My question would be if you wanted to start a farm where would you start? Common sense is the key here. What is an alpaca? All about keeping alpacas, looking at what alpacas eat, general care, housing, and health problems.. We also have alpaca knitting yarn for you to make those alpaca clothes you have always liked, and some alpaca books that will give you further information on how to look after your herd. Those who take advantage of the cottage fiber industry should do well with raising alpacas. Alpacas as now being bred in many parts of the world, including the snowfields of Alaska and the Negev Desert in Israel. It’s best to have sufficient natural grazing so you are not reliant on income for feeding. “It was a speculative thing,” explains Faith Perkins, who has been raising alpacas in Salem, New York, for 17 years. All about Keeping Alpacas - Alpaca Food, Care, Health Guide and Videos. Alpacas don't have teeth in the top-front of their mouths. Fortunately, we are going to attend a few events in the next few months. Annual fiber yields vary from about five pounds from a single female to a reported thirteen pounds from a larger male. Alpacas are remarkably adaptive creatures and can survive in a wide range of climate conditions. Stoic animals that they are, alpacas do not tell you they need protection. Many Western Australians are drawn to the alpaca's versatility and the low impact they have on the natural environment. About Alpacas. The best climates for alpacas are those that are dry especially in the summer. Raising alpacas as pets or for profits can be very rewarding yet at the same time challenging especially if you have no experience in managing livestock. By Janet Wallace | May/June 2012. Additional resources. Create the structure best suited for your area and alpaca needs. One reason folks like alpacas is their ease of care. Still, to achieve the best results raising alpacas in cold weather conditions, a little extra care is required. The Alpaca (vicugña pacos) is a domesticated species of South American camelid. And if this winter is like last winter, those extra measures will be necessary. The alpaca business is now a livestock business just like any other. On the other hand raising alpacas doesn't require a lot of land like other livestock and their feed is not too costly as well. Yes, there are great tax advantages to raising them, and some will still sell breeding stock, but alpacas' fiber is the mail product they produce. Climate. Alpacas produce a premium fiber in 22 vibrant colors, the demand for which is ever increasing. Research alpaca pedigrees, alpaca show results, alpaca eds, and alpaca stats to find the perfect alpaca dam or sire for your alpaca breeding program. Generally alpacas like to hang out with their own kind but will happily graze alongside horses, goats and sheep and may make friends with the family dogs if they don’t startle them. Alpacas do not like hot, humid weather. Learn how easy it is to raise alpacas on the homestead and the benefits you can reap from their luxurious wool and tax benefits. Looking to add some fiber to your investment diet? Search alpacas for sale and stud. We look forward to talking to some people in person and meet some beautiful Alpacas. Lynn Stone Alpacas are the World’s Finest Livestock Investment. All About Raising Alpacas Learn everything you need to know about raising alpacas, including buying, feeding, breeding and much more. Over the past six months we have been reading all we can about Alpaca Farms. Alpacas can be used as guard animals and can produce fleece and meat but before bringing alpacas onto your property there are a number of considerations. This gives them the appearance of having an underbite. The animals respect fences, can be easily halter-trained, and don’t require much work. Alpacas are members of the camelid family. The key to healthy alpacas is to know how to proper care for them. Do they get along with other animals? Heat and humidity can cause heat stress with multitude of effects so why risk the chance?