Planning the Herd

I've sat down and thought long and hard about my herd and what I want it to be. I'm taking some cues from the number of herd dispersal sales I'm seeing on Alpaca Nation. I'm definitely going to keep my herd small and grow it slowly. It's very tempting to want to have a large herd but I'm bearing in mind that alpacas are living creatures and have not asked to be born or live on our farms. And I'm remembering they live for 15 - 20 years so I have to be prepared to care for them that entire time.

The most disheartening thing I've seen are listings for animals that are 15 years or older. I don't understand this. If an animal has given you 12+ crias over the course of her lifetime, doesn't she deserve to live out her retirement on your farm? No animal I own will ever not have a home. Even the crias I sell will have a space on my farm.

I have decided that I will have 6 females and two, possibly three, males as my breeding herd. As for my fiber herd, I'll let time dictate how and when I acquire them. I'm planning to have six fiber animals, male or female. I know I know I don't want more than a dozen animals of my own and I plan to agist an additional dozen. And I realize as a write this that I've already put my number above 12 but anyone who knows me won't be surprised. I love animals in general so much that the only surprise will be if I can keep the number down. :-)