Alpaca prices drop

[Skyesrocket]

Wow, I was at a small animal auction last night and couldn't believe what female alpacas were selling for.

There were 5 beautiful, healthy looking females that we exposed to males selling for $150-$220. All different colors. Aged 14 months to 4 years old.
I have seen males selling for $100 down there, but didn't expect to see the price of females plummet like that. Lucky for me that I left my atm card at home, I guess....

 

[chickenzoo]

Where is that at.................. I was needing a gal, but around here they are $800 -$5000. If I had known I would have pay paled you the money and had you fold one up in a box for me and shipped her here......

 

[Skyesrocket]

I was at the Poultry Auction at Roger's Flea Market in Ohio. I like that sale they have hatching eggs, chicks, poultry, calves, goats, sheep and house pets like caged birds, rats, snakes, chinchillas...ect. They auctioned off 5 gorgeous white peacocks this past week. No horses or pigs...something about a vet needing to be there for them. Oh, and tons of rabbits.
How would I fold an alpaca to ship? Like a sweater?

 

[AkTomboy]

Quote:
WOW

Sheesh I wish I could get ahold of some for those prices! But it all depends on if they were Reg, what the fiber rating is and so on.

 

[Skyesrocket]

The guy that has been bringing them in from his mom's farm isn't very happy for what they have been selling for. I can't say I blame him. So he hasn't been selling them with the registrations. They had a note saying how old they were and how long they were exposed to a male and the colors of the males. I remember the one gals fiber was rated at 7. One other at 8. But it's greek to me...I don't know anything about fiber ratings.

 

[ksalvagno]

If you aren't getting the registration papers, then that is about all they are worth. Unfortunately, hard times are falling on everyone. The alpacas never sell at high prices at the animal auctions anyway. The people usually bringing them to those auctions are people either in a desperate situation or someone who bought low end and just looking to make a quick buck.

 

[spectrumranch]

Selling alpacas comes down to how good you are marketing!

There is no true value on alpacas or llamas. They are like diamonds- it's just a rock but create a demand for it, market it and try to get what you can.

Until there is an established meat market for them- they do not have a true base value of pricing.

 

[thndrdancr]

I was very surprised at our animal auction as well. One male Llama went for $10, a very cute male baby for $80.

The full grown potbelly pigs went for $5 apiece.

I got a male pea at almost 3 years old for $20. No one stays that late and it was down to about 10 people by the end of the auction.

I doe pygmy with two doelings went for $80 total.

They couldnt even sell the mules or miniature horses, no one bid at all. A couple went for $25 and some were even kid broke to ride.

 

[Skyesrocket]

The alpacas never sell at high prices at the animal auctions anyway.

Just seeing them go through a small sale surprised me. I have seen them sell at large exotic sales but the past couple of months they have been coming through the small auctions too. Usually those are just the young males though.
Spectrum, I don't know anything about alpacas. This is the first time I have heard about them being used for meat. I always thought their value was in the fiber.
Personally I just like the way they look. If I do get a couple they will be pets, just like everything else around here.

 

[Skyesrocket]

They couldnt even sell the mules or miniature horses, no one bid at all. A couple went for $25 and some were even kid broke to ride.

That figures...I have been looking for a miniature mare for a while now. They never sell below $300 around here and those are on the brink of being pony size.​