People often ask why do we have alpacas at our Exeter farm in the Southern Highlands…
For starters, we’re biased and think alpacas are gorgeous! But they also have an important job to do here at Woodland Farm in protecting our much-loved flock of Suffolk sheep and lambs from foxes and other predators.
Alpacas make great herd guardians for sheep as they have an innate sense to be alert to foxes which may come into the paddock and prey upon newborn lambs. They can emit a high pitched scream when they see a nearby fox or dog, which alerts the sheep to a potential hazard causing them to gather into a tight huddle quickly to fend off the fox. Alpacas have also been known to kick and chase foxes. Pretty amazing for such mild mannered looking animals!
Our current alpacas, Albert and Archie, are two year old desexed males (wethers). Being desexed herd animals, they love each other’s company and live happily in the same paddock year round with our sheep. We include them in the sheep schedule when it comes time to shearing, drenching and vaccinations annually. Albert and Archie are definitely less keen on being handled than the sheep but we get a shearer who is used to handling alpacas as well as sheep to make it as stress free as possible for them. With their soft padded feet and toenails, the shearer must also give their nails special attention at shearing time too.
Our farmstay guests have the opportunity to meet and feed the sheep and alpaca with us during their stay. Albert and Arch love nothing better than chatting nearby if there is some lucerne hay on offer. Whilst they always remain a little aloof, and don’t like being patted, it has to be remembered that they are doing a valuable job on our farm, always on the lookout for those pesky foxes!
On farm experiences like meeting our sheep and alpaca and learning a little more about them, are another great reason to visit the Southern Highlands of NSW.