Alpaca Walking had an amazing day yesterday with bride to be – Rachel – and her hen party. After meeting in London, they came down to Sussex by train and headed for Spring Farm.

We were fortunate that the weather, although a bit nippy, was dry and “bracing”. Our walking team of young gentlemen were suitable dressed up with ribbons and were impeccably behaved. We did slip in Eron (one of our llamas) as a surprise entrant, but other than making pit stops for lunch (the alpacas) and photo opportunities (the hens) all went very smoothly.

After getting back to the farm, the alpacas were given their treats in carrots which needless to say went down very well. After spending some time with the Mums and babies (last years who are now growing fast), the Hens retired to the “office” for well earned picnic lunch and champagne.

We really enjoy hosting alpaca walks and having such like minded people on the farm makes it all worth while for us. A special thanks to Jennifer who organised the day and we wish Rachel a great day for her Wedding in April!

It has been a wet yet mild Winter thus far. The trees are bare but with buds in place and waiting for the milder weather of Spring to come. However, in the hedgerows and quiet spots on the farm, the first wild flowers are pushing up and in some cases flowering.

Walking alpacas at this time of the year means searching out for the signs of Spring. On a short walk around part of our alpaca walking trail, I found the following images.

The birds are now singing and starting to think about their breeding strategies. Seeing blue tits chasing each other amongst the hedgerows and almost oblivious to me suggests they are setting up their territories. There is no frog spawn in the ponds but it will be almost any day as our friends near Battle have had their first already – a record for their farm!

So a walk with alpacas can be rewarding from a wildlife perspective even if Winter hasn’t completely loosened its grip…you just have to look a bit harder but are rewarded by some beautiful early wild flowers!

Thinking about owning alpacas? Then come to our free alpaca open day on the 13th March 2016 here at Spring Farm Alpacas in East Sussex and learn about alpacas, handling alpacas, alpaca husbandry and how they will fit into your life! The alpaca open day is for anyone who is contemplating alpaca ownership and is intended to give you an a really good feel for what is involved in ownership and what you might expect to experience as owners. We started in alpacas with absolutely no farming background so we know what it is like to be beginners – so please feel free to ask questions and we promise not to blind you with science!

Our alpaca open day can go ahead whatever the weather as we have a warm office to cover the indoor items and can demonstrate handling etc. under cover if the weather takes a turn for the worse. As some of the day will be spent out doors, you may like to bring some warm clothing and because of our bio security, we will ask you to dip your footwear prior to going into our yard and farm facilities. We can’t promise a culinary feast, but we do provide a light lunch with tea/cakes to keep you going! We have plenty of off road parking on site and we are close to Haywards Heath mainline station if you are contemplating public transport. Lastly, we do ask that you contact us to book a place on the open day as numbers are limited to keep it personal, cater accordingly and to allow us to answer individual questions. We normally start at 10:30am and aim to finish at about 16:30pm.

We run a number of alpaca open days throughout the year, so even if this date doesn’t suit you, please get in contact with us and we will put your name down for the next alpaca open day that we are running.

Alpaca agility training

Alpacas can be this friendly!

Alpaca agility in our sand school

Last week the weather here at Spring Farm Alpacas took a turn for the worse – but it did give us the chance to walk in an Alpaca Winter wonderland! The snow wasn’t that deep, but it is amazing how it takes you back to childhood days and brings a smile to the face.

Alpacas are supremely suited to snowy conditions and their warm fleece keeps them beautifully insulated – so much so that in a snowstorm, the snow sits on their backs and doesn’t melt. Such is the insulating properties of their fleece.

We had a lovely family come walking for the day and the blue sky, crisp air and dusting of snow made for an incredible experience. Walking alpacas in the Winter isn’t everybody’s cup of tea – but if you wrap up warm and enjoy the outdoors, it is really rewarding and beats watching re-runs of Who wants to be a Millionaire!

At this time of year, we always walk at midday so we have time to finish the morning rounds and before it gets dark. That leaves the perfect time to try out one of our local pubs or Trading Boundaries (a fun bistro/Indian furniture warehouse) at the end of our road.

Walking in the snow

Happy Birthday to Molly, Spring Farm’s oldest alpaca. We aren’t sure who the oldest UK alpaca is, but Molly was 23 yesterday and the BAS website says alpacas live for up to 20 years…. so whichever way, Molly is doing really well.

Molly was born in Chile on 1st January 1993. She came to the UK and was part of our neighbour’s herd – Bray’s Alpacas by Peter and Victoria Wigan. When Peter and Victoria retired from alpaca ownership, we took on their alpacas and promised to give Molly a good home for the rest of her days. So Molly has been with us for about ten years.

Happy Birthday Molly!

Molly’s birthday cake – Carrot cake!

Molly has now retired having produced some super friendly crias when she first retired. She loves creating a “nest” for herself in the barns and really doesn’t care if she is left on her own by the other alpacas – as long as she is warm and snug. Her fleece isn’t of the highest quality now so we put a warm rug on her as soon as the weather deteriorates.

Molly is also happy to play nurse maid to the crias when they are weaned – just as long as she can “nest” up at night. She gets lots of TLC and we do make a big fuss of her. She is still very partial to carrots – hence the cake! She is normally to be found in the near fields to the farm so whilst walking alpacas, please ask to see her and we will make the necessary introductions!

Holly is all around the farm – but within the same bush, there are real differences in leaves. If you are interested whilst on an alpaca trek with us – just ask and we will point out these differences and why they exist! Just one of many fascinating facts of the British countryside – even in winter!

Lower part of holly bush

Upper part of holly bush

Short of ideas for Christmas? Why not try 100% Spring Farm Alpaca Christmas presents! We occasionally have a few minutes spare here at Spring Farm Alpacas. When we do, we take the time to utilise the amazing fibre that our alpacas produce. All the images you see below are made here at Spring Farm using only our own 100% alpaca and using our own knitting machines and hard graft. Modeled by our lovely Millie, you can see just how amazing alpaca can be and what a personalised Christmas present it would make – or for any other occasion you care to mention! Come and walk alpacas with us and then take the chance to get your hands on our amazing luxurious 100% Spring Farm Alpaca products!

You are very welcome to join us at the Edenbridge and Oxted Show 2015 this August Bank Holiday Weekend. We will be there on both Sunday and Monday – weather permitting. So if you get a chance, come an see Millie, Coral, Joelle and Paul on Sunday – and Vicki and Joelle on Monday with a select group of Alpacas and Llamas!

Rosselli

Eron and Rosselli arriving at Spring Farm Alpacas

Vicki, Millie and Coral with alpacas

Book an alpaca trek with us now – we are now most of the way through August and the farm is in full swing! we have all the hay/haylage in the barns and all the baby alpacas (cria) are on the ground and thriving!

An alpaca trek is a great way to meet our walking alpacas and to meet our Mum’s and baby alpacas too! Whilst on your walk, we are now regularly seeing deer fawns as well as the baby deer are left in our hay fields by their mums and only try to get out of our way when we get close!

Springfarm Phantom

Our baby alpacas are now between one month old and four months old. They are very inquisitive and because of our training techniques, are learning from their mothers that we humans are “interesting”. An alpaca trek is a great way to get to meet the babies (and their mothers) after you have spent some time with our alpaca trekking team – and run out of carrots (their reward for walking and even better, supplied by us!).

We do ask that you book in advance as we only run one walk a day at midday – so you are assured of a great experience. An alpaca trek allows you to really get a feel for our farm, the alpacas and the wildlife we see every day! Visit us soon.