At Zarza we run educational events that cover everything you need to know about alpaca husbandry and ownership.

We offer a three part educational programme which takes you from the initial stages of decision-making and basic information gathering through to successful breeding.

Part One - The Alpaca Experience

An introductory day which will tell you all you need to know about keeping alpacas for pets or as a business. This is a hands on day and is fast becoming recognised as the most comprehensive in the business.

Part Two – Assessing Your Alpacas

Often it is not until you actually own alpacas that all the questions arise. This in-depth course shows you how to assess the quality of your alpacas both in terms of their conformation and their fleece. You will learn the importance of heritable and non-heritable traits. Finally you will learn the basics of showing alpacas.

Part Three – Successful Breeding Strategies

After ensuring you have the right foundation alpacas, developing your herd depends to a large extent on making the right breeding decisions. This course includes an in-depth section on heritable and non-heritable traits,  planning your breeding programme, selection of stud males, successful matings, pregnancy diagnosis, budgeting for success, and much more.

Zarza also runs special events which cover holistic veterinary care, pregnancy and neonatal care, fleece sorting etc.

The courses are run either by Zarza's Hilary Shenton - a qualified British Alpaca Society Judge - or visiting British and overseas experts.

They can also be tailored to suit the specific needs of a group of breeders  - and held either at Zarza's Redwood farm or at a venue that suits you.

Find out more about Zarza's forthcoming educational events.

Joining us is fun and very worthwhile.