Before you begin looking at alpacas, give some thought as to what your plans are, it will help us to help you. At Spirit Wind Farm, we don’t just sell alpacas; we want to start you off on a successful venture that will bring you years of enjoyment and success.
1) If you are interested in alpacas simply as pets, look for easily managed animals with
wonderful personalities at a minimal cost.
2) If you are a fiber artist or interested in cottage industry fiber production, focus on superior fleece traits. Animals that maintain those traits into maturity are excellent choices for a fiber herd. You will surely be impressed with our “fiber quality” animals (unfortunately, this is a term that many farms use to describe their pet quality animals).
3) If you are interested in breeding & selling alpacas, we recommend that you start with the best quality possible, as these animals are quite literally the foundation to your business. However, due to today’s market, quality is not necessarily determined by price; therefore we strongly suggest that you do your research, visit multiple farms & ask
questions…
* Is the breeder respected in the industry (don’t hesitate to ask for references)?
* Do they support the industry; are they members of AOBA, ARI & their local affiliate?
*Will the breeder be there to support you well after the sale is final? Beware of "going out
of business" sales.
*What fertility & reproductive guarantees do they offer (request to look over a contract)?
*Are they able to provide complete medical records, including breeding & birthing history?
*How do they choose the male with which to breed to each of their females?
*How do they monitor the success of their breeding program (histogram reports, sort records, show evaluations, etc)?
*What do they do with the fiber produced on their farm?