Our Story
Contact
details below
Like many people
these days we left the city and set up home in the country with just
a few acres and very little knowledge of livestock care and maintenance
other than what we knew about owning dogs for years. However, what we
did have was an eagerness to learn. The dilemma then was what animals
did we want to stock our land with. One of us is firmly opposed to 'growing'
animals for meat so our choices were extremely limited. Then, by chance
we heard about alpacas - the perfect solution. They were described as
easy care, low maintenance, both sexes are of value, and most importantly
they are never killed for their meat (not in our country anyway).
Having decided
on alpacas our intention was to purchase just two wethers as a trial
to see if these animals suited our lifestyle, but more importantly,
to be sure we were able to provide the necessary care for them. So how
does one find alpacas for sale locally?
As luck would
have it just five weeks before we were to move to our new country home
there was an advertisement in the newspaper with alpacas for sale -
three pregnant females and one male. Allister was playing bowls that
day so after tracking him down to seek his approval to buy these animals
I set off with excitement, anticipation and loads of gullibility. I
drove with haste to the farm anxious not to miss out on this timely
opportunity. I recall my immediate impression on seeing these recently
shorn alpacas up close for the first time was one of slight bewilderment.
How could these scruffy looking animals be sooooo expensive? They didn't
look terribly exotic to me. However, price was not going to put me off
- I was hooked! The next decision was which two to choose but I didn't
have the heart to break up this family and very quickly decided to purchase
all four. That would have to be the best decision we've ever made.
I eagerly devoured
many articles available on the Internet and avidly read all the books
I could get my hands on anxious to learn as much as possible about these
gentle, curious animals. Six months, two cria (baby alpacas) and lots
of new learning experiences later and we were feeling growing confidence
in managing and caring for our placid little herd. That is until we
decided to increase our numbers with a new black female. What we learned
the hard way is that a new alpaca can upset the balance of the existing
herd especially if the new addition is at all dominant. We certainly
had our share of worrying moments integrating her into the herd. But
problems are only learning opportunities and we learned a lot about
herd behaviour, animal stress and alpaca communication from this experience.
Our small herd
now number 23 with new cria due each season. We have
18 females at present so from now on stock numbers will increase substantially.
We use only the best proven stud males in an effort to constantly improve
the quality of our stock.
We are now in
a position to begin selling animals and as they become available we
will include a sales page with photos and information about who is ready
for a new home.
What have we
learned in the short time we have had our alpacas? Heaps! We've learned
about matings, the birthing process, cria care, bonding, toe nail clipping,
giving injections, halter training, nutrition, signs of sickness, pasture
maintenance and so much more. Too much to write about here. The best
part of our learning has been experiential so if we could be of any
help to you then please feel free to email us and we will happily share
our experiences with you. We are far from being experts in alpaca care
- we learn something new almost every day - but we do remember well
the many questions we needed to ask before feeling relatively confident
in providing the best care for our animals. All the information you
will find on this web site is based on our own experiences.
top
of page
Contact
Us:
Allister and Claire Perry
School Road
RD2
Mosgiel
Dunedin
New Zealand
Phone: (03) 489 4996
email: claire.perry@paradise.net.nz
Visits are welcomed
