ALPACAS - OUR ALTERNATIVE ESCAPE PLAN.

“If this is as good as its going to get, are we happy to settle for it?” That was the question my wife Sue and I discussed in 2004 over a glass of wine.

Eventually, probably after another glass of wine, we decided that the answer was an emphatic No.

We had a lovely house in North Dorset and we both had good jobs, me a local village Policeman and Sue a Community Midwife. We had a son, Angus, who was two years old. We both had the added prospect of pensions when we had done our time. Somehow it just wasn’t enough.

We also realised that we had to make the decision to change our lives and we were the ones who had to get on with it and act on that decision. No-one else was going to do it for us. It was down to us to make things happen and it was up to us to get it right. Much discussion ensued and gradually over the following months the plan for our future life developed.

We decided that if we were going to do it we had to plan it well and give ourselves enough time to have everything in place in time for the big move. We had to consider what we wanted, how we wanted to spend the rest of our lives and where. We had to decide what we wanted for Angus to give him the best possible start in life. We also had to get the timing right. It couldn’t just be a case of upping sticks and moving out and hoping things would turn out ok.

Eventually we decided that we would have a seven year ‘escape’ plan. We would leave the UK in 2013 when I would be fifty, Angus would be ten and Sue would be seven years older than she was then (a lady’s prerogative to keep such details secret!). That way I would be able to claim my pension and we would have enough money to put food and water on the table at least.

The decision was made and the planning phase was upon us!

We sold our house in August 2005 and moved into a delightful farm cottage in Chicksgrove in South West Wiltshire. The cottage is surrounded by fields and is in the middle of a working sheep farm. It is a fantastic place for an inquisitive energetic young boy to grow up in and a great place for adults with a love of rural life too! The dogs settled in nicely and Bob the cat quickly discovered there were plenty of things to keep him occupied. The local mouse population was under siege! The garden was large and the views fabulous. We instantly knew we had made the right decision, we were on our way, phase one was complete.

We had always liked France and the French and their way of life and had spent many enjoyable holidays on the other side of the channel. We had skied in the Alps and the Pyrenees, cycled around Brittany and Northern France and had toured the Loire valley and the Dordogne, we loved it. We wanted a house somewhere near the mountains so that we were within reach of ski-ing and wanted to be in a rural location with a bit of land. The Alps appeared expensive and in parts overdeveloped. The Pyrenees however looked to fit the bill, real old fashioned France.

We were now on the hunt for a property in France and an idea of a business that we could build up ready for the big move.

That was the time that Sue came home and said she was going on an Alpaca awareness day with a friend.

The first thought that went through my head was “What on earth is an Alpaca”. She returned that evening totally smitten with alpacas and set about converting me. To be honest it didn’t take long. The instant appeal was that alpaca farming was in many ways ‘fluffy farming’. The animals themselves are fascinating to watch, easy to look after and produced a truly wonderful marketable fleece. Also there was to be no saying goodbye to animals destined for the slaughterhouse.

Ok so what is an Alpaca? Alpacas are part of the camelid family which includes the Llama. They are native to the high altiplano of Peru, Chile and Bolivia. They are a fibre producing animal and their fleeces have been used for thousands of years in South America to make high quality clothing, notably for the Royal families of the Incas. Alpaca fleece is a luxurious fibre, similar to cashmere but stronger, softer and lighter. On top of that it is lanolin free and doesn’t have the prickle factor that most wool has. Alpacas are also highly addictive!

After talking to several established alpaca breeders we decided that we would become Alpaca farmers. The plan was to start now by buying the best females we could afford and gradually through selective breeding build up the herd over the next seven years. We could then take a herd of high quality Alpacas to the south of France. How about that for a plan!

By February 2006 we had found our dream home in France, rented a 5 acre field in front of the cottage in Chicksgrove and had bought our first four Alpacas. Bannock, Priscilla, Bobby and Jake were delivered to us by Tim Hey from Inca Alpacas on the Dorset/Wiltshire border. Great excitement ensued, there was no stopping us now, the master plan was underway.

