7 Things You NEED To Get Started with ALPACAS | Beginner Alpaca Owners
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- เผยแพร่เมื่อ 5 พ.ค. 2024
- Hey everyone, thanks for stopping by! In this video, we go through the 7 things you need to get started with alpacas!
1. Land, Fencing
2. Breed, Gender, Number
3. Barn, Shelter
4. Food, Hay, Water
5. POOP!
6. Shearing, Teeth, Toes
7. Medication
Some resources for new alpaca owners:
- Alpaca Everything Group: / 873886269299399
- Info for Parasite Treatment: www.vetfolio.com/learn/articl...
- How to Build an Alpaca Barn Playlist: • We put in a fence! Why...
#alpaca #alpacas #alpacafarm
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Dude you just changed my life. In my mid thirties and I'm beginning this journey. Kinda anxious but more excited to raise these humble gentle guys
Oh thats awesome! Welcome to the club! I had never owned a pet before I met my wife and now we've got a whole farm. Its pretty cool you got this! If you need anything message me on IG @oldreddingfarm and I will help any way I can ! would love to see your alpacas once you get them! Tag me in anything,.
I'm loving it too. After sooo many years living full time in Europe I decided to buy a farm in a paradisiac national park in my home country (Brazil). The National Park is called Chapada dos Veadeiros and is gorgeous (Google some pictures to see how beautiful this place is, heaven on earth and thousands of waterfalls). With two young kids (a five years old boy and an -unknown gender yet- baby on the way) it was time to give them some wild free space part of the year. And llamas and alpacas are my choice of animals to my new farm. So excited with this new journey. Will be buying mine in march at the end of rain season.
By the way, in you guys opinion, how do they do together?
Congrats on baby on the way! A lot of people keep lamas and alpacas together, lamas can be good guardians to the alpacas since they are bigger but being so closely related they don't have issues with passing parasites like many other animals would to alpacas.
Congrats on baby on the way! A lot of people keep lamas and alpacas together, lamas can be good guardians to the alpacas since they are bigger but being so closely related they don't have issues with passing parasites like many other animals would to alpacas.
Thats amazing information about Alpaca: th-cam.com/video/QkXqdX-a6IU/w-d-xo.html
Thats the life i dream of... living with my friends - alpacas, sheep, & cats etc - in a barn.
It's a good life.
Cinco C's Alpacas in Pennsylvania here. What a beautiful place you have. (alpaca owner of 19 years here) This is wonderful video. Thank you for showing healthy calm alpacas and sharing your knowledge. Very well done.
Wow thank you so much !!! We can't wait to own these gentle ladies for 19 years! I am sure you have so much knowledge to share we are thinking about doing a more intermediate level alpaca video if there is anything that you think should ABSOLUTELY be included definitely let us know!
I got to visit an alpaca ranch today. They are such adorable and gentle critters! If I get land in an environment that won’t get to hot for them in the summers, then I’d love to own some! Also, $15 a skein for alpaca yarn is nothing. You could totally sell it for more than that depending on the weight and amount. For example, the ranch I visited had a little shop built out of a shed, and they were selling yarn for $20 per skein for 200yds of sports weight, and $40 per skein for worsted and bulky weights. They also kept the fleece from each alpaca separate when they send it to the fiber mill, so when its used, the skeins are labeled with the names of the alpacas whose fleece is in it! Sometimes it will all be from one critter, other times they’ll use some from multiple or even all of them for different color blends. And I can tell you. For something special like that where you know its coming from a well loved and well cared for animal, especially if you get to know which one its from, crafters go NUTS!!
Thank you so much for sharing that with us! It is hard to decide how exactly to price the yarn so it is good to hear how others are doing it. I love the idea of having each different yarn labeled with the animals name.
i do not have alpacas but i am thinking of getting them after this video!!!!! Great information on them. i can see that you like them immensely.
They're really great little pet/livestock types of critters to have around.
Thank you for the information. I wish I could talk my husband into some alpacas. Have a great day
Well maybe its a good thing if your husband stands his ground every once in a while (says the wife, who can talk this husband into almost anything!)
