Alpaca Farm Set-Up
We have built two alpaca farms since getting into the business years ago, and visited many others along the way. With over one hundred alpacas to work with every day, having the right set-up and layout is essential. We found the fencing can be used as a tool if laid out correctly, and a frustration if things are not in the right place.
Every farm is unique, so you will have...
When sifting through the vast amount of information available on a specific topic, its hard to figure out why there is such variation in a product - especially alpacas. So many colors, types, looks and opinions on the topic.
When people come to our farm, looking into the alpaca industry, we usually start out by sitting down and talking with them about what interests them in alpacas. Textiles? An...
When people come to our farm, looking into the alpaca industry, we usually start out by sitting down and talking with them about what interests them in alpacas. Textiles? An...
What is the difference between a llama and alpaca?
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Suri Alpaca Huacaya Alpaca Llama Photo by Mo & Erv Lischke |
No, alpacas are not llamas. Alpacas & llamas are...
A Checklist to Showing Alpacas
Because of the large response to my previous blog regarding showing alpacas, I will continue the conversation a little furter, reviewing several areas and going into others a bit more in depth.
Alpaca Show Season is in full swing, and we thought some of you might like to learn a little more about showing alpacas. People often ask us what you do at an alpaca show. Our...
Tax Benefits of Owning Alpacas
Those considering entering the alpaca industry should engage an accountant for advice in setting up your books and determining the proper use of the concepts discusses in this brochure. A very helpful IRS publication, #225, entitled The Farmer's Tax Guide, can be obtained from your local IRS office. The goal of this discussion of IRS rules is to provide the guidelines...
When my husband and I first started in the alpaca world, we kept imaging alpacas “as far as the eye can see.” Today, we see 150 alpacas as we look out the window and feel our goal has certainly been met.
When starting a new venture it is very important to have a business plan. While it is true that a few alpaca ranchers can buy an entire herd of 20 or more alpacas...
Showing Alpacas
The alpaca show scene
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Snowmass Sterling Silver Herdsire at Alpacs of Montana Farm |
Showing alpaca for ribbons at sanctioned alpaca shows has been growing significantly throughout the U.S.
There are well supported shows and those where numbers are lower as there are fewer...
Alpaca Toenail Trimming
Alpaca toenails grow continuously throughout their lives. Alpacas that live on hard, rocky ground, or who have rough concrete to walk across wear their nails down naturally. Alpacas on soft ground or lush grass tend to grow long nails. Long toenails can curve, cause the toe to twist, pinch the pad of the foot and / or break off painfully. Toenail problems like this can...
Washing Alpaca Fleece
In 5 Easy Steps
This is just one way of doing it – using mesh bags. There are many ways of going about cleaning a fleece.
- Skirt – Take raw fleece and lay it out on the floor. Take off the very dirty wool around the edge of the fleece and check the rest of the fleece for excess dirt and hay and remove that. Flip the fleece over and remove any visible short cuts. If the...
Choose Your Alpaca Market Niche
Alpacas come in two kinds, 23 colors, many quality levels, young, old, and are priced from inexpensive to expensive. There is a perfect alpaca for everyone no matter what their preference. This is both a delight and a dilemma.
One of the most critical decisions an aspiring alpaca breeder can make is what kind of alpacas to raise. There are two types of alpaca,...
The Alpaca Birthing Process
I love the cria, even from the very beginning on the day they are born. With hundreds of cria having been born on our farm over the years, I get excited about every one. Most of the time, alpacas give birth between 10 a.m. and 2 p.m. during the day. We have had a few outliners, but not many. Most of them also have easy births with natural progression from going into...
Assessing alpaca fleece
Alpacas’ claim to fame is it is a softer as cashmere, warmer than wool, hypo-allergenic and water repellent. But, there is a surprisingly large variation of fleece quality between each alpaca, so you need to be able to differentiate what lives up to the previous statement, and which are far from this touting.
Fineness
In all commercial fiber processes it is largely the...