Happy Christmas from Pembrokeshire’s Alpacas
It’s been a busy year at Sweet Home Alpaca, at Cuffern, but ANGELA FRAYLING-JAMES has taken the time to share some great news…
Over to Angela…
“Our friendly herd has grown in leaps and bounds over the past 12 months. Not only have we welcomed 18 new alpacas to the farm since November, 11 adorable alpaca babies – or ‘cria’ – have arrived. Little Welshy who was born back in May has already grown massively and is lapping up the attention from our visitors. Welshy was the first cria to be born on our farm.
“And we’ve not just got more alpacas; from birds to bugs, the farm is continuously expanding. In May we rescued 10 battery-farmed chickens to save them from slaughter. Since then we have rescued a further 22. They’re all settled happily and laying some delicious eggs. We have even had a few double yolkers. The eggs have been a huge success and are for sale at the entrance to the farm.
“We also built a bug mansion which is encouraging all kinds of biodiversity to the site, including butterflies, leaf miners and crickets. And our bird and bat boxes, which we’ve scattered across the farm, mean the sky is full night and day with wildlife buzzing about.
“With more animals to look after, we’re having to build out the farm as well. Fencing has gone up to keep the alpacas safe from other animals that can spread disease, and a new road has been installed. More importantly, we finally got planning permission for our alpaca barn, which was built in May, and we’ve had five alpaca shelters built – though they never go in them, even in the rain – crazy animals!
“While we were waiting for the barn to be built, another farm kindly looked after our herd, so the alpacas could stay inside during the cold winter weather. To cover the costs, we raised £6,000 via Crowdfunder – we wouldn’t have been able to do it without this support, so a massive thank you to anyone that donated. The alpacas had a great time on their holiday, but they’re loving their new home.
“We have started offering ‘Meet and Greets’ and these are proving to be a real success. The ‘Meet and Greets’ are a perfect opportunity to learn about our animals, what food they like, where they sleep and how we keep them happy and healthy.
“A lot has happened in the past year and the farm is bustling with all kinds of life. We currently have 36 alpacas, 32 chickens and two dogs..We plan to open our eco-friendly campsite in 2022, and will start the alpaca walks in April. The big news is that in March we are also looking forward to the arrival of our own little human.
“For those looking for fleeces, we have a very limited amount of alpaca fleece left for sale, but we have started selling ‘Alpaca Bird Nesting Material’ from the third cuts of the fleece. We are now selling alpaca manure as fertiliser for the garden.
“Happy Christmas from Angela, Alex, and all the animals at Sweet Home Alpaca.”
Website: sweethomealpaca.com