We decided to call our herd Patou Alpacas. Patou is an ancient French word particular to the Pyrenees region. The Pyrenean mountain dogs that live in the high pastures with the sheep are known as ‘Patous’. It sounded good and meant that we could establish a herd with a name that would have some meaning when we eventually arrived in France.

Having the Alpacas in the field was fantastic. We could see them grazing from every window and we just knew that we had made the right decision. We read everything we could about alpacas and Tim at Inca was a great help teaching us how to look after them. We learned a huge amount about Alpacas in our first year and enjoyed every minute of it. We have helped out on other farms and are very confident after a year that we are able to give the alpacas everything they need for a happy life.

In fact alpacas are remarkably easy to look after. They like nothing better than to graze away in the field. They also like a bit of hay and come up to the house every morning for their breakfast which consists of some Alfalfa pellets and a vitamin concentrate. We feed some of them by hand which is lovely. Actually they are pretty greedy and there is always a bit of Alpaca spit flying around the feed troughs. Alpacas are naturally aware of their vulnerability and are always on the alert. Their natural instinct is to run away from danger. However, when amongst other alpacas their method of politely saying ‘please go away this is my food’ is to spit. Some of them spit more than others especially a pregnant female but generally they will not spit at humans. We have never been spat at but are now very careful not to stand downwind when they are arguing!

So what of our herd and our progress so far?

In July 2006 Priscilla gave birth to Henry, our first cria. Somehow we missed Henry’s birth. We knew he was due to be born any day and were checking the animals about very half hour. We looked out to see how they were getting on and were amazed to see a little wobbly head on the end of a little wobbly neck sticking up out of the grass. He was followed a month later when Bannock gave birth to a beautiful black female, Lily. Lily’s arrival was well documented, Angus and I were waiting for it and although Sue was at work the whole event was captured in glorious techni-colour on our video camera.

The young cria grow incredibly fast and are great fun to watch as they skip around playing. Henry and Lily to this day remain virtually inseparable and will stay with us together with Bannock, Priscilla, Bobby and Jake as ‘foundation herd members'. Bobby sadly miscarried in early summer. We subsequently discovered that she had been carrying twins. Live twin births are very rare in Alpacas.

Within a month of the cria being born we had once again called on Tim and he duly arrived with his superb black stud male Centurion. The three girls were mated and subsequent scans revealed them all to be pregnant. We are eagerly awaiting the new arrivals in the summer of 2007.

Shortly afterwards a friend of ours who dabbled in website design created our website www.patoualpacas.co.uk and we were officially launched! Primarily the website was designed as a way of other potential newcomers to the industry seeing how easy it is to get involved. It is possible to farm Alpacas at the same time as holding down full time jobs. We are well into our second year now and are testimony to that fact.

In January 2007 I visited EP Cambridge a huge alpaca farm in Sussex. They have a herd of 2000 or so animals and we have now become agents for them. We have several of their high quality females in our field which we hope to sell later in the year.

In March 2007 we entered our first Alpaca show, The British Alpaca Society Spring show at The Bath and West showground. Lily and Henry represented us and I paraded them in the show ring with immense pride. We had entered for the experience and to meet other alpaca breeders. What happened exceeded our wildest expectations. Lily, our young black female came second in her class and we now have our first rosette, what a buzz!

In summary Alpaca farming is great fun. It is also something that, on a small scale can be done very easily without impinging on the rest of your life. We still work and manage to give our herd the care and attention they require. All the animals are fabulously healthy and are thriving here at Chicksgrove.

The herd will grow year on year and we will continue to enjoy all things alpaca. We wholeheartedly believe in the future of these remarkable animals. We don’t regret making the life changing decisions one iota and look forward with great excitement to moving to France. If you are considering something similar, just do it. No-one else will do it for you!

The above article first appeared in the July 2007 edition of the Wiltshire View Magazine.

September 2008.

The herd now stands at 27 and we had 8 successful births this year. We are very pleased with the way things are developing and are rapidly establishing ourselves as a breeder of quality coloured alpacas.

PATOU ALPACAS

PATOU ALPACAS

You don't have to be big to be mighty.

Mark & Sue Steele, Park House, Chicksgrove, Salisbury, Wiltshire, SP3 6NA. Tel: 01722-717920 / 0788 054 2260. E-mail patoualpacas@aol.com