Responsibly Owning Alpacas

I am an animal lover. Most Alpaca owners are. Like in anything, unfortunately there are a few bad apples. Meaning the greedy and irresponsible.

I can't volunteer in an animal shelter because I couldn't look at those sweet faces and know they would be dead the next day sleep simply becasue they don't have a home. Most of these animals are there because they stopped being cute. Or the owners abandoned them for convenience. I read a thread (slaughter house/ livestock auction thread) that lets me know this also happens with alpacas. I've already decided to make a space on my farm for rescue so if a farmer is in a dire situation the animals don't suffer. I won't have enough room to save the entire population, but even saving a small herd is a step in the right direction.

I'm working on my exit strategy so I don't end up as one of those irresponsible owners. ( I acknowledge there are times when life rears its ugly head and things just happen - I'm not talking about that) I worked up an alpaca life expectancy chart. Across the top, I've listed the years and from the year I'll turn 60 I've noted my age above the year. From the year I'll turn 60 through 70, I colored in gray because I'm just not sure I'll want to have an active farm after 60. Down the first column I've listed the animals I already have and the animals I anticipate acquiring/breeding for over the next five years. (I used my business plan for that list) Then I colored in a life expectancy of twenty years for each animal. I used 20 years because the average lifespan of an alpaca is 15 - 20 years. Some may live longer or shorter, but if I plan for long life, then I have no ugly surprises.

From my chart, if I acquire my goal of 6 breeding females, two fiber animals and three herdsires within my first five years and they all have crias that I don't sell, I acquire no more animals after the fifth year and everyone lives 20 years, my Alpacas will all be gone by the time I turn 65.

I realize that I don't have a crystal ball and I can't predict the future but that's not my goal. My goal is to give myself a realistic idea of what I'm committing to. And not be in a position 20 years from now of having a large herd, realizing I want to retire and having one of those herd dispersal sales. I'll probably never be without alpacas, but there is a difference between having a working farm and having a home with pets.

I think if more people thought out how long the animals they are buying/breeding will live, and gave themselves a visual of what that looks like, life would be better for both the alpacas and the humans who own them.