alpacas
3 weeks ago
The alpacas have an arrival date! If all goes well, I may complete this goal in the next few weeks.
How to own an alpaca
It made me
Accomplished 
"I successfully navigated the process of purchasing and finding housing for alpacas."
How I did it: Story is too long. Let's sum up: I researched alpacas, figured out what I wanted, did some math, found alpacas, found a boarding farm, purchased alpacas, insured alpacas, and had alpacas transported to boarding farm.
Lessons & tips: First do some research online about alpacas and decide if this is something you want to do, and what your reason is. Are you looking for a pet? A source of fiber for spinning and knitting? Do you want to breed alpacas? Do you want a show animal? Recognize that alpacas don't do well alone, so unless you board it at an alpaca farm, you are going to need to get more than one. Do a lot of math and research and figure out if you can afford the cost of purchasing and caring for the alpaca(s). Don't forget about things like transportation costs, vet fees, shearing fees, ARI fees, etc. And don't forget that if you are boarding an animal you are planning to breed, that unless you sell the resulting cria promptly after weaning, your boarding costs are going to double. So, lets say you've done your homework and your math and everything looks good. Go visit some alpaca farms and look at alpacas. Go online and look at alpacas. Look at lots of alpacas until you start to figure out what to look for when you see an alpaca. Meanwhile, either find yourself a local boarding farm with space available, or start researching fence construction and alpaca nutrition and health care. Eventually you will find an alpaca you are interested in purchasing. (Warning: the first alpaca you see is not it!) Ask the sellers about the alpaca. Find out about its health, conformation, fleece, any offspring it has had, if it is ARI registered (if you don't know what that is, go do more research), its temperment, and so on. If all looks good, and meets your requirements you can purchase the alpaca. Now you will discover that buying an alpaca is a lot like buying a house. There is a contract to sign, alpaca insurance to purchase, and you can have a vet do an alpaca inspection. Arranging to have an alpaca transported can be as complicated as getting a moving van for moving to a new house and packing all of your stuff for the trip if the alpaca is any distance from where you want to move it to (a health certification will be needed if you cross state lines.), and then you have to transfer the registration to your name (or your farm's name, if you have a farm). I recommend keeping good notes and keeping your paperwork organized. Add lots of time, frequent communications to the seller, transporter, and (possibly) boarding farm, and a good measure of patience, and eventually your alpaca(s) should be where it/they are supposed to be.
Resources:
http://webpages.charter.net/alpacaatlantic/pet.htm
http://alpacanation.com/
http://www.alpacaregistry.com/
http://livestockinsurance.biz/Home.html
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Entries
Alpacas!
2 months ago
I’m making remarkably good progress on this one! Technically speaking, I do now own an alpaca, but I’m not going to count it as finished until all the paperwork/alpacas are where they are supposed to be.
But Honey, It's an Investment!
3 years ago
A former colleague recently sent me a photo of herself and her husband, and their alpacas. The photo is lovely. It shows the couple in the foreground, standing in front of a split log fence, with several animals in the middle ground behind them. Completing the picture is the open green and blue and white of New Zealand, filling up the background like a postcard from God.
I’m jealous.
When my friend had first told me of her plans to move to NZ and start, with her husband, an Alpaca farm, I was too ignorant to be incredulous. I found that I had to hit up Google for some knowledge before I could react in the manner she had expected, namely, shock and doubt.
However, she sat down with me and gave me several links to resources and explained what they had in mind, and now, a year later they’re actually doing it. They’ve got the farm and are slowly beginning to turn a profit, but more than that, they are enjoying the hell out of themselves, their lives, and each other.
Now, I know myself, and I’m not a farmboy. It’s too much like real work and I find that I’m mildly allergic to anything resembling heavy labor. However, I do think that this may be a great short-term, low-cost, low-risk investment.
The basic premise is that one buys an animal, pays to have it stabled and cared for and sheared twice a year. The hair is then collected for use in paintbrushes, coats, boots, etc. etc. Once the costs have been re-couped by the stable, profits are forwarded on to you. Bearing in mind that these profits may only run around a hundred dollars per year per animal, one can see why this may not be the best investment for everyone.
At the same time, it is a reasonably environmentally friendly way of earning a buck or two for minimal effort, just a bit of cash up front.
Of course, more honestly, and more personally, I just want one for the cocktail chatter. “My investments? Well, I’ve just funded my fourth Alpaca down in New Zealand and I expect them to be earning out any time now…” etc. etc.
Unfortunately, my wife knows this and thus, the title for this entry.
james - the FOUR times marathoner wondering why this can't be linked to twitter
i can't believe...
3 years ago
...that no one else has this goal. alpacas rule.
james - the FOUR times marathoner wondering why this can't be linked to twitter
love 'em...
3 years ago
i think alpacas are the coolest animals on earth. apparently you can buy a ‘mutt’ alpaca for around 500 bucks. just need a place to put it.
