New Breeders Frequently Asked Questions

What care do alpacas need?

As easy as alpacas are to care for they still have some basic needs.  These include:

• Shearing every 12 months. (Ask the stud you are dealing with about their recommended shearer)
• Drenching and vaccinating every 12 months (or 6 monthly if they mix with other livestock or you have a high turnover).
• Toenails and teeth should be checked to see if they need trimming every 12 months. (Often your shearer will do this for you in conjunction with shearing.)
• Fresh clean water from dams, creeks or troughs that either fill automatically or are checked regularly.
• Enough food to maintain a reasonable condition. This is particularly important for breeding and lactating females. At Yuralee, outside of drought times, our girls do very well on grass, but during droughts they are supplemented with hay and multi-purpose pellets as needed.
• Some people like to have sheds available for their alpacas, but this is a personal choice, our experience is that the lie of the land at Yuralee provides enough shelter, and provided that there is adequate shade available during the heat of summer, our alpacas prefer the paddock to anywhere else.
• If purchasing males that are not Stud Males and are unlikely to achieve this status, we recommend that if not already done, that they be castrated straight away. This will ensure your peace of mind, because you will never have to worry if you find them in with your females ever again!

How long should I wait after birthing before re-mating?

This depends on a number of factors, your individual needs, the number of females and the availability of stud males etc., accordingly it is hard to give generic advice. Therefore please feel free to contact us for specific guidance.

Can I view the Alpacas?

Of course! All our alpacas offered for sale or stud services are available for viewing by appointment. While some of our clients buy over the phone, but if you visit the farm the chances are that the sire and dam and maybe the previous cria of the alpaca that you are interested in may be available to inspect also.

Do you deliver?

We usually deliver any alpaca purchased from us if required. We do have a small fuel charge associated with these deliveries and this can be negotiated at the time of purchase.

What mating services do you provide?

Our stud males are available to do both mobile and on farm matings by arrangement. Please refer to our stud male pages for prices.

For females that we sell we offer a live cria guarantee if all care is taken of the female after purchase and during the birthing time.

Do you offer a fertility guarantee?

All alpacas sold from our property carry a fertility guarantee (Unless stated otherwise on the Purchase Invoice.) Potential stud males also carry a Certification guarantee. We would expect a female to be breeding by age 2years, males by age 3years if not we take the Alpaca back and have six months in which to try and get them to breed, if this proves not possible we will replace the Alpaca as close to the original purchase as possible. Usually we will throw in a mating to another one of your females to a Yuralee Bred Stud male to help with your time lost. Please note, Yuralee will bear the cost of agisting the animal in the six-month period,   any transport and/or veterinary expenses incurred during this time is at the Purchasers expense.

What management services do you provide?

We offer full management services for your Alpacas:

• husbandry care,
• breeding program, and
• agistment. (The cost of this depends on the weather conditions and the agreement negotiated between both parties.)

Do you offer any additional advice?

The most useful advice we can offer to new breeders is to listen to the advice offered by established breeders but then use the bits that suit your needs, your farm and the locality in which you live. For example feeding advice relative to Southern NSW may not necessarily suit a farm in the far North of NSW.

Finally, remember to have fun with your purchase whether it be 2 young boys, a few herd females or a selection of top quality animals, purchasing and owning these wonderful creatures should be enjoyable not a headache!

How do I find You?

Go to our 'Contact Us' page or go to the location map directly by clicking here.