With their innocent and unusual cuddly looks, baby alpacas often attract much interest from the public. Many prospective alpaca owners believe babies are the best way for them to get started with alpacas. However, before you start searching the internet or social media for 'baby alpacas for sale ', it's crucial to understand the dangers lurking behind these cute fluff balls. Alpacas are herd animals, not pets Alpaca babies are known as crias. They depend on maternal milk for the first months of life until they transition to a grazing diet.  Alpacas, being herd animals, have a natural d ..read more

Former city dwellers Jenna and Alex have transitioned to alpaca ownership and farming life without too much stress. The secret? Lots of preparation, research, learning and hands-on practice through volunteering at an alpaca farm. Why did you want to have alpacas? We were planning a move from Melbourne to the country. We bought a 10-acre farm to live and farm regeneratively. We started researching about productive animals that are light on the land and sustainable. Alpacas seemed to fit several criteria: they could provide manure to grow food for us, provide fleece for clothes, and help protect ..read more

Kellie and Rod live on 11 productive acres on the outer edge of Melbourne with four alpacas. They are devoted owners who do their best to ensure their alpacas receive good care. This is their story. Why did you want to have alpacas? I don’t really know! My husband and I dreamed of having land and alpacas... I had a recurring dream of owning an alpaca whose name was Monty! How many alpacas do you have? What are they like? We have four female alpacas, all very unique in their personalities. Three are white and one is fawn, ranging from three to nearly seventeen years. They all get along very wel ..read more

Wondering about alpaca ownership? If you are considering alpacas for your property, you might want to know how much time you need to dedicate to them, the advantages of having alpacas, and the disadvantages. Each alpaca owner will have different perspectives. Here are some of my insights based on my alpaca journey. Why did you want to have alpacas? When I decided to leave Melbourne and move to a 7-acre property in Central Victoria, I initially thought about getting cattle. My mum had always wanted cattle and I grew up having her dream. However, after visiting a cattle farm, I realized they wer ..read more

So, you're interested in buying alpacas? Before you leap into it, it's important to understand what alpacas need and determine if they are the right fit for you. Here are 10 questions you should ask yourself before buying alpacas. 1. Why do you want alpacas? This might seem like a simple question, but understanding your motivation behind owning alpacas will help you assess if they are suitable for you and determine the type of alpacas you may need. People have various reasons for wanting alpacas: Are you interested in having alpacas as grazing animals on your small farm or acreage? Do you nee ..read more

Contemplating buying alpacas? One of the first things you might wonder is how much they cost to buy. I often get asked this question, and I always reply: "it varies". Alpaca prices depend on age, gender, fibre, conformation, genetics, and what they will be used for. Grazing farm companions will cost considerably less than stud animals. The other cost you need to be aware of is maintaining alpacas. Can you afford to keep them? When considering alpacas, you need to factor into account not only their purchase cost but also the cost to maintain them. The first question I ask prospective alpaca ow ..read more

There are a million things you and I could we doing today. As I look around my house, a to-do list immediately compiles in my head: vacuum, mop, wash clothes, fold clothes, clean the bathroom, change the cat litter, make jam, clean the fridge, chop firewood, stack kindling, weed the garden, move bales of hay, knit, find more knitting patterns, clean alpaca fleeces, write another blog article, check work emails, remind myself to add another item to that work email, buy leggings, organise my budget, book optometrist, book dentist appointment... ARGHHHHH!!!! I closed my eyes and tuned in. My bod ..read more

“Adopt the pace of nature. Her secret is patience.” Ralph Waldo Emerson Have you ever been outdoors for hours simply watching something? No, not hours spent looking at shop windows or watching a tennis grand slam. I mean outdoors, in nature, sitting on the bare ground, staring at something captivating... Have you? Perhaps you have spent hours watching a slow sunset when on holidays, or perhaps you have spent hours staring at the horizon from a lookout high in the mountains. For me, that something that captivates me and makes me spent hours outdoors is alpacas. I never thought these unusual ca ..read more

Have you ever been in love? Madly in love? That type of love that keeps you thinking all the time about that special person? Did you know it was about to happen? Probably not. I never knew I was going to fall in love with alpacas. I was searching for cows to add to my recently acquired hobby farm. I had always been fascinated by cows, their longing "moos", their gentle waddling walk, and the smell of cow manure. But in my search for cows, I learned my hobby farm wasn't suited to keep them. Not enough acreage to sustain them. Not the best climate. Disappointment set in. "Why don't you try shee ..read more