I'm working on mine. We have a few acres of land, it used to be a cow pasture. We're back from the road. Plus, I crochet and I could make yarn from their fur when they're shaved and since it's recommended to have at least 2 and 3 is better, I should probably get 5.
@@OldReddingFarm Great Video
Alpacas are so cute...like soft toys roaming around..I visited an Alpaca Farm recently in Colorado, US...it was a great experience....made a video too....can't forget that day...watching the videos itself now makes me feel so happy :) Regards!
Sounds great! That is def one of the coolest things about TH-cam because we can look back and remember everywhere we were.
Yo which one? I got to visit an alpaca ranch in CO as well! The one I visited was Hallmark Ranch- run by a couple in Salida. There was a larger ranch called Jefferson Farms across the street that had a massive herd of Icunias (the wild version of alpaca from the Andes).
You can save them from meningeal worm if you catch it really early. Watch your alpacas walking every day. If one seems to have a little less coordination in the back legs, they probably are in early stage of the disease. I have saved one by spotting that and having the Vet out within the hour. He agreed that she was early stage meningeal worm and we treated her fast.
She's due to have a cria in about 5 days from now.
Thank you for all good the information. You guys are adorable and what a great life you’re living with your alpacas!
Thank you so much!
Awesome information! 2nd cut from VT, of course
I love that you took time in the video to pause and pivot to what the alpacas were doing 😂 instead of making us miss that cuteness
haha the alpacas are trouble makers
Thank you for the info!! We plan to start ours this year!
Good luck!! if we can help at all let us know!
I loved this video! Thank you for the great information and all the good alpaca visuals.
You are so welcome!
Hi! I believe he thinks of you guys as one of the herd... I've read this is because they were bottle fed or handled a lot by humans as crias. I've not tested the theory, just sharing what I've read on this behavior between an alpaca and humans.
We are looking into getting a few! Thanks for the video!
Oh I hope you do! Do you have any idea where you would get them from? Open heard I think is a good place to start maybe.
Love seeing people give accurate advise on alpacas! Great video 😁😁
Thank you !
Thank you for this video!!!!! We are looking into getting alpacas and this has been the most helpful video I have found. Plus its from this year....most are from several years ago. Thank you Thank you!!!
Glad it was helpful! If you have any other questions or are anywhere near us and want to stop by and meet alpacas in person and see anything or anything like that, we're an open book! Send us a DM on IG if you have other questions!
@@OldReddingFarm Wow! Thank you for your generosity with your farm info and alpaca experience! We are down in Texas, so we probably can't stop by...but so nice to know you are okay receiving a question or two.
Happy to help! Texas is probably too far for a game visit but I'm sure there are some alpaca farms down there who would have you as well!
Great video - really helpful. Thanks!
Hey man! You’re awesome. We are starting our homestead, building houses and clearing land with pigs! I’m enjoying all your videos, keep it up! 🤙
That is awesome! Thank you so much! It's a lot of work to start up especially from scratch! We haven't ever had pigs but I hear they're great at clearing land! Good luck!
Thanks John! Just what I needed.
Super glad it helped!
Very educational,thank you. Your animals are beautiful
These animals are so calm and peaceful! And cute.
Great video! Very interesting and informative. Thanks!
Glad you liked it thank you for watching
About fencing. Mesh fencing is preferred. The biggest 'predator' for most farms are local dogs. Rail fencing will not keep dogs out. And, always check for signs of a breach, where they can dig under or slip in. Multiple breeders around the country have lost alpacas to neighbor's dogs, including me. Been breeding them for 16 years in Texas.
Thanks for the tip.
Great Channel I have followed you on Instagram as well. I have been researching adopting Alpacas. Your channel is super helpful... Thanks, Dave :)
Glad you are finding it helpful!
truly appreciate the information.
Glad it was helpful!
nicely done. clear and concise. ty
Glad it was helpful!
Me too, just started my herd and this really helped!
Great glad it was helpful! good luck with your herd!
