre Company, so we will be sending off our next batch of fleeces for processing and our knitter is keen to get cracking on some fantastic designs we have.

The website is about to undergo some major changes and become a more user friendly and funky site with various extras, so keep an eye out for the news of this when completed.

Well that's all for tonight, but watch this space for more news from the WillowBank Alpaca Crew.

Snow And Jumping Alpacas

Hi All

Well the snow started falling at around 15.00 yesterday and continued well in to the night, I was expecting things to be a lot worse than they were this morning when we woke, even though, we have still had around 5" of snow fall overnight.

Lily was really excited and couldn't wait to get outside and start playing in the snow, we decided to let the alpacas out for a short while so that we could muck out the barns and thought that it would be a fantastic photo opportunity to see some of the alpacas experience snow for the first time.


Here is one of the groups taking advantage of the crisp snow, they were not that bothered to start of with, they were more interested in breakfast.

Then the younger one realised that the grass was a little colder than usual and the wrong colour and that's when the fun began.


The jumping and skipping around was fantastic to watch and I am glad I had the camera with me. I hope you enjoy these pictures as they make us smile when we look at them. All the alpacas are now all took up in the barns to keep warm and Lisa and Lily are outside making a snowman.

So that's all for now, be back soon with more pictures. Keep warm all.

Computer Repaired!

Hi All,

Well it's been such a long time since my last blog which has partly due to having major computer problems, hopefully this is all sorted out now and we are back online.

We hope you all had a lovely Christmas and New Year, a little belated I know but with our computer issues this is our first time in wishing you all the best and a successful 2012.

Wellground Relentless our stud male is due to become a dad this year, so we are really excited to see what his influence has been with the cria's being born this year. Relentless is a true gentleman with the ladies and can't wait to show them a bit of loving. We will keep you posted with the new arrivals when they happen.

The rest of the alpacas are all coming along nicely, we are going to be releasing some of the alpacas for sale this year and we are currently updating our website with these details and will publish these very shortly.

The winds of late have been playing tricks on our minds as we have been convinced that we are going to get blown away in the caravan, although it is very well secured down it has been a little bit scary at times and kind of feels like we are on a small boat during a hurricane storm out at sea.

Well it's great to be back online again and to be able to see what you all have been up to, it's very surprising how much we depend on computers these days, it's only when they are not working that we realise how much they form part of our daily routine.

That's all for now, back soon.