For Jen
Jen is facing the need to start farming NOW or start paying higher property taxes. Some of the comments suggest alpacas. Among Jen's difficulties are fences and barns that require substantial repair.
Regarding that comment I posted about cheap sheep. I agree that alpaca is a lot more fun to spin than wool. However, even though I have some wonderful alpacas for sale -- nudge-nudge-wink-wink -- I stand by my advice that if you need to farm in a hurry, you should start with inexpensive sheep.
I advise you not to start with alpacas while you have any questions at all regarding the condition of your facilities.
(Of course, if you express interest in purchasing alpacas from me, the story changes instantly. They're easy livestock. Nothing will ever go wrong. Write me a check today and you can have these wonderful animals on your farm tomorrow.)
Alpacas are livestock -- relatively easy livestock, but still livestock. Anything that can go wrong with livestock will eventually happen to your alpacas.
Alpacas don't require particularly expensive facilities. The reason you see most alpacas in lavish quarters is peace of mind -- financial peace of mind. Alpacas are expensive. Very expensive. Most people of ordinary means cannot really afford to lose their alpacas. We have to take good care of them for that reason. Because they are so very expensive, we can justify the extra investment in facilities. You don't see very many sheep behind 5' tall non-climb fences, but that's the standard for alpacas. I don't think it's necessary to have the million dollar facilities many alpaca breeders have -- note my description of our three-sided sheds. I do think investment in expensive livestock does justify investment in facilities to keep the animals safe. As I'll explain below, some of that investment is for the alpacas and some is for your peace of mind.
It hurts when you lose an animal or when an animal gets injured. You need to have the emotional space to worry about the animal and take care of situation. When something goes wrong in the middle of the night with our alpacas, my first thought is, "What's wrong." My second is, "Omigod, I can't afford to lose a $15,000 alpaca. Omigod, omigod, omigod, I've got to get out there in a hurry and fix things. Omigod, I'm going to go bankrupt." I'm not thinking about the alpaca as much as I should be, I'm panicking about the money.
The story is a little different for a $50 sheep. I'd do a much better job of responding to the situation if I weren't busy panicking about the money. I would have one less thing to panic about and I'd handle the situation better.
The reason I advise sheep is that sheep generally are easier to contain than goats, although a lot depends on the particular sheep and goats involved. You've mentioned that your fences are in disrepair. I'm suggesting you start with the fiber animal most likely to be contained by those fences. (Many breeds of beef cattle are easier to contain than sheep, but I'm assuming you want fiber to spin.) The sheep will get you started. If something goes wrong, you'll worry about your livestock, but you won't have the financial panic you have with alpacas. If you insist on starting with alpacas, start with fiber geldings to minimize the financial panic.
If you want alpacas, I encourage purchasing alpacas after careful preparation and repairing your facilities. They are wonderful animals and I really enjoy my alpacas. However, I'm advising that you wait to purchase your alpacas until your facilities are such that you are comfortable with alpacas residing in those facilities. There are enough things to worry about when owning alpacas. You don't need constant worries about your facilities on top of everything else. We purchased our alpacas and brought them home before our facilities were fully complete. It's a mistake I recommend that others avoid.
If you think you want alpacas, buy some alpacas. For your peace of mind, make sure you are comfortable with your facilities first. There are enough stresses in raising alpacas without constantly worrying about barns and fences.
Regarding that comment I posted about cheap sheep. I agree that alpaca is a lot more fun to spin than wool. However, even though I have some wonderful alpacas for sale -- nudge-nudge-wink-wink -- I stand by my advice that if you need to farm in a hurry, you should start with inexpensive sheep.
I advise you not to start with alpacas while you have any questions at all regarding the condition of your facilities.
(Of course, if you express interest in purchasing alpacas from me, the story changes instantly. They're easy livestock. Nothing will ever go wrong. Write me a check today and you can have these wonderful animals on your farm tomorrow.)
