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Barnyard Buddies:  Alpaca question...hubby wants one...  |
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goneriding
True Blue Farmgirl
1599 Posts
Winona
Central Oregon
USA
1599 Posts |
 Posted - Feb 08 2008 : 7:16:45 PM
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Hubby has heard how much money a person can make from Alpaca's wool/hair. I haven't done any research on this so sorry if this sounds grade-school.
How/where do you sell their wool?? Is there a good demand for it?? Are they raised for meat? If so, who would buy it??
Is there a link that is a must to have for a would-be raiser/owner? Any advice. I figger I better find out first hand in order to arm myself in advance...personally I'm 'agin' the idea but would give it a shot for hubby...
Winona 
When you lose, don't lose the lesson!!
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mikesgirl
True Blue Farmgirl
3659 Posts
Sherri
Elma
WA
USA
3659 Posts |
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Love-in-a-Mist
True Blue Farmgirl
367 Posts
Shannon
Independence
Oregon
USA
367 Posts |
Posted - Feb 08 2008 : 8:23:45 PM
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The people around here that have alpacas have "contracts" with yarn stores or spin their own fiber and sell it in stores on their farms.
I don't know how much money they make though.
http://diaryofafarmerswife.blogspot.com/ |
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artbysue
True Blue Farmgirl
218 Posts
Sue
Kidron
Ohio
USA
218 Posts |
Posted - Feb 08 2008 : 9:42:52 PM
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I have a friend who has an alpaca farm as well as a fiber studio and shop. She has a web site at www.longhedges.com with some prices on the wool products as well as the animals and links to different alpaca organizations. They also sell on terms and deliver because she was just talking about her h delivering alpacas to Texas.
People do not sell them for meat either. I think at least as far as some people are concerned thats one of the advantages of raising them. They have very sweet personalities that you cna get attached too and they are quite gentle and affectionate.
artist, equine portraits, animal art, farms, barns, Amish art, fiber animal art
www.suesteiner.com www.amish-art.com
www.amulti-coloredlife.blogspot.com |
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goneriding
True Blue Farmgirl
1599 Posts
Winona
Central Oregon
USA
1599 Posts |
Posted - Feb 08 2008 : 10:33:37 PM
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Well, thanks for the link. Took me a little while to find a price and they sure are expensive! Hubby is still interested but I dunno...
Winona :-)
When you lose, don't lose the lesson!!
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Shirley
True Blue Farmgirl
734 Posts
Shirley
Olympia
Wa
USA
734 Posts |
Posted - Feb 09 2008 : 01:03:20 AM
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HI,
We have raised Llamas since 1979 and just gave our Alpacas away a year ago.
They were males just used for fleece. There is so much alpaca around here now that the wool isnt worth all that much, maybe 3 to 4 dollars an ounce washed and cleaned. Now the big farm in Tenino that Sherri was talking about has a very large herd, mostly white and they also run a big farm in Ca, so they can sell there fleeces to wool processors and then they make garments and etc out of it. So if you have alot of them you probably would make some money.
As far as selling small herd fleeces you have to know all about the microns etc, because some of the handspinners like to know that kinda stuff. The handspinners hang out at fairs, shepherd extraganzies, sheep and fiber shows, and places like that. Those are the people that you would sell raw or washed fleece to. there are also a few magazines where you could advertise in, Spin-off,handwoven,exotic fibers, etc.
Alpacas have NO personallity compared to llamas, they just kinda look at you like "DUH". they dont shed, you have to shear them, trim feet,do shots,worm etc
Its getting very hard(around here anyway) to find a shearer that will shear them, most of the sheep shearers only like to do sheep.
I cant think of anything else at the moment, hope this gives you alittle help.
llamas have 2 coats, guard hair and under coat of soft fluff.so you have to seperate thier fleece after shearing. I once entered a llama fleece under alpaca fleece at a big fair, I got a blue and the judge couldnt tell the difference. most alpacas dont have the guard hair, if they do its ususally a throw back from some llama somewhere. and they do cross breed.
The breeders have done a lot of selling among themselfs, so it has kept the prices high.Males you can fine reasonable, but the females are still very costly .The farm in Tenino is very costly because they know they a know and they also dont care if they sell them because they have a market for thier fiber.They used to be up towards Seattle along the freeway so everyone saw thier animals and thier name when driving by
OK OK enough :)
Shirley |
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goneriding
True Blue Farmgirl
1599 Posts
Winona
Central Oregon
USA
1599 Posts |
Posted - Feb 09 2008 : 06:44:44 AM
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Shirley, you've my answer! We go by Tenino but I don't remember the Alpaca's but I'll try to look next time. I did find the prices and was appalled...yikes!
Winona :-)
When you lose, don't lose the lesson!!
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Tracey
True Blue Farmgirl
766 Posts
Tracey
State of Confusion
USA
766 Posts |
Posted - Feb 13 2008 : 05:31:11 AM
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Winona, a lot of people are giving their alpacas away. The cost of getting into the 'good' ones is so over priced, and then in order to continue making money you'd better be ready to throw thousands into showing and marketing those fleeces.
Personally, I think you should find a freebie. My friends were given three geldings when a co-worker was moving and she couldn't sell them. With a freebie, you can actually make a little bit of profit by the end of the year.
Better yet. Buy sheep. They don't spit 
Desperate Horsewife, raising funds for the Mustang Makeover!
http://desperate-horsewife.blogspot.com |
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grace gerber
True Blue Farmgirl
2804 Posts
grace
larkspur
colorado
USA
2804 Posts |
Posted - Feb 13 2008 : 07:40:38 AM
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This topic has been talked about before so you might want to look in the topic files. I have raised alpacas for 12 years and sold all of mine last year. I am a fiber business and have raised along with alpacas, llamas, three different breds of sheep and Angora and Cashmere Goats. Alpaca's are not the fast money maker that the industry tells you about - trust me I have been to hundreds of training classes of the financial end and the numbers only made sense when the animals first arrived and you had suckers who had more money then brains. I raised only males and had the prize winning fleeces to prove it so I did not spend the thousands of dollars for a single female. There is so much wrong with the industry and now I have farm giving me their fiber because as with one guy in Texas I get fifty fleeces hand delivered because he can not bring himself to place it in the land fills nor does he want his buyers to see all those bags hanging out in his barn - not good adversitment. I have waiting lists for my goats and their fiber - there is not a single alpaca owner who can say that. Tell you husband to keep looking - maybe Amway - if you know what I mean. Good luck
Grace Gerber
Larkspur Funny Farm and Fiber Art Studio
Where the spirits are high and the fiber is deep
http://www.larkspurfunnyfarm.etsy.com
http://larkspurfunnyfarm.blogspot.com
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goneriding
True Blue Farmgirl
1599 Posts
Winona
Central Oregon
USA
1599 Posts |
Posted - Feb 13 2008 : 10:38:51 AM
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Thank goodness for this site. Hubby is now disuaded and not wanting one anymore. I was able to point out these posts and say 'no'.
Winona ;-)
When you lose, don't lose the lesson!!
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Barnyard Buddies: Alpaca question...hubby wants one... |
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Alpaca question...hubby wants one...
