You have learned a lot about alpacas. You’ve done your financial homework. Maybe you’ve found breeders you can trust and work with, and picked your starter herd, or maybe that’s still going on. Before your herd arrives, it’s time to prepare. Here, we will talk about grass, shelter, water, and hay.

Planning your pastures: To think Fencing first. Alpacas won’t normally challenge a reasonable fence, so a 48-inch horse fence that doesn’t climb on T-posts is excellent for the job. A small tractor, a fence stretcher, a post digger, and a good pair of fencing gloves and pliers, and you’ll have the job under control. Work with breeders you’ve met to develop a pasture plan based on your herd composition and pasture health. Pets only? One pasture might be enough, but having more will allow you to rotate your herd to replenish pastures. Player? You’ll want separate pastures for boys and girls, and possibly another for mothers with nursing calves. You will need access to shelter, water, and hay at each pasture. You’ll also need a convenient way to move your herds from pasture to barns or pens for toe clippings, injections, vet visits, etc. exercise in mind. They should be shaped so your alpacas can run well – great for body conditioning!

Planning your shelters: Yes, sometimes you can accuse the alpacas of not getting out of the rain.. But that doesn’t mean shelter is optional. Think of a summer shelter and a winter shelter in each pasture. What are you doing shelter to mean? A roof and enough walls to protect you from wind and sun, rain and snow. A floor that will remain dry, with a surface suitable for cooking. Coarse gravel is not a good idea, and neither is the concrete slab. Horse stall mats (3/4″ recycled rubber) are great. Compacted earth works well, as long as it’s thoroughly dry. Make sure there’s enough room for the number of animals that will have to share the shelter. Alpacas don’t tend to line up nice and parallel, all in a group. The most important thing is to make sure that all of your animals can stay cool enough in hot weather and stay dry. Good air circulation is key. It’s also important to make sure that the very young animals can stay warm in very cold weather (although coats can help with this).

Water planning: Alpacas must have a ready supply of clean, fresh water. Automatic filling equipment is not needed, as long as someone reliably keeps the tanks or buckets full. One thing we have found helpful is keeping the water supply off the ground. Our buckets are suspended at about shoulder height for our younger animals (26″ to 30″), and we use the 24″ tall version of the metal storage tanks. This prevents the animals from kicking up the water and If someone spills a bucket or your storage tank leaks, it’s a good idea to have a second water supply in place.In winter?Ice water is a problem for your alpacas and their tanks and buckets. Alpacas also tend to drink very little if the water is too cold. Consider hot buckets (about $50 each) or storage tank heaters (about $90 each) in cold climates. Finally, it’s a good idea to be able to control access to all the water in your herd Sometimes medications such as coccidiastats they are delivered through drinking water, so you’ll want to make sure your alpacas are using the proper supply.

Planning for hay: 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 for every 2.5 to 3 alpacas. What kind of hay? Alpacas do best on a diet of 8% to 12% protein. what it does garden herb an ideal choice. The second or third cut of garden grass avoids seeds and stalks, and we’ve found that this creates less waste. Cost? In 2007, prices here in the Northwest for the second or third cut of orchard grass were $260/ton. At the end of 2008, prices stood at $300/ton. Driving? We recommend what many hay providers call two-string bales. These weigh about 80 to 90 pounds each. Larger three-string 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 wooden pallets for hay storage and keep the hay a few inches away from the barn walls. This improves air circulation, helping to prevent mold.

There are many opinions about which hay feeding stations work best. Tub-style feeders, where alpacas graze hay in tubs below head level, can help keep hay out of that spot just above shoulder level where it tends to collect and get dirty. On the other hand, wall feeders don’t take up as much floor space in your barn and allow animals to graze with their heads and necks in a more upright position. If you’re handy, you can build your own. We did, and you can see an example in our video section on our ranch website.

Nutritionally, orchard grass is not enough for breeding animals and young animals. Supplements in the form of grains and mineral salts can make up the difference. For pregnant and lactating mothers, and for young calves, you may also want to keep a few bales of alfalfa on hand. We will talk about cereals and salt in another article. Good luck! We hope this helps you prepare!