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Alpacas

Had a family outing today to view some Wether (gelded) Alpaca boys. We can't take the neighbours Shetland with us to keep my Paso mare Canela company as Applause (newly gelded 28" AMHA boy) adores her and will guard her from everyone including Cherish (British Mini mare) and Canela to the point he wont let Canela eat. So having read around it looks like a couple of Alpacas are the way to go as they eat very little are easy to keep and you can sell the fleeces. The farm down the road from us is in the process of moving and has way to many Wethers so is selling them off dirt cheap. Anyone got any comments on Alpacas ?

Heidi Sat, 12/05/2009 - 17:12

I prefer the solid colored ones ([i]not mottled or spotted[/i]) and I think they have beautiful eyes.

lipigirl Sat, 12/05/2009 - 17:22

I saw 2 that were 2 toned but looked more like Splash then tobi - lol !!! Yes they have beautiful eyes ! 1 Was black but has a white belly and throat and face - called Micheal Jackson - he was cute ! The other 2 toned one was mostly brown but with a white nose and legs - called Caboodle ! The other I liked was like fawn and called Chester.

Dogrose Sat, 12/05/2009 - 18:56

I love their snake necks :-) We get the smallholder magazines and there are always loads of articles, they seem pretty much problem free.

lipigirl Sun, 12/06/2009 - 05:16

Yes Dogrose me too. Toyhorse International is about 5 miles from me and although I do not have any horses from there ,the Fat little Shetland that Applause is in love with was a rescue from there but is the neighbours. I do know that the founder of ToyHorse, Tikki, has Llamas to guard her minis and they do a fab job which is why I thought of it. I may go and see Tikki this week to look at Llamas as an alternative but the thing I like about the Alpacas is that you can sell thier fleece so they pay for themselves and they are smaller.

rabbitsfizz Sun, 12/06/2009 - 08:07

So, you have six foot fences?? :rofl
Why not just get another mini??

Heather Sun, 12/06/2009 - 08:10

There are tons of them here around me in fl but I know little about them.. This one place has about 50 of them about a mile from me and they have tons of colors some look like roan lol and the splash too.. Very cool

lipigirl Sun, 12/06/2009 - 08:18

[quote="rabbitsfizz"]So, you have six foot fences?? :rofl
Why not just get another mini??[/quote]

Another mini will not help pay it's way and Applause will fight with it if it's a boy and fall in love with it if it's a girl so no not at the mo - don't need the hassle.

You don't need 6 ft fencing for them - none that I have seen were in fencing higher than ordinary stock fencing.....not like the deer farms down the road.

CMhorses Sun, 12/06/2009 - 15:08

[quote="rabbitsfizz"]So, you have six foot fences?? :rofl
Why not just get another mini??[/quote]
Or a mini donkey! Maybe it would be different enough that Applause wouldn't love it or hate it....or you could get an alpaca.

lipigirl Sun, 12/06/2009 - 16:10

It has crossed my mind to get a Donkey, Mini ones are too expensive though, and they both make lots of noise which might upset the new neighbours. Also they need shelter as they are not very waterproof and they cost the same to look after as a pony so no CM but will have to get one in the future as hubby loves them....maybe when the neighbours are a little more distant. ;)

NZ Appaloosas Sun, 12/06/2009 - 22:42

[quote="rabbitsfizz"]So, you have six foot fences?? :rofl
Why not just get another mini??[/quote]

Why would you need a six-foot fence? Alpacas are kept here all the time, behind normal fencing. In fact, they're sort of the number one "lifestyle" animal down here.

Diane

CMhorses Mon, 12/07/2009 - 01:56

[quote="lipigirl"]It has crossed my mind to get a Donkey, Mini ones are too expensive though, and they both make lots of noise which might upset the new neighbours. Also they need shelter as they are not very waterproof and they cost the same to look after as a pony so no CM but will have to get one in the future as hubby loves them....maybe when the neighbours are a little more distant. ;)[/quote]

That's weird to me! Around here donkeys are fairly cheap and alpacas are expensive $$$ I'll still be an advocate that they do not make a lot of noise unless there is something wrong.
OT but how different are alpacas from llamas? I always saw them as the same except alpacas were friendlier and more expensive.

Monsterpony Mon, 12/07/2009 - 02:28

Alpacas are smaller, have shorter ears, finer fiber quality and generally better attitudes.

lipigirl Mon, 12/07/2009 - 04:18

[quote="Monsterpony"]Alpacas are smaller, have shorter ears, finer fiber quality and generally better attitudes.[/quote]

Yep I heard that too hence no Llamas but may go and check some out just to compare before I decide finally.

