What should I do to get started?
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“I’m thinking of getting alpacas….. What should I do to get started?”
This is probably one of the most commonly asked questions. I know it is exactly where I was just about a year ago (Feb 2001). My husband and I had retired and moved to our new place in Asheville, NC. We had some land, some time, and some money to invest. We wanted to start up a second career that would let us spend more time outdoors, engage in a more healthful style of living, and keep us challenged both mentally and physically. But, we didn’t want just a hobby; we wanted a real farming business – something where we could expect to generate a profit in a reasonable amount of time. Despite the fact that we had absolutely zero personal experience in raising any kind of livestock, we felt that that was what we wanted to do.
We spent nearly a year looking into various choices for livestock for small farms – sheep, goats, chickens – trying to find something that would be a good fit for our farm and our objectives. Nothing was clicking for us.
Then it happened! I saw an ad on TV for alpacas that was being run by the - Alpaca Owners and Breeders Association (AOBA). I ran to the computer and started my research right away. I guess you could say it was love at first sight. Does this sound like you?
Examine your own heart.
Making a decision to own livestock (or any animal for that matter) is a serious matter and should not be undertaken on a whim. As Mom would say “Settle down now. This is serious!” These are real, living creatures that have been domesticated for thousands of years and they cannot take care of themselves.
The animals you bring home to your field will be utterly dependent on you to take care of them and see to their welfare. While alpacas are quite easy to care for, there are obligations that you will have to meet. They need to be looked over – every day. They need to be fed and to have fresh water – every day. Even if it is raining or snowing or the wind chill makes it cold enough to freeze the you-know-what’s off a brass monkey or the mud is knee-deep or it’s hotter than heck outside, you’ve got to get out there and check on them to ensure they are safe and well. That is a serious responsibility.
And there is more. Alpacas need you to provide some routine care such as toenail trimming, general handling and training, giving medicine for worming and vaccinations, annual shearing, and the list goes on. You will have to learn how to do these tasks yourself (which is not that hard) or hire or trade with someone to do them for you. Either way, they have to be done when they need to be done… takes discipline and good record keeping.
So, am I saying that if you get alpacas you’ll never get to go out again? Absolutely not. But it does mean that responsibilities come with the joy and fun of owning alpacas. I believe it is just as important to know about them, and to make that commitment in your heart, as it is to know what kind of facilities or fencing you will need.
Lastly, if you don’t want the responsibility or you’re simply not sure you’re in a position to take it all on yet, don’t count yourself out! You can still have the joy of owning your own alpaca though an agistment (boarding) arrangement with another alpaca farm. This is a great solution for lots of people who don’t have the land or the time to start their own herd.
But! If you are committed (or certifiable!!) enough to bring home your very own alpacas, you are in for a really good time. The care they need is really not that hard to do and when they’re all standing around watching you with those big beautiful eyes or romping around the pasture with each other, I for one think the work is well worth the reward.
Second step – Research Alpacas
This is easy and fun to do. One convenient place to start is on the internet. Since you have found this document on our site, you probably already know that. What I did was to go to the AOBA site and checked all of that out. I requested the free information they provide and I subscribed to the Alpacas Magazine. Using links I found on AOBA plus more that I found by putting “alpaca” into a search engine, I explored dozens of farm sites and read as much as I could. You’ll be impressed by the amount of information you can get this way. Visit the sites of trade organizations such as Alpaca Registry Inc (ARI) and the regional affiliates such as South Eastern Alpaca Association (SEAA)
Step Three – Go See Alpacas
If you thought the second step was fun, this is even better. So far, every alpaca farm owner I have met is delighted to welcome visitors. I know Joe and I would love to have you come visit us – we love to answer questions about alpacas! Visit lots of places. Go see big farms and small start ups. Every place you go you will learn something new and different not only about the animals themselves but about all the many options for how to pasture and care for them. Each farm will have a slightly different business focus that will help you decide what you want to focus on; whether it is showing or breeding or fiber crafting or all of the above.
