How to start with alpacas

Introduction:

Alpaca farming has rapidly become one of the most successful and respected alternative farming enterprises in the agricultural sector. Alpacas can provide healthy financial returns, a breeding challenge and a wonderful lifestyle. We offer the UK’s largest range of high quality and selectively bred black alpacas for sale. Occasionally we offer stock in different colours, including grey, brown and fawn. If our sales lists does not contain the type of alpaca to suit your requirements, please contact us. We are happy to talk through your requirements and through our large network of associated breeders, find the right alpaca for you.

Starting out with alpacas:

When we first started with alpacas over thirty years ago back in Australia, we were lucky enough to have some experienced breeders farming alpacas locally to where we lived. These people were enthusiastic, reliable, trustworthy and above all, they were planning on being in the alpaca industry for the long term. These breeders shared their knowledge and experience freely and they went out of their way to teach us all we needed to know about selecting our first alpacas and then how to correctly look after them.

We have taken our experiences and added them to our knowledge in order to give our customers the same level of service and enjoyment when they start out with alpacas. Our aim is to help, support and guide our customers so that they have the chance of achieving their goals.

 Here are some tips to use before you buy:

• Contact the British Alpaca Society (BAS) and become a member. Ask for some back issues of the industry magazine. www.bas-uk.com 
• If you are located in the SouthWest of England then please join the South West Alpaca Group (SWAG)
• Arrange to visit as many farms as you can. Don’t be afraid to travel in order to visit farms that you find interesting.
• Ask to get involved with on farm activities such as husbandry or shearing as you get a real feel for alpaca ownership under these conditions.
• Handle as many alpacas as you can. The more alpacas you handle and inspect the quicker you will learn and become more comfortable and confident.
• Read old magazines, books and websites. There is a lot of information available on the internet.
• Go to alpaca shows where alpacas are being shown and judged. Talk to exhibitors and handle their alpacas and learn.
• Participate in workshops and courses held by the BAS.
• Try to buy from a breeder who is committed to the alpaca industry, is experienced, is investing in the latest genetics with their herd sires and above all is aiming to be in the alpaca industry for the long term. Try not to buy from a local breeder for convenience only.

Courses and workshops:

Here at Inca Alpaca we used to offer a number of courses that were designed for people who are researching alpaca ownership and those who already breed alpacas. Recently we have decided to change our approach to allow individuals to visit our farm for a one on one visit whereby we can cater for their individual needs.

Please feel free to get in touch via email or by WhatsApp messaging Tim +44 (0)7875532827 to schedule a no obligation visit to Inca Alpaca at a time to suit you. As alpaca ownership is new to the UK, we take our time in passing on all the information and skills that are required to make your pet or breeding business venture successful.

Using alpacas to gain planning permission for a dwelling:

In 2011 we gained full planning for a four bedroom house on our land here in West Dorset. Located in what is designated as An Area Of Outstanding Natural Beauty, we purchased some land that had no infrastructure at all; no buildings, fences or utilities. We were first granted permission to build a large barn and live for three years in a temporary dwelling (log cabin) and show the council that we could earn an agricultural wage in one of the three years. At the end of this period we applied for a house and were granted it. We then submitted a planning application for the log cabin to remain as a holiday let and we also applied for a second large barn. All applications were passed.

Our alpaca herd that we run as a business was the catalyst for us obtaining this agricultural planning for our log cabin, barns and house. Alpacas are on of the only farming livestock that can earn significant returns from small acreages and can justify the need for a house to be built in the countryside due to the fact that the owner of the alpacas has valid reasons for needing to live on site to care for their stock.

To find out more about alpacas and planning permission please click here

Purchasing from us:

When you purchase alpacas from us we ensure that our alpacas are:

• Easy to handle with a good temperament.
• Correctly conformed.
• Breeding stock is fertile and comes from a family where the dams give birth easily and lactate well.
• Females are selectively mated to one of Inca Alpaca’s elite herd sires using proven scientific breeding methods.
• Breeding stock come with a certificate of Health to insurance standard.
• Certificate of mating and confirmed pregnancy by ultrasound scan.
• Full husbandry records.
• Performance history including fibre histograms and fleece weights.
• Information on covering sire and progeny/siblings including photographs and performance records.
• Comprehensive After Sales backup

To see our current range of animals for sale click here

Sales Procedure:

After initial contact has been made we encourage the interested party to visit our farm. This will enable us to show how our land has been set up for alpacas. We look at fencing, shelters, barns, pens and feeding. We also move alpacas into holding pens where they can be inspected, evaluated and handled.

We encourage interested people to visit us as many times as they feel necessary before making the commitment to purchase stock. We offer a service free of charge whereby we talk over the goals and business plan of any alpaca enterprise and then we tailor a package of alpacas fit for the purpose. Whether the customer is looking for two pet males or a large breeding herd we offer the same level of advice and service.

Once stock has been selected and a price agreed we draw up a basic sales agreement. Following the selection we instruct our veterinarian (Synergy Farm Health) to visit Inca Alpaca and carry out a full veterinary health check and certificate on all breeding stock that are being purchased. This certificate can then be used by the buyer to insure the alpacas.

When the alpacas have passed the veterinarian inspection we raise an invoice and all documents will be emailed and/or posted to the customer so the sale can proceed. Once payment has been received we will transfer the British Alpaca Society pedigree certificate into the buyers name free of charge.

Collection or delivery is then arranged and the alpacas are transported to the buyers farm when they are fully ready. Tim will usually visit the buyer’s farm prior to delivery to ensure the farm is fit for purpose and to make sure the buyer’s are ready to take possession of their new alpacas.

After Sales Service:

Once the alpacas have been delivered please expect to hear more from us. The alpaca industry is a very tight knit group of like minded friendly owners and here at Inca Alpaca we take great pride in supporting our customers and helping them with training and advice for years after the deal is done. Due to the development of our black breeding programme many of our customers use our herd sires in their breeding programme so we keep in touch and work together. We also look to our customers to breed high quality black stock and we use their herd sires to breed with our females. We also regularly get together for training, on farm workshops, courses and we see each other at shows.

Don’t have your own land? Alpaca agistment and Management might be for you:

We are pleased to offer agistment and/or total herd management.

Agistment is charged at £8.50/week from April to September and £10/week for the remainder of the year. This includes all necessary supplemental feeding, routine worming, vaccinations, toe trimming, daily inspections and hands on inspections at least once a week.

Total herd management is also available at very competitive rates. Take advantage of over 28 years alpaca experience and expert knowledge when it comes to caring, breeding and getting the highest return for your invested capital.

Please email us to find out more about our herd management packages.

So what to look for in an alpaca:

The Ideal Alpaca

From the creation of Inca Alpaca the vision of one day being able to breed and sell alpacas that are as close to perfect or ideal has been at the forefront of our mind. This image of the ideal or “Perfect Alpaca” is best described by world renowned alpaca judge and author, Mike Safely of Northwest Alpacas, Oregon USA.

To breed towards the perfect alpaca, we must have a vivid picture of “perfect” in our mind. First and foremost, an alpaca is a production animal. The product it creates is fleece. An alpaca’s ultimate value is directly related to its ability to create fine, dense fleece that is in strong demand by the makers of luxury garments.

It is important to remember that the fleece and bone characteristics, which make an alpaca valuable, are heritable. When the genetic markers for these characteristics become fixed and the alpacas are mated properly these fleece and conformational traits are passed on to their offspring. At the end of the day, the ideal alpaca produces an elite fleece and quality cria with high breeding values.

To read more about the ideal alpaca click here