Alpacas are livestock -- relatively easy livestock, but still livestock. Anything that can go wrong with livestock will eventually happen to your alpacas.
Alpacas don't require particularly expensive facilities. The reason you see most alpacas in lavish quarters is peace of mind -- financial peace of mind. Alpacas are expensive. Very expensive. Most people of ordinary means cannot really afford to lose their alpacas. We have to take good care of them for that reason. Because they are so very expensive, we can justify the extra investment in facilities. You don't see very many sheep behind 5' tall non-climb fences, but that's the standard for alpacas. I don't think it's necessary to have the million dollar facilities many alpaca breeders have -- note my description of our three-sided sheds. I do think investment in expensive livestock does justify investment in facilities to keep the animals safe. As I'll explain below, some of that investment is for the alpacas and some is for your peace of mind.
It hurts when you lose an animal or when an animal gets injured. You need to have the emotional space to worry about the animal and take care of situation. When something goes wrong in the middle of the night with our alpacas, my first thought is, "What's wrong." My second is, "Omigod, I can't afford to lose a $15,000 alpaca. Omigod, omigod, omigod, I've got to get out there in a hurry and fix things. Omigod, I'm going to go bankrupt." I'm not thinking about the alpaca as much as I should be, I'm panicking about the money.
The story is a little different for a $50 sheep. I'd do a much better job of responding to the situation if I weren't busy panicking about the money. I would have one less thing to panic about and I'd handle the situation better.
The reason I advise sheep is that sheep generally are easier to contain than goats, although a lot depends on the particular sheep and goats involved. You've mentioned that your fences are in disrepair. I'm suggesting you start with the fiber animal most likely to be contained by those fences. (Many breeds of beef cattle are easier to contain than sheep, but I'm assuming you want fiber to spin.) The sheep will get you started. If something goes wrong, you'll worry about your livestock, but you won't have the financial panic you have with alpacas. If you insist on starting with alpacas, start with fiber geldings to minimize the financial panic.
If you want alpacas, I encourage purchasing alpacas after careful preparation and repairing your facilities. They are wonderful animals and I really enjoy my alpacas. However, I'm advising that you wait to purchase your alpacas until your facilities are such that you are comfortable with alpacas residing in those facilities. There are enough things to worry about when owning alpacas. You don't need constant worries about your facilities on top of everything else. We purchased our alpacas and brought them home before our facilities were fully complete. It's a mistake I recommend that others avoid.
If you think you want alpacas, buy some alpacas. For your peace of mind, make sure you are comfortable with your facilities first. There are enough stresses in raising alpacas without constantly worrying about barns and fences.
posted by Upper Alpacas | 10:45 AM
2 Comments:
Something else Jen could consider if she really wants alpacas is to initially invest in more economical fiber quality alpacas. This way she could have the livestock in place to satisfy the tax folks and still be able to afford the repairs to the facilities. Just two animals would be enough. Then after the repairs are done she could go out and buy those more expensive breeders from someone like you (or me... wink, wink).
How is cria watch going? My Sancha is four days from her official due date and is making us crazy.
Oh, Kim, I just can't thank you enough. Most especially for your advice in my comments about writing the letter of intent, but also for this. I am so grateful to you for taking the time to advise me.
We will probably never have one of those million dollar farms, but I want any livestock I have to be well protected from the prevalent coyotes and have good, safe shelter for when they want or need it. All my fencing now is 3 rail wooden "horse" fencing along the road fronts and barbed wire everywhere else. Fine for horses and cows, but not for any sort of smaller, fiber bearing creatures.
One thing I was worried about was sheep transmitting diseases to the alpacas-should that be a concern? I'm all for sheep, I love wool. It's not alpaca, but I love it, too.
My husband is going to be in Portland OR this weekend, I'm trying to convince him he has time to go see your farm. And look at your sales stock... He can stop at Rise's on the way home next week!
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