Tag: Alpaca

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My 3rd ever hand spun skein of yarn!

I had a nice quiet weekend and with mother nature constantly raining on us I had the opportunity to spin on my drop spindle again.  I spun up a nice 3 ply yarn out of my boy CoHo.   The fiber I used raw neck fiber.  No washing, no carding, just brushed the top out and spun.  I’m very happy with the result.  It’s fuzzy and very soft.

Since it is neck fiber it did have some guard hair in it.  I picked out some as I brushed but in the end it didn’t seem to add any scratchy feeling to the finished yarn. I put the skein around my neck and it was cuddly soft so I’m not concerned with the guard hairs I missed.

This skein will hopefully be enough to finish my scarf I started last week.  Since I’m using a small drop spindle I usually only can spin and ply about 50 yards at a time.  Blah.

The photo was taken before I put the twist in it so it’s loose, you can see it’s a nice tight spin 3 ply.  Some of the plys came out really neat black, grey, and almost white stripped.  I can’t wait to crochet it.

skein

Check out Alpaca Farm Girl’s Fiber Arts Friday for more fiber things people are doing.

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How much does it cost to care for an alpaca?


When writing a business plan for your new alpaca adventures the ultimate question is what does it cost to care for an alpaca per year?   The truth is a lot more than what you’re really thinking about but we’ll get into that later.  What most folks want to know is the bare bones after the big one time purchases.   

The following numbers are based on what it cost me to care for 1 alpaca in 2008. A few things about our farm; animals are on full pasture for 6 months of the year and on hay for the winter. Our water buckets are heated in winter and fans are on 24/7 in the summer.  The numbers were broken down to literal cost per head.  For example:  If I bought a box of 100 syringes for $20 but only used 14 syringes on 1 animal that year the cost per head = $3.

Cost per head per year in Western NY for 2008:

Hay: $38.50
Grain: $30
Minerals: $4
Wormer: $24
Rabies: $20
CD&T: $2
Syringes: $3
Vet Misc: $30
Heated Water (electric): $20
Summer Fans (electric): $10
Shearing: $25
Teeth: $10
——————–
Total: $216.50

Sounds like you could make a profit on that right?  I know what you’re thinking.  Alright! All I have to do is sell 1 female alpaca and poof massive profit!  It’s time to think a bit harder before you get too excited.  Remember you have to think of your start up costs too.  Cost of the livestock, property, buildings, fencing, electric, trash, water, equipment, gas, marketing, fiber processing, show fees, travel, and the list just goes on and on and on.   Don’t panic!  It’s not that bad since anything farm related has a nice tax benefit to it.   Also, the # of animals you have depends on your cost per head.  The more animals you have the lower cost per head.  It’s always much more expensive to care for 1-2 animals than it is 20-30.  The Vet charges per visit not per head!  You’re also running fans, heating water, buying supplies that expire before you can use them, etc for 1 animal or 20.   Right now our cost per head is pretty high since we only have 8 alpacas so all of my expenses are divided by 8.   Some of the larger farms I’ve talked to claim they have managed to get their cost per head down to $65-75.   Efficiency is the key.

The best thing to do before your first purchase is to be prepared.  On farm visits ask tons of questions and write down everything!  Talk to accountants, and constantly reference your business plan to make you stay on course.  Alpaca ownership can be very rewarding and comfortably profitable.  Like with any new business it does take time to settle in and make a profit.  The best thing about alpaca ranching is you can easily keep a full time job while managing your foundation herd until the investment starts to turn a profit.  Many alpaca farms I visited still keep that full time day job and the ones that opted to fully give up the rat race managed to leave in 3-5 years.

See Our Other Posts!
 Starting an Alpaca Farm: New Buyers Guide
Agisting Vs Farm Ownership
Alpaca and Taxes

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Custom Dog Collars and Leashes

Dutch Hollow Acres is now able to offer custom dog collars and leashes made from alpaca fiber.

Alpaca yarn is twisted into different thicknesses of cord and braided into attractive collars and leashes for you!

Your dog will love the soft feel of alpaca oh their collar and you will enjoy the exquisite texture of alpaca in your hands using one of our leashes.

Collar
Collar

 
 

Leash
Leash

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1/22/10
I am awaiting the arrival of my new cord making machine so I can make the following without taking hours and hours to make just one!
– alpaca mecatet
-alpaca reins
– alpaca leashes
– alpaca show lead ropes for both horses and alpacas
– alpaca dog collars and more
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Starting an Alpaca Farm:

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
  • 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
    • 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)