Facility Layout
There are a number of things to
consider when laying out your facility.
If you are lucky enough to already have barns and/or fencing in place
then you will need to adapt to what exists. If not, here are some
options to consider and how we addressed them at Sunset Ridge Alpacas.
One feature we highly recommend is a 10' wide lane separating your
pastures with a gate to each pasture and two additional gates to close
off the lane. With all four gates closed you can create a 10' x 10'
pen. With three gates open it is relatively easy to herd the animals
from the open pasture into the lane. Feeding them grain in the lane
makes this even easier. Once in the lane the third gate is closed. The
animals are easily herded up and the fourth gate closed to create the
catch pen. This is much easier on you and much less traumatic for the
animals.
Barns
Barns can provide shelter for
your alpacas, hay storage, equipment
storage, contain a vet working area or any combination of these. Size
and type of barn will be determined by what you want to do inside as
well as the astetics of your farm and the surrounding landscape.
Initial cost as well as maintenance requirements should also be
considered when choosing a barn design. We choose a steel building for
equipment and hay storage. A vet area and room for a pen in case there
is a sick animal is also provided for. Take a look at Barn Construction
for details and pictures.
We chose to house our alpacas in three sided sheds. Here in upstate New
York the weather is not too severe for them to live outside year round.
Fencing
Fencing is probably the most
important aspect of your facility layout.
It not only provides security for your investment butr also has
tremendous impact on the aesthetics of your farm. Installation cost,
durability and maintenance are also major concerns when choosing the
type of fencing you will use. Chain link, electric, traditional three
rail, welded wire and woven wire all have their pros and cons. We chose
5' high woven wire, 2x4 mesh, for our perimeter due to the growing
population of coyotes in our area. All gates are covered with the same
mesh and a high voltage electric wire deters animals from digging under
this fence. We use 4' fencing of the same type to separate the
paddocks. One of the advantages of this fencing is that it does not
obstruct visibility of the animals from the house. We can always see
what is going on in the pasture. Take a look at Fence Constructionto
see how this fencing project was done.