You have learned a lot about alpacas. You have done your financial homework. Maybe you’ve found breeders you can trust and work with, and you’ve chosen your starting herd, or maybe you’re still on your way. Before your flock arrives, it’s time to get ready. Here we will talk about pasture, shelter, water and hay.
Planning your pastures: To think Fencing first. Alpacas will not normally challenge a reasonable fence, so the 48 “unclimbed horse fence supported by T-posts is ideal for this job. A small tractor, fence stretcher, post digger, and a good pair of gloves and fence pliers and you’ll have the job under control. Work with the breeders you met to develop a pasture plan based on your herd composition and pasture health. Pets only? One pasture may be enough, but having Plus it will allow you to rotate the herd to replenish pasture. Raising livestock? You will want separate pastures for boys and girls, and possibly another for mothers with lactating calves. Want a convenient way to move your herds from pasture to barn or pen capture for toe shearing, injections, vet visits, etc. Design your pastures with exercise in mind. They should be shaped properly so your alpacas can run well – great for body conditioning!
Planning your shelters: Yes, sometimes you can accuse the alpacas of not coming out of the rain. But that does not mean that the shelter is optional. Think of a summer shelter and a winter shelter in each pasture. What does coat to mean? A roof and walls enough to break the wind and avoid the sun, rain and snow. A floor that will stay dry, with a suitable surface to cushion. Coarse gravel is not a good idea, nor is concrete slab. Horse mats (3/4 “recycled rubber) are excellent. Packed soil works well as long as it is reliably dry. Make sure there is enough room for the number of animals that have to share the shelter. Alpacas do not tend to line up well and in parallel, all in one group. The most important thing is to make sure all your animals can stay cool enough in hot, dry weather. Good air circulation is key. It is also important to make sure that the animals Very young animals keep warm in very cold weather (although coats can help with this).
Water planning: Alpacas should have a clean, fresh water supply. No automatic filling equipment is needed, as long as someone keeps the tanks or pails reliably full. One thing that has been helpful to us is keeping the water supply off the ground. Our buckets are suspended at approximately shoulder height for our younger animals (26 “to 30”), and we use the 24 “high version of the metal tanks. This prevents animals from kicking in the water and making it dirty. In case someone spills a bucket or your storage tank has a leak, it is a good idea to have a second water supply in place. In winter? Frozen water is a problem for your alpacas and your tanks and buckets. Alpacas also tend to drink very little if the water gets too cold. Consider hot buckets (about $ 50 each) or stock tank heaters (about $ 90 each) in cold climates. Lastly, it’s a a good idea to be able to control access to all the water in your herd. Sometimes medicines like coccidiastats are administered via drinking water, so you will want to make sure your alpacas are using the proper supply.
Hay planning: Hay must be available all day, every day. Here in the Pacific Northwest, we see an annual consumption of 700 to 800 pounds per alpaca, about 1 ton of hay per 2.5 to 3 alpacas. What kind of hay? Alpacas do best on a diet of 8% to 12% protein. What it does garden grass an ideal choice. The second or third lawn mowing avoids seeds and stems, and we’ve found this to be less wasteful. Cost? In 2007, prices here in the Northwest for the second or third orchard grass cutting were at $ 260 / t. At the end of 2008, prices were at $ 300 / t. Driving? We recommend what many hay suppliers call two strand bales. These weigh around 80 to 90 pounds each. Larger three strand bales (110-130 pounds each) are more difficult for one person to move. A garden cart can be your friend when it comes to moving hay! Storage? Hay should be stored dry, preferably not directly on a concrete slab. We use recycled wood pallets for hay storage and keep the hay a few inches from the barn walls. This improves air circulation, helping to prevent mold.
There are many opinions on which hay feeding stations work best. Tub-type feeders, where alpacas graze on hay in tubs below head level, can help keep hay out of that spot just above the shoulders where it tends to collect and get dirty. On the other hand, wall feeders do not take up as much floor space in your barn and allow animals to graze with their head and neck in a more upright position. If you are handy, you can build your own. We did, and you can see an example in our video section on our ranch website.
Nutritionally, garden grass will not be just for breeding animals and young animals. Supplements in the form of grains and mineral salt can make up the difference. For pregnant and nursing mothers, and young calves, you may also want to keep a few bales of alfalfa on hand. We will talk about grain and salt in another article. Good luck! We hope this helps you get ready!
