7 Things I Wish I'd Known
when I started with Alpacas:

1) Get advice, purchase animals from more than one breeder: diversify your herd.

2) You don't necessarily "get what you pay for" either in purchasing, breeding or boarding.

3) Alpaca shows are very subjective and don't necessarily reflect quality of value.

4) Worming is not as complicated as it seems.

5) Your "end product" is fiber; good shearers and processors are a must.

6) Getting alpacas pregnant and keeping those pregnancies may not be as simple as you think.

7) When considering daily expenses, there's more to raising healthy alpacas than the cost of food.

1.  Get advice, purchase animals from more than one breeder; diversify your herd. 

As novice alpaca owners, we took a look at a couple of issues of Alpacas Magazine and its glorious advertising pages and selected a breeder who had a two-page spread and didn’t live far from us.  I visited the alpaca farm several times and listened to the spiel.  I was totally enchanted by these beautiful creatures!  We made several purchases at the first prices we were quoted. (I didn’t think it was like bartering in Nogales and thought it would be unprofessional to ask for a lower price after the breeder had spent time “educating” us.  This was in early 2001 and looking back I can’t believe we were so naive.  This breeder charged us a full $3000 whenever we were breeding to their wholly-owned herdsires, plus a $500 chute fee (whatever that is).  No discounts for multiple breedings, no 60 days free boarding, no guarantees.  We paid $5 a day to board, plus monthly trimming of toenails or give meds – each and every one was $10 a pop.   We were trusting and very busy running another business – and ended up spending a small fortune.  Finally we wised up when this breeder  (with whom we had spent more than $100,000) wanted to charge us hourly consulting fees when we asked for some advice in setting up our barn.  They wouldn’t even release our animals to go to the farm we finally had in place without a certified check.   What a disappointment.  It’s a wonder we stayed in the alpaca business.  But we made a vow that none of our customers would be fleeced like that!

Our Golden Philosophy at Diamond Triple C Ranch is to treat other breeders as we would want to be treated.  New and potential breeders, visit a bunch of farms.  Look for a variety of bloodlines in herdsires.  Don’t feel obligated to a farm because they took you on a tour.  Expect fair advice and someone who will deal fairly and honestly.  We want to be available to our customers and provide them with all the help we can.  And just because a farm advertises “big” doesn’t mean they are a quality rancher.  It could mean that but, as we found out the hard way, they may just have money to spend on advertising from overcharging naïve new customers. (back to top)

2.  You don’t necessarily “get what you pay for” either in purchasing, breeding or boarding.

Just because you pay $50,000 for an alpaca doesn’t mean you purchased an elite animal.   Prices are up and down and in between. Sometimes you get carried away at auctions and impressed by pedigrees or what others have paid for similar bloodlines.  But few of us have an unlimited budget.  Our DTC herdsires are ALL on sale through 2008 for only $1000 per breeding (plus all our farm guarantees) and believe me, these guys are exceptional.  Does charging a lower breeding fee diminish their quality?  We don’t think so.  We have it on hearsay (not from first-hand experience) that when Rick and Ann Evans owned the legendary Dom Lucilio, they charged $750 for a breeding.  You may think that if you buy a breeding for $7500 that means you are breeding to the best.   But our question is, who defines that “best”?  Do your research and get your hands on these animals and make your own determination. (back to top)

3.  Alpaca shows are very subjective and don’t necessarily reflect quality or value.

We’ve entered enough shows to know that the old adage “One man’s junk is another man’s treasure” holds true for alpaca shows.  One judge may enthusiastically award your show animal  a bright blue ribbon, and in the very next show you could be shown the gate with the same alpaca.  Some people think full Peruvian is the only way to go, but in the show ring, there are a number of Chilean or Bolivian mixes who win plenty of ribbons.  You have to decide for your own ranch where you place your emphasis or value.  Do try to improve the quality of your herd with each breeding, but don’t let someone else’s definition of “first place” determine whether or not you have a terrific animal.  Do you care that your white alpaca has a patch of brown?  Do you love multi-colors (as I do) but judges could be turned off by their coat of many colors?  Personally, we think that a lot of other qualities have to enter into purchasing decisions – things like personality, ease of handling, ease of breeding.  It’s exciting to win a show, but it shouldn’t define your alpaca’s worth. (back to top)

