Welcome
to the website of Adrian and
Bron Jarvis of Blackwood Alpacas.
We
run a boutique alpaca stud which specialises in breeding the
colour GREY. We bought our first alpacas in
2004 with the purchase of our property and very quickly became
addicted to these beautiful animals. Let us introduce you to
the wonderful lifestyle and opportunities provided as an alpaca
breeder.
We
are located in St Andrews, 40 km North East of Melbourne on
20 acres in an idyllic setting. Please call us anytime just
to talk or make an appointment to come by and visit. Blackwood
Alpacas is a member of the Australian
Alpaca Association Ltd.
WHY
GREYS?
Grey alpacas come in a multitude of shades and variations, and
their colouring often has a beautiful watercolour effect. They
also happen to be the rarest colour of alpaca and present their
own challenges in breeding. Grey bred to grey, does not always
produce grey! We are making great strides in Australia to improve
the quality of the grey fleece, and Blackwood Alpacas is dedicated
to using only the finest bloodlines to reach this goal.
WHAT
ABOUT SPOTS?
It is often difficult to find greys with no spots. While we
feel the ultimate goal is to produce herds with very even coloured
fleece, we know that we have a long way to go to achieve this
goal in the grey herd. We still feel at this time the most important
traits are conformation, fineness, lustre and density of fleece.
In our opinion, breeding for no spots should be down on the
list of concerns when choosing a grey. When you do find one
with even coloured fleece, however, it is an added bonus!