Alpaca Farm Visits
About every 2-3 days we receive a call asking for a farm visit. This can mean many things. Are they interested in purchasing alpacas? Is it a school looking for more opportunities for hands-on education of camelids and farm life? Or, do they simply have an afternoon off and want to see something different? Most often these are the people who knock on our door at around 4 PM on...
Choosing a Herdsire
As we ease into Springtime, we begin to think of breeding our alpacas once again for next year’s cria. The selection of an alpaca herdsire is crucial in matching them up not only with the right female, but in competing with other male alpacas nationwide. We have had hundreds of babies born on our farm, but only a few have been deemed good enough to be of breeding quality.
As...
Getting Started with Alpacas
First and foremost, prospective alpaca breeders should realize alpacas are a business, not an investment. Investments have traditionally been thought of as financial stocks, bonds, gold, silver, and real estate. All of these things can be owned passively, and when need be, you can sell them by calling your broker and asking him to liquidate the asset on your behalf.
Alpa...
Alpaca Business Plan
Its hard not to love alpacas. They are sweet, cute, gentle, relatively easy to maintain. Who wouldn't want one? The real question is, what do you do with them when you get them and can they actually make money?
Many of us had these concerns, justifyably so,especially if we expect having alpacas in the back yard will pay our mortgage.
You need to ask yourself, what do I want...
Alpaca Nutritional Requirements
Alpacas are quasi-ruminants with three stomachs. They chew just enough to mix their feed with saliva to form a bolus to be swallowed. While resting, the alpaca will bring up the cud (bolus) and chew it, and then it is swallowed again. It takes about a third of daylight hours for an alpaca to pick enough food.
When we feed alpacas we are actually feeding the bugs in...
How to Milk An Alpaca
I have had the rare opportunity to milk several alpacas over the years. It was not because I was low on milk for my cereal, but rather usually the result of a sick, weak or early cria that just could not muster up the energy to find the milk themselves.
After a variety of different approaches, mostly trying creative means of suctioning out the milk with a syringe, we found a...
Alpaca Training
I am always surprised at how many times I get asked, “Why do you halter train them?” For the same reasons horses and dogs are trained on a lead – to safely and effectively interact with them. If they are going to a show, going to be weighed on a scale, examined by a vet, being bred or anything else, you need to be able to work with your alpaca.
Alpaca training and halter training...
My dad and I headed up to his 1,100 acre ranch outside of the small farming community of Winifred, Montana this past weekend. This trip served several purposes for me - enjoy a rare opportunity alone with my father, take a break from the constant work back home and check in on some alpacas that we had sold to a local couple several months earlier.
We arrived at the Winifred apartments early enough...
We arrived at the Winifred apartments early enough...
Alpaca Body Scoring
The essential part of alpaca health is keeping them at the correct weight. Too heavy and they may have trouble getting pregnant, their fleece “blows out” or becomes course and are naturally unhealthy. Too skinny and they cannot keep a good body temperature, are may not produce enough milk for their nursing cria and may be suffering from worms. Ironically, they often have...
Alpaca Body Scoring
The essential part of alpaca health is keeping them at the correct weight. Too heavy and they may have trouble getting pregnant, their fleece “blows out” or becomes course and are naturally unhealthy. Too skinny and they cannot keep a good body temperature, are may not produce enough milk for their nursing cria and may be suffering from worms. Ironically, they often have...
Over the years, many people have asked us how we got into raising alpacas. With James’ medical background, my manufacturing background and having raised a couple of dogs and horses over the years, how did we end up with a full –time business and 120 mouths to feed?
Years ago, we had been looking to get into our own business. We were ready to work for ourselves and really become enthusiastic for...
The Alpaca Vocabulary
Every business has its own terms and language. Here are some alpaca terms we use in the alpaca industry:
AOBA - The Alpaca Owners and Breeders Association
Blanket - The part of an alpaca’s coat that extends from the nape of the neck at the withers along to the tail and down the flanks to the belly and haunches. This is usually the softest, "Prime" fleece.
Bred Female -A...