Financial Analysis of Alpaca Ownership
Keep Good Records!
We live in a world of contracts, data and information. The business of alpacas is no different from any other well run business in that respect. You want to keep track of all your contracts and agreements as your herd grows. I find it easiest to relate everything to a specific animal so I keep a file for each animal by name both in the computer and in printed form.
The file includes:/h2>
* Copy of purchase/sale contracts
* Copy of Board/Agist agreements if available
* Copy of ARI Certificate and/or application for registration
* Copy of animal medical records including paid veterinary receipts and records prior to my owning the animal.
* * Copy of Insurance papers and Insurance exam forms
* * Fiber Samples and Histograms
* * Photographs of each animal
* * Medical Records (any and all medical procedures including toe nail trimming, vaccinations, worming dates, castrations, pre-breed exams, pre-purchase exams, weight, weaning dates, etc…)
* * Breeding Records (Breeding Dates, Ultrasound Dates, Due Dates, Births)
* * ARI Registration Records (Owner of Dam, Owner of Sire, Ancestry etc.)
* * Transport and Quarantine dates
* * Fleece Data (When shorn, weight, histogram etc…)
* * Show Data (what shows entered, placings, judges, number of competitors.)
* * Purchase and Sales records
* * Owner records
At some point in each animals life you will need to have all this information available. It will save you hours of searching if you set up a system. There are several good Herd Management software programs on the market that you can use. We use Alpaca Ease for Filemaker and find that it fits our needs. If you have three animals you can set up a spreadsheet for yourself that will easily track smaller numbers of animals. Finding a method that works for you will be a long term blessing when you realize that you don’t know when your first cria is due or when your prize herdsire needs to get his next West Nile Virus vaccination. Records are essential to easy management.
previous next home
