Not only will you gain knowledge about keeping alpacas through every stage of their lives, you’ll also be able to create a happy, healthy home for your alpaca herd and avoid the classic mistakes that prohibit many alpaca owners from living the lifestyle they want.
With advice and real-world experience, this must have alpaca book provides the following chapters:
- Introduction: Raising Alpacas for Fun, Love, and Profit
- Is the Alpaca Lifestyle Right for You and Your Farm?
- Top Considerations and Decision Points
- Steps for Starting an Alpaca Business
- Visiting Farms and Finding a Mentor
- Creating the Ideal Farm Setup and Infrastructure
- Beginner’s Guide to Purchasing a Starter Alpaca Herd
- Understanding and Influencing Alpaca Behavior
- Taking Care of Medical Issues and Herd Health
- Diving into Fiber Characteristics and Color Genotyping
- Options and Techniques for Breeding Alpacas
- Delivering Healthy and Happy Cria
- What to Know About Alpaca Shearing
- Maximize Your Profits from Fiber
- Setting Up a Farm Store and Agritourism
- Involving the Youth
- Selling Alpacas
- Marketing Your Farm in a Digital World
- Afterword
- Suggested Resources
- Index
Each chapter includes educational information, as well as stories that tie this information to real-world experiences.
Book Details and Specifications
- Book title: The Alpaca Handbook: The Complete Guide to Raising a Happy and Healthy Herd
- Author: Rebecca Gill
- Edition: First edition
- Format: Paperback
- Print length: 248
- Language: English
- Weight: 1.11 pounds
- Dimensions: 7″ x 9″
- Published date: March 3, 2026
- Publisher: Lyons Press (The Globe Pequot Publishing Group, Inc.)
- ISBN-10: 1493092278
- ISBN-13: 978-1-4930-9227-7
- UNSPSC-Code: 55101500 (Printed publications)
About the Author
Rebecca Gill is an alpaca farmer who lives on just outside of Traverse City, Michigan. In 2018, she and her husband Jason left the suburban life of metro Detroit, sold everything they owned, and moved north to start an alpaca farm. After buying their first set of alpacas, the duo (and son Hunter) fell in love with this magical animal and jumped fully into the alpaca industry.
Cotton Creek Farms is now an active alpaca farm that offers breedings, alpacas for sale, interactive tours, manufacturers alpaca products, sells alpaca goods through their online and onsite farm store, offers color genotype consulting, as well as, provides education and mentoring to new farms and those interested in raising alpacas.
General FAQs
What makes The Alpaca Handbook unique compared to other alpaca books?
Most of the alpaca books available online are written for vets so they are too technical for the average owner, the books provide outdated information, or the books are poorly written by AI and self-published. The Alpaca Handbook includes current information and advice from real alpaca owners. I’d encourage you to review the Table of Contents as it will illustrate the topics covered and the holistic approach taken in crafting a comprehensive guide for alpaca owners.
Is this book self-published?
The Alpaca Handbook is not a self-published book, so you don’t have to worry about low-grade content. The Alpaca Handbook is professionally published by Lyons Press and The Globe Pequot Publishing Group, Inc.
What is the release date of The Alpaca Handbook?
The Alpaca Handbook will begin shipping on March 3, 2026.
What formats will The Alpaca Handbook be available in?
The book is available in paperback and Kindle (via Amazon).
Is the book available for preorder now?
Yes, it is available for preorder via our website or major retailers around the world. The book is currently available via Amazon, Barnes & Noble, Bookshop.org, Books-a-Million, and IndieBound. Many other retailers are picking the publication up and will have it available as well.
What are the shipping options and costs?
The shipping costs will vary by retailer. Shipping is free on our website and many other retailers.
Content FAQS
Will The Alpaca Handbook help me decide if alpacas are the right livestock for me?
Yes! It should be very helpful in learning about raising alpacas in both practice and daily life. You’ll learn about raising them for fun, profit, or for other activities like 4-H.
Can beginners with no livestock experience use this book?
Absolutely! Remember that we were once city, I had zero livestock experience, and I couldn’t tell the difference between straw and hay. This book is to help guide you and prepare you for live as an alpaca owner. I’ve tried to include all the bits and pieces we had to figure out so your alpaca adventure is smooth.
Does The Alpaca Handbook include both practical guidance and real-life stories?
The book walks through life as an alpaca owner, provides guidance, and blends real-world examples from our farm to help illustrate concepts and advice. I believe education is much easier to digest when placed into real-life scenarios.
Will The Alpaca Handbook help if my goal is to start a small business based around alpacas?
Yes. While the book isn’t specific to running a business, it absolutely covers many aspects of budgeting, business start-up requirements, revenue streams, and marketing. As a serial entrepreneur, it is hard for me to write about alpacas without including business advice and lessons I’ve learned over the last 20 years of owning and running small businesses.
Is The Alpaca Handbook useful for families considering alpacas as pets?
Yes. The chapters on lifestyle, considerations, visiting farms, behavior, and youth will provide lots of great information for those owners who want to raise alpacas as pets.
Is The Alpaca Handbook helpful for people interested in agritourism businesses with alpacas?
Yes. Our farm hosted thousands of visitors per year and I cover this aspect of our business in the book. While agritourism isn’t perfect for every alpaca owner, it is a great option for many.
Is The Alpaca Handbook geared toward hobby farms or commercial operations?
The publisher and I really tried hard to have to fit both types of farms. While our farm is for profit and we run it like a business, we treat our alpacas as family and interact with them like they are a family pet. You’ll get a feel and guidance for both sides of owning alpacas.
Will experienced alpaca breeders find new insights in this book?
Some experienced farms will find the book helpful because there are many ways to raise alpacas and you’ll be learning about our process, our farm, and our business. I’m very transparent in our method and this can be useful to other farms.
Can it help with setting up infrastructure, breeding, and selling alpacas?
Absolutely. The Alpaca Handbook covers all of these topics and much more.
How will the book help me prepare before I purchase alpacas?
Yes. It covers considerations in owning, tips for visiting farms and shopping for alpacas, and there is an entire chapter dedicated to purchasing your starter herd.
Does the book explain the costs involved in raising alpacas?
Yes. Throughout the book expenses and costs are covered to help future owners evaluate ownership and budget for an alpaca purchase and ongoing care.
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