We live in CT! I love visiting local Alpaca farms ❤️🦙❤️🦙❤️
We are in the process of moving our whole farm to a new town so aren't really able to have visitors quite yet, but if you follow us on Instagram @oldreddingfarm that is where we will give the most current updates about the possibility of visitors and when we are ready for that.
Thank You so much for such a great video ❤️❤️❤️
thank you!
thanks for this post
Lovely sooo interesting thank you!!! 🦙🦙🦙 This is my year to find some lovely Alpaccas! Shelly, Lions River
💟💟💟
Wonderful! Good luck with them !!
Thanks for the great info
Our pleasure!
Great video!!
Great video. Thanks so much!
Glad it was helpful!
Thanks, Mathew Lillard.
This was great, with all the TH-cam alpaca owners I haven't seen a video like this
We would have really liked to watch this kind of video before we got and couldn't find it either.
cute alpaca, I met and hugged alpaca in new zealand, thanks for the information.
So cool! That must have been very fun
Thanks! Amazing alpacas!
Glad you like them!
Ty im gonna subscribe since i want to get alpacas for our land here in Hawaii! But i want to be prepared! I ty both for all the info and wanted to ask if there are insurance for alpaca and if so, how much in general do they run per month? Especially for that 30 day shot? Are alpaca and lamas the same?
So interesting thank you. I am currently researching this subject with a view to a complete change of life for the family. We are in the UK but we are thinking Spain as we can afford the land there as opposed to UK where its more expensive.
Wow that sounds exciting! Yes land prices where we live (north east of US) are also VERY high and we feel lucky to have what we have! We wish you good luck in that big of a change! If at any time we can answer any questions either feel free to email oldreddingfarm@gmail.com or connect with us on Instagram!
Several farm in Potugal have been for sale recently, worth checking out.
I'm probably never gonna own an alpaca but I was having a bad day and this made me feel better :)
That's awesome glad it helped !! Being around them is an instant spirit booster
Awwweeee Hope you’re better. I find a lot of encouragement on You Tube. Yea these animals are funny i hear & i love their big loving eyes. I wonder what they sound like😂 God bless you sweetiee.
My comment is supposed to say...” I love their big loving eyes”.. keyboard problems😆😂
Thanks very much for this video, we’re also starting with just 2 males.
One of our alpaca, nearly 3 years old has this bad habit to jump on us with his front legs: he doesn’t kick or spit, just jumps
Have you ever had this problem?
Awesome video. Thanks for all the info. One question: do they get a lot of ticks?
Not that I know of. Maybe because their fleece is so thick and dense the ticks have a hard time getting down to their skin.
Very informative!
Glad you think so!
This is great...thx so much!
Glad you liked it thank you for watching
Very good to haver proper education about alpacas
Thank you
Important ánd fun information! Thanks!
Glad it was helpful!
Am your new subscriber.... your video quality awesome... keep it up. !!!
Welcome! Thank you!
Thank you so much for these awesome tips! Ever since we bought a piece of land for my future home, I've been seriously thinking about getting some Alpacas!
FYI, I love that your cat is in the video too. Clearly it shows the cat is either bold or Alpacas are pretty calm and don't mind company of other animals that don't pose a threat. I have a dog and plan to get another one later...Do you know anything about Alpacas and dogs?
Yes most of the alpacas are utterly unbothered by the cats. We do have dogs most of our dogs are too badly behaved to be in with the alpacs (we have great danes they are not farm dogs) but if you had a good breed for farm dogs who could be calm around livestock and not chase, I am sure the alpacs would not mind at all. Watch this short of the puppy coming home and getting greeted by the alpacs. th-cam.com/video/D7eWUi2Js8o/w-d-xo.html
@Old Redding Farm Thanks for the reply. My dad said he knows a local Llama owner and the man said he had to wash his llamas once a week for tick prevention. Do you have a video on grooming? I haven't had a chance to search yet but truly, deeply appreciate the knowledge and info you & other collaborators share with us! (I can search later if you say yes.) 😉
Oooooohhhhhheeeeee cuteness overload 😂😂😂💜💜💜😂💜💜 !!! Thank you both for this video 😆👍
Glad you liked it!!
