About Alpacas

Alpacas are members of the South American Camelid Family. This family is comprised of the vicuna, guanco, llama and alpaca. Unlike the llamas, which were primarily used as pack animals in South America, alpacas were raised for their cashmere-like fiber, once reserved for Incan royalty. They have been domesticated for over 5,000 years. Alpacas and llamas are native to the Andean Mountain Range of South America.

Alpacas are found in two distinct types. 

Huacaya alpacas.

Huacaya alpacas produce a fleece that appears similar to sheep's wool. It is tightly crimped and stands perpendicular to the alpacas' body. 

These alpacas are the more common type. Good quality huacaya alpacas will produce as much as 5 kilograms of luxurious fleece every year.

 

Suri alpacas.

Suri alpacas possess a fleece that hangs in long curly locks. 

 suri alpacas  

Suri alpacas fleece has the general appearance of an           angora goat. 

Suri alpacas are known for the luster of their fleece, a highly desired trait in the commercial textile industry.

 
Alpacas produce one of the world's finest and most luxurious natural fibers.  Soft as cashmere and warmer, lighter and stronger than wool, it comes in more colors than any other fiber producing animal (approximately 22 basic colors with many variations and blends). This cashmere-like fleece, once reserved for Incan royalty, is now enjoyed by spinners and weavers around the world.

The average lifespan of an alpaca is about 20 years and gestation is 11.5 months. 

Alpacas eat grasses and chew a cud.  They are pseudo-ruminants, and chew cud like a cow. They do well on low protein hay or pasture, provided it has a balanced mineral content. Supplementary feeding should be given in winter and to females in the later stages of pregnancy.

Adult alpacas are about 36" tall at the withers and generally weigh between 55 and 90 kilograms.  They are gentle, intelligent and easy to handle. 

Alpacas are social animals who do best when pastured with other alpacas. They produce one offspring a year. Because alpacas usually give birth during the day. Birthing is generally trouble free and very quick.  Crias (alpaca neonates) usually stand and nurse within one hour.

Alpacas don't have incisors, horns, hooves or claws. Fastidious in their habits, alpacas will tend to form communal manure piles, which assists in controlling their parasite load. They require minimal fencing and can be pastured at 5 to 10 per acre.

Alpacas are very social animals and communicate to each other with humming noises, body and head movements.