How much does it cost to keep Alpacas for the year?! Yarn processing costs.

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John and Catherine are a husband and wife team from Southern Connecticut. We grow food and flowers on the new 40 acre farm we just bought and are building from the ground up using reclaimed materials whenever possible.

[@BookieLukie21]

The Suri "drapes" more than the Huacaya. Have you thought of selling raw fleece to us spinners? We like to source directly with small growers. ;-) We also do contract spinning for growers to resell homespun. Best wishes from the greatest hay state- Vermont!

[@EsteeDarla]

I'm just getting into spinning and I'd love to buy direct from people like this too

[@PatriotHomestead316]

The finished product is really beautiful and has its own little story in each skein of yarn. That is so sweet. I hope you all sell every skein. God bless you all and have a wonderful day. I enjoyed seeing .

[@OldReddingFarm]

Thank you so much!

[@SweetPeaFarmNY]

That’s so fortunate that you have a local lady that processes your fiber and so fast!

[@OldReddingFarm]

Isn't that great! And I love that she is so close so it really really stays local. And a lot of people send their fiber off to a fiber pool but then you aren't really getting your own fiber back . This is much better!

[@shmittens7334]

Great vid. Just starting to investigate shifting from a city-slicker to an alpaca farmer down here in Australia. Good to gain information like this. A lot of research to go! Looks amazing.

[@OldReddingFarm]

That's awesome! I'm sure finding some more local alpaca folks would also be a help to get some regional advice. Not sure how different it would be keeping them down under :)

[@shmittens7334]

@@OldReddingFarm Yeah, I went to visit a farm a few weeks back but they didn't look so welcoming so went home again! haha.. Will find one soon though ... Now that I've watched quite a few of your videos and focusing solely on the alpaca farming, are there any options if you want to take a holiday (including potentially long-distance) for either a few days or even 2-3+ weeks, or is the alpaca farm something that requires your attention everyday? As an aside, I love seeing the local environment in the videos - the woods, hills/landscape, mist, barns, architecture of the houses etc. It feels very North American and the kind of environment I love. Anyway, won't hassle with more questions - just very curious on the holiday one!

[@maryryder6670]

Thank you for sharing all the info. Very informative. I crochet and have never used anything but acrylic yarns but need to change that. 🙂

[@OldReddingFarm]

Oh I think you would LOVE the alpaca it is SO soft! But acrylic and synthetic materials have also improved so much with time that there are some really nice and soft and interesting man made yarn materials too. We make hats out of our yarn and for every hat we sell we donate a hat to a local food pantry and those hats get made out of store bought yarn, and I swear some of the yarn we buy is JUST as soft and warm feeling. Hah, not to sell our yarn short but, technology of fiber is cool as well.

[@pyro-millie5533]

I crochet as well, and the softest yarn I’ve worked with thus far is a wool blend. Today I got alpaca yarn for the first time and its just as soft, if not softer, than the wool! I can’t wait to use it!

[@irmabronder]

Very interesting! Enjoy the lovely alpacas.💕

[@OldReddingFarm]

Thank you !

[@IndianaBackyardGardener]

The alarm call!! LOL How cute :) Because yes, River is terrifying HA! HAPPY ANNIVERSARY!!! 🎉💓

[@OldReddingFarm]

Thank you!!

[@karenspitzer7416]

They are all so cute.

[@joannecarlton7340]

Love the alpaca yarn, makes beautiful hats!

[@OldReddingFarm]

Thank you! How is your seed stitch going?

[@barbbunker9697]

We raise a large herd of alpacas for fibre production. We also grow our own hay which means we have additional expenses of machinery to do so. Milling costs may seem as a large expense but in a good business plan one would determine the best way to recoup these expenses in the sale of finished product or goods. Of course doing better than break even is desired but it takes a lot of efficiencies in how you run your farm to achieve.

[@OldReddingFarm]

I'd love to have the ability to grow our own hay. That's the final dream goal.

[@helenbrown6612]

We have just closed off 2 acres (beginning of February) so the animals have the other 3 acres to mooch around on. So far we have managed to feed all the animals over winter on our hay. We still have to pay the guy to cut, turn and bale but it's quite nice knowing it's our own local nourishment!

