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Alpacas as guards for sheep and goats

Two white Huacaya alpacas guarding Merino ewes and their lambs.

Why alpacas?

* can increase lambing and kidding percentages by about 20%.
* natural dislike for foxes
* easy to handle
* intelligent
* eat the same pasture as sheep and goats
* are relatively low care
* live for 15 – 20 years

Relatively low care

* soft padded feet
* dung in a communal pile (reduces the incidence of worms). Although when run with sheep and goats need to be on the same drenching regime.
* don’t require docking
* not prone to footrot or fly strike
* do require shearing and toenail cutting
* don’t shed their fleece

Nutrition

* alpacas are efficient feed converters
* carrying capacity, in terms of dry sheep equivalents, similar to sheep (wether = 1 dse; lactating female =  2.5 – 3 dse)
* susceptible to plant toxins
* require 4 – 5 litres of water per day
* eat 2% of body weight per day
* food ration should consist mainly of forage (pasture or hay) rather than concentrates
* most pastures contain everything an alpaca needs

Husbandry

* vaccinations - 5 in 1 – twice per year
* drenching. “Less is best” approach reduces likelihood of resistance. However they need to be drenched on the same regime as sheep and goats
* toenail cutting – maybe twice a year depending on the hardness of the ground
* teeth trimming – maybe required in older animals

Choosing an alpaca wether

* buy animals that are well grown and at least 18 months of age and reasonable conformation
* never buy an entire male as a guard. They have been know to attempt to mate ewes
* buy animals that have been ‘humanised’, that is, handled. It makes it easier for mustering, vaccinations and shearing.
* ensure animals come from areas that are not prone to disease such as Johne’s or some coastal areas where liver damage can be a problem.

Farm management

* best to be kept with their mob
* should not run alpacas in different mobs that have a common boundary
* effective if  two or more are with the same mob
* can be difficult for farm dogs but get to know the dogs soon enough, especially when with humans

Cost Effective

* cost $300 - $400 plus GST (depends on location)
* live 15 – 20 years. Average cost over 15 years is $20 - $25 per year
* can increase lambing and kidding percentages significantly. For example. Instead of 80% marking having 98% marking. With 500 ewes this is an increase of 90 lambs @ $60 per head or $5400 per year. A return of 700% on investment in the first year

Breeder Comments

“I think they’re pretty good. I had an 80% marking and my neighbour had 30%” “I’ve got alpacas and he hasn’t”.

“You don’t think they are working but at the end of the season the lambs are on the ground”

“Takes a while to get used to them but I wouldn’t be without them now”

“We bought 12 last season. A great investment”

Contacts

Northern NSW

David & Bronwyn Mitchell
'Glenhope'
Red Gum Lane
Amidale NSW 2350
T: 02 6772 1940
M: 0422 969 310
e: mitch@glenhopealpacas.com

Central West NSW

John & Julie Lawry
'Bonnie Vale'
7963 Mitchell Highway
Wellington NSW 2820
T: 02 6846 7292
M: 0438 467 292
e: jlawrie@bonnievalealpacas.com

Southern NSW John Pike
PO Box 58
Ladysmith NSW 2652
T: 02 6922 1727
M: 0429 323 886
e: jdpike@bigpond.com
NSW and VIC

Jim Watts
PO Box 2604
Bowral NSW 2576
T: 02 4862 2050
M: 0409 364 864
e: srs@hinet.net.au


Numbers can be sourced and white are usually the preferred colour for wool growers. Give contacts plenty of time to fill the order for you.

Categories

SRS® vs Traditional Merinos: The Facts

  1. SRS® Merinos grow very long and very dense wools
  2. Long wools are bold crimping wools
  3. Long wool sheep are wrinkle-free and do not need to be mulesed
  4. Short wools are fine crimping wools
  5. Short wool means wrinkly sheep and mulesing
  6. Long wools process better than short wools