[snozzer]

Snozzer...EAT THEM...how could you even suggest it...? :evil:  :evil:  

Having ate them before I can say they taste really good and they are bred for meat in their native lands, so therefore I have no problem with it at all.  You should try it  

Right now I am looking at importing them for meat to put into our meat box scheme as we asked some of our customers and a lot were willing to try it.

I have to import as the UK prices are ridiculous, how much do they fetch in France?

[ck2day]

Alpaca and egg butties, make a change from bacon I suppose!!  

Hate to ask this but do they spit like llamas do?? And do you have to get them shorn or do they loose their coats in spring and autumn like horses do?

[Lost in France]

Snozzer...don't know whether I want to tell you....!! ..but you can buy alpacas cheaper in France, mainly because the really super-dooper pedigree ones are mainly in UK whereas we have far fewer alpacas over here as it's not yet taken off like in UK. They are cheaper but there aren't really enough so you'd struggle to get them in sufficient numbers for the meat market     Much better to sell your customers some fleece to spin!! :roll:

They have started breeding for meat in USA but us Brits are far to fond of cuddly animals...think you'd find only a very restricted market over there...now here in France...well they'll eat almost anything!!

Ck2day...they rarely spit but can and will if you make them mad enough! The females spit off the males if they try it on whilst they're pregnant. Our male will spit as he hates being handled...we'll work it out so he knows we're ok but meanwhile..."green spit is us!", whilst we work on handling him! Yes they need shearing, generally yearly but can go two years. Ours have two years fleece and look enormous! The fleeces, esp baby first fleece are expensive but "any old fleece" will fetch from 25 euros a kilo or if spun and made into garments...well very expensive! In UK they are bred to a really high quality for superb fleece..over here things are really just taking off! The return is really the female young that go for a good price...if we can bear to part with any!! :  We just want pretty lawnmowers that will cover their costs!

Judi

[Lost in France]

Snozzer...don't know whether I want to tell you....!! ..but you can buy alpacas cheaper in France, mainly because the really super-dooper pedigree ones are mainly in UK whereas we have far fewer alpacas over here as it's not yet taken off like in UK. They are cheaper but there aren't really enough so you'd struggle to get them in sufficient numbers for the meat market     Much better to sell your customers some fleece to spin!! :roll:

They have started breeding for meat in USA but us Brits are far to fond of cuddly animals...think you'd find only a very restricted market over there...now here in France...well they'll eat almost anything!!

Ck2day...they rarely spit but can and will if you make them mad enough! The females spit off the males if they try it on whilst they're pregnant. Our male will spit as he hates being handled...we'll work it out so he knows we're ok but meanwhile..."green spit is us!", whilst we work on handling him! Yes they need shearing, generally yearly but can go two years. Ours have two years fleece and look enormous! The fleeces, esp baby first fleece are expensive but "any old fleece" will fetch from 25 euros a kilo or if spun and made into garments...well very expensive! In UK they are bred to a really high quality for superb fleece..over here things are really just taking off! The return is really the female young that go for a good price...if we can bear to part with any!! :  We just want pretty lawnmowers that will cover their costs!

Judi

[mabel]

They are absolutely beautiful.  No Snozzer you cannot kill them :shock:  I know I shouldn't say this but they remind me of fat ladies with their trousers tucked into their boots.  Lovely.  

[Jellyhead]

Hi Judi. I have been looking at ads for Alpacas and they seem to be going for just under the 2000 euro mark. I think thats quite a lot don't you???
Your new Babies look soooo beautiful. You lucky lucky      

[Lost in France]

Jellyhead, No that's cheap unless they're males! You can get males from 800 euros to 1000 for an "ordinary" one but females are in excess of 3000 euros for an "ordinary" one. As they only have 1 baby each year and there aren't a lot about, i suppose that makes them dear, plus the wool, young etc.

Judi

[Trillium]

We have an alapaca farm near us and the owner did a talk at our garden club   :?  Anyway, it was very enlightening. Cdn alpacas originally came directly from the Andes (their native land) but the last few years the Chileans realized the alpaca value was like sending valuable antiques out of the country, so they stopped shipping alpacas. Cdn and US stocks are very high quality regardless since the top breeders were kept as such rather than for meat. North America values the fleece rather than meat thankfully. We bought a skein of alpaca wool so OH could get a pair of bedsocks knitted (very cold feet at night) and the fleece is so soft despite 30% nylon blended in for durability. A real top breeder will easily go for 500,000 quid, usually divided between 3 investing farms (4 months at each farm for 'servicing').  Your average hobby farmer breeder male will run about 500-800 quid equivalent.

Some people get alpacas thinking they'll help chase off intruders, foxes, etc. Sadly, due to their delicate bone structure and smaller size, alpacas are mega cowards and will run themselves to death if possible fleeing any form of threat. Strong fencing is mandatory for them so they don't escape this way.