Moonsbrook Alpacas
James Young had a vision to breed top quality suri alpacas in commercial quantities for pedigree bloodstock and elite fibre. Moonsbrook Alpacas (named from James’s family home) was formed with the £1 Million purchase of a world class herd of 320 suris from the worlds largest alpaca breeder outside of Peru – EP Cambridge Alpaca Stud in East Sussex.
The last one hundred and fifty years have seen the majority of alpaca breeders in Peru selectively breed towards white and fawn huacayas causing the numbers of suri alpacas to fall to a very low level – about 7% of the total population. Breeding high quality white and coloured suris, is a challenge that James, Melanie and Simon have taken up and are passionate about. Through the use of careful breeding decisions and strategies developed in Australia and here in the UK they strive to breed consistent high quality suri equal to the best the world has ever seen.
Melanie, Simon and family together with James run Moonsbrook Alpacas as a joint family business. Together they take great pride in offering clients support and advice. They have travelled all over the world and have taken great care in the selection of bloodstock to ensure strong uniform genetic lines that will impart desirable characteristics to their progeny. This in turn will ensure their long-term success and that of their clients through minimising breeding risks and developing the sale of high priced bloodstock and fibre, both domestically and into the ever growing European market.
Goals
We have a vision that is shared by many breeders of suri alpacas around the world. That vision is one day to breed and maintain a herd of suri alpacas that clip a fleece weighing greater than 7kg, finer than 18 microns and with the luster of glass. By learning from the research and experience in the merino, angora and alpaca industry in Australia and North America we can improve breeding decisions and explore the link between nutrition, physiology and fibre. Our own experience tells us that our goal is attainable if we apply all that we have learnt and use males that consistently produce uniform progeny that carry the traits we desire and use newly developed breeding strategies that are proven to improve the annual clip in leaps and bounds while keeping a uniform colour.
James Young
James worked most of his life at the family business, Young and Co’s Brewery PLC. As deputy chairman, James was involved in brewing, transportation and the export of their beer products all over the world including the United States. During a day out at the New Forest Show five years ago with Youngs’ Shire horse team, James stumbled upon alpacas for the first time. The alpacas sparked an interest with James and on his retirement in 2007 he began to research the UK alpaca industry. His research led him to Inca Alpaca and Tim Hey where James embarked on his own alpaca journey with six pregnant black and grey huacayas and the formation of Yojeff Alpacas. James’ interest and experience grew quickly as his exposure to the UK scene increased and when the opportunity arose to acquire the entire prize winning EP Cambridge Alpaca Stud suri herd the lure 337 suris was too great and Moonsbrook Alpacas was formed
To contact James please email: james@moonsbrookalpacas.co.uk
Melanie and Simon
Melanie, Simon and their daughter Harriet and son Hayden grew up in the Billingshurst area, West Sussex and have been friends with the Young family for many years. Melanie and Simon have been heavily involved with livestock and the local farming sector all their life. They have successfully started their own air conditioning business and have been involved in charities supported by Young's Brewery. Melanie and family reside in the farm house on Smale Farm where they oversee the day to day alpaca farming operation and are on hand to deal with births, breeding and client support. Melanie and Simon are extremely knowledgeable and are only too happy to offer help and advice to new and existing breeders.
To contact Melanie please email: melanie@moonsbrookalpacas.co.uk or phone: +44 (0)1403 700355 or +44 (0)7886 794012
Location
Located in West Sussex in the beautiful town of Wisborough Green, Moonsbrook Alpacas offers a convenient location for visitors and alpaca farming. With world class facilities we also offer a very comprehensive agistment and/or herd management programme for those breeders who are building up their herd with the idea of moving to their own property. Moonsbrook Alpacas offers interested people and existing breeders an ideal opportunity to visit, view stock and learn more about this exciting and new rural enterprise. We are also conveniently located for the International visitor as we are only 35 minutes from London’s Gatwick Airport and 45 miles from London city centre. To view our location using Multimap please click here