From the AOBA and regional affiliates directories, you will be able to locate several farms near your home. Call them up and schedule a visit. But don’t do like we did… we scheduled our very first visit and assumed we’d be there for an hour at most. We didn’t end up leaving for over 4 hours and we were having so much fun we weren’t really ready to go home even then. So, be sure you allow yourself enough time to enjoy your farm visits.
Step Four – Think about what YOU want to do with alpacas
OK, you’ve done some studying. You’ve had your hands on that luxurious fiber and seen the beautiful items that can be made from it. And, the soft delicate nose of the cutest cria you ever saw has actually snuffled you like a sweet treat. Maybe you got a little kiss. Now you know that you are undeniably hooked on alpacas. It’s time to start thinking about what you want your focus to be as that will have a major influence on the rest of the decisions you make and steps you take. Are you interested in competing in shows and winning those coveted awards? Is it more your taste to simply have a few sweet pets that you can spoil all year and shear once a year to make exquisite things with their fiber?
Go back to step 3 and visit some new farms or re-visit ones you’ve already been to. Attend a show or exhibit and see even more alpacas. Ask detailed questions of everyone you meet about the business aspect you have most interest in.
Step Five –What about facilities and fences?
After you’ve visited a few farms, you’ll probably have seen as many different solutions to these questions as you have alpacas. I feel the main thing you need to know about fencing is that it is more to protect the alpacas from potential predators or outside dangers getting into the pasture than it is to keep the alpacas from getting out. The other main function for fencing is to separate groups of alpacas from each other – and there are various reasons for doing that. You may need separate areas for weaning or for females or for your males. Depending on the composition of your herd as you are starting up, you may only need one pasture if you only have females or you may need multiple pastures or paddocks right from the start.
Recently (Jan 02), Dr. David Anderson of Ohio State University published the latest research on stocking density and shelter requirements for camelids. (PS – I hope you will remember to allocate some budget to research organizations such as the International Camelid Institute International Camelid Institute to support the invaluable work they do.) Hopefully, you have already found Dr. Anderson’s paper in your research because you really ought to read the whole thing. I wish we had had it before we built a shed for our males. Here is just a couple of my extracts from his paper plus my own observations about alpaca farming facilities.
Pasture stocking density
Maximum 8- 10 alpacas per acre with a single food source (feeder).
You can potentially support up to 20 per acre by providing multiple feeders.
3-sided Pasture Shelters
Optimum has a 12’ to 20’ ceiling
At minimum allow 3’x6’ (18 sq ft) floor space per animal for inclement winter weather,
Ideally have 6’x8’ (48 sq ft) per animal for inclement summer weather. At a minimum, make sure they have enough shaded resting space for the whole herd.
Easy access to water and electricity would be very useful.
Central Barn
Electricity and Water essential. I recommend a small refrigerator and laundry sink as a minimum set up.
Storage for feed and hay
Storage for sundry equipment and tools
Stall or pen space for any necessary medical treatments or animals needing special care, quarantine or observation.
Restraining chute and Walk-on scale. You can start up without these, but you’ll soon be wanting them.
Shearing & Fleece preparation areas.
Office Space
Can be in the barn or in your home but it should be comfortable because you’ll spend a lot of time there.
PC, printer, etc – Internet access in my opinion is essential.
Shelves – for your growing reference library and binders full of information and herd health and other herd maintenance records.
Step Six – Work up a Budget. Start a business plan.
It may sound boring, but I think this is a critically important step that too many of us newbie farmers tend to skip because we are so excited to get started. You really have to think about what you want to be doing now and in future years before you buy your first animals. These animals are not only rare in the US (if you’ve done your research you know that there are only about 30,000 in North America), but amount to small population numbers worldwide compared to other fiber producing livestock. This means breeding and show quality individuals are not cheap. Buying alpacas is a considerable investment and you need to think of it that way. Unless you are simply rich, rich, rich; you probably want to earn some return on the money you invest in your alpacas. It takes planning to achieve that. Think about the expenses you may incur over and above just buying your alpacas. You’ll want to join alpaca organizations. You’ll need to budget for veterinary care, feed, supplies and equipment, or insurance. Possibly you will have expenses to improve or put in fencing, barns, or other structures. Based on what you are interested in, you will want to make some predictions about how and when you will generate income. There may be marketing expenses you will also have to include in your plan.