[@melissaoleary8196]

For many years we used farm equipment and square baled our hay fields. For the last 2 years, we have put up loose hay using our riding lawn mower and a grass catcher. Sounds weird, but it has worked really well. It is much easier as well when dealing with unpredictable weather. Instead of cutting 10 acres and worrying about rain or the hard work of putting it up all at one time... I cut the fields in 1 or 2 acre sections at a time and do a cutting rotation. Spreads the workload out as well. We have a herd of 13.

[@AlpacaMade]

🌻Happy Anniversary 💐 This is a great follow up to the previous getting started with Alpacas vid. I'm sure with my bad eyesight, the fence that just looks would completely disappear. (shhhhh, I can't see it now anyway) 🧐

[@OldReddingFarm]

It actually does kind of disappear into the background haha it isn't as bad as we make it sound. We CAN'T WAIT to see what you knit/ crochet / make with your yarn!

[@Citystead]

Hopefully you guys sell them all out!

[@alynneloup7707]

Inspiring. Thank you

[@YogiHollowFarm]

Beautiful! Lots of work and worth it

[@13MoonsOverMayhem]

Welcome to the yarn world. :) Those skeins are gorgeous! The suri will be perfect for a beautiful drapey shawl or cowl. I just placed an order, and I'm looking forward to getting it! At least some of them I'm planning to dye up before I use them.

[@OldReddingFarm]

We can't wait to see what you make! And I love that you are going to Dye some of it that will be really interesting to see! We have only seen it in its natural color state .

[@OldReddingFarm]

Also, am I "in" the yarn world? or just awkwardly lurking around the outside corners? :)

[@13MoonsOverMayhem]

@@OldReddingFarm dipping your toes in to test the water? Lol, you're selling yarn, so you're in! You're just still a noob. :) My order arrived Monday, super fast, and its so gorgeous! And so soft! Well packed, too, and thanks so much for the extra goodies!

[@pyro-millie5533]

This is very informative and your alpacas are so adorable!! I loved seeing the little baby Felix chasing the kitty around lol! I was looking for a place to buy alpaca yarn continually because I got some for the first time today from a ranch in a town I’m visiting and I’m OBSESSED, and your shop has some very good prices and you seem to take wonderful care of your critters, so once I’m in a place to buy more yarn, I’m totally snagging some! The yarn I got today was from the fluffy breed, so I’d love to try some from the silky suri as well!

[@OldReddingFarm]

Thats so great thank you so much!! We definitely do our best to take the best care we can of the critters :) We are all sold out of the fluffy yarn for the year have some silky left but next year we will have TONS of yarn because we have more alpacas than we've ever had before! So looking forward to all that yarn!

[@pyro-millie5533]

@@OldReddingFarm Awww I'm looking for it too!!! I got the fluffy variety at the farm I visited, so next I'd love to get my hands on some silky suri yarn!

[@426superbee4]

The strip light i've been putting up, to replace lighting. Has cut my electric bill down 28 dollar a month so far. I still have a lot of lighting to replace. That was just the front room and part of a kitchen so far, that is used the most. There really cool and very bright. I kinda like the dangling effect its cool ~ I did 1 down the hallway like that 👍

[@OldReddingFarm]

Thats interesting. I'd love to find a good solar or low cost electric light for the animals. It always seems like solar things stink and never really throw that much light but I don't know about running extension cords all over the place.. Our house has basically no lights in it lol

[@426superbee4]

@@OldReddingFarm Some time thes state will give Free solar panels with free insulation. But its not for me either, Wind generator HELL YES

[@426superbee4]

@@OldReddingFarm To me a house is a blank canvas! Make it the way YOU WANT ! I just tiled all my counter tops and window seals with porcelain floor tile, Cost 700 dollars doing it my self, Plus redoing the kitchen sink with, new facet, drain and drain pipes and water lines and valves too all included ~ It would cost 4500 dollars for a contractor come out and do it

[@426superbee4]

@@OldReddingFarm Well i used extension cords threw out my house to run a 7500 watt generator the cords are up on the ceiling trim where it not real noticeable. It works excellent ! i have surge protector that things plugs into and with a off and on switch, If i leave a room i turn it off ~ go into another room turn it on i got heat ac and power to each rooms

[@426superbee4]

@@OldReddingFarm 33 feet of strip lights only burn 29 watts. cut them up for more lighting like 2 foot strips, the less they burn ~ Man there bright 😎 for each switch, need a power charger for each light

[@SuttonHobbyFarm]

WOW that is way more than I would have guessed on the the yarn!!!! 😳 Still fun though! And the the white nails growing faster than the darker pigments is the same on goats as well (horns and hooves) pretty cool!

