Our Herd Hope Hera Hermione Geena Biscuit Gwendoline Bonita Claudia Fleur Francesca Gabrielle Honeysuckle Helena Hazel   Giselle Heidi Guinevere Imala India Ione Iquita Isis Juliana Jameelia Jacinta Juliette Keiko Kismet (Kizzie)   Kali Kiera Kaitlin Katarina Kassiopi Frankie Jojo Jupiter Kyros Krispin Khan Pip the Red Squirrel

Hope (b. 2003)

Is a stunning girl with a fleece to match her balanced conformation. From her topknot to her toes she is densely covered and had a staple length of 15cms at 11 months. We thought she was overweight in 2005 and it turned out she was staggering around under a 5.4kg fleece (one years growth, 24 microns). She has a sweet nature and is very placid and easy to handle. She makes herself very useful when any cria is being handled, by coming up and sniffing their face as if to comfort them.  She also needs to supervise every procedure with the alpacas, not always helpful when one is trying to get a hayseed out of an eye to have Hope's snuffling nose in the eye as well!  Hope has that elusive quality of superb presence and unlike her Mother, Bonita, she has a dominant position in the herd.  We have never seen her in a submissive posture (tail up over back and crouched) towards any other alpaca. Hope at 7 months Toft Accoyo Cornelius - Hope and Hera's sire

Top

Hera (b. 2003)

Hera is as white as one could find with pink skin throughout and a fleece that is uniformly highly crimped from her topknot through to her tail: a stunning 18.8 microns at 11 months. She is a well-grown, elegant female with balanced conformation. Although Hera's mother is a high status female within the herd, Hera can be bullied by younger alpacas.

Top

Hermione (b. 2003)

Is quietly confident of her position in the herd.  She has a stocky, strong look and carries a very soft fleece, not particularly dense but with a beautiful lustre making it look like wet tar at skin level.

Top

Geena (b. 2002)

Pretends to be shy, but she does eat out of our hands and is very inquisitive, the first to go through an open gate and explore. She has a sweet character and is quiet and easy to handle when caught.  She is the last to finish at the feed troughs and the last to settle down at night after grazing. Like her mum, she has taken well to her motherhood duties.  

Top

Biscuit (b. 1997)

Biscuit is a high status alpaca in the herd, but quite shy of humans and for many months after we purchased her in 2002, she would only look at us at waist level. Slightly disconcerting, but now she knows us well she looks straight at us.  Biscuit has had a male cria with a quality fleece of an unusual colour and a beautiful quality white female Suri, our sweetest and most approachable alpaca with which Biscuit has a very close relationship. Biscuit's micron at two and a half years old was 20.9.

Top

Gwendoline (b. 2002)

Gwendoline seems to know she is very special, being our only Suri and as a cria she was very athletic, playful and inquisitive. She is a very friendly, approachable alpaca, less excitable than most of our alpacas and intelligent.  Her coat is abundant, with good pencilling, silky locks and coverage, but catches every scrap of leaf, twig and other detritus from the field until she looks like a sol dier wearing camouflage gear.  Others occasionally pick off leaves to eat from her coat, which she doesn't mind, but resents it when they pull her hair as well. She is very confident and has enjoyed younger cria coming along so that she is no longer at the bottom of the pecking order.

Top

Bonita (b. 1998)

Is one of our smaller mothers, with the prettiest head.  Although she is quiet and relaxed, she will defend her food from others, but tends to steer clear of proper arguments between alpacas. Because she is so laid-back, her 2005 cria, Jason was allowed to join others in the herd and even sleep in a different area to her while quite young. Bonita has had five cria, one is a prize-winning, working stud male, Garam Masala of Cockerham Alpacas (his third fleece was 17.7 microns, 3.5sd, 19.8cv 0.7% > 30). Daughter, Fowberry Hope stands out as well, with a wonderful nature and from her small frame in 2005, cut 5.4kg of 25 micron fleece!

Top

Claudia (b. 1998)

Is quite shy and flighty, although as quiet as a mouse once caught. She is an excellent mother and to her own detriment she produces huge babies with masses of milk to feed them.  Her 2004 cria, Iliana was born big and never looked back and at her last weighing at four months she had increased her weight in six weeks by 10 kilos. Claudia is quite independent, sometimes lying a little way from the others.  She is not keen on stud males, but it hasn't stopped her having four cria, all white girls, one of whom won a Commended at the East of England Peterborough Show 2003 by the same sire as Hera (her 2003 cria).