Very informative
Glad it was helpful!
Lindos Alpacas! Chevere! Saludos...
Our alpacas need a prince charming!!
Jajaja! Prince Charmin (like the toilet ppr) is such a stud...
Love it man. Sub'd.
Awesome, thank you!
I love alpaca ! :3💕
So do we !
Is the hay made from grass or alfalfa?
Great video, so other than the joy of raising how is your experience economically? Sounds like fiber you break even. Cost basis of what you put in vs making. Is this a break even or negative trend and when and how do you expect to go positive cash flow? Can you talk more about revenue vs operating expenses. Is there opportunity to ever get out of the red as a business?
if you want the full break down of our farm finances for the year you can watch it here: th-cam.com/video/4hzlAUUSg1A/w-d-xo.html but overall I think that if you can do more DIY than we do, it would be a lot easier to be profitable. We spend A LOT of money on shearing and fiber processing. both those things you could learn to do yourself. We also spend a LOT A LOT A LOT of money on hay and if you had more space and more grass you could absolutely feed less hay which would save lots of money.
Thank you. This is so informative.
Do you think you could have chickens in the same pen with alpacas and they would clear out some insect pests in the poop, like flies?
hmm I would think that would be mostly okay but my one thought would be the alpaca hay feeder would probably be a really tempting place for chickens to nest in and if they start pooping right in the alpaca food source it might cause problems.. I would say I am not an expert on that but as long as its not a TON of chickens making big messes everywhere it might be fine! But I'd probably do some more research into that rather than taking my word on it.
Great video so much helpful info.. Thank you! Is it profitable to sell their fur if i get 3 alpacas? How affectionate are they? Are they bond with you and looking for your company it they just do their own thing?
I imagine the alpaca in there with a measuring tape. Telling us you're really short two square feet.
We had rabbits and used their pellets. Also kept chicken in our garden. They ate all the bugs.
Sweet cute Animals. So beautiful
Thank you very much
I was going to ask you if their manure...Oh HI Macie, yes I've missed you too, no you really don't get enough airtime but what can you do...Oh shhh, John is talking.....and talking....and Mocha steals the show! This was a really good look at a day in the life of an Alpaca; now instead of answering the questions about alpacas, I'll just say they live at Old Redding Farm! 😂👍
Hah you don't think Maycee gets the airtime she deserves? Linda I think is who is really missing out. the shy quiet type.
@@OldReddingFarm cough, cough...couldn't resist the opportunity to give John the raspberries; two vids in a row(?) the dogs and alpacas have stolen the show😂
Great video!! Do they always poo at the same place? Thanks.
Usually yes. they will occasionally move their poop spot but they do use a communal pile typically.
This was my question also... I had read that they tend to create their own latrine/litter area and poop there almost exclusively. I am curious if you could acquire a sufficient amount of poop at the same time you first buy the alpacas and then dictate where the latrine would be by scattering poop in your preferred location as opposed to where they might choose.... have you ever tried to influence their poop location? 💩 thanks for the video
It's so cute the curly hair puffy, the hair do. Too cute
Love that little top knot they have !
#riversighting!! 💕
lol your favorite farm animal
Hi! Do they make noise??
Are you able to rotate pastures? If not, are you concerned it parasites (aside from M-worm)? We plan to have at least 2 pastures to rotate a small herd around (in a couple of years, once we're done fencing).
Hadn't been worried about parasites related to not rotating pasture. Something we could look into more thanks for the tip.
I would say at least 3 .We have 3 and are gonna add a 4 th. Rotate every two weeks so that its a month in between each pasture
Re. worms - as someone who’s owned horses and goats for years I highly recommend doing regular fecal samples to determine if deworming is necessary, as opposed to a monthly schedule. Worm resistance is a serious issue sweeping agriculture and animals suffer horrible deaths from being unable to fight off the worms in their bodies.
M-worm is different than other parasites that you would monitor for parasite loads. Any alpaca owner who lives in a region of the country that has M-worm will treat preventative. It's different than other worms or parasites that you would check fecals for.
