Nic
Cooper and Linda Blake of Southern Alpacas Stud
and Alpaca Services
Years of international expertise and knowledge
Breeding alpacas on a purpose-built facility
We are but a phone call (or an email) away to provide practical advice and support.
Phone us for
advice and help
(03) 318-1917
Our clients have
access to our
FREE 0800
phone number
We live on the outskirts of Christchurch with our herd of
quality alpacas. We're on the Main West Coast Road near West Melton, just 15
minutes from the airport, so we are easy to visit.
There are three of us on the farm, and we have over 40 years of alpaca husbandry
experience between us. We bring a wealth of experience and a commitment to caring
for our customers and their animals.
Nic was President of the Alpaca and Llama Association of New Zealand from
1996 to 1999, and we have been developing the alpaca industry since 1989. We regularly
attend alpaca conferences and visit breeders and research organisations in Australia,
USA, and Europe, bringing back new ideas, the latest in research news, and the
best available genetics by importing alpacas.
Nic
has an eye for a fine alpaca, specializing in alpaca selection and
judging. He takes a keen interest in genetics and breeding, and keeps up
to date with research into general health and alpaca welfare.
Linda is an expert in management of the neo nate,
and all aspects of alpaca breeding and birthing. She is
involved in development of the fibre industry, having
written industry manuals and arranged and assisted in industry training.
We are both deeply involved in alpaca genetics and breeding programmes,
to maximize getting the best out of each alpaca and its progeny.
Have a look at our
championship alpacas.
One of New Zealand's top studs
We are primarily a stud farm. Our breeding programme is for quality herd improvement. This means well conformed alpacas, with fine fibre in the teens and to mid 20's micron, with dense fibre coverage giving greater shear weights. We enjoy the diversity of natural colours in the alpaca, and breed for quality in all colours, rather than any specific colour.
We are using solid and proven genetic lines in both the stud male and female side of our herd, as we believe in the proven heritability of good traits as displayed by parents and ancestors, as well as siblings and progeny.
We look for a line back to the "venerable ancestors" of past days in Peru, whether they be Accoyo or Macusani. Our goal is to incorporate in our herd the genetics of what we consider to be the 10 top stud lines in the world industry. We currently have progeny from all of these on our farm, and now have stud males from these top lines.
Genetic improvement in the New Zealand alpaca industry is extremely rapid. To remain at the forefront of this improvement, we believe in the need to be constantly refreshing bloodlines with the proven best, both males and females, from wherever in the world, and from whosoever's "stable" they are accessible.
IMPORTS AND EXPORTS
To improve the genetics of New Zealand's alpacas, we have imported studs
from the well-known Australian Purrembete Peruvian bloodlines — now
widely accepted as accoyo alpacas from Barreda's stud in Peru, and considered the
foundation sires of the Australian industry. Their genetic improvement is proven —
they endow their progeny with denser fleece, greater shear weight, and finer fibre.
On the female side we have females with strong Accoyo background, proven by show winning performance in USA and Australia.
We imported the first ever alpaca from USA - Alpine Fiber's Brutus. Sired by the legendary Peruvain Macusani Hemingway — the icon of the USA industry — performing ahead of imported Accoyo males. Brutus' arrival bought proven and tested top USA genetics to NZ.
We
have now imported more alpacas from USA, bringing new genetics in a female and
in utero, as well as stud males.
Accoyo America Paramount takes his
place with Brutus as a lead white stud male, and
Patagonia's
Maipo is 2005 USA National Black Champion Male. These boys are
impacting on the NZ herd.
Since 2006 we have
also been exporting, with pregnant females and some males going to the UK and
Europe. It is exciting to see our genetics having a place internationally.
See our Imports-Exports page for more on our
world-wide alpaca business.
Modern, purpose-built, secure facilities
Your alpacas can "board" on our farm. Let us support you in your introduction to alpacas with our hands-on experience and care of your animals.
Our farm is dedicated to alpacas with no other stock run in the paddocks. Our facilities include specially designed undercover yards with a raceway to each paddock, and our educational "Alpaca Gallery" with a health care room and a cria care area.
Our property is irrigated to ensure year round green grass,
and hay and alpaca nuts are given as supplements when required.The alpacas have free access to shelter sheds from all paddocks, all viewed from the house, and with a deer fence perimeter and a person always on site, your alpacas are secure.
We have a secure veterinary cupboard in our health care room, and spin down and store plasma in case of emergencies. An experienced alpaca vet lives nearby.
We have clear herd Tb status under the AANZ voluntary industry scheme (C10 status). We are Johnes free and do not run our alpacas with any other stock.
We encourage our agistees to visit and take part in all farm activities to gain knowledge and practical care tips—and to enjoy being with their alpacas!
Nic Cooper and Linda Blake
Main West Coast Road, West Melton, RD1,
Christchurch, New Zealand
Phone 0064 3 318-1917 | fax 0064 3 318-1927 | email alpacasnz@xtra.co.nz