4.  Worming is not as complicated as it seems.

When we started looking at health products for alpacas, we were overwhelmed:  Ivomec, Panacur, CDT.  What did they all mean?  We had never raised another type of livestock, so we didn’t understand any of it.  Bottom line:  work with a good vet who understands the worming needs in your neck of the woods.  Keep track of your animals weight, and treat according to his/her plan.  Do spot fecal tests and make sure you are taking care of the little varmints unique to your area.  Be alert, be aware of your animals and notice any changes in poop or temperment.  Vigilance is key in keeping your alpacas healthy and happy. (back to top)

5.  Your “end product” is fiber; good shearers and processors are a must.

The first three years we had our alpacas shorn, we were totally overwhelmed with fiber!  What should we do with it?  What was the difference between first and second cuts?  Belly and leg fiber?  What did it matter if the fiber came from the blanket or the neck?  As a result, these bags of fiber sat around in the barn – getting dustier and dustier.  When we woke up and decided to clean up our act (and the barn!) we started looking for processors.  One actually sent our fiber right back, refusing to process it at all . . . . and then we  started to understand the need for a good shearer.  If the fiber is too short (the shearer wasn’t able to shear right to the skin from the beginning) all those second cuts (the little short pieces) cannot be processed.  It really makes a mess. One year we ended up with shearers who showed up drunk because our then-manager hadn’t booked a shearer early enough in the season.  That was an experience!  One of our initial forays in processing was with a sheep processor who wanted to get into processing alpaca – and it wasn’t pretty.  He just didn’t understand working with wondrous alpaca fiber.  Talk to other breeders, look at who shears for the larger farms or for farmers who are hand-spinners, make your plans for next season well in advance, and it will save you time, money and a ton of headaches! (back to top)

6.  Getting alpacas pregnant and keeping those pregnancies may not be as simple as you’d think.

Even after going through a couple of neonatal AOBA classes, we still had absorbed pregnancies.  Alpacas breed then ovulate.  That took some mental adjustment.  Then, just because they start out pregnant doesn’t mean they will STAY pregnant.  You have to test, re-test, and test again.  Because of an eleven-month gestation, there’s many a slip between the breed and the birth!  Keep track of each of your females  and test periodically even after you’ve had that positive progesterone result.   We have purchased more than one animal at auction from the other side of the country because of the famous sire to whom they were bred, and we never ended up with an actual cria from that sire.  The pregnancies were absorbed every single time.  Of course, you can re-breed, but it is difficult (and expensive) to send a female for a re-breed when they are in Washington State and your female is in Virginia.  Even this year, we ended up with two of our females we thought were pregnant, and they ended up cria-less.  Breeding is something you have to be vigilant about, and always have a “Plan B” in case of absorption. (back to top)

7.  When considering daily expenses, there’s more to raising healthy alpacas than the cost of food.

When we first investigated alpacas, we were under the impression (and saw in more than one on-line article) that it cost only about $1 a day to care for an alpaca.  Well, that was an overly-simplistic, overly-optimistic overstatement.  Food alone is more than $1 a day when you factor in trucking costs, which in today’s environment, seem to go up on a weekly basis.  We tried buying some of the more expensive food in bulk to reduce shipping costs, but when we found out how long it took to use up, we worried about the loss of nutritional value in food that sat for extended periods.  You want to keep pens clean and water fresh, and that means either you or a qualified manager is going to have to stay on top of these daily items.  Believe me, we had managers who didn’t prioritize cleaning, and ended up with poop up the wazoo.  (Thank heavens for Vanessa and Bucky who do  such a great job at our ranches; they are heaven-sent!)  You have show fees, vet fees for getting your show animals tested for the shows, transportation fees (again, an ever-increasing cost), immunizations, fiber nutrients and minerals, worming, fecal tests.  You have repair bills for equipment and fences.  There are costs to shear, mail your fiber, purchase good hay, run, license and insure your farm vehicles – and your farm.  Probably many of you have learned (like us) by doing, and we love our alpacas!  But don’t count on being able to raise them for pennies a day. (back to top)