Guest Post by James Cave

There’s no doubt that alpacas are pretty much the coolest animals around. If you’re thinking about going into the alpaca farming business but aren’t sure if it’s right for you, a good way to get experience (and get to know these awesome creatures) is taking on some volunteer work on an alpaca farm.

Easier said than done, you may think, but there are plenty of alpaca farmers looking for people to help them out. You just have to know where to look.

WWOOFing

Nothing to do with dogs, and everything to do with alpacas; WWOOF stands for Willing Workers On Organic Farms. Sites to look at are WWOOF International and WorkAway. These sites cover all the bases: from fruit picking in Australia to livestock herding in Europe.

Sites that offer WWOOFing opportunities are often the first port of call for alpaca farmers who are looking for volunteers because they know they’ll find people who are looking for farm based work, usually in exchange for accommodation.

You can find volunteer work on alpaca farms all year round; sometimes you may even find exciting opportunities abroad, giving you the chance to travel too.

House Sitting

Another slightly off the wall place to look is on house sitting websites.  I’m speaking from experience, as last year I found a fairly small alpaca farm sit in the French Pyrenees.  You may think you need experience for these “house sits”, but the term is misleading; usually the farmers will have set aside a few weeks to train you in running the farm and caring for the animals. It is their livelihood, after all.

I took on the sit with my partner, and we were provided with an intense three week training course. All the bases were covered, from alpaca nutrition to medical care. The result was a wonderful month learning about and caring for a herd of 18 alpacas, while picking up some much valued experience.

Since then I’ve seen more alpaca farm sits appearing on Trusted Housesitters, in countries as diverse as France and New Zealand. It’s a good idea to keep an eye on the main house sit listing page to make sure you don’t miss out; I keep the box ticked for ‘farm animals’ to make it even easier to spot an alpaca farm sit when one does appear.

Call Farms Directly

The last idea will take a little bit of confidence. The old school way to find a volunteer opportunity is to call alpaca farms in your local area and ask. It may be that they’re not looking for volunteers, but they might be able to pass you details of a farmer they know who is.

Another way to get in touch with alpaca farmers is via their own websites. Some will mention whether or not they’re looking for volunteers, so you don’t need to be shy about sending an email or making a phone call.

Thanks for stopping by James! Lots of alpaca farmers could use some help. ~Katy

Saturday, June 1, 2013

An educational seminar designed to provide you with all the information you need to know to start your alpaca farm.

This seminar will be held at Fairhope Alpacas in Fairhope, Alabama, home to more than 80 huacaya alpacas. It will be hosted by Katy and Jim Cocking who have over 24 years of experience successfully breeding high quality alpacas.

Topics will include:

The history and utility of alpacas

Investment opportunity

Tax benefits

Development of business plans

Purchase selection

Herd management including parasite prevention & basic nutrition

Simple daily care of alpacas

Managing alpacas in hot, humid climates

Fleece and what to do with it

Marketing and selling your alpacas

Bring all your alpaca questions! There will also be an opportunity to get “hands-on” experience working with the alpacas in the afternoon.

So join us on Saturday, June 1 from 9:00am-5:00pm (Central Time) for this educational alpaca event. Cost is $45 per person or $80 for two people from the same farm. This includes breakfast, lunch, the seminar, handouts, “hands-on” experience and a suggested reading list to take home with you. Class size is limited so register today to reserve your place.

Contact Katy Spears at 251-583-5251 for more information. Click here for registration form.

See what past attendees have said about Alpacas 101. Visit our farm’s website. We’re in the process of downsizing our herd so we’re slashed our prices! We’re offering HUGE PACKAGE DISCOUNTS as well. Check out our sale list!

We’ve had twelve cria so far this Spring. Here are a few of the little cuties!

This little girl is a Magnum daughter, out of one of our best females, Fashionista.

This little guy is sporting a new Spring haircut.

This is a Magnum son out of our Archangel daughter, Guardian Angel.

Here’s another pretty Magnum daughter we just sold.

Another lovely sold beauty.

This little guy is an Avatar grandson out of a gorgeous grey mom, Mia.

Another sold boy. He looks so much like Mia’s cria! They run around together. It’s precious.

We’ve run out of room at Fairhope Alpacas so we’re having a BIG HERD REDUCTION SALE!

