So all this talk of money got me to do some math on how much their feed ration probably costs. I'm putting the grazing value at zero, at we've all seen pictures of the land. I'm doing the math assuming they have a recommended ration, which is probably fair considering the alpacas don't seem to be starving, though it's hard to tell if they are feeding an appropriate amount of premix. Also, I am putting the herd size at 150 since we haven't had a headcount recently.
So to start is the premix. Premix is a supplement you purchase and add to your hay, it contains all the little things, basically a multivitamin you mix in. I'm using Alpaca~Llama Maintenance Pellet from this retailer
www.alpacasrus.com/feed as that is what is stocked at their local veterinary clinic. The price listed is 20.00$/50lb, and an alpaca is expected to eat ~0.5 pounds a day. Some basic math, 150 x .5 x 365 = 27375 pounds used in a year. It is 40 cents a pound so that is 10,950$ dollars of premix a year
Next is the hay, the main bulk of alpaca diet. In a ration this provides energy as the alpaca digests it using it's three stomachs. Alpaca eat 3 pounds a day, and one ton of alfalfa silage is 200$. I got that price from this listing
allhay.com/states/colorado/ 3 x 150 x 365 is 164,250 pound. Divided by 2000 to convert we get 82 tons. So the price of hay for a years ration is 16,425$
Put together this means one year of feeding the alpacas costs somewhere around 27,375$
I have my doubts that the yarn sales will cover that.