If you are interested at all in connecting online with other farmers or people researching the alpaca industry, a blog is one of the most powerful tools you can use.

A blog is a special type of website format, much like an online journal. You write brief entries in your blog, which display chronologically. These entries are usually much more informal and personal than a regular website, giving you a more friendly means to interact with others who are interested in your farm. (Learn more about benefits of a blog for your alpaca farm.)

Don’t know what you’d write about? Or how you’re supposed to write it? Our handy guide to blogging will give you plenty of examples and pointers, as well as tips for getting more exposure for your blog that you might not have thought of. This guide will be included with your new blog at no additional charge.

In the meantime, we’re prepared a few example blog posts below.

We’ve enjoyed seeing the personality traits of our alpacas emerge as they grow. We can often even see characteristics passed from sire and dam to cria.

One of the most prevalent traits among most alpacas is a strong sense of curiosity. This photo shows that curiosity in action! Our cria gathered around to see what all the excitement was about as we shot a few photos of the farm. Ears up, heads alert, they stood watching us as if we were aliens, wondering about the photo equipment we carried.

There are few things more amusing than watching that curiosity play out as cria discover their surroundings. They’ll turn almost anything into a reason to frolic. The other day when we had a huge rain, we were left with standing water in several areas of the pasture. Picture these little guys running at full speed through the water, kicking their legs out and splashing each other! Wish we had the camera then! Good times here at Lily Alpacas…

Alpacas are fairly clean animals. They prefer to go do their business in a designated area. But it seems that pretty quickly you can accumulate a fairly big pile of alpaca manure. Hey, at least you don’t have to run around the yard picking up after them like with dogs! But as the poop pile gets bigger, you’ll eventually want to do something about it.

Alpaca manure differs a little from that of other livestock, and therefore also brings a unique set of benefits:

• Lower in organic matter, which means it shouldn’t burn the roots when spread directly on plants.
• Higher nitrogen and potassium content, which makes it a little more potent than manure from horses, cows or sheep. (Of course this will still be much lower than synthetic fertilizer, but it makes a great organic option!)

So, what to do with the poop? Here are a few ideas for that ever-growing pile:

• Include it in your compost bins
• Spread on flower beds
• Fertilize your vegetable garden and any fruit trees
• Fill holes or sunken areas in the ground
• Till it into bare spots on your lawn to help grass grow
• Offer it in your newspaper’s free classifieds section. Many alpaca farmers find once people know they have poop, they can hardly keep up with the demand!

Some industrious alpaca farmers may even consider packaging their alpaca poop for sale as an organic fertilizer. Let us know how you use your alpaca poop!