Alpaca Farm Girl » livestock

Alpacas Considered Livestock at Stock Show

Katy — Mon, 19 Jan 2009 14:58:27 +0000

Read the article from the Longmont Times-Call.

Hooray! They realize that Alpacas are not emus!

12 Days of Christmas Giveaways!

Katy — Fri, 12 Dec 2008 18:03:28 +0000

Sherry's Christmas Cards - Giveaway 1

To thank our readers this Holiday Season, we have 12 prizes which will be given away. From December 12-23, one Giveaway will be ending each night at midnight. Check back to see if you’ve won.

Our 12 Days of Christmas includes something for everyone. There are prizes for fiber artists, chefs, livestock owners, knitters, and more! Our goal was to offer something for everyone.

Winners will be chosen at random. Enter as many different giveaways as you like, and along the way learn more about alpacas! Leave your comments on my posts and let me know what you’d like to hear more about. Click on the Giveaways below for more information and to enter.

12 Days of Christmas Giveaways:

Day 1 – Christmas Cards

Day 2 – Hay Bale Bag

Day 3 – Alpaca Baby Blanket/Throw

Day 4 – Alpaca Bean Coffee Gift Basket

Day 5 – $50 Williams-Sonoma Gift Card

Day 6 – Alpaca Scarf (or Kit)

Day 7 – Toothamatic

Day 8 – Alpaca Socks

Day 9 – Blog Design/Makeover

Day 10 – Alpaca Yarn

Day 11 – Alpaca Teddy Bear

Day 12 – $100 Home Depot Gift Card

Why Would Anyone Want to Raise Alpacas?

Katy — Wed, 10 Dec 2008 20:46:16 +0000

On a recent search through my favorite new medium, Twitter, I found that several people were asking this question. They had seen the commercials and couldn’t understand why this would be an appealing choice for anyone.

I thought I’d take a stab at answering their question here. People buy alpacas for many different reasons. If you ask 100 alpaca breeders to tell your about their journey that lead them to alpacas, they will all tell you a different story. Here are some of the top reasons why a sane human might invest tens, even hundreds, of thousands of dollars into livestock.

Financial Reasons

Investing in alpacas has great tax advantages. (read more here and here)
Alpacas can be insured for theft and full mortality. How many other investments can you say that about?
Alpacas compound, growing your investment regardless of the stock market’s performance or the economic climate. (read more)

Lifestyle Reasons

Own your own business. Work for yourself.
Get out of the rat race, set your own hours, work at your own pace
Rural or semi-rural lifestyle
Work with animals
Work outdoors

But why alpacas?

They are easy keepers. You don’t have to be a 25-year-old cowboy to handle them.
You don’t have to kill them. (No slaughter)
They don’t try to kill you. (Passive animals)
They have a luxury fiber, perfect for making yarn, fiber arts.
Have you seen them? Never underestimate the power of CUTE!

I hope that clears up the mystery a bit about why people invest in the alpaca business. If you don’t like animals or if you love the city life and never want to leave it, alpacas probably aren’t for you. My husband and I formerly lived in the concrete jungle. Now we are in a semi-suburban area less than an hour from two different cities. We have had alpacas for nine years and have found it to be very rewarding, both personally and financially. Feel free to contact me, Katy, for more information at alpacas@bellsouth.net. Visit our farm website too!

If you’ve ever thought of raising alpacas (or if you do) leave a comment as to why YOU would do it?

12 Days of Christmas Giveaways

Katy — Mon, 01 Dec 2008 15:06:43 +0000

To thank our readers this Holiday Season, we have 12 prizes which will be given away. From December 1-7, new prizes will be posted each day. Check back to see what’s next.

Our 12 Days of Christmas kicks off with some Christmas cards from photographer Sherri Conley. It will end with a big gift card anyone can use. In between, there will be prizes for fiber artists, chefs, livestock owners, knitters, and more! Our goal is to offer something for everyone.

Beginning December 12th, one giveaway will end each day. This will go on through December 23rd. Winners will be chosen at random. Enter as many different giveaways as you like, and along the way learn more about alpacas! Leave me your comments on my posts and let me know what you’d like to hear more about.