[@OldReddingFarm]

And Michelle from Sweet Pea confirmed same with sheep ! So strange!

[@helenbrown6612]

Yes I was going to say the same, our white goats hooves grow almost twice as fast as the others!

[@BlueGrassBound.]

Great information!

[@OldReddingFarm]

Thanks!

[@SweetPeaFarmNY]

Omg the baby zoomies 🥰 we seek out sheep with darker hooves as they don’t grow as fast as well!

[@OldReddingFarm]

That's so weird that the light hooves grow faster! I had no idea it would transfer to other animas

[@helenbrown6612]

We have Suffolk and Ryeland sheep so no white hooves...I'm actually really glad now 😂 The white goats however need trimming just over fortnightly!

[@joannecarlton7340]

I love all the alpaca

[@SilverFlame819]

50 bucks to shear one animal?! Ohhhhhh, man. My sheep dude charges 4 bucks a head, damn! (I always tip him nicely because I think that's crazy low, but still... 50?!)

[@BrambleHillHomestead]

Super super interesting information as we will have sheep starting next year, and are going to do yarn from them also! Thanks :)

[@OldReddingFarm]

Glad it was helpful! Good luck with your sheep!! Do sheep get shorn more than once a year? Will you do them yourself ?

[@BrambleHillHomestead]

@@OldReddingFarm we are going to do it ourselves, yep, and once a year in the spring once it’s no longer too cold!

[@jeremiahchavez7383]

Good videos guys

[@RootedInTx]

Loads of good info. That is a lot of coin to care, feed and maintain these beautiful furry alpacas. I got a 🙋‍♀️ question, why don’t we touch the little one? Btw Happy Anniversary guys wishing y’all loads more years of happiness, laughter and memories.

[@jaspertorres6698]

Overhandling baby alpaca can lead to something called Berserker Male Syndrome (BMS). Despite its title it can happen to both males and females. It is a behavior disorder that leads to the alpaca (or llama) thinking humans are the same as them and leads them to treating humans the same which is very dangerous. They will try to wrestle with humans or mount them and generally be far more aggressive than is appropriate. Alpaca are herd animals and the babies should be raised by the herd so that they are socialized correctly and taught appropriate behavior.

[@RootedInTx]

@@jaspertorres6698 oh wow! I had no idea that is some good info in case someone wants to have some alpacas on their farm.

[@irmabronder]

Everyone wants to buy yarn of your alpacas. It is the best yarn. 💕

[@OldReddingFarm]

Definitely the softest! And least itchy!

[@shylahmariebrandt2090]

Aww how could u not touch them. Cuteness overload

[@K2CTC]

Very informative, thank you! One thing is you covered costs but it'd be to know to know income. How much does a skein sell for and how much does it cost to produce one? It'd be good to know a per-piece ratio to put all the costs in perspective. Thanks much. Very cute and informative.

[@OldReddingFarm]

Here's a video where we go over all our income and costs for the year: kzbin.info/www/bejne/apndnXSLiriaZ6M

[@K2CTC]

@@OldReddingFarm Thank you, much.

[@sarahh4416]

How much do you sell the skeins for? And do you do farmers markets? Or online orders? Your yarn is great!

[@OldReddingFarm]

Only sell on our website www.oldreddingfarm.com skeins are $22 and $25. Thank you! We might do some craft type shows around the holidays.

[@Bewefau]

So your in California? I was thinking of getting prob 3 of them to eat our grass. We have so much grass but nothing to eat it.

[@JohnSmith-lp7px]

With deworming so often are you not worried about dewormer resistance

[@benwoodruff1321]

How much does each animal produce in a year?

[@beckie605]

Hi! Just wondering how many yards are in one skein of your yarn and what is your price? Thanks!

[@OldReddingFarm]

Hi skeins last year were 85 yards and $22 - $25 each. Sold out last year's fiber (yay) still working on this year's.

[@ladellneitzel6651]

Where can i see colors and animals together and prices for skeins?

[@OldReddingFarm]

We are all sold out of yarn from last year! Our web site is www oldreddingfarm.com when we get back our fiber this year that's where it will go!

[@ginstar3]

How many skeins do you get from 1 alpaca sheering?

