Blog

New Buyer’s Guide

• Research – start your reading engines! Alpaca’s as an investment.
  
• Accountant – the tax benefits from owning alpacas are fantastic and in most cases Uncle Sam will pay for a HUGE chunk of your alpaca purchase. You are also sales tax exempt when buying farm related items
  
• Farm Visits – you can never visit enough farms – it’s best to buy your first alpacas from a local farm. Better yet, interview the current owners as much as their animals. They are your greatest source of information.
  
• Setting up your business
  • County Clerk’s Office – Apply for a DBA $31
  • Find a bank – set up your checking account apply for an EIN
  • DBA Sole Proprietorship is the simple method but for liability reasons really consider becoming an LLC in the near future
  • Selling = Charging sales tax
    
• Marketing
  • Start marketing now! The #1 feedback I got from my farm visits was “I wish we started marketing from day one.” Here’s some FREE or very low cost advertising starters.
    • Create a Website
    • Google Maps (business listings)
    • Yahoo Business Listing
    • LocalHarvest.org
    • Pennysaver
  • Join the following
    • AOBA
    • AlpacaNation
    • Local Handspinner’s Guild – Potential customers
    • Alpacasite – large yahoo support group
    • Local ALpaca organizations like NYAlpacas.com
    • Fiber Coops like NEAFP or AFCNA
• Physical Farm
  • If you already own a farm great! I have horses but alpacas need different housin/fencing than what I have for a horse. Horse owners you need to keep reading.
  • Acreage – rule of thumb – 10 animals to 1 acres – this assumes rotational grazing to keep your hay usage and worm exposure in check
  • Hay/Feed – they are easy keepers
    • 1 or 2 bales of 2nd cut crass hay a month
    • 1/2 cup of grain per day
    • Stillwater Minerals or Dumor Sheep Minerals
  • Confinement
    • 4′ high fence is ok but 5′ is better
    • 7 strand high tensile fence or stock fencing
    • Welded wire is ok if topped with 1×6 boards or hot wire to keep the sex crazed boys off it
    • Woven wire is better in a 2″x4″ or Diamond mesh pattern
    • “They” will tell you alpacas won’t challenge a fence, but tell that to a hormone crazed male who wants to gobble up another male or get to a female.
    • Do your best to have a fence that will keep predators and deer out
    • Stock panels!!! Greatest thing on the planet and cheap.
      • Use these for your catch pens and smaller paddocks
      • Tractor Supply offers 16’x52″ for under $25. Staple them to a post and they can become temporary gates too
    • You MUST have catch pens and smaller paddocks. Really think about the layout of your pastures and barn before getting your alpacas
    • Alpacas are cat like in nature. Don’t expect them to come when called, be easy to catch or want to be pet or snuggled. Keep gates and catch pens in corners, it’s much easier to herd alpacas into them
• Health
  • Find a vet first! They are harder to find than you’d think. Learn to give your own shots – It’s a LOT cheaper to buy your own supplies from valleyvet.com than it is to call your vet all the time.
  • Known your animals healthy vitals
  • Weight – buy a livestock scale $300 – $600
  • Remember – these are livestock not pets, you want to have the healthiest animal possible so they can breed and be sold so keep that body score a 5
• Sales
  • Yes, you have to think about this before even owning one
  • !!!EVERY ALPACA IS FOR SALE ALWAYS!!!
  • I know it’s a hard concept to grasp but they are your business not your pets
  • If you have an alpaca that has hit that fuzzy spot in your heart raise the price! If someone actually buys your animal at the inflated price then great! Now go buy someone else’s favorite alpaca :o)