How much does it cost to raise alpacas?
After months of researching on the in’s and out’s of raising alpacas it’s getting close for us to add a few to our homestead. Besides them being just adorable they have to serve a purpose. All of the animals on our farm are for food production, but alpacas will earn their keep by providing us fiber for spinning and yarn production.
We live on 21 acres and have plenty of room to pasture animals, so it is important that we find animals that graze well and take little financial commitment on our end. Now don’t get me wrong, it will cost us a good bit to get started with alpacas but the overall feed cost will be little since they are grazers. We will not be raising alpacas for show or to breed, so the cost of purchasing them will be low. We are planning to buy three young males from a well-established Alpaca Farm in North Carolina.
As with anything here on the homestead, it has taken us months to plan for this addition, and we are still working on getting things set up for their arrival. I learn best by talking to others and reading as much as I can. I have been studying this book Llamas & Alpacas by Hobby Farms for weeks.
Here is the check list we used while planning for our alpacas:
- Determine breed –We knew from the very beginning we wanted alpacas for fiber so determining what breed we wanted was easy. We choose Huacaya Alpacas since their fleece is plush and crimped. Their fiber is perfect for making yarn and is similar to the angora fiber I use now.
- Find a reputable alpaca farm – After talking and visiting a few farms we choose a breeder that we felt raised the type of animal we wanted. We have grandchildren and wanted animals that would adapt to having children around them. The three alpacas we bought are good with children and are still young enough that they can grow up on our farm and get to know us and our family comfortably.
Cost: $1000 for three young gelded male fiber alpacas. - Feeding – Our alpacas will mostly graze on rotating pastures. They love timothy, fescue, and alfalfa and will be rotated between two pastures every six months so we can always be improving one pasture while they are grazing in the other. We will also be supplementing their grazing with concentrates such as grains and commercial feeds. During the colder months, we will add hay to their diet. Alpacas require lots of fresh, clean water so it was important for us to build their shelter close to our water source.
Cost: Approx. $100 a month feed and hay - Housing – One of the reasons we choose to add alpacas was their ease of housing. All they need is a dry place to sleep and a place to find shelter from the weather. We are building a three-sided structure 40′ x 20′ that is plenty big enough to house three adult males. One thing that attracted us to this animal is being able to use their droppings as fertilizer in the garden. They use communal dung piles which make for easy clean-up. Packed dirt floors work best, and that in itself keeps the cost of building shelter reasonable.
Cost: One-time construction cost $800 - Fencing – This was our biggest expense since we wanted to have two rotating pastures. We installed woven wire fencing, 52″ inches tall with 4-inch square openings on about 2 acres. We used 7 1/2′ cedar fence posts spaced 12 feet apart. We also added a 10′ gate on each pasture, with the shelter positioned so it could have access to both pastures.
Cost: One-time fencing supplies $1500 - Health – We did a lot of research on keeping alpacas healthy and what preventative things we could do to keep vet visits at bay. We will be vaccinating for enterotoxemia and tetanus regularly and setting up a dewormer program. It is important to keep their shelter and pasture free from harmful items such as wire, nails, and hornets’ nests. We have also taken extra precautions in making sure our fence is predator proof…one of the main reasons we choose woven wire fencing. Alpacas require their toenails trimmed, and teeth filed down regularly.
Cost: Approx. $200 a year for preventative medicine. (Does not include vet visits) - Shearing – The main reason alpacas are coming to our farm is for their fiber, so shearing was something we looked good and hard at. We are planning to shear ourselves to keep the cost down but will need to invest in good shearing equipment. Alpacas are sheared once a year in the spring.
Cost: Shearing Clippers $100
Our homesteading adventures are always a learn as we go process, but we are looking forward to adding alpacas to our farm.
Thanks for stopping by!
Tracy Lynn
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What a thorough article, Tracy! They sure are adorable animals- I’d love to get some grazers like alpacas once we’ve cleared a bit more of our woodsy property.
I love that you mention the time and research that should go into any addition to the homestead. It’s all too easy to get excited about something and want to do it all at once. But that is dangerous…so thank-you for your mindful work here.
Thanks so much for visiting my site!
Erin
Yellow Birch Hobby Farm
http://www.yellowbirchhobbyfarm.com
I agree Erin…anything we had to our homestead we think long and hard on it. When it comes to animals it is a long term commitment and we always are certain we are ready for the responsibility. Thanks for stopping by!
