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Guides & tools for camelid breeders

Free tools and practical articles on breeding, gestation, paddock management, and farm operations. Written for working alpaca and llama farms - not academic textbooks.

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Economics & getting started

Alpaca vs Llama: How to Tell Them Apart and Which to Keep

Alpaca or llama? Size, ears, fleece and temperament compared, plus an honest look at which one actually fits your land and your plans.

7 min read
Records & compliance

Keeping Alpacas in Austria: Registration Rules and Duties

How to register alpacas in Austria, identify each animal and meet the official rules for space, shelter, records and group keeping.

9 min read
Records & compliance

Keeping Alpacas in Switzerland: Registration, Microchips and Rules

A practical guide to keeping alpacas in Switzerland: register your holding, identify animals correctly, keep the required records and meet welfare rules.

8 min read
Health & husbandry

Newborn Cria Emergencies: Weak Crias, Hypothermia and Failure of Passive Transfer

Recognize the five newborn cria emergencies: hypothermia, weak suckle, meconium impaction, failure of passive transfer, and prematurity.

13 min read
Records & compliance

Alpaca Medication Records and Withdrawal Periods: The Clear-to-Sell Guide

How to log every alpaca treatment and work out the exact clear-to-sell date for meat, milk and fibre, plus what records to keep and for how long.

13 min read
Records & compliance

Do You Need to Register Your Alpacas? Records and the Law

A practical country-by-country guide to alpaca registration, identification, movement records and retention rules in Europe, the US and Australia.

14 min read
Records & compliance

How to Keep Alpaca Records: The Complete Checklist

How to keep alpaca records that scale from 3 to 30 animals. What to log, paper vs spreadsheet vs app, and how long to keep it by country.

15 min read
Records & compliance

Llama and Camelid Record Keeping: What to Log and the Rules by Country

What to record for llamas and mixed camelid herds, where it differs from alpacas, and the medicine and registration rules by country. Free for up to 10 animals.

12 min read
Breeding & reproduction

Alpaca Breeding: A Beginner-Friendly Complete Guide

Alpaca breeding made simple: how alpacas mate, gestation, birth, weaning, and avoiding lethal colour pairings. A clear overview for new and busy breeders.

6 min read
Health & husbandry

Alpaca Care: The Complete Guide to a Healthy Herd

A beginner-friendly overview of alpaca care: herd basics, shelter, feeding, shearing, parasites, vaccines and routine husbandry, with links to deeper guides.

7 min read
Economics & getting started

Are Alpacas Profitable? The Real Economics

An honest look at whether alpacas are profitable: the real revenue streams, the costs nobody mentions, and how long it takes to break even.

7 min read
Economics & getting started

How to Start an Alpaca Farm: A Beginner's Guide

Thinking of starting an alpaca farm? A practical beginner's guide to how many alpacas you need, land, shelter, fencing, real startup budget and daily care.

8 min read
Health & husbandry

Alpaca Vaccination Schedule: CD&T, Crias, and Pregnant Dams

Your complete alpaca vaccination schedule: what CD&T protects against, exact timing for crias and pregnant dams, and the off-label dosing mistakes to avoid.

12 min read
Fiber & fleece

Alpaca Fiber Grades and Micron: How to Read Your Test Report

What do AFD, SD, CV, and comfort factor mean? Read your alpaca fiber test report and histogram, compare grades across countries, and know what to do next.

14 min read
Breeding & reproduction

Alpaca Pedigree and Inbreeding: A Practical Breeder's Guide

Track alpaca pedigrees, read an inbreeding coefficient (COI), and avoid the silent matings that quietly cost you crias and fleece quality.

15 min read
Breeding & reproduction

Alpaca Coat Genetics: The Pairings That Quietly Kill Pregnancies

A practical guide to classic grey, Blue-Eyed White, and the coat-colour crosses every alpaca and llama breeder should avoid - with DNA testing options.

15 min read
Economics & getting started

What's the Best Alpaca Breed for Beginners? The Ultimate Guide

Looking to start an alpaca farm? Discover the best alpaca breed for beginners. Compare Huacaya vs. Suri, and learn the basics of caring for your first herd.

9 min read
Economics & getting started

The Most Expensive Alpacas Ever Sold: Inside the Elite Market

Discover the most expensive alpacas in history, from the $675,000 Snowmass Matrix to million-dollar syndications, and what drives their extreme valuation.

6 min read
Breeding & reproduction

Alpaca Birthing: What's Normal, What's Not, When to Call the Vet

What does a normal alpaca birth look like, what doesn't, and when do you call the vet? Stage timing, dystocia signs, first-hour cria milestones.

10 min read
Breeding & reproduction

Alpaca Weaning Age: Why the 6-Month Rule is Failing Your Herd

Stop weaning based on the calendar. Learn how to calculate the exact cria weight at weaning to eliminate alpaca weaning stress and prove biological readiness.

6 min read
Health & husbandry

Alpaca Body Condition Score: Fixing the Underweight Alpaca

Visual assessment is useless under fleece. Learn the hands-on BCS method and the feed adjustments needed to hit your target alpaca winter weight.

6 min read
Health & husbandry

Stop Guessing: The Data-Driven Alpaca Deworming Schedule

Routine whole-herd treatment can drive resistance. Use fecal testing, weight trends, efficacy checks, and veterinary guidance for targeted control.

7 min read
Health & husbandry

The 60-Day Cria Growth Curve: When to Intervene

Mathematical benchmarks for alpaca and llama neonatal growth. Stop guessing about milk supply - use the data to know when to start bottle feeding.

5 min read
Health & husbandry

When to Shear Alpacas: A Climate Calendar

How often should you shear an alpaca? Once a year, on a date your climate dictates. Climate calendar, vet thresholds, edge cases, shearing-day checklist.

16 min read
Breeding & reproduction

How Long Are Alpacas Pregnant? The Real Math of Cria Watch

How long are alpacas pregnant? 345 days on average, with a ±11 day variance that tells you when to start cria watch and when to call the vet.

5 min read