Our Little World Alpacas LLC

Quality Alpacas and Knitted Products

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Fencing

Choosing the correct fencing for alpacas is important for the safety of the alpacas from both an internal and external standpoint.  Fencing not only keeps the animals safe from outside predators but it allows movement of the herd through the different areas of the farm and pasture.  You may have heard the statement that “alpacas don’t challenge a fence”.  This is only partially true.  Alpacas love to rub on the fencing.  Maybe it’s because they have an itch or something, but they push pretty hard on it.  So, the fencing needs to be pretty strong and secured tightly to the fence posts.  Fencing is also designed to keep predators out.  The fencing should have small enough holes that critters are not able to just walk through it.  It should also be tall enough so that predators cannot jump over it with ease.  The fence should also be tall enough so that the alpacas cannot jump over it.  A herdsire with his mind on one the girls in the next pasture will do anything get over there including jumping over the fence.  For these reasons, this is why we chose to use 2” x 4” no-climb horse fencing that is 5 feet high. The smaller holes not only keep larger predators out, but it helps keep the alpaca from sticking his foot through the fence and possibly climbing it or getting it caught.  Although predators can jump over a five foot fence, if there are several of them before they can get to the alpacas, they may give up before actually getting to the barn.  The five foot high fence also helps keep that herdsire from jumping over to the girl’s side.  For added strength, the “no-climb” fence should be of the woven wire variety and not welded wire.  The woven wire fence is much stronger than welded and usually comes with a galvanized finish for corrosion protection.


We use 4” round treated wood fence posts that are eight feet long.  These posts are pounded into the ground with a hydraulic operated post pounder.  The eight foot post has three feet into the ground which make the posts very secure.  We pound them 8 to 10 feet apart and then stretch the wire fencing along them and attach it to the posts using barbed staples.  The barbed staples add another level of security when the alpacas are rubbing on the fence.  When they are doing this, you can hear the fencing creak and the staples popping.  This is good reason to not have your fence posts spread out to far.  It is a good idea to inspect your fencing a few times a year to check for missing or broken staples and just make sure there are no gaps in the fence.


You can find all of the items mentioned above at your local farm supply store or you can order them online and have them delivered to your site.  You may even be able to find some used fencing online.  Sometimes farms shut down and remove the fencing and make it available for sale.  We have gotten some of our fencing this way.  We have found it just as cost effective to just buy from our local Tractor Supply.


There are as many opinions on what fencing to use as there are alpaca farmers but this is what we use and what has worked for us so far.

Sunday, August 6, 2023