Great info – I highly recommend visit someone who already has the sheering skill before making a sheer purchase. We ended up going with hand sheers, very old school I know but it’s less stressful on the animal. You will learn so much by watching someone else sheer, there is a skill and technique and after 4 years I’m still getting there. Glad to hear you did rotational pastures, you’ll be glad you did for health reasons, that’s how we pasture our animals. We have 5 pastures on 4 acres and we really need more animals because our 2 llamas and 9 sheep can’t keep up with the grass. That’s a blessing. Great post Love how you planned before diving in.
Carole @ Garden Up green
Thanks Carole…we are planning on hiring someone to come and shear them the first couple times until we are sure we can do it good by ourselves.
What a great article! I have been wanting alpacas for quite a while, but what I am wondering is the ROI? How much can you sell the fiber or yarn for?
Darlene,
In all of my research and talking and touring other alpaca farms this is what I am finding. You can normally get about seven pounds of fiber from a alpaca blanket. From that seven pounds, if you clean and card it you can sell it as roving for spinners or yarn to knitters. The roving will sell for about $6 an ounce or around $20 for a 3.5 ounce skein of yarn. I am figuring we will be making about $650.00 on each alpaca per year. After the initial cost of purchasing them they will not cost us that much to feed them for a year. The way I look at it I will be ahead at the end of the year.
Hi Tracy, I love this article. I would love to get an alpaca to shear and spin, and they are meant to be fox deterrents as well for any new born lambs. My husband says we have quite enough animals now. I bought some alpaca fibre to spin and it is lovely and soft. At the moment I spin wool from sheep which is great as well. My son is a shearer so it would be easy to shear an alpaca but you do shear them a bit differently to a sheep. Maybe one day…. All the best with yours. Blessings
I love spinning with alpaca! I have angora rabbits and I spin their fleece as well, and it is just as nice as the angora.
Wow, I’d love to try angora to spin. We keep meat rabbits, might do some research on angoras. You sound so busy it really inspires me. Blessings
Thanks Tracy for sharing this on Good Morning Mondays, still need to look into angora rabbits. My friends and I are having a spinning day next week. Basically we sit and spin for most of the day and have a good natter about whats been happening in our lives. Blessings.
Terri your spinning day sounds wonderful! I don’t have any friends local that enjoy spinning so what a great treat for you!
Tracy,
I’m not sure we’ll ever have the space to raise those adorable animals, but my grandchildren would love it if we did!
I do have a friend who would be very interested in your post. I’ll let her know.
Donna
My grandkids are so excited they hardly can stand it! Thanks for stopping by!
I have a soft place in my heart for alpacas after spending time with them and llamas in South America. It was breathtaking to see the indigenous shepherds wandering with their flocks? herds? high in the rugged Andes mountains. Perhaps one day I will have enough space to keep a few of these gentle and interesting animals! Thanks for sharing the details of how to get started. I’m glad you posted it to the Homestead Blog Hop!
Amy that sounds like a wonderful memory! I would have enjoyed seeing that as well.
Tracy,
Thanks for linking this post up at Homestead Blog Hop. Very informative! I look forward to seeing future posts when your alpacas arrive!
Jen
Have fun raising them! I do not live in a Farm area so I have absolutely no idea of how to raise anything!
Thanks Zan! I know we will have a ball with them!
Have fun with your Alpacas 🙂
We got 3 alpacas in May. Had them sheared but still need to find a spinner. They are interesting to watch 😉 Good luck!
I am loving working with the fiber and they are a real blessing on our homestead. We are getting so much enjoyment from them!
HI Tracy,
I came across your post on pinterest. I have recently found and interest in spinning and am falling in love with possibly having a hobby farm that would include alpacas. I understand that this not a quest you venture into lightly, however am wondering if you have any words of wisdom for a beginner?
Thanks
Maria,
The only advice I can give is the joy these animals bring to the farm are endless. No they do not help supply us with food or do they add a lot to our income, but the satisfaction I get from the fiber they produce is endless. I love sitting at my spinning wheel and feel their fiber between my fingers…it is smooth and silky and like honey in my hands. Beside our rabbits they are the easiest animal to raise. They only eat about 1 cup of food a day and they graze the rest of the day. They require a shot every 6 weeks and a vaccination once a year, but other than that they are simple to care for. I would highly recommend adding then to your farm!
Thank you for your instructional insite into alpacas. I have been considering then also as my granddaughters have been asking.
I wonder how they would be here in the cold of Pennsylvania. Are they dog and horse friendly.
Thanks again
How do you find places that will purchase the fiber?
I have found an Etsy store works best. I would also start following some fiber groups on Facebook you’ll find people looking to buy fiber there as well.
This article is amazing! Thank you so much for doing the research! Any chance you can share the average vet bill/ year per alpaca? Also, the feeding and health cost/year are those per animal or together for the three?