Looking for alpacas

[Abriana]

i would love some alpacas-if you have some that you would like to give away/sell I would love for you to message me. I am looking for two females (any color) that are babies or below five years of age. They do not need to be breeding or show quality, they are pets. I do not plan to breed them. I am absolutely beginning at the very beginning and so I cannot take them right away but will let you know when I can.
I love all my animals and they will be going to a wonderful home where they will be well cared for and loved.
Thank you in advance! Also any tips or advice on alpacas would be extremely helpful!

 

[EggSighted4Life]

I know you have to be discerning...

But I see Alpacas for sale in the farm and garden section on my local Craigslist pretty often. And I'm centrally located to 3 CL markets, so I check and use all 3. It's good that you are just starting. It usually takes several weeks before coming across good contacts. But start looking at the ads so you can see the different kinds of things people are focusing on.

I have met plenty of good decent animal people who do use it as one of their tools for marketing. You can usually tell a lot by having a conversation with someone. If they seem VAGUE in anyway... skip it!

Hope your new adventure will be great!

 

[Abriana]

I know you have to be discerning...

But I see Alpacas for sale in the farm and garden section on my local Craigslist pretty often. And I'm centrally located to 3 CL markets, so I check and use all 3. It's good that you are just starting. It usually takes several weeks before coming across good contacts. But start looking at the ads so you can see the different kinds of things people are focusing on.

I have met plenty of good decent animal people who do use it as one of their tools for marketing. You can usually tell a lot by having a conversation with someone. If they seem VAGUE in anyway... skip it!

Hope your new adventure will be great!

I hadn’t thought about that-thank you so much, that’s a great idea!

 

[Zoomie]

Remember that if you get alpacas, they need to be sheared once a year. Is there a shearer in your area? And what do they charge? Please be advised they don't like being sheared. If you don't have them really well restrained, either you or the animal can be seriously hurt. And, if you don't have them sheared, they can develop some pretty nasty stuff. They roll in the dirt and can get dirt, sticks and rocks caught up in their wool.

I used to shear alpacas professionally. This requires some physical strength and good equipment to make sure they are safely restrained during shearing.

Another thing about alpacas: young animals need to grow up in the herd, left alone by people until they are weaned. If you play with them and cuddle them as youngsters, they will assume you are part of the herd and when they grow up, they will treat you like part of the herd: they will chest-butt you, spit at you, knock you to the ground and sit on you. They do these things to each other all the time, they are not trying to be mean: they just don't understand that you are not an alpaca, if they've been petted and cuddled since birth. They call this "berserk syndrome" but the animal is not actually berserk; it has simply bonded with people and thinks you are an alpaca. It will be extremely difficult, not to say dangerous, to manage, especially if you have children or elderly people around them.

To avoid berserk syndrome, simply allow the young animal to grow up in the herd. Once it is weaned, THEN you can play and cuddle with it all you like... and once you get it trained it will be a respectful and pleasant adult.

In short, I think you need to do a lot of study, go to a lot of farms and maybe help trim toenails or be there for shearing day and help with the shearing. Get a lot of hands-on experience. They are incredibly cute animals, but they need to be handled properly, both for their health and for their safety.

 

[Krazyquilts]

In short, I think you need to do a lot of study, go to a lot of farms and maybe help trim toenails or be there for shearing day and help with the shearing. Get a lot of hands-on experience. They are incredibly cute animals, but they need to be handled properly, both for their health and for their safety.

Excellent post and so very true!

My husband and I have been wanting to buy a farm for about 10 years but used the time spent waiting by trying to learn useful skills. I converted our tiny backyard into raised garden beds, we learned how to can, got ducks last year, and spent the past 5 years apprenticing with some friends who have sheep. Even with all that time working with sheep, I'm still so nervous about screwing up something with the sheep! Fortunately our friends are willing to continue "holding our hands" as we start out with our first sheep.

To Abriana, definitely see if you can someone in your area who wouldn't mind you coming to their farm to muck stalls, move bales, help feed, etc.