What is an Alpaca?

Alpacas are fiber-producing members of the camel family raised exclusively for their soft and luxurious wool. Their fleeces are sheared once a year, or sometimes every two years in cooler climates Each shearing produces roughly 5-10 pounds of fiber per animal, per year.

Two Breeds

There are two breeds of alpacas: the suri and the huacaya. The main difference between the two is their fleece production. The huacaya fleece has waviness or “crimp,” which gives huacayas their fluffy, teddy-bear-like appearance. Suri fleece has little or no crimp, so the individual fiber strands cling to themselves and hang down from the body in beautiful pencil locks. The suri is very rare, with a worldwide ration of huacayas to suris at about 98% to 2%.

Physical Characteristics

Height - Alpacas stand approximately 36” at the withers (the point where the neck and spine meet). They are about 4.5 to 5 feet from toe to the tips of their ears.
Weight - Female alpacas weigh anywhere from about 110-150 pounds; males weigh roughly 140-180 pounds. Some larger males and females, however, will weigh in over 200 pounds.

Toenails - They have a hard, protective upper toenail that grows out and down and must be trimmed every few months. The bottom of their feet is a soft pad with a leather-like consistency. Due to the low body-weight, there is not a lot of weight distributed on those soft, padded feet. Therefore, there is little damage done to the ground compared to other forms of livestock.

Fiber - Alpaca fiber is stronger and more resilient than even the finest sheep’s wool. Unlike sheep’s wool, however, alpaca contains no lanolin and is ready to spin right off the animal. It comes in 22 distinguishable colors. It is considered hypoallergenic, because of the way the scales of alpaca fiber lie down against the shaft of each hair follicle, so it doesn’t irritate the skin.

Teeth - Alpacas only have bottom teeth for eating. What’s on the top is a hard gum pad against which they crush grain, grass, hay in a back and forth grinding action. They have a split upper lip that makes the back-and -forth motion easier. They have very short tongues that are attached to their jaw, so they can’t grab hold of plants like goats and sheep and pull them up by the roots. Instead they nibble the plants down to about the 1/4 inch level and it can grow back quickly.

Alpacas Are:

• Safe, they don't bite or butt. Even if they did, without incisors, horns, hoofs or claws, little harm can he done.
  
• Small and easy to handle and do not require any special shelter.
  
• Useful: they produce fine and valuable fleece as well as make wonderful pets.
  
• Intelligent, which makes them pleasant to be around and easy to train.
  
• Beautiful; they come in over 22 colors, and are clean and pleasant to be near.
  
• Not butchered in order to be profitable.
  
• Considered disease-resistant animals, which lowers insurance and veterinarian costs.
  
• Adaptable to varied habitat, successfully being raised from Australia to Alaska and from 15,000 feet to sea level.
  
• Rare outside of South America and cannot be mass-produced.
  
• Easy to transport, which allows them to be traded across the country or around the world.

Food

The primary thing alpacas eat is just plain grass or hay. Alfalfa is discouraged or fed only sparingly, as it has a high protein and calcium content that can be unhealthy for alpacas. Alpacas don’t eat much. We give them a grain supplement - about 1/4 - 1/2 cup either once of twice a day. We also sprinkle on a teaspoon of salt and trace minerals on their chow. Alpacas are ruminants with a single stomach divided into three compartments, so they produce rumen and chew cud. They are very efficient food producers.

Alpaca Management

Alpacas are wormed 4 times a year and are given an annual vaccination against infectious disease. Alpacas are sheared once a year and trim toenails 4 times a year. They are also given a topknot trim, so it doesn’t grow down over their eyes.

Alpaca Poop

Pacas poop and pee in a single pile, so scooping is easy. So pasture clean-up is easy. The paca poop is one of the richest organic fertilizers available and doesn’t have to be composted before putting on your plants. And the poop is virtually odorless, so doesn’t attract flies like other manures.

How many alpacas per acre?

One acre of grassland can support 5-10 alpacas depending on fencing, layout, rainfall, and other factors.