2023/2024 Alpaca Owners Guide

LABOR SAVING FARM GADGETS Many of us perform our alpaca chores multiple times per day, so any tips or tricks that cut cost, time, or steps are welcome. Here are a few ideas that we have discovered or devised that bring a bit more ease and efficiency to the daily task list. We call them "labor saving farm gadgets" for good reason. By Beth Roy

 SEALED 5-GALLON PAIL: Who doesn’t have at least one of these plastic pails on hand already? Problem is, the lid is often not reusable or requires a flathead screwdriver and colorful expletives to open. Now add this nifty threaded lid, and your pail is air tight and leak-proof. We use ours for storing minerals and hauling water. We color-code by use, as the lids come in black, white, blue, red, and yellow. Available from alpaca supply companies for about $13 each.

 ONE-HANDED GATE LATCH: We all enjoy the convenience of secure gate latches that can be operated with a single hand. But what to do where you have metal gates, and those latches made to attach to wood just won’t work? We used a chain link fence clamp, lined with a rubber strip cut from a discarded bungee cord, and a threaded eye bolt/nut to mount the gate half of the latch. Then, install the latch (known as a Safety Gate Hook) with another threaded eye bolt in the wood post side. Voila! Cost: approximately $9 and can be found in most hardware stores. Note: these latches are best

suited for low-impact / low-security areas. We don’t recommend using these alone on outside gates, or gates separating breeding males from females. In these situations we install a second latch for extra security.

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