[laurelrus]

we've had our smallholding for nearly six months and so far have a couple of pygmy goats and some Ouessant sheep and are about to start planting a small orchard and a vegetable plot.
We really like alpacas, and are considering whether to get a few as pets, and need to know if they would be happy living in with the little sheep and if they'd enjoy being together?
They would just be for pets, and maybe to scare foxes away to protect our chickens etc.
So I'm asking a few questions really - would they be happy in the paddock with the sheep? Is it a good mix from a worm and land management perspective?
And how much should we allow per month to keep 3 alpacas happy and healthy?
I need to make it sound like a sensible plan to my husband - how much would we be able to sell fleeces from 3 alpacas for? I'm not looking to make an income from them but if he sees them as (another) major drain on our finances he'll just say no! So if I could say that they'd almost pay for themselves (unlikely I assume) then that would help.
Thanks very much

[Fleecewife]

Just curiosity - how much would three alpacas set you back these days?   Years ago we had a little thought of getting some, way back when there were hardly any breeders in Britain, and a pregnant female, with last year's cria at foot was in the region of £20,000    Needless to say we didn't go in that direction.

From a hand spinner's point of view, there is alpaca fibre then there's other alpaca fibre, and the desirability, and therefore its value, is very much an individual thing.  First shear fibre can be wonderful, but fibre from older animals can be coarse and hairy, so you would need to take advice on that.

The only other comment is that, whilst they should get on fine with sheep, they tend not to be fond of dogs, which are one of the predators of their friends the sheep, in their view, so they do their best to eradicate them.

Now over to folk who actually keep alpacas..........

[laurelrus]

Fleecewife - I know very little about alpacas, obviously, but we have done some research and spoke to a couple of breeders when we first knew we were getting this house with the land. The most we were quoted for 3 alpacas was I think £3,000, so obviously the price has come down a fair bit! They may have only been pet quality although I do remember conversations about breeding and selling the crias.
We do have a couple of dogs but they don't go in the paddocks with either the sheep or goats, and apart from the first couple of weeks when they barked at the new arrivals, they just don't bother them. The littler dog does go nose to nose with the sheep and the goats, in a friendly way, but nothing more.
I hope there are some alpaca owners/breeders who can answer our questions....

[wayfarer]

We had alpacas sharing a field with sheep at one time.  It dd not work as the sheep chased the alpacas away from any food and as we wanted to tame the alpacas we needed to be able to feed them by hand.

As far as costs go, IMO you will not be able to 'break even' with the alpacas.  I was unable to find anyone who was prepared to pay more than £10 / fleece from our local spinning guild.  I admit that I did not try the ebay route but there seemed to be a lot of fleeces on there.  Annual costs to remember include shearing which cost me in the order of £50 for 3 alpacas and you need to be able to find a shearer who will come and shear small numbers of animals.  Obviously there are the normal vet costs, annual injections and if they get mite or any other skin condition costs can rocket.  They will need ad lib hay, shelter and a lot of people also feed a supplement such as camelibra.

Alpacas are lovely but they are not the friendliest of animals and I found that if they were friendly then they could be quite feisty as they got older particularly if they were males and even if they had been castrated.

Just seen your post.  One thing I would be careful about is the assumption that you will be able to sell cria.  We realised that the cost of getting a female pregnant was greater than the price you could sell a male cria for when we had alpacas and it was very hard to find people to buy from you if you only had them as pets and didn't have a reputation and could provide expert backup etc.  Things may have changed in the 5 years or so since we were in this position but would be worth considering if selling cria was part of your plan.
 

[laurelrus]

Thanks Wayfarer, that's pretty much what I thought. We'd only be looking at castrated boys for pets so no possibility of making money other than fleece. I know some people do alpaca walks etc to make some money but that wouldn't work for us.
I also note what you say about not being the friendliest animals, although very sweet. When we went to see a breeder he told us how friendly they were but he had to catch them by sort of cornering them and then hold them tightly or they'd be off.
We have had our Ouessant sheep for exactly four weeks today, and they are so friendly that they want to sit on my lap and be petted and fussed like a dog! They follow us around and try and come into the garden, they are so friendly, we are really enjoying them and possibly will breed them in the nearish future.
I had a feeling that alpacas is not the way to go for us even though they are very attractive animals, but I just wanted to double check!

[Ideation]

My limited knowledge of Alpacas is that the only folk who make money from them are those who convince other folk that they need to buy Alpacas.  Or those that use them as a planning fiddle.

Did come across some welathy folk who thought one would look great parading around their fields looking after the sheep (not their sheep, but a few thousand under a contract shepherd). Didn't quite work out, the Alpaca attacked the Shepherds sharp Welsh collie. . . . . and the collie sorted out the Alpaca.

Now they dom't have an Alpaca. 

[bplegs]

Our new herd sire runs with sheep. they chase each other around and the sheep bully him for food abit but they get on okay.

[Sbom]

My mum has two alpacas and the only person who makes any money at all on them is the guy that comes to shear them!

He charged £80 last year, so this year I did them for her.
They should be alright with the little sheep when they get used to them, mums only have to see anything small and moving and they get hysterical! Although they were fine with big sheep and goats.

Their feet need regular trimming and they can have problems with overgrown teeth, which the expensive shearer trimmed annually.

[laurelrus]

Thanks Sbom and all the other replies.
You've helped me decide that alpacas are not the way to go for us!
 

[Tala Orchard]

We have had our alpaca living with our sheep for two years now and have had no problems in fact the alpaca takes the duty of keeping an eye on the lambs serious now that they are grown he will still stand between the lambs and our sheepdog at times. As to eating they all eat together from the same trough and graze together, there has never been any angry moments just peaceful coexistence. An it has not caused us any problems in handling him.