[@OldReddingFarm]

We spun both the first and the seconds into yarn and of course it would depend on the number of yards per skein, but maybe about 20 per blanket and 15 or so per seconds.

[@bobert3513]

Were you able to make a profit from the yarn to cover the food, maintainence, and processing costs?

[@OldReddingFarm]

So far this year no, but this was not a good year because we moved so had to re-build a barn, fencing but we still have a lot of yarn left so hopefully we will have a christmas rush on yarn and be more close to profitable

[@BBRubyT]

So what was the grand total for costs for a year growing yarn?

[@OldReddingFarm]

We go over every dollar and penny for the year here for last year: kzbin.info/www/bejne/apndnXSLiriaZ6M We will do another this year

[@TheMid1900]

Did I miss the bit where you say how much you make from the fibre?

[@OldReddingFarm]

We did a run down of our alpaca profits and losses here: kzbin.info/www/bejne/hqeneaxserR3pJY

[@Citystead]

"Not in the yarn world" welp you are now buddy 😄

[@kevinkeller1046]

You guys seem cool

[@426superbee4]

Things just keeps getting higher and higher. Want be long be paying 1500 dollars for a loaf of bread ~ Have you tried eating one yet? Make me wonder if it would taste like? a lamb, goat ect. If it taste like venison? It will be on my plate about every day

[@OldReddingFarm]

$1500 for bread is about right! Prices are going wild! except for our good friend lumber which is finally coming down. 2x4 went from $10 to $5 which is still a lot but feels better. Haven't tried to eat any.. I don't think thats something we are going to be doing. I did see some of the meat for sale at a farm store and its really dark, I bet like venison.

[@dorismiles3897]

I have a jacket made from alpaca wool

[@OldReddingFarm]

Oh really that sounds amazing ! It must be very warm

[@mikebart3804]

With all female gang how to you expand size? Are you bringing in a male or going to?

[@OldReddingFarm]

Yes we actually very recently got a few boys so we could have babies if we want to but also we have been pretty lucky about having people offer to re-home their alpacas to us for free so thats a much easier way to grow

[@SilverFlame819]

You deworm with the exact same drug every single month?? I have never heard such a thing. Aren't you worried about building up resistance? Why are they dewormed so much when ivermectin has such a long withdrawal time? Do alpacas just have really crappy pest resistance?

[@EsteeDarla]

why your not suppose to touch the little one who fluffy while?

[@rebeccagabay4164]

Hi face was worth it! Lol

[@OldReddingFarm]

Hahah yah if you take the cute factor into consideration it's def. worth it

[@marielasessa2921]

Hi. Why don't they eat grass???

[@OldReddingFarm]

They do eat grass! But they also eat hay and pellets. How much grass they have access to will help determine how much hay they are eating but even with unlimited amounts of grass, they should have access to high quality hay and feed as well.

[@brendalynblanco]

Just curious but why weren’t you supposed to touch the baby?

[@OldReddingFarm]

It's because over handling babies can make them too comfortable with humans and its important for them to know they're alpacas not humans. If you'd like to read about "male berserk syndrome" in Alpacas and Llamas you can learn more about the consequences of over-handling male camelids.

[@brendalynblanco]

Thank you for responding and explaining.

[@GardeningwithBarchuckin]

Sound the alarm. Good luck with selling out of your alpaca yarn. And John Flaccid 🤦‍♂️😂

[@barbarawalker3620]

😁💗❣

[@princezzpuffypants6287]

Idk what you are earning per skein, but it seems like you must be losing money... my quick math says you'd have to make over $25/skein just to break even, and that is higher than standard... if you have 2 runs of 270 skeins, you might be able to earn a bit, I suppose.... but ouch

[@karenhein8792]

You know you could learn to process your own fiber and spin your own yarn.. Just saying. =)

[@OldReddingFarm]

Yes! Would love to! But with all the alpacas we have we would need some serious equipment to get the volume done

[@lottiegilbert4681]

How ridiculous are those ears

[@OldReddingFarm]

how ridiculous is it to have such an issue with someone's appearance you feel it necessary to post a comment on a KZbin video? I'd feel sorry for that person

[@MoneypitHomestead]

Hello enjoyed this video very interesting thank you for sharing have a blessed day lisa@moneypit homestead

[@OldReddingFarm]

Thanks for watching

[@MINI-ME666]

much ado about nothing! in salvation army i will collect your yarn for 3$ each/////