@@OldReddingFarm That is such a bummer. I did not realize this worm was undetectable in any of the current tests. Thank you for educating me and best of luck with your critters.
Thank you for all the information. I am hoping to get some soon. I have heard to keep the male and females seperated. What are the dangers of leaving a male in with a female?
yes absolutely you want to keep males and females separate. Males (even when gelded) will repeatedly attempt to mate females and cause injury and infection. If an intact make is housed with a female he can kill her by repeatedly attempting to mate her. If a female is pregnant and exposed to an intact male he will abort the pregnancy. Its very important that they are housed separately.
@@OldReddingFarm Thank you so much for that! I had a similar but much less expensive situation like that between male ducks and female chickens.
Vermont for the win!!
Your new some-day yard up in VT would look lovely with some alpacas! and you'd have closer distance hay :)
So is the benefits of alpachas breeding/selling and selling their fur?
Can they live well on a slope?
Do you ever sell the yarn on Etsy? Or somewhere I can order it?
This year we only had 18 Skeins so we just sold them locally here to neighbors who were interested. But part of that was because we only processed 1 of the alpaca's worth of fiber and we just sold the rest as raw material. We will see what happens in the spring!
I'm 16 and I want to start this journey
Can you send me info on mills that will buy raw fiber? We are older folks n purchased Alpacas as pets but not able to clean the fiber so I need to sell it. Please advise
I don't know of a lot of mills that will buy raw fiber. Windover farm bought our raw fiber first year but since then we have wanted our fiber back. But I'd recommend calling around and asking I'm sure they're out there.
Молодці хлопці!
How many alpacas would you recommend would be needed to be economically self sufficient by selling the fiber?
whew hard to say. It would depend on so many factors ranging from how much hay costs in your local area, whether or not you have the ability to process and clean the fiber yourself or if you have to pay someone, whether or not you are able to shear your animals yourself or if you have to pay someone. I think too broad a question with too many variables. We are hoping to be profitable this year with the alpacas. we have 22 right now.
Can you mix the 2 different breeds??
I think you could but I think the Suri fiber type is a dominant gene and would over-ride the other fiber type. That is my understanding at least!
i will like to buy 3 alpacas and delivery to Puerto Rico 1 male and 2 females with a trusted person like you
We have 3 yorkies. How do alpacas do w small dogs? What is the avg cost to feed, shear, & vaccinate 1 alpaca/yr?
Well you know you need at least 3 alapacas right? We go over some of the costs in this video here: th-cam.com/video/lsI1s62ZRb8/w-d-xo.html it will vary a lot based on feed and hay costs in your area. But we talk about shearing and vaccination costs per animal. Not sure on yorkies, I would suggest keeping them away from the alpacas I would think that if an alpaca was afraid of the dog it might end up getting kicked.
The one section you couldn't emphasize enough is POOP. Why my alpaca chose right outside the barn entrance for the designated restroom, I don't know. My goats at least spread out the poop.
Hah but at least the communal bathroom area makes it easier to clean up. Ours have a pile right outside the barn as well. Better right outside the barn than right inside the barn :)
that cat is a guest of the show!!
River is SUCH a nice little show guest. We adopted her as a feral barn cat and she's a sweet little girl to humans but she has got murder mittens when it comes to mice.
hello from spain, where,s the location of the farm? thanks!!
We are located in CT (east coast of the united states near NY!)
How did you get started in this life? I want out of the city and get some alpacas and chickens on some land. How do I trade my 9-5 job for a farm?
Sorry no advice there! Both of us still work regular jobs and do farm life on top of full time jobs. I have no idea how you could make the leap straight into farming unless you had LOTS of money saved up. But I guess one thing to consider is you don't need a HUGE farm to do what you love, can't have alpacas in the city but we are in a very suburban area on a 2 acre lot and it has served us well for the past 5 years.
@@OldReddingFarm you know I’m glad, well not glad to hear but good to know it’s possible to live that life and style and have a 8-5 job. Sounds like you are living my dream goals right now! Great job on crushing, you are an inspiration to know we can get there too.
