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How Much Does It Cost to Keep Alpacas? (Updated October 2025)
- Fostings Alpacas
- Aug 20, 2021
- 4 min read
Updated: Oct 14
It’s impossible to say exactly how much keeping alpacas will cost you, as there are so many variables and scenarios and depends what your current set up is...
But we can give you a ballpark idea so that you can understand the likely minimum cost of setting up for and keeping 3 pet male alpacas.
These are the key areas to tally up:
Cost of purchasing the alpacas
Basic equipment costs
Herd Health Plan cost
Handling set up costs
Fencing and shelter costs
Costs of ongoing care
Other costs to consider
ALPACA PURCHASES
Alpacas typically cost between £300 - £3,000 in the UK, but price will depend upon a variety of factors such as colour, age, sex, temperament, fleece quality, registration status, pregnancy status for females and genetic bloodline. VAT may need to be added onto the price if buying from VAT registered breeders.
Alpacas need to be kept in groups of 3 or more, so allow an ample budget for this. Pet weanling male alpacas typically cost between £300 - £900 each in the UK.
Subtotal: £1,800
BASIC EQUIPMENT
To ensure you are prepared for the arrival of your new herd, you will need some essential tools & equipment. Below is a very basic (definitely not exhaustive) list:
£15 = Hook over water bucket (e.g this one from Amazon)
£14.07 = Feed tubs X3 (e.g Flexi Feed Tub)
£3.49 Feed scoop (e.g this one from Amazon)
£180 = Wall mounted hayracks X3
£20 = Clip handle bin for feed storage
£49 = Wheelbarrow
£22 = Either a gorilla shovel or a tubtrug tidee
£77.85 = 3 headcollars & 3 lead ropes (Homestead Farm Supplies)
£325 = Herd Kit Contents
Subtotal: £706.41
HERD HEALTH PLAN
We recommend getting in touch with your vet and make an appointment for them to come out to so they can:
Visit your location (the vets then knows where you are in an emergency call out, which is particularly helpful if you are in an area with poor phone signal)
Meet you and your animals
Give advice on annual care
Give advice on local issues (e.g. if Liver Fluke is a problem)
Give advice on anything else relevant to your herd
Subtotal: £300
(This is a guesstimate and will vary, so you may wish to request a quotation first)
RUNNING TOTAL
So to purchase your herd of 3 male alpacas (£1,800) + some basic equipment (£706.41) + your herd health plan (£300), the total so far is...
£2,491.41
HANDLING SET UP
This cost may be £0 if you have a suitable handling set up in place already. If not, you will need to add at least the following costs...
£340 = X4 6ft alpaca hurdles (to create a catch pen)
£389 = Handling Pen (e.g. Marshwood’s) - particularly if doing husbandry alone
Subtotal: £729
RUNNING TOTAL
So to purchase your herd of 3 male alpacas (£1,800) + some basic equipment (£706.41) + your herd health plan (£300) + handling set up (£729), the total so far is...
£3,535.41
If you already have a handling set up, your total so far remains at:
£2,806.41
FENCING & SHELTER
This may be £0 if you already have a suitable shelter and fenced paddocks in place already. If not, you will need to add the following costs...
£4,800 = brand new fencing with gates for 1 acre, including labour
£1,500 = 12ft X 12ft shelter
Subtotal: £6,300
RUNNING TOTAL
So to purchase your herd of 3 male alpacas (£1,800) + some basic equipment (£706.41) + your herd health plan (£300) + handling set up (£729) + fencing and shelter (£6,300), the total comes to...
£9,835.41
If you already have a handling set up, fencing, a shelter and your total remains at:
£2,806.41
COSTS OF ONGOING CARE
After the initial purchase and set up, we need to remember that there will be a cost of ongoing care each year. Below is a very rough guesstimate for very basic care for a herd size of 3 male alpacas:
£151.25 = feed (based on just Camelibra at the Summer and Winter maintenance rations, which equates to about X5 20KG sacks per year)
£28 = hay for feeding (based on X4 small rectangular bales at £7 each)
£84 = straw for littering shelter (based on X14 small rectangular bales at £6 each)
£800 = maintenance of fencing/shelters/paddocks and replacement of equipment (this could total zero one year, but substantially more the next, so this is a guesstimated average)
£150 = annual shearing for X3 alpacas
£104.25 = clostridial vaccination and vitamin supplementation
£144 = routine FECs x2 per alpaca, per year (as a minimum) @£24 each
£1,000 = medication and veterinary care (a typical call out fee and examination of an alpaca now costs in the region of £130, before adding on any medication or additional care, so this figure could be less, or substantially more, so it is good practice to keep reserve funds and insure your alpacas appropriately)
Total annual care costs for 3 pet male alpacas:
£6.75 per day
£205.13 per month
£2,461.50 per year
So to answer your question in simple terms...
How much does it cost to keep alpacas?
As a guide, alpacas cost around £2.25 each per day to keep in the UK, or £68.38 each per month or £820.50 each per year.
Alpacas are social animals that need to live in groups of 3 or more, so you must set aside enough funds for at least 3 alpacas and their ongoing care...
How much does it cost to keep 3 alpacas?
A herd of 3 pet male alpacas costs around £6.75 per day to keep in the UK, or £205.13 per month or £2,461.50 a year.
Disclaimer: Fostings Alpacas are not a veterinarian body. Always consult your vet when creating a health plan for your herd and before administering medication. Please note that all prices given are guidelines only, to give you a ballpark idea and assumes you have already purchased/rented the grazing ground. Prices may not accurately reflect the market at any given time.
