Has anyone here changed their goals and camelid journey, from initial business/selling alpacas/showing/breeding to then stopping that and just focussing on enjoying and getting better at handling your camelids? I'm in Australia and have had alpacas for seven years now. Initially, we started with the goal of having alpacas as grazing livestock for our small acreage, but soon, the breeder we bought our initial alpacas encouraged us to show. So we started showing, and we got ribbons! Which then made us excited about breeding more alpacas. My partner was keen to make money with the alpacas - and other breeders here in Australia seemed to be doing well with their breeding programs. So, we set up an alpaca breeding business. Once our numbers started growing and it was time to sell, I had a hard time. I found that most people had erroneous views of alpacas, wanting them as cute pets and unwilling to learn. I usually turn away 9 out of 10 enquiries. We haven't made any profit with our alpaca farm - and I realise I probably won't because I value welfare above money. Basing my decisions on the best interests of the camelids has resulted in me learning about Camelidynamics, attending a clinic, doing the online course and implementing those principles at my farm. I ceased showing about 2 years ago because my partner and I found it too stressful for us and the animals, too competitive and not in the animals' best interest. Anyhow, I have been seriously considering stopping the breeding now. We have 4 stud males, 4 castrated males, 19 females and 9 crias. I was recently watching Marty's webinar on Tools and was struck by her statement that she stopped breeding, too, because she couldn't find buyers willing to apply the same handling skills. Our alpaca females are of breeding age and very "receptive", wanting to be pregnant again. The girls mount each other every now and again, which is a cause for concern if we don't breed again. (We used to breed once a year... but decided to take a year break now). We love seeing them pregnant and then watching the crias grow up. However, the difficulty in finding buyers willing to learn, dedicate the time to being kind handlers in the Camelidynamics way, and provide the 20-25-year commitment to care for alpacas is what deters me. I started offering educational workshops at my farm for beginner and prospective alpaca owners, but most of those who want to buy alpacas from me do not want to do the course or invest time in learning. Would love to hear other's experiences.... have you stopped breeding? What do you do with your herd of females and stud males? Are they content and ok not breeding? Thanks! Rita from Australia