Top

Fleur (b. 2001)

Is from Windsong Valley Alpacas in Australia.  She is a quiet, relaxed character and has settled in well and cheered up somewhat after her adventures coming from Australia in 2003.  Fleur's fleece is dense with good crimp, looks like velvet and has a micron count of 22 microns at 30 months old. She has impeccable breeding, her sire Windsong Valley Royal Inca is one of the top-rated stud males in Australia, winning Sire's progeny classes at the Australian National Show in 2002 and 2003 and the Perth Royal Show in 2001, 2002, 2003 and 2004. Her dam, Windsong Valley Leandra is dark grey and from top quality coloured stock.  This very productive female line carries a predisposition to coloured cria and over ten years has produced no whites, whatever colour of sire they are mated to. This even includes dominant white genetics like Purrumbete Highlander, Ledger's Dream, Windsong Valley Ice Man and ILR Alpine Fiber's Brutus (LF) (son of Hemingway).

 Top

Francesca (b. 2001)

Bred by EP Cambridge in Australia, Francesca is show-stopping quality with true-to-type conformation and an outstanding fleece of 19 microns at 18 months, covering her densely from head to toes.  She has a beautiful Accoyo face, looks elegant and moves with supreme grace.  She was quite highly strung, but now eats out of our hands and is enjoying motherhood immensely. She has a favourite tree, a gigantic Fir tree with a dry, sandy base on which she has staked a particular place to lie. Francesca's lineage can be traced back three generations (of solid whites) and she includes the great Jolimont Sculptor as her grand-sire. Her sire is Jolimont Gladiator, by Jolimont Sculptor and her dam is Jolimont Gudelia by Jolimont Dario.  Francesca continues to produce dazzlingly bright-fleeced cria, the splitting image of herself with exactly the same facial expressions as well; in fact we wonder if she's herd of an immaculate conception.
Francesca was placed at Bendigo Wool Show, July 2002, behind Adelyn Omague the future Supreme Champion winner of the Australian 2002 National Show. Her first two daughters won her Reserve Champion in the Dam's Progeny at the BAS National, Newark and Notts 2006 and Francesca's fleece came first in a competitive class at The Scottish National Fleece Show (63 fleeces from U.K.) 2006.
 

 Top

Gabrielle (b. 2002)

Arrived in 2003 and is a lovely looking alpaca with a pretty face. She is average size, but very strong with an athletic, well put-together frame and an amazing turn of speed. She doesn't like being in a building, probably because she is totally unfazed by inclement weather, choosing to be out grazing, even in a snowstorm. Her attractively coloured fleece is fine at 21 microns (16months old) and hopefully should stay fine with her sire, Blenheim Don Cortez (formerly Pperuvian Muraco) having a micron count of 19 microns at five years old. We call Gabrielle our dizzy blonde and she certainly doesn't allow the stud male much time to work only eleven minutes for her 2004 cria and six minutes for her 2005 cria!

Top

Honeysuckle (b.2003)

Honeysuckle (17.3 microns) has four generations of quality mid fawn Australian genetics on her female side including Purrumbete El Dorado and Shanbrooke Enchanter.  Her sire, Jolimont Stefano, Accoyo (23 microns at 9 years old) is an impressive producer of quality cria with average microns of between 16 to 19, some of which have gone on to be supreme champions.  Stefano's solid white genetics didn't alter the colour Honeysuckle inherited from her dam's side and we are confident that she will produce consistent coloured cria.  Her fleece is full of character, remarkably tightly crimped and dense with good bundling and a wonderful soft handle.

Helena (b.2003)

Serious Australian breeding in Helena (19.5 microns at two years old, solid white), with her sire Benleigh Bellisimo bringing together the genetics of two of the greatest Australian sires, Purrumbete Highlander and Purrumbete Inti.  Benleigh Bellisimo has won broad ribbons on each of ten occasions shown, including championships and supreme championships. Helena's dam, Graceburn Park Ledgers Lass, has Purrumbete Ledgers Dream as her sire, add to that Helena's grand dam, Purrumbete Sweet Freedom and she has a royal flush. The Benleigh Alpaca Stud credit Purrumbete Sweet Freedom with being "at the base of much of the success that they have achieved over the years" and she sold in 2003 (age 12) for the record price of $Au66,000 with male cria at foot.  Helena is exactly what we look for in an alpaca - first class fleece characteristics on a strong athletic frame and with an excellent pedigree.  She has one of the prettiest female faces we have seen on a full Accoyo. 

