Alpacas for pets

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seejay

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I have always wanted a couple of alpacas because I think they are lovely animals.

Now that the hype of alpaca breeding seems to have died down, would I be able to get a pair for not much money? And is there anything I should know that would put me off the idea? I'm not keen on getting involved with Defra, but I do have a holding number and plenty of land.

Thanks for any info.
 
Alpacas always look rather sweet, but remember the ones on the vet programme that kept spitting at the owner and vet when they tried to treat it? They are very susceptible to TB too, and if infected breathe it out.
 
Alpacas and llamas do make pretty good pets, but neither come without a nice price tag. Agree, sheep should be in a pot, or treated with MINT SAUCE!!!
 
Aww I love my sheep!

We sell feed to an alpaca breeder, they seem reasonably low maintenance (the alpacas not the breeder!) but don't like getting wet, the specialist feed is about £10 a bag so comparable to horse feed price-wise. I was surprised as I thought there was all sorts of silly costs involved in keeping them

The price of alpacas does remain quite high though, a castrated male around here is about £300

A friend had three castrated males, they were nice enough but a bit bland and not what I would call interactive pets.

Sheep on the other hand....... :)
 
Well you are all wrong, as you are speaking of what you have heard and seen.
I own an Alpaca herd, my daughter has two males I gave her, they go everywhere with her horse in the trailer too, they are her nags companions, as our my girls and boys, one horse here only. They make fab pets, its the usual story of how much effort you want to put in, and they do agility with them now too.
They do not spit all the time as they are your friends, they only show there their upset when you have to worm or sheer them, in tv programs about them they are out of their comfort zone, lots of strangers, filming etc. I sell mine really cheaply now, as there is now a big surplus, and lots are going for meat slaughter for £50. I have lots of colours in my small herd.
The top studs who started many years ago are still selling for top money, but they do not have anything any better then small breeders, except for the name. And its the same old story for some folk, if they are not being charged enough, then it can't be any good.
 
No Defer are not involved unless you get tb you don't have to tell them you have Alpacas
in which case they are slaughtered, and you get £750 a life.
 
I have a friend who runs ' The Alpaca Experience' in Gloucestershire. The Alpacas are pets ,you can lead them,they have little head collars,groom them,do a sort of mini agility course,feed them and cuddle them. My friend has put a lot of work into them. They require shearing,feet trimming,worming etc and good fencing. They are not low maintain a nice. You get out what you put in. Cost about £400 to £ 500 for a male. Possibly there is an Alpaca Rescue ,worth googling.
 
merlin12 said:
I have a friend who runs ' The Alpaca Experience' in Gloucestershire. The Alpacas are pets ,you can lead them,they have little head collars,groom them,do a sort of mini agility course,feed them and cuddle them. My friend has put a lot of work into them. They require shearing,feet trimming,worming etc and good fencing. They are not low maintain a nice. You get out what you put in. Cost about £400 to £ 500 for a male. Possibly there is an Alpaca Rescue ,worth googling.
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That sounds great, just what I want, furry people outdoors to spend some time with :) long eyelashes a big bonus :)

I saw your friend's website and might go there to get some hands on experience.
 
did you read anything I put ? there is an Alpaca site where they are all up for sale with prices, I let my ones go for £100
 
ladyaga07 said:
did you read anything I put ? there is an Alpaca site where they are all up for sale with prices, I let my ones go for £100
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I did, but you didnt tell us what the site selling them was, so I couldn't check it out.
 
There was a woman near to us, a while back, and she kept Alpacas. I showed a passing interest in them, and she seemed fairly keen to 'set me up' with a herd, until I asked if we could eat them. She all but frogmarched me off the premises! :D:D

Alec.
 
We have a huge Llama place near to us, they not only breed and sell and sell fleeces, but also do things such as llama walks.

Off to try to find the alpaca website.
 
Alec Swan said:
There was a woman near to us, a while back, and she kept Alpacas. I showed a passing interest in them, and she seemed fairly keen to 'set me up' with a herd, until I asked if we could eat them. She all but frogmarched me off the premises! :D:D

Alec.
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LOL - apparentley they are quite tasty, not that I know. We seem to have reached alpaca saturation in NZ and it is being served at forward thinking restaurants.

The problem here is, that even though the wool is fabulous, the industry isn't big enough to make it worthwhile for processing. Must be frustrating for the breeders.
 
You've got your own land and a holding number, so if you are looking for pets, have you considered a couple of pensioners? They generally make excellent pets and are freely available but the prospects for setting up a breeding herd are low. Some of the males do spit but they don't require registering with DEFRA (ear tags are optional) and you can get false eye lashes for them if that is your thing. They make really caring pets and aren't much trouble. Just four meals a day, a warm fire, a good chair, and TV set. Most are naturally good loaders and you can take them to as many shows as you want.
 
Dry Rot said:
You've got your own land and a holding number, so if you are looking for pets, have you considered a couple of pensioners? They generally make excellent pets and are freely available but the prospects for setting up a breeding herd are low. Some of the males do spit but they don't require registering with DEFRA (ear tags are optional) and you can get false eye lashes for them if that is your thing. They make really caring pets and aren't much trouble. Just four meals a day, a warm fire, a good chair, and TV set. Most are naturally good loaders and you can take them to as many shows as you want.
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This is where we need a proper Like button :)
 
I spin our sheep fleece and a friend/colleague brought me two alpacca fleeces, I've spun one for the owners and will spin the other for me, it is lovely stuff for hand spinning :)
 
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