JandJ Nettle

On Friday 24th June we had 2 births. The first one was Nettle, this is her nickname as at the moment she doesn't have a real one.


Her mother QAI Claire came into the country with her mum Drew Barrymore as a cria born in transit. Claire is the most beautiful alpaca, very gentle & calm just like her mum. Leo was Claire's first cria & he is a large gentle alpaca now living with Kim, Steve & Jo. Her next 2 cria were not so lucky & we lost both Chance & Enchanted before they were 4 months old, both of whom were stunning.

So this little girl, prettiest little cria we have, is very special & we really want her to live. We watched her being born & then left her & Claire alone to bond, I went back to the field an hour later to check on them & couldn't find Nettle anywhere. She had managed to sit down in a clump of nettles at the side of the field shelter & I got stung getting her out, so Nettle is her name for now. She is the only alpaca not registered & has to be by Christmas Eve at the latest, so fingers crossed we will be able to give her a very special name but to us I think she will always be Nettle.

Waiting for a Dreamy baby

We are eagerly awaiting the arrival of the last cria of the summer, number 18. Dream is due on the 10th but tonight she is looking promising. It has been raining here all last night & this morning & all the alpacas apart from one have lovely clean coats. Dream on the other hand looks filthy, she has been rolling on the dirt pad which is normally lovely & dry but today is very muddy & she is covered in mud patches from the top of her neck to her toes! Her tail is slightly raised & she is humming so I am hoping for a cria in the morning, not too early, the last 2 births have been 8.15 & 7.45!

Claire, who was the last to give birth to Chance, has been mated to Hornblower tonight