I wouldn’t agonize over trying to make a perfect business plan – it’s a forecast and forecasting is an imperfect business. The point is to give yourself some idea of where you are starting and where you want to be and how you plan to get there. You can change and update your business plan as often as you want or need to. At this point, I’d say the main benefit of making a business plan is that it will help you with the big step – choosing your alpacas.
Step Seven – Before you Buy – It takes a village…
It might surprise you, but I would say that choosing the breeder farm that you buy from is just as important, if not more important, than which animals you choose. If you are like me and this is your very first experience with caring for livestock, you are going to be making a relationship that lasts long after the sales transaction. I am so grateful to the breeder we bought our starter herd from for her continuing support of us. We have been on the phone or exchanged emails asking questions on every subject you could imagine: feed, minerals, birthing, behavior and I can’t remember what all. Sometimes I think that the more I learn, the less I know. Often you pick up tips or suggestions from various sources on the internet or from other farmers – how great is it to be able to consult someone that you know their credentials before you try any experiments with your animals? Only invaluable!! So, my advice is to choose a breeder (your new best friend) that you can feel comfortable asking dumb questions to and who is willing to give you that kind of access to their expertise.
Also, I think you need to make a few more “friends” before you buy your alpacas. You are going to need a large animal veterinarian who is hopefully already experienced with alpacas or llamas and who is willing to add you to his/her practice. You’ll be looking for one who makes farm visits unless you are prepared to have to transport your alpacas to his clinic. I suggest you literally go to the clinic and meet the vet and get to know their credentials and tell them your farm plans before you place any livestock on your farm. My experience with our vet was that he was very pleased to do this up front work and he gave us good information about livestock husbandry specific to our region.
The next “friend” I suggest you make is with your local Agricultural Extension Agent. Our local agent was wonderful. He came out to our farm, walked our pastures, made suggestions about fencing and how to improve our pasture mix, and just generally made us feel that we had his support going forward.
Another valuable “friend” to have is your nearest alpaca farmer. If you’re in a dither about something, it’s great to have someone who can come by your place and set your mind at ease. In our case, we were just too timid to cut the toenails on our females. We were scared that we would hurt them, or stress them too much and make them lose their baby. Our nearest alpaca neighbor came by one day and just grabbed up some feet and snipped off those toenails and the alpaca was not that upset! It was more than helpful to have her show us, hands on, that we could do it.
Lastly, but utterly key, be sure that you make “friends” with your actual neighbors. They aren’t necessarily going to be a help to you (though nice ones will in some cases lend a helpful hand or maybe a sitter service if you have to be away from home), but they can sure be a big problem if they want to be. Make sure you don’t end up in conflict with your neighbors over the location of a barn or fence line or a manure pile. The best defense is to talk to them up front and listen to whatever concerns they may have and try to respect their needs. Sounds simple, but I have heard awful stories about people who end up either in court or having to get rid of their animals because they didn’t consider their neighbors. Often that might have been prevented if there had just been a little friendly conversation between neighbors up front.
Step Eight – Choosing your Alpacas
So… am I finally going to give you the gospel according to Starr on choosing which alpacas to buy? Not on your life! I assume you have done your research in Step Two and have some concept of what constitutes a healthy alpaca. You have repeated Step Three several times and visited lots of farms or shows and seen lots of alpacas and have a pretty good idea of a correct structure or conformation, good bite, and fleece characteristics. After developing your business plan in Step Six, you have at least a working strategy that tells you whether you are looking for pet, fiber, breeding or show quality animals. Along the way, you probably picked up a reasonable expectation of what is a fair price to pay for what quality of animal. With all of that under your belt, and a breeder you can trust, I think you’ll find that choosing the right alpacas to start up your farm business is already a whole lot less mysterious than it seemed. At least, that’s how it worked for me and I hope it will have the same benefit for you.