Check out our incredible package pricing and

Have a Happy Spring!

New cria grazes

Yes, that’s the news. We’re not moving.

We tried to sell our farm a while back, but with the economy the way it has been – it didn’t sell. Some other things happened, and we took the farm off the market last year. After much thought and prayer, we’ve decided to stay in Alabama. We love it here. The kids have amazing schools, and Jim loves the warmer climate. It’s hard being far from Jim’s kids, that part is rough. And we have more alpacas now than our farm can comfortably house because we were planning to have a larger farm by now.

So we’re downsizing our herd – our prices are rock bottom right now to make room for the 40 cria we’re expected to have this year!  Check out the great deals here and come visit Fairhope Alpacas in Alabama.

But nothing could have prepared me for the ad that stole the show during last night’s Super Bowl – if you’ve ever had the slightest interest in farming – it will give you chills. The Dodge Ram ad featuring Paul Harvey’s piece “On the Eighth Day God Made A Farmer” moved me and made me sit a little taller, proud to be a farmer. Enjoy and share with a farmer you love.

My favorite blog designer, Domestic Chicky, made my day when she told me that she found me on Seametrics’ Top 50 Farm Blogs.

Wow, was I floored. Thanks, Seametrics!

They say the Top 50 Blogs were chosen for providing daily insight into the lives of farmers and the bloggers listed were recommended by their peers. Being selected for such an honor has given me a new sense of purpose. I’m feeling motivated to get back to blogging more often.

Check out the other 49 Top Farm Blogs – they’re awesome! And readers, leave a comment and tell us – what’s YOUR favorite farm blog?

Yep, that’s a record here at Fairhope Alpacas.

Here’s Nevoso’s light fawn little girl, Dixie. She’s a full sister to one of our favorite alpacas, Colt McCoy.

This little darling is Tapioka’s male cria. He’s tiny but full of energy and grace right out of the chute.

This long-legged beauty is Foxy Lady’s girl – Sassy Lady. She’s a fiesty, gorgeous cria.

And last week – Blakeny had a little boy…

We named him Ray Ray because Jim’s a big Ray Lewis fan and he was born the day the Baltimore Ravens won the AFC Championship.

Nosy mom Nevoso wants to be sure her cria gets the royal treatment.

By the way, I have to apologize for these pictures. My camera battery wasn’t charged so these are all taken with my phone – not the best, but you work with what you’ve got in a pinch.

Sassy Girl – what a beauty. Look at those eyes!

All of these cria were sired by our super stud, SCA Peruvian Magnum.

It’s going to be a busy Spring. Just found out we had another baby this morning. I’d better go charge up the camera!

Visitors learn about alpacas

This weekend we will open the barn doors of Fairhope Alpacas (in AL) to the public for National Alpaca Farm Days. Both Saturday and Sunday, September 29 and 30th, 2012 we will host an Open House from 11am – 2pm.

Feel free to come by and meet the alpacas in person. Get all your alpaca questions answered. If you don’t live near the Gulf Coast, visit this website to find a farm near you that is participating in this fun weekend.

Photo credit ODD ANDERSEN/AFP/Getty Images

Guanacos I’ve encountered in real life haven’t always been this peaceful or cute. But the guanacos I have been seeing on the internet lately have been uber precious so I wanted to share some of these wonderful pictures with you. It is really rare to see a guanaco.

Jim transported a guanaco male once. He said the animal was a big boy, his topline came up to about Jim’s chin (and Jim’s over six feet tall). Jim thinks the guanaco must have weighed at least 500 lbs and it took three men to load him. Guanacos are much larger and wilder than the domesticated alpacas we are used to handling on our farm each day.

According to anthropologist Jane Wheeler, the domesticated llama that we know today and whose primary use is as a beast of burden (think pack animal) descended from the guanaco. Both are members of the camelid family.

Guanaco - Torres del Paine, Chile - photo by Marianne Purdie

Baby guanacos (below) are adorable. Just like all babies in the camelid family, which include baby alpacas, vicunas, and llamas.

Image by Mark Chappell

If you like this post you might also like Alpaca History.

“Never underestimate the value of the little moment.”

~Anonymous

Participating in Wordless Wednesday