Watching this thinking about the lovely Geronimo
Yes so tragic. I am glad his owners raised so much awareness about him and their situation and didn't go through that alone.
What was the name of the company that takes the raw fiber and exchanges it for already made goods?
its the NEAFP here is a link: www.neafp.com/index.php?dispatch=pages.view&page_id=3
How do you weigh an alpaca?
What type of hay do you use?
Second cut preferably orchard mix
If they have their shots does that guarantee they won’t get the worm? Or can they still get it?
I think they pretty much won't get the worm with regular shots. I'm sure they COULD get it but the shot is very widely accepted preventing it
I wonder if I can keep a Donkey female with a pack of Alpaca? Will the donkey protect them?
I would be concerned the donkey would hurt the alpacas. Alpacas don't have hooves like donkeys do and I think a kick could really damage an alpaca. But that is just my gut instinct, we don't have any first hand donkey experience. But I think typically alpacas are best in with other alpacas, or llamas
So you would recommend 3 females ?
Yes that's how we started ! It's probably the easiest way to start. 3-5 females depending on how much space you have. Girls are a lot easier than boys which we knew at the time of this video but several years later and bunches of boys later, the girls are A LOT easier.
💚💚💚
Thank you!
😊
I've seen a lot of alpaca videos that have been posted in the 20+ years we've been raising alpacas. This one is above average ...not too bad one of the better ones out there. He mentions twice to do your research. I would recommend that as well. Find an experienced mentor. Of all the items addressed in the video i think the fencing portion is most concerning. Fencing for alpacas, especially if you're raising females and crias, it is more for protection first then containment. Three rail by itself is not sufficient as neighborhood dogs are the #1 predators for alpacas in North America. Wishing you an enjoyable alpaca experience...do your research first it will simplify your life later.
Thanks. At this time we had only adult females and no intentions of getting any males or crias. We have since moved and changed to wire fencing but used the three rail for years with no issues
We might be getting 3 alpacas
That would be awesome! Boys or girls? Let us know if you need anything would love to try to help any way we can ! you can message us on IG @oldreddingfarm and would love to follow along if you tag us in any photos there!!
Do alpacas follow you around liken goats tend to?
They will if they think you're headed to get some food for them. We had friends over last night and one friend headed to the barn where the food is stored and there was basically a stampede behind her
Will an alpaca feel lonely if it's part of a mixed "herd"? I've seen them as livestock guardian animals for chickens, could one alpaca be with 20 chicken without feeling isolated?
Alpacas are not good guardian animals they're prey animals. And one alpaca by itself with only chickens would not live a long happy life. It would never get to fully rest because it would be on alert for predators 24/7 and no rest or reprieve from watch duty. I hope you do not choose to go that route.
@@OldReddingFarm thank you for your response! I saw someone using them to guard chickens and was doing further research. I definitely don't want a sad alpaca!
@@careybowden4864 you sure they weren’t using llamas as guard animals? Very different animal than alpacas.
@@randyclay6257 it was Australian chicken farmers free ranging chickens with alpaca. Unless in Australia they call llamas alpacas, that's what they said 🤷♀️
Could you say it is expensive to breed an Alpaca?
well, the initial set up to be capable of keeping a group of males in one barn / pasture, and a group of females in a separate barn / pasture will have a fairly high initial cost. Then if all goes well, the actual breeding isn't expensive assuming you own all the animals. but we had a baby this year that wasn't nursing and had a vet out (and then a follow up) and the two visits and suggested treatments came in around $700 so that was quite expensive but perhaps with more experience knowledge and confidence we could have handled all those issues ourselves and saved all the money. I thin it depends and don't have a great answer for you!
Are they aggressive or are some aggressive?
Can you recommend some Facebook groups?
Alpaca everything is the most active. Keep an eye out for responses from Ruth Ann mcastlin (might be butchering the spelling on her last name) she really knows her stuff on alpacas
what is an acre?? Like in km for eks.
It's about 4000 square meters. 43000 feet.
@@OldReddingFarm ok ty