Hickey Sheep & Alpaca Services in Lethbridge, Victoria | Agricultural service

Hickey Sheep & Alpaca Services

Locality: Lethbridge, Victoria

Phone: +61 408 058 319

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23.01.2022 One good thing about self isolation is it’s given us a chance to catch up on our jobs. Luckily for us we’re classed as essential. We’ve been getting our girls crutched and drenched all ready for lambing season. Need yours done? ... Give us a buzz on 0408058319 See more

16.01.2022 SHEARER - SHEEP ALPACAS GOATS This year we are offering the following services Shearing Crutching Lamb Marking... Feet Trimming Drenching Vaccinations (sheep & alpacas) Give us a call on 0408 058 319 to book See more

10.01.2022 With Spring just around the corner, it’s time to kick off shearing season This year we are offering the following services Shearing Crutching Lamb Marking... Feet Trimming Drenching Immunisations (sheep & alpacas) Give us a call to book your clip See more

08.01.2022 There’s a lot of misconceptions of how often an Alpaca should be shorn. The majority of people believe it should be done every 2 years, this is completely false! Alpacas can become highly deficient in Vitamin D which can lead to them developing Rickets, which is a very painful and arthritic disease. ... Shearing every 12 months especially coming into the warmer months, gives their bodies plenty of time to convert the suns rays into Vitamin D.

08.01.2022 Haven’t got a shed or yards for shearing time? We’ve got it covered! Here’s a sneak peek of what we’ve been working on behind the scenes

07.01.2022 I bet our girls are happy they’ve still got their winter woolies on today

06.01.2022 Sunday well spent with the 2020 shearing season kicking off. Weekends are filling up quick, so make sure you plan and book ahead. Give us a call for a quote 0408058319

02.01.2022 On this day, 4th October 1797, the first flock of Spanish Merinos, upon which Australia's wool industry was founded, arrive in Sydney. In the early years of set...tlement, the colony of New South Wales struggled to achieve self-sufficiency. Most early convicts were not skilled in farming and British farming methods, seeds and implements were unsuitable for use in the different climate and soil, and the colony faced near-starvation in its first two years. An industry suited to Australia's harsh conditions needed to be established. On 4 October 1797, the first flock of Spanish merino sheep arrived in Australia. The sheep, offspring of a flock originally owned by Prince William of Orange in the Netherlands, had been bought in South Africa for 4 per head by British officers Henry Waterhouse and William Kent. More than half of the sheep died on the voyage from the Cape of Good Hope to Australia with bad weather nearly doubled the time spent at sea. Captain John Macarthur, an officer in the NSW Corps, offered Waterhouse 15 guineas per head for all the surviving sheep; however, Waterhouse refused the offer and in August he acquired a 140-acre property on the Parramatta River, known as The Vineyard and introduced his new flock to the estate. As his flock increased, Waterhouse distributed a few sheep between Macarthur, the Reverend Samuel Marsden, Lieutenant Kent and Captain Thomas Rowley. When Waterhouse returned to England in 1800, William Cox bought most of the flock from him, including several of the original sheep from the Cape. The remainder went to Macarthur. The Spanish Merino was a hardy sheep which was tolerant of Australia's extreme conditions. Unlike other settlers, both Waterhouse and Macarthur did not try to cross-breed the sheep with other breeds, which only resulted in sheep with coarse wool of lower quality. By 1803, the Macarthur flock numbered over 4000. The Macarthurs had improved the bloodline and strength of the flock by purchasing merinos from flocks in different regions, thus limiting inter-breeding of similar bloodlines. For this reason, John Macarthur is often regarded as the founder of the wool industry in Australia. Pictured: Champion Merino ram, 1905 Sydney Sheep Show. Courtesy: Wikimedia.