Why own alpacas? Such a short question for what could be such a long answer, as there are endless reasons to own these wonderful animals.
For us it was for a complete lifestyle change, to escape the rat race, enjoy a slower pace of life and reap the rewards of a successful business.
From a purely business point of view breeding alpacas of the highest quality are a good investment, and realise a good return, via sales as seed stock and revenue from their fibre and fibre products etc…
A few other reasons for owning Alpacas include
- They are one of the few animals that can be farmed on small acreage. They are not heavy grazer’s and their soft padded feet doesn’t cause damage to the land
- They can be kept as a fibre herd, especially useful for hand spinning groups or for those that want to produce fibre for commercial re-sale
- As flock guards, to protect chickens and lambs from foxes
- As pets for pleasure. The bonus here is that they are pets that earn their keep as lawn mowers, keeping the grass short and trimmed and also their dung pile is kept to one spot and is one of the best organic fertilizers there is
- For showing, there are halter and fleece shows throughout the year for alpacas. These are quiet often seen as an important social occasion as well as a means to showcase breeding stock.
Alpaca Trekking
I could go on, the danger is the temptation to wax lyrical at this point, the alpacas have given us so much. Much more than we could ever possibly have envisioned.
Fortunately for you the reader I don’t have the vocabulary to be able to fully explain that in words, and so to understand you will just have to come and visit us.