Welcome to the podcast for alpaca people!

Having been away for a few days made me realise how much I miss my alpacas when I am not there.

Listen in for an update on what changed while I was away.

Thanks for listening, and I hope you enjoyed it.

You can contact me by email - [email protected] - or leave me a voicemail from your browser.

Alpaca Tribe is hosted and produced by Steve Heatherington of Waterside Voices.

Welcome to the podcast for alpaca people!

Alpacas have a rhythm and so do we. Sometimes we can get them to coincide.

There are daily rhythms, weekly rhythms and seasonal rhythms.

Rhythms are seen in the way alpacas walk; the growing seasons; the times of alpaca activity - shearing, birthing.

Find the steady gentle rhythms of your alpacas and get in step.

Thanks for listening, and I hope you enjoyed it.

You can contact me by email - [email protected] - or leave me a voicemail from your browser.

Alpaca Tribe is hosted and produced by Steve Heatherington of Waterside Voices.

Welcome to the podcast for alpaca people!

In this episode, I have been reminiscing about some of the interviews I have done where we talked about alpaca fleece. Here are some clips to inspire you - at least, I hope so.

Thanks for listening, and I hope you enjoyed it.

You can contact me by email - [email protected] - or leave me a voicemail from your browser.

Alpaca Tribe is hosted and produced by Steve Heatherington of Waterside Voices.

Welcome to the podcast for alpaca people!

In this episode, I am thinking about the amazing alpaca journey that can begin when we meet our first alpaca.

We don't all have the opportunity to keep our own alpacas, but for those fortunate to have some on the farm, they can be a never-ending source of delight. Confidence and curiosity are our best allies but probably in reverse order. Stay curious.

But be warned, once they have some, many people find they want to add in some more!

Thanks for listening, and I hope you enjoyed it.

You can contact me by email - [email protected] - or leave me a voicemail from your browser.

Alpaca Tribe is hosted and produced by Steve Heatherington of Waterside Voices.

Welcome to the podcast for alpaca people!

In this episode, if you are thinking of keeping alpacas, we suggest you start with what you good at. Consider:

• Where are you?
• Where do you want to go?
• How will you get there?
• Why do you want to keep alpacas?

Thanks for listening, and I hope you enjoyed it.

You can contact me by email - [email protected] - or leave me a voicemail from your browser.

Alpaca Tribe is hosted and produced by Steve Heatherington of Waterside Voices.

Welcome to the podcast for alpaca people!

In this episode, we look at 'normal' alpaca behaviour - starting with their queuing.

The RSPCA Five Freedoms and Five Domains give us some pointers about how we can ensure we care for our animals in the best way. Let me know if you come up with any good ideas for extra things we can do for our alpacas.

Good news - the Canada Geese' eggs have hatched (3).

Reducing numbers of horse-flies the hard way but we keep trying.

Thanks for listening, and I hope you enjoyed it.

You can contact me by email - [email protected] - or leave me a voicemail from your browser.

Alpaca Tribe is hosted and produced by Steve Heatherington of Waterside Voices.

Welcome to the podcast for alpaca people!

I was hunting for large horseflies, but the alpacas thought I was after them. Not one of my most successful interventions. If you can identify a lifecycle for parasites and pests, you have a chance of breaking or at least interfering with it. It is one good reason for mucking out and collecting alpaca dung and moving it away from where the alpacas are housed. Not always possible, but something to think about.

Geese with goslings continue to thrive, and geese with eggs continue to wait patiently. I am glad they get on so well with the alpacas.

The difference between a good haircut and a bad one - they say it is about two weeks - maybe it is slightly longer with alpacas. I am noticing bits I missed and will have to revisit them when I have a good reason to work on them.

Thanks for listening, and I hope you enjoyed it.

You can contact me by email - [email protected] - or leave me a voicemail from your browser.

Alpaca Tribe is hosted and produced by Steve Heatherington of Waterside Voices.

Welcome to the podcast for alpaca people!

In this episode, I offer some suggested guidelines for choosing alpacas. If you have any questions, please do let me know.

What do you see when you look at an alpaca?

• Buy the best you can afford - but suitable for your purpose.
• Buy what you like - especially if they are going to be field companions
• buy for the characteristics you need
• do your homework
• think, talk and ask questions
• trust yourself

• what has the breeder's experience been with this alpaca?
• what is the breeding history of this alpaca? (if you are planning to breed yourself)
• what is the health history of this alpaca?
• Is the breeder aware of any issues with this alpaca - either recently or in the bloodline?
• If you are looking at buying more than one alpaca, who do they get on with? (they should be in a minimum group of three)

Thanks for listening, and I hope you enjoyed it.

You can contact me by email - [email protected] - or leave me a voicemail from your browser.

Alpaca Tribe is hosted and produced by Steve Heatherington of Waterside Voices.

Welcome to the podcast for alpaca people!

We are done dusted, and the alpacas looked pretty polished, even if I say so myself.

They are in good shape this year and, most of the time, appreciate being free of their fleece. It is a significant undertaking but important for their welfare. It is also a harvest of their produce (fibre), and we gathered a lot this year.

There are a few - in the process of shearing - photos on the website at https://alpacatribe.com if you want to check them out.

Stay well, cool and not far from an alpaca.

Thanks for listening, and I hope you enjoyed it.

You can contact me by email - [email protected] - or leave me a voicemail from your browser.

Alpaca Tribe is hosted and produced by Steve Heatherington of Waterside Voices.

Welcome to the podcast for alpaca people!

I have adjusted the old saying to "shear alpacas while the sun shines". We have started - listen in for an update.

Sometimes I would like to speak alpaca but some of our alpacas made their feelings known and it is probably just as well I did not understand what they were saying in detail. I think we are friends again now!

The sound of the shears gets in your head and I have even started dreaming about shearing! Still, it is only a short phase. We will all be happy when we finish but the sunny weather definitely makes it easier.

Thanks for listening, and I hope you enjoyed it.

You can contact me by email - [email protected] - or leave me a voicemail from your browser.

Alpaca Tribe is hosted and produced by Steve Heatherington of Waterside Voices.