Hazel (b.2003)

Bred in Australia, she has good colour consistency on her dam's side including rose grey. Her fleece, solid medium fawn, at 18.1 microns (three years old) is outstanding with only 0.7% over 30 microns and a high frequency crimp of over 7 to the inch.  Her sire Snowmass Peruvian Escobar (sw) recorded a micron of 17.8 with 0.5% over 30 microns at two years old. This is unsurprising when you realise that his sire Peruvian Hemingway, still one of the most influential North American herd sires has a micron of 24.50 at 11 years old.

Giselle (b.2002)

Full sister to Heidi, both girls are neat and athletic.  Giselle is light grey, with a mid-rose-grey dam, Atlantic Rosie (21.6 microns at 2 years) and a mid-grey sire, Atlantic Atacama (18.5 microns at 2 years).  She has a bright, perky character, is interested in all that is going on and is quiet to handle. Giselle excelled herself in 2005 by having a solid bitter-chocolate coloured female cria to a white full Accoyo. She didn't want a blue-eyed white either!

Top

Heidi (b.2003)

Full sister to Giselle, Heidi is a dark rose-grey, with a mid-rose-grey dam, Atlantic Rosie (21.6 microns at 2 years) and a mid-grey sire, Atlantic Atacama (18.5 microns at 2 years).  Heidi has a quiet, submissive character, is gentle and easy to handle and enjoys playing with the current cria.  She has a dense fleece with a lovely soft handle and the smallest, sweetest face.

Top

Guinevere (b.2002)

Imala (b.2004)

Top

India (b.2004)

Ione (b.2004)

Iquita (b.2004)

There are white fleeces and then there is Iquita's fleece. When very young her fleece glowed with a fascinating brightness and is tightly crimped right throughout from her tail to topknot. She is the spitting image of her mother, Francesca, tall and with exactly the same facial expressions and temperament. In with her four generations of solid white ancestors she has Purrumbete Ledgers Dream in her pedigree from Wessex Accoyo Fernando, her father, and Jolimont Sculptor and Serena I from her mother. She was Reserve Supreme Champion at the Northern Qualifier, Northumberland County Show 2005; Best Fleece in Show at the Scottish National Alpaca Show in 2005; Reserve Intermediate Female Champion, Northumberland County 2006 and with her sister won Reserve Champion Dam's Progeny at the BAS National, Newark and Notts 2006. She has her own fabulous soft, luxurious yarn in 2006.

Isis (b.2004)

Isis means Supreme Goddess of maternity and fertility and she is the sweetest faced, feminine-looking alpaca, like her mother. She has a quite stunning structure of fleece in thin, tightly crimped bundles of glossy brightness: 19.3 microns, 3.0SD, 15.0CV, 0.6> 30. June 2006. She sometimes gets into trouble with older alpacas as she is not interested in a pecking order and tries to dominate much bigger and older alpacas than herself.  Isis finished her very successful showing career in May by being Intermediate Female Champion - all colours at the Northumberland County Show (Northern Qualifier) 2006 (Liz Barlow).

Top

Juliana (b.2005)

Juliana had a difficult start in life and nearly died, as her Mum  missed the first shearing date because she was three weeks late to deliver and subsequently got heat stroke on a day with 30.1 degree heat on 2nd June 2005.  Her Mum's milk practically dried up and Juliana had to be supplementary fed.  She believed she was getting what she should get from her Mum so was not keen to take the bottle.  Some four months later and after some heroic battles to get her to drink and put on any weight at all, she is a bright lively girl, who at weaning time at eight months was bouncing about the stud's fence line, displaying to them and clucking loudly at them!  Alpacas have a will to live - we nearly lost ours in our battle to keep her alive and growing. Juliana was Champion Intermediate Female at the Scottish National Alpaca Show 2005 and her fleece at the same show was Champion Brown (63 fleeces from U.K.).

Jameelia (b.2005)

Jameelia, whom we thought was chocolate colour at birth has turned out to be black.  We love her delightful short face and so did the judge at the Scottish National Alpaca Show 2006 where she was First Junior Black Female; her fleece was Champion Black Fleece at the same show (63 fleeces from U.K.) Also first Junior Black Female at the Northern Qualifier, Northumberland County Show 2006.