Heather Mon, 12/07/2009 - 06:51

Omg our donkey is very noisey.. So was a friend of mine that has one ..ours is super noisey lol no one here cares hpwever and I only have 3 people on this road.

lipigirl Mon, 12/07/2009 - 07:22

[quote="Heather"]Omg our donkey is very noisey.. So was a friend of mine that has one ..ours is super noisey lol no one here cares hpwever and I only have 3 people on this road.[/quote]

and that's the problem you can get a quiet one great but there are no guarantees !

rabbitsfizz Mon, 12/07/2009 - 09:23

Donkeys on their own are noisy, as a horse would be, as they are herd animals.
They do not speak "horse" either, so a donkey keeping a horse company, well, they either get unhealthy fixations or they ignore each other.
Alpacas can and will jump just about anything, if they are not already tame.
If they are pets and used to handling, no real problem except if they become scared.
Although that applies to any animal, Alpacas can jump a lot better than a pony!
Almost all Camelids are like that.
If you have a proven outlet for the fleeces (as far as I can remember you only shear them once every two years?) then it might bring a bit of money, but I would seriously check the market.
Why are the people getting out of them if there is money in fleeces??
You would probably be able to sell the fleeces at craft fairs, though?

lipigirl Mon, 12/07/2009 - 15:41

The people aren't getting out of them, they breed them but have too many boys !!! so they are selling them cheap not all thier Alpacas. I do have outlets for the fleece already and you can sheer them every year if you need to, current price of fleece is £50 - £100 for a gelded Alpaca's fleece.

Monsterpony Mon, 12/07/2009 - 16:20

*cough*fiber*cough* If you call it fleece instead of fiber to an alpaca breeder, then you will alert them promptly to your lack of knowledge of the species. If you have the option, go for a Suri alpaca as they have much finer fiber quality and will give you a better price.

lipigirl Mon, 12/07/2009 - 16:33

Thanks MP, yes I know it's a fibre but I still thought the whole shawn fibre was called a fleece - but I want to learn. These are Suri's yes I have looked into the two types.

Thanks guys.

NZ Appaloosas Mon, 12/07/2009 - 20:12

[quote="rabbitsfizz"]
Alpacas can and will jump just about anything, if they are not already tame.
If they are pets and used to handling, no real problem except if they become scared.
Although that applies to any animal, Alpacas can jump a lot better than a pony!
Almost all Camelids are like that.
If you have a proven outlet for the fleeces (as far as I can remember you only shear them once every two years?) then it might bring a bit of money, but I would seriously check the market.
Why are the people getting out of them if there is money in fleeces??
You would probably be able to sell the fleeces at craft fairs, though?[/quote]

I can't speak to the tameness, or lack thereof, but every single alpaca I've seen, but even the "big" breeders (have what looks like a hundred or more) of alpacas that I've seen around Canterbury just have normal fencing, and probably have just normal hotwiring, as I can't recall any outrigging...in fact, when the alpacas "disappeared" from one place we drive past regularly, hubby commented on the outrigging supplied for the kune-kune that appeared in the paddock (and the alpacas, we discovered, were several klicks down the road in another paddock which I know doesn't have outrigging as it's usually just empty paddocks that have been for sale for the past year plus).

Alpacas are sheared at least once a year here, with a 'tuft' or 'mane' left around the head (no idea why, tho'). The problem isn't so much as a lack of market for alpaca fibre as a lack of a market for the piece-meal fleeces that occurs with small-scale farming. If you know someone, Lipi, who is into making their own yarn, you might want to ask them if they'd be interested in your fleece. And I do recommend finding out a) if the area vet will work on an alpaca (our vet won't, and some day I'll think to ask him what bad experience he had ), and b) who around where you'll be living will do the shearing.

Diane

lipigirl Tue, 12/08/2009 - 06:20

Thanks Diane,

I do know someone who would like the fleece so that is good, although I may be keen to try making felt animals for sale too - especially on cold yucky winter evenings !! Also I have been told to tag along to another farm's shearing and there are some in Essex so that is good and not expensive that way. The vet thing I hadn't thought about but I am pretty sure we will be near a Vet school so that might help. ;)

CheyAut Tue, 12/08/2009 - 10:27

We had two mini donks (who were always together) and OMG were they NOISY!!! Especially our gelding (other was a jenny). We ended up trading them for a haflinger colt because our neighbors (and my hubby!) were NOT amused by the braying. They're awefully cute though ;)

I also think alpacas are very cute! :) And llamas. I've met a few of each, but don't know anything about them really. If you get one, photos are a must you know!

lipigirl Tue, 12/08/2009 - 14:24

[quote="CheyAut"]We had two mini donks (who were always together) and OMG were they NOISY!!! Especially our gelding (other was a jenny). We ended up trading them for a haflinger colt because our neighbors (and my hubby!) were NOT amused by the braying. They're awefully cute though ;)

I also think alpacas are very cute! :) And llamas. I've met a few of each, but don't know anything about them really. If you get one, photos are a must you know![/quote]

Will do ;) although they only sell them 2 or more so it will be a they ! :lol: