Every once in a while the wife and I need a break from the hassles of contractor life. Years ago she succeeded in talking me into a new hobby, raising llamas. I held out for about two years before letting her buy a couple geldings. Of course then it’s time to fence in pasture, build a barn, etc., etc,. Well, since then they’ve kind of grown on me, and now I’m probably as attached to our “herd” as she is. We travel to a few shows and parades a year, but now most of our time with them is spent hiking or “trekking” as it’s called in the llama industry.
These guys love to walk with us thru the woods, and they carry everything we would usually carry in a backpack and then some. The park service even uses llamas now in a lot of high remote country to pack in and out supplies to back country locations and for trail maintenance.
We’re lucky enough to have beautiful scenery and trails right on our property and right adjacent to it, so we’re thinking of starting a side business taking people out for short sightseeing hikes, maybe packing along lunch and some beer & wine. Here’s some recent shots around our place and a couple from a recent trip in Colorado.
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Awesome. I think it would make a fun and profitable business.
Bob's next test date: 12/10/07
Quote of the day: "...can't be done, it will take too long, not enough pipeline capacity, yada yada but yet they don't apply the same skepticism to their own "solutions" such as wind and biofuels"
Very cool. Where upsate are you? I used to live in West Saugerties/Woodstock and up in Tannersville as well.
I still have in my head when we finally sell this house to move to the mtns and one of the things I have in the noggen filing cabinet of mine is to get a cpl of Alpaca and raise them although I do know they cost some serious scratch!!!
You plan on making money with em' besides using them for backpacking trips?
Do they cost you much time and $$ to keep? And is it worth it?
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Believe it or not, there is a couple here who raise alpacas. She is a weaver and uses the wool for her designs...We drive past their place often. Right in the middle of the desert.
you wouldn't belive what an Alpaca costs...as much as a car and even way more!
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They have 5 of them! No wonder her weavings cost an arm and a leg!<http://www.uniquedesignsbykathy.com>W.Palo Seco is the road on which the woodshop where my husband works. The shop is on their property and Charlotte, the wife, is a well-known artist here in Tucson. It's about 10 minutes from us. They also raise Afghans and are heavily involved in dog rescue. They have 6 Afghans there now!
Even those pictures look soft...REALLY!
I noticed when we were looking for land in Asheville, nc there were qite a few Alpaca farms...check out just some of the prices
http://www.everthanksfarm.com/4552/4922.html
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That is some big money! Wow!!!Yes, her designs are unique!
Gawd they're cute!! LOL
ht
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TRENT dob = 10/12/01 - unregistered Color = white huacaya w/ blue eyes (probably deaf) Sire = C Peruvian Silvio Dam = RBA Tracee Price = $500 Must be kept with Max
MAX dob = 9/9/96 – ARI# A166178 Color = white/fawn suri Sire = Pperuvian Santiago Dam = Pperuvian Amalia Price = $250 Must be kept with Trent as his protector
NUGGET dob = 5/29/99 – ARI#812797 Color = white/true black huacay Sire = Tiffany’s Treasure Dam = Gregoria-Achacollo Price = $500 Calm, alpha gelding, buddies with Fox
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COTTON dob = 7/16/05 - ARI#30671430 Color = beige huacaya Sire = One Eyed Jack ImportV98 Dam = Abaco’s Jill Price = $1000 Big, sweet boy, dense fiber
HONEY BEAR dob = 2/18/05 - ARI # 30671300 Color = dark fawn huacaya Sire = Pan Am Onyx Dam = Aloa Contessa Di Lorien Price = $1000
ZIGGY dob = 3/1/05 - ARI#30671416 Color = dark silver grey/white huacaya Sire = Pan Am Onyx Dam = Lorien Holly’s Ivy Price = $1000 Adorable little guy!
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CHARLIE dob = 3/1/99 - ARI# 812793 Color = brown huacaya Sire = The Colorado – Pisarata Dam = Donaana – Ancuta Price = $1000 Calm, handsom
FOX dob = 8/12/00 - ARI#844879 Color = dark fawn huacaya Sire = Peruvian Lampo Dam = Jazmin Von Tr Price = $500 Shy boy, best kept with Nugget Fiber is lovely yarn
ITTY BITtp://www.everthanksfarm.com/4552/4901.html
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Andy,
Alpacas are crazy expensive right now but I personally think they have peaked out. You see adds now for animals for sale down in the hundreds, if not looking for breeding quality. We think their pricing will level out same as llamas did back in early eighties. We attended an auction a couple years ago that a male alpaca stud sold for over $400,000.!! Since then, some have sold higher.
Our llama stud's father sold for about $30,000. a year ago. {We didn't own him} but most of our animals range from around $500- $3,000 value.
WOWWW...$$$$...and yeh...I know they're real expensive but maybe by the time I'm ready they'll have depreciated in cost the way houses have : )
Do it all in one killin'...hmmmm...I didn't mean it like that...lol
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We live in Tully, NY. about 15 miles south of Syracuse. It's a beautiful
area. Been here my whole life, about 2 miles from our original family farm of 6 generations. My wife and I both love the outdoors, and we have tons of places to hike within just a few miles of home, on top of our own land.
Llamas can be profitable, but to be successful as a breeder you need to do the show circuit more than we have time for. I enjoy the public interaction at shows more than the showing itself, introducing the animals to people, etc. And, every time we have babies {cria's}, we fall in love with them and hate to sell them. Can't make much money that way.
We do shear them of their fiber in the spring and there is a market for that. They really aren't something I plan on getting rich with, just earn their way.
They are relatively easy to care for and don't eat a lot. One bale of hay will feed 6 llamas a day. We have a few acres of grass pasture also. They actually use a community dung pile so cleanup isn't too bad either.
Manure is small pellets like a deer.
The area in the photos looks familar to me...any chance thats around Onondaga County??
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Nice post, one of the few instances where the pics are too small. I'd like to see bigger versions.
Mike
Small wheel turn by the fire and rod, big wheel turn by the grace of god.
Sorry about the picture sizes I downsized more than I meant too.
Here's some more
Nice pics...
I hear they make a great load carrier for back pack trips. They don't eat much, you have a cool companion, and little or no load to carry yourself. Plus their feet don't damage trails at all. They also make a guard animal if you have concerns or phobias in the dark at night.
Probably a bad idea in bear country I suppose.
Edited 8/17/2008 8:46 am ET by MarkH
Yeah, our full grown males can carry over 100 lb. loads, so tent, sleeping bags, cooking gear, whatever. They are easy on the trails too. They have a soft padded foot with 2 pointed toenails, and are built fairly narrow so they can usually squeeze through most narrow spots a horse couldn't. They also are browsing animals that don't eat much. If you saw what they live on in the Andes Mountains, you would laugh.
As far as bears go, I've heard from some guides out west that the bears aren't that much of a problem. It's like the bears can't figure out what they are. Mountain Lions have killed some though. We don't have that issue with only coyotes and dogs around us. An adult llama will kill a coyote pretty quick, one reason they're used as guard animals for alpacas, goats and sheep.