Jacinta (b.2005)

Jacinta is a little lady with a big pedigree - three quarters Accoyo and a quarter Rural Alianza - with some well renowned Australian genetics including Jolimont Conquistador, Jolimont Sculptor, Jolimont Gladiator and Jolimont Serena I, to name but a few.  Jacinta's fleece looks as if it is following in the footsteps of her  prize winning half sister Iquita (same Dam), with a wonderful brightness and well developed crimp.  Thankfully she is not quite as highly strung as Iquita, nearly though. Jacinta and her sister were Reserve Champion Dam's Progeny at the BAS National, Newark and Notts Show and she was Reserve Supreme at the Scottish National Alpaca Show 2006.

Top

Juliette (b.2005)

Juliette is our little Peruvian doormouse with teddy bear ears.  She is a favourite because she has always been so tiny, although quite chunky underneath her rather unusual fleece.  Juliette's dam was imported in 2005 from Peru and her sire is Kilnwood Manco Capac - medium fawn (22.3 microns at four years old) and from Rural Alianza's select coloured herd, Machacoyo. 

Keiko (b.2006)

Kismet (b.2006)

Kizzie was stung by wasps or bitten by horse flies around her head at less than 48 hours old. One eye swelled, her jaw was painful and swollen and so was her ear. She couldn't suckle properly; the poison gave her joint ill and she bravely coped with a long painful course of medication and supplementary bottle feeding.  When the scabs were ready to fall off the sting/bite sites, great clumps of skin and hair came away. She was a pitiful sight, wobbling around the field, however with extreme perseverance, we managed to get enough milk into her to keep her alive and gradually she grew stronger. She has the sweetest possible character, looks as pretty as a picture now and has to be one of our favourites after the long ordeal she endured. Sire: Viscount.

Kali (b.2006)

Kali meaning Black Goddess in Sanskrit, was born running and hasn't stopped. She doesn't have a wild nature, but seems particularly athletic, like her Mother, Heidi and Mother's full sister, Giselle. So far we haven't found one white hair on a blue black fleece that is as soft as down and still developing character. Sire: Bozedown Renoir.

Kiera (b.2006)

Kiera, meaning light in Latin was born to our oldest Mum and is enormously fond of her.  They would rarely be apart and Kiera would enjoy snuggling into her Mother at any opportunity. She didn't take to weaning very well and has been quite vocal about missing her.  She usually inherits her Mother's unhurried, relaxed attitude to life and is very friendly towards us. She comes up to us with her tail over her back asking to sniff our faces.  A stylish looking girl with great coverage and lots of soft-handling fleece. Sire: Viscount.

Top

Kaitlin (b.2006)

Kaitlin, meaning pure in Greek, had a difficult birth because she was wedged wrongly in the birth canal. Surprisingly for her Mother's line is quite highly strung, possibly because of the birth.  We think she could be one of the prettiest alpacas we have ever seen. Sire: Rocco

Top

Katarina (b.2006)

Katarina (8.5kg) was born by caesarean section as night fell after mum had a torsion of the uterus. She was as bright as a button even although displaying slight signs of pre-maturity at 324 days gestation. Francesca didn't taken to Katarina as she didn't have any milk at first, so Kat is thriving and growing away well with Graham as surrogate "mum", on up to two litres of full fat goats' milk a day in eight feeds initially. As there was no chance of any colostrum from her mum, Graham bottled Katarina with 180 mls of plasma at 3 hours of age to give her some passive immunity: it seems to have worked. Katarina is a beautifully balanced and elegant cria with a wonderfully bright and heavily crimped fleece. We hope she goes one better than her two sisters – both Reserve Supreme Champions. She is now down to just two 350ml bottles per day and will go into the weaning paddock very shortly at over 35kgs. Graham will really miss the close daily contact with his little white "survivor" Sire: Viscount

Kassiopi (b.2006)

Kassiopi has the sweetest nature and enjoyed having two mothers with her at all times. Gabby's best friend, Imala, who is never further than a few feet from her, also looked out for Kassiopi and spat off unwanted visiting alpacas from bothering her. She has a very promising fleece, dense, bright and with character to staple ends. Sire: Viscount

Top

Frankie (b. 2001)

He has a gentle and comical nature. We have never seen him spit at any female alpaca, limiting himself to grumpy looks if chased by the females. He is very quiet, never humming or squeaking at others.    He is first to the food trough and last to leave.  If the females spit him away from the trough he just inclines his head away from them and carries on eating.  Unusually Frankie sometimes goes on a wander through the park by himself and can end up quite a way from the herd.

Top