Alpaca farm is packing a mighty punch

“We bought my first alpaca in 1997,” Mr Bird said.

“Just because I wanted to get into farming and didn’t have the scope or the land to do sheep and cattle and cropping, that sort of thing, so alpacas was a way that I could get into farming on 10 acres at the time.”

He now operates on 80ha with 100 alpacas and 300 ewes which he raises for the fat lamb market.

His alpaca fleece has won numerous shows, but he’s slowed down on the competitions in recent years.

“We’ve done a lot of that over the years, but as I get a bit older it's a bit less,” Mr Bird said.

“Early days we did a lot of showing, travelled around Australia doing the big shows.

“We went to work in Adelaide for three years on a big stud over there, then come home and now we just sort of concentrate more on the commercial side of it.”

He’s not entirely out of the competition world, entering a couple of shows a year.

His daughter, 14, has had involvement with the animals as well, being responsible for naming all the alpacas they own.

Mr Bird said alpacas were low on stress but slow on birthing.

“They’re a pretty easy care animal which makes life a bit easier,“ he said.

“They’re all unique, they’re very inquisitive, they all have their own personalities, so they’re an enjoyable animal to farm.

“The breeding cycle is very slow — It’s 11-and-a-half months average.”

If a breeder can get one cria (baby) a year, they did well, he said.

“Generally, the mum, she’ll give birth and three to four weeks later she’ll be joined again, and the cycle starts,” Mr Bird said.

The farm’s main priority is exporting the alpacas for breeding, with exports making their way to Asia.

“We export to Asia [including] South Korea, Taiwan, and we’re just about to start to India,” he said.

Although alpacas are his full-time job, it could be done on a smaller scale he said.

“I started on 10 acres and depending on your ground you can do quite well off 10 acres,” he said.

“It’s allowed me over the journey to grow and expand into a decent sized farm.

“We sell a lot to hobby farmers, or we sell our wethered males as herd guards for chooks but mainly goats and sheep.”

Although the herd could fool you with their round, fluffy faces, it’s not all glamorous.

“[The worst part is] shearing just because it’s a lot, a few days, for your back,” he said.

“We shear them once a year, we drench and vaccinate them, same as other livestock.”

The hard days aren’t for nothing, as he sells the fleece for clothes and bed covers.

“The best fibre will go to high-end suits and right down to the bottom, where the less desirable stuff will go to carpet or socks.”