Farming with Alpacas

Guineas and Alpacas

Oh, those nasty (insert your favorite here) flies, beetles, moths, worms, etc.  how will we ever deal with them and not effect the alpacas?

After living in Wyoming for two years, we decided we needed to be more aggressive in our battle with the insect world, especially since we learned we had two alpacas that were allergic to fly saliva.  But what to use that was safe, green and yet effective?  The answer was in one word...guineas.

After a lot of research into these funny feathered creatures, we invested in nine, hoping  they could maintain the ten + acres and surrounding areas that contained our alpacas.  We kept them in a guinea run/coup for six weeks so they would know where home was and then let them go to free range.

What a delight they are to watch as they attack the poo piles with gusto, looking for tasty tidbits of creepy crawlies and anything on six+ legs!  Not only that, but they also do a great job keeping the weeds under control and the mice and snake population down.

We were a little worried about how they would do in our below zero temperatures during the winter, but once we saw the guineas snuggled up with the alpacas, we knew they'd be fine.   They have also been great entertainment for the crias and tuis, which gives the moms a break from babysitting.

                                       

Gardening with Alpacas

What to do with all of that poo alpacas produce?  In a word, garden!  We purchased a Poop Vac that not only sucked up the poo, but mulched it as well, when we first started our alpaca business.  Over the last three years we have built quite a mountain of the stuff.

This year we decided to garden using the Square Foot Method- or raised boxes.  The boxes were built and filled with equal amounts of alpaca poo, straw, and peat moss.  With a very little maintenance, we harvested a passel-full of kale, spinach, broccoli, peas, beans, squash, and onions, to name a few.