The Werribee AlpacaFest 2008 was the first show of the season for us at KINGSVIEW ALPACAS and the first for a while.  I feel that alpaca shows provide a gauge for the quality of the alpacas that you are breeding, as there is an independent judge reviewing your alpacas against 10 to 15 others in the case of our specialty white and light fawn.

This year we took two animals to show and it was the first time for both of them, which we have found makes it just a little bit harder.  Our experience at KINGSVIEW ALPACAS is that once the alpacas have had two or three shows under their belt they seem to relax and present so much better while in the ring.

This year we took Kingsview Foxy Lady, a white female of 18 months of age, she is one of our best bred females and has the package - fineness, crimp definition, lustre and density.  Her class was made up of 9 alpacas, mainly from the big names of the alpaca industry (Nationally - Ambersun, Cambridge, Windsong Valley) (Locally - Almora, Coricancha, Malakai).  Foxy Lady was called up to the final four line up and was fighting it out for 3rd, the judge looked at the brisket, then the neck and finally the bonnet where the decision was made.  The judge looked over the animals at least four times, however we were placed 4th.  That was an excellent result given the caliber of the other alpacas and justifies the breeding strategy that we have in place at KINGSVIEW ALPACAS.

Our other entrant was Kingsview Birthday Girl, a light fawn female of 8 months of age, she is a soft fine fleeced alpaca like her mother (one of our other best bred females).  In a smaller field she was placed 3rd, again fighting for 2nd.  The judges comment was she had an extremely soft handle.

At Kingsview Alpacas we have found that alpacas are more likely to kick than bite.  We have heard of a couple of stories of alpacas biting, however have not witnessed it and do not believe it to be an issue when handling alpacas.  Kicking is certainly a reaction common in alpacas.  This can occur when you touch their back legs or invade their personal space from behind.  The alpacas foot is padded and when combined with the fact that they are not that tall compared to an adult, it is likely that if kicked there will not be any long term damage.  It may hurt at the moment of impact, however this is generally due to the surprise.

At Kingsview Alpacas we have found that some alpacas are more likely to kick than others.  We have tried to handle our alpacas as much as practical of which touching their legs to desensitise works wonders, especially when you need to trim toenails and eliminate the potential of kicking.  The more time you put into handling the better the results you will reap.