Brad,
I have considered raising a couple, but they are expensive! I had thought the money was in the fleece, but found out it brings in only a couple hundred dollars per animal a year. The money is in the animals and breeding fees. If you have seen their ads on TV, what they are really selling is a lifestyle! It is very appealing, and Alpacas are “cute”! They are also very gentle! The other thing, that amazed me, was they don’t chew on everything in reach! I have no idea how many pen signs our goats have destroyed, or ribbons they have shredded. They had all sorts of items hanging on the pens, and the Alpacas ignored it all!
Have you ever been to an Alpaca show? They are put in classes based on fleece color first and then by age. Soon as they were unloaded, they were inspected for color. There is very little, if any fitting, because combing takes the crimp out of the fleece. They bed the pens with carpets or mats. They are judged 50% on fleece and 50% on conformation. The judge would start at the front and work her way back spreading the fleece a half dozen times. I did sell some hoof trimmers. They clip their toes!
Within themselves the animals have very little value, no meat, and fleece of little value until it is made into an article of clothing. However, as a pet, hobby, and lifestyle they are worth a lot of money. I was surprise how many people owned Alpacas, lived in town, and had their animals boarded at some large Alpaca ranch. I was also surprise, that all the breeders offered financing, and all the new owners were making payments!
I see it as a growing industry, but I don’t know for how long! If the economy turned bad, I’m afraid it might bottom out, just like the miniature horse market.
I was told by one of the breeders, who also was an Alpaca broker, that the way to start was to buy a package of bred females. She had recently brokered a package of three bred females with female crias (babies) by their side for $43,000. In other words, they bought 9 animals!
Very seldom do they have birthing problems, however the gestation period is 11 months, and they don’t breed until close to 2 years of age.
Finally, when I first saw the animals, I thought they weighted a couple hundred pounds or more. After their animals were shown, several people had their animals sheared. There was hardly anything left! They remove approximately 4” of fleece all the way around! The necks are pencil thin!!!
Hope this helps! May be repeating things you already know! Bottom line, it was a very interesting weekend! I don’t drink, but at 6:00pm Friday, they brought out the wine and snacks. On Saturday evening they visited a winery!
In reference to the business card, yes we want to keep “and small stock equipment”!
We continue to keep Jill and your family in our prayers!
Thanks!
Rockie