Astrid’s winter newsletter 2024
What’s new with Astrid this winter? Astrid has continued to be a busy and attentive mum to her first cria, Joni, who was born in May 2023. Joni is the clone of Astrid and is a perfect size, weight and has a wonderful temperament, fitting into the herd like she has always been here. Whilst Astrid hasn’t shown signs of wanting to wean Joni, now is the right time to, so we will soon assist with this during February.
What care needs come with winter?
There’s so much care to be given during the winter season, we’re really kept on our toes.
Speaking of toes, one thing we’re really careful with is the wet season we’ve had and their foot care. To ensure their feet get some much needed dry time in the extremely wet weather we’ve experienced this winter, we decided to place the alpacas in the barn, whether that be overnight in some cases, or for a few days at a time in others. This helps prevent any fungal conditions or injuries to the foot caused by the wetness, as well as ensuring the fields are not damaged by overuse when they’re wet, which could be hard to recover from.
We’ve also routinely given the herd including Astrid, their monthly vitamin A, D, E supplements, to ensure good health and to prevent rickets which they can be prone to. This is due to the shortened days with less hours of sunlight, mixed with their thick woolly fleeces at this time of year, there is less chance of their skin being able to adsorb vitamin D3.
With the wet whether, we also have to be extra vigilant with the alpaca’s gut health, and kept up with our quarterly egg counts for worms and parasites. We were really pleased with the results, showing good general management of the land and general regular health checks is the best prevention we can give. Astrid’s test results indicated there was no need for any treatment for her this winter, and we’ll re-test again in a few weeks’ time.
Watch in video: From last winter, we show you how we manage and treat the alpacas for worms and parasites
Astrid in winter… woolly, friendly, greedy!
It’s our preference at shearing not to cut their fringes too short, both for practical (shading from the sun) and aesthetic reasons (we like it!) but this means at this time of year we have to check to see if a little trim is needed, I think Astrid is in team trim so she can have a clear view of the world again.
We were recently welcomed into the farming network here, “Bienvenue á la ferme”, and Astrid and Joni were right there with us, being welcomed by fellow farmers the Deux-Sevres.
Don’t they just make the photo perfect?!
Welcoming visitors may be Astrid’s favourite activity on the farm, and she’s the most likely to give you a kiss too.
We’re pretty sure it’s because she associates it with her favourite thing in the world - food… treats!
It’s the fluffiest time of year at the farm as we approach our annual shearing day in April. Astrid produces a beautiful rich deep brown wool, as you can see in this sunrise moment, and is a firm favourite. If you would like an Astrid hat or headband, take a look at our shop.
Winter news from the farm
This winter, we’re having a glamping glow up. Since opening up the glamping tent, we’ve had three complete seasons and received wonderful 5 star reviews. After 3 years, it’s time for a newer and better glamping tent, with more head room and better material for a cooler time in the heat and warmer time in the cold, we’re certain it’s only getting better for 2024. We’re keeping the exclusivity; a new tent doesn’t mean an additional tent, it’s staying special and private just for your group!
All 2023 babies on the farm are doing well. Blossom’s cria (baby alpaca) Buddy, and Astrid’s cria Joni have both started their halter training. This is less about training to walk with customers and more about them learning to be handled for regular health checks and at a minimum them be able to be walked if needed for healthcare (for example to travel to the vets). Our (human) baby Emilie is also doing well and getting to know the herd well, and they’re starting to get used to her too.
We are proud to re-appear on C4’s A New Life in the Sun: Where Are They Now? this winter.
We love sharing our updates with you all and others too. It must be kept a close secret, but as adopters of our beautiful herd, we’ll let you know the theme of this year’s episode focuses on us working with the wool, and also how the farm was baby central last year with both alpaca and human baby arrivals. Take a look at our blog for an account coming soon of what it’s like being involved in the show, as well as our social media to announce the date our contribution will be aired.
Wool workshops that are accessible to everyone.
We’ve been sharing our knowledge and skills with our regular wool workshops. These have proved very popular and not only to the general public, but we’ve also been asked to adapt these for groups too, including children and those with additional needs. We’re so happy we can share our passion for the alpacas and our knowledge about their incredible wool. We now have three different workshops available, alongside our partners Wecandoo.
