Mary . . . . . looks like a great design, I do have a question for you. How long have you been using and have you had any issues with the alpacas rubbing the hair off the top of their noses with this hay feeder?
I attended a 2 day basic class in July and felt it was the best thing I could have done, went to the class shortly after getting our first alpacas. Great for me and the alpacas and I am sure I will take advantage of other learning opportunities thro…
Thank you soooooo much for starting this thread. I am VERY new to alpacas and look forward to seeing what others who have been doing this for some time are using. To this point I have only seen the contracts that were used when we made our first pur…
We just made our first alpaca purchase (May 2009) and could not be more excited. Now we just need to finish the fencing and shelters so we can bring them home. We are starting out with three bred females and three fiber males. Thank you to Cherol McManus and Sarah Balser of Ahjoomas Alpaca Farm for officially getting us started in the alpaca business.
What kind of alpacas do you raise?
Huacayas
Tell us more about yourself!
Retired, my husband and I moved from a subdivision in IL to 80 acres in ND in the middle of winter 2008 no less.
Deb - glad my posts helped !! And the clinic! Please let me know if I can be of any help (I mean it). I will be posting more of my "case studies" to my blog. I also attended a one day TTouch clinic yesterday and am even going to do a case study on my dog !!!
Thank you for reaching out ! So glad you found it useful!!
Rose
Hello Deb! I saw your tick post. We don't have that problem here so I wouldn't know how to fix that. I would ask a vet what the risk is and what other livestock owners are doing about it, if nothing else. I hope you enjoy the alpaca way of life as much as we do. Take Care, Dena
Thats great news! Bet you are so excited! We sheard this past week, so now i have fiber to play with again! Most of my fiber from last year sold.... so I haven't had any to do anything with. Now I have to learn how to skirt a show fleece so I can get them into some shows! Have fun with your new babies...
You can always call or email if you have questions or problems! All my contact info is on my page...
I dont mind phone calls .. my phone is on 24/7 and i will give any help i can ... enjoy!
Hi Deb! I've worked very, very hard to get to where I am with my alpaca business. And I have a long way to go to get to where I want to be! But I knew what I was getting into before I bought my first alpacas. Whatever you do please don't think alpacas will sell themselves - it takes a lot of hard work to get established in this business. If you are willing to work hard and NEVER give up then YOU will become successful!
If you'd like some help - or at least the way I see this business, then send me an e-mail and I will give you my phone number or we can e-mail back-n-forth. I LOVE THIS BUSINESS! The main thing is I LOVE alpacas!!!!!!
I hated making that decission!!! I had about 3 or 4 deals to consider, plus another if I wanted to pick and choose single animals! It was a very nerve racking 2 weeks. I was very nervous, but it worked out in the end :) I love my pacas and am glad that I have them... so whatever you decide, you will love them too!
I am waiting til this afternoon and am going out to clean up the stalls... it will finally be warm enough to get some of it up off of the floor... :)
We are going to have a big straw/hay fire this weekend on the garden to get rid of the pile from winter! warm but smelly
Hi Deb,
Check out some of the videos on u tube... search for needle felting and it will bring up all kinds of videos to watch... that is how i learned :)
Hi Deb,
Thanks for the comments! Only one of the flowers is from a pattern from a book.... the rest are felted from patterns of cookie cutters. And also a bit of free hand work. The color patterns are all my own imagination with a bit of help from koolaid dye. You can get felting needles from Ebay. That is where I got mine. I sold quite a bit of my little critters and a few Christmas patterns that I made into pins and ornaments at a local craft show this past November. Nancy
You are doing all the right things. Educating yourself is the key to a successful start with alpacas, and probably any business. I am looking forward to hearing about your journey as it progresses!