Starting with alpacasA Beginner's guide to purchasing

Roger Clarke of Amberly Alpacas explains what to expect

Embarking on the journey of alpaca ownership is one that should be filled with excitement and anticipation. As breeders, it is our charge to ensure that new and prospective owners, receive a positive buying experience and a supportive transition into ownership. In my opinion, introducing people to the wonderful world of alpacas should be considered a privilege and an honour and quite often these initial meetings, turn out to be the foundation for ongoing business ventures and lifelong friendships.

There are many reasons why people keep alpacas. They can be kept as breeding-seed stock, as flock guards, as pets or solely as fibre producing animals. They may also be enjoyed as a means of facilitating lifestyle changes, farm diversification and aspects of agritourism. In fact the options and combinations are endless.

Regardless of the reasons for keeping these majestic creatures, when starting out, the first consideration must be; ‘Can I provide for and meet the animal’s needs?’. As a general guide it will be important to ensure that you can guarantee the long term provision of pasture land to graze and to roam, shelter, adequate feed, medical care (if required) and essential husbandry, annual shearing and time, patience, care and interaction.