Just to share our thoughts when we were starting… we chose to buy a small starter herd from a single breeder rather than choosing individual animals from different farms – that’s part establishing of that “best friend” relationship that we found so valuable. With our budget to start out with, we were able to buy 3 Good to Excellent quality females and 2 young prospective herdsires. We weren’t interested in showing, but we felt that having animals who were of a tolerant disposition and who could be easily handled by incompetent, fumbling newbies like us would be important to us getting started. We chose to get started with the intention of “trading and breeding up” to improve our herd.
There must be a million right ways to get started and choose which alpacas to buy. Some people advocate you start by buying one Superior, best-you-can-afford female and an inexpensive companion. Sometimes, though, you can save a little money and get a discount if you buy a “starter herd” from a single breeder. Some people don’t think you should own your own herdsires. If you’re like me, you heard a different opinion from everyone you met. Only you and your business plan can really know what is going to be the best alpacas for you.
Step Nine – Fret and Worry
Don’t laugh! Based on my experience and that of other new alpaca farmers I’ve talked to, I’d have to say this is a perfectly legitimate description of the first few months (years??) after you bring home your new alpacas. Are they eating too much, am I not giving them enough, are they too hot, are they too cold, should I get them some toys, are they safe from predators, why do they do this or that? If you thought that you did research in the Second Step, you ain’t seen nothin’ yet!!! You want to try and guess how many times I had to go down to check on them the first days and nights, months even, they were here? Forget about it…. it’s a big number. All I can say is that I called on all my alpaca “friends” for support and advice and our dear sweet alpacas have all survived this first year in good health and spirits.
For the record, we even had our first birthing here last Fall (2001). I was scared to death something would go wrong but it didn’t. I had studied myself into a frenzy to be prepared for every known contingency. We were present (this was not a coincidence – we were checking constantly!!) and got to see the whole thing from start to finish. I never saw anything being born before and it was terrifying but it was wonderful. Naturally, that baby is only the most beautiful, smartest, sweetest, etc. little girl cria to ever grace the planet! No lie!
Anyway, expect to fret and worry. It’s natural. It’s one of those responsibilities I talked about back in the First things first section. I think I’ll always worry and fret some, but as Joe and I have gotten more experienced and more confident it lessens in intensity. Can bad things happen? Sure, they might be sick or injured or have an assortment of problems and you do need to check on them regularly to make sure they really are OK. My philosophy is: expect the best but prepare for the worst. Continue your research, call on your friends when you have concerns or questions, but have faith that the alpacas actually do know what they are doing out there in the snow and wind and they will come in to the shed when they feel they need to!
If you feel that part of your worry is financial – you may find that having livestock insurance will bring you some comfort that if something should happen to the animals, at least your investment has some protection.
Step Ten – Heaven
Remember why you started this business? It wasn’t because you needed more chores or worries in your life. Take time to have fun with your alpacas. After you scoop the poop or fill the feeders, pause a while to visit with and pamper your furry pals with a treat or two. They’re not all-work-no-play animals and neither should you be. I love it when they all come running because they heard my voice. I am still just totally exhilarated when I see them romping and playing together – it seems that gravity just does not apply to pronking alpacas.
So, here I am, not yet a yearling in the alpaca business and clearly I have more to learn than I have to teach. But, I am so glad that I saw that TV ad and started my new career as an alpaca farmer. I hope sharing my experiences and advice will help you get started with your alpacas.
Starr Cash
Venezia Dream Farm
March 2002
About the Author
Starr Cash and her husband, Joe Jaworski, have been raising huacaya alpacas as the livestock component of their small acreage farm in Asheville, NC, since 2001. They also have a summer rental guesthouse (agri-tourism), raise a crop of woodland herbals (ginseng and goldenseal) plus they tend a vegetable garden and some nut trees.
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