Frequently Asked Questions
|
The alpaca is an animal related to the llama. Alpacas are the domesticated form of the guanaco, a South American wild animal that roams the mountain slopes of the Andes in Ecuador, Peru, Bolivia and Chile.
The alpaca looks like a long-haired, shaggy llama, with thick, soft fleece that covers its eyes and can drags on the ground beneath its body. Alpacas are gentle animals that are agreeable with people, hearty to raise, and easy to transport. They live about 20 years, stand about 3 feet (1 meter) in height, and weigh between 100 and 200 pounds (45-90 kg.). Much like cows or sheep, they graze on grasses and chew a cud. Alpacas are intelligent, highly social animals, easy to care for and handle, appealing to look at and fun to have around. They communicate mainly through body posturing and a gentle humming sound.
Most alpacas do not kick at humans, but there are individuals that can be quickly identified as being prone to kicking. This is more evident in a pregnant female that wants to deter the advances of an amorous male. Fortunately, because the foot is a soft pad, injuries to humans are minimal. Most alpacas respond very well to desensitization of the hind legs if they receive good handling as youngsters. Alpacas that bite people are extremely rare and it is not a general problem. If it does occur it tends to be an attention seeking behavior by spoilt pets rather than an attack.
It is processed into high quality fashion garments such as suits, jackets, skirts, and coats. Sweaters knitted from alpaca fleece are soft, light and warm. Because of its natural warmth, it is also used as a continental quilt filling. Coarser fiber can be used to make car seat covers. The international market for alpaca product is enormous with demand always exceeding supply. You can join the Alpaca Owners and Breeders Association's (AOBA) fiber co-op, Alpaca Fiber Cooperative of North America (AFCNA). The co-op is made up of shareholders that are alpaca breeders. A few alpaca owners prefer to hand spin their fiber. Commercial prices depend on quality with a premium paid for finer micron fiber. Sales to home spinners can be considerably higher.
For example, a gelding (castrated male) has no breeding potential and is therefore the cheapest alpaca to buy (around $500 to $1,000). On the other hand, a high quality male with many good progeny on the ground has a very high breeding potential and can be worth many thousands of dollars. He can also command a high income from the stud services he provides. Female prices are a reflection of quality, age, breeding history and to which stud male she is mated. Females can be worth anything from a few thousand dollars to tens of thousands of dollars. Income from females is derived from selling the offspring. However, breeding plans should be made so that long term depreciation of the older breeders and increases in quality of offspring are taken into account.
Alpacas generally don't like being held and are particularly sensitive to being touched on the head. They are naturally curious and intelligent and if you let them approach you, rather than rush at them and expect an affectionate response, the interactions can be very rewarding. It is possible to have a single alpaca, but it is not a pleasant existence for the animal. Alpacas are herd animals and are instinctively gregarious, as are other domestic livestock. They obtain security and contentment from having at least one other alpaca for company. For this reason, it is usually recommended that two alpacas is the desirable minimum.
Individual alpacas have been very successfully run with sheep and goats to act as fox guards. The alpacas tend to bond with the foster herd and they are naturally aggressive toward foxes. If running with different livestock, alpacas will pick up the internal parasites associated with the other animals and should be put on the same worming regime. Because of the risk of the alpacas being kicked, caution should be used if running them with cattle or horses. They are small and easy to maintain, rarely overeat and require no extraordinary care. They should have basic shelter for protection against heat and foul weather. They do not challenge fences. They simply need shearing, worming, and vaccinations. They are ruminants, which means they chew cud like a cow or deer. They survive well on different kinds of low protein hay or pasture grass, providing it has a balanced mineral content. Because alpacas evolved in harsh conditions, they utilize their food more efficiently than other ruminants. They cost about as much per month to feed as a dog. Although they can survive very harsh conditions, alpacas do best on good quality pasture and benefit from having access to plant material with long fibers such as hay. There are a number of commercial alpaca mixes available, but these are best thought of as supplying vitamins and minerals rather than the bulk feed which is obtained through grazing. One important rule to remember is to introduce any changes to the diet gradually over a period of a couple of weeks. This way the microbes in the gut have time to adjust to any feed changes. Compared with other livestock, alpacas are relatively disease free. Because of their dry fleece and naturally clean breech, fly strike is not an issue with alpacas. Vaccination programs vary by geography on veterinarian's advice. When buying alpacas for breeding purposes it is advisable to arrange a veterinary check to ensure you are buying a healthy animal. Some gardens contain a number of plants that are toxic to most livestock (oleander, rhododendron, laburnum, etc.). Care should be taken when fencing off gardens that such plants do not overhang into alpaca areas. There is a history of calamities with other livestock that have inadvertently been fed prunings from such plants. Local nurseries can provide good advice on poisonous plants or check with your county extension agent. Although some people think alpacas don't drink huge amounts, they do need to have ready access to good quality, fresh drinking water. They are an ideal small acreage livestock. You can comfortably stock between five and ten animals per acre. This makes the alpaca ideal for people who have only a few acres and who want the pleasure of a small herd and a healthy investment return. They are stress resistant, load and travel calmly and can be transported in the family mini van, station wagon, utility vehicle, or horse trailer. Some breeders have been known to transport their alpacas in small planes. Once enroute, the alpaca lies down and enjoys the ride. Alpacas are native to the altiplano (highlands) of Peru and are used to a harsh environment found at 12,000 to 17,500 feet above sea level. The snow, freezing wind and bone chilling cold are familiar to these hardy animals. There are no barns for alpacas in Peru. They are put in corrals a night for protection from predators and to keep them from wandering away. Most alpaca breeders here in the United States construct open shelters as opposed to closed barns for their animals. Alpacas simply need to get out of the wind and have a dry place to eat or lay down during a storm. These shelters allow the alpacas to come and go as they please! Gravel as opposed to cement is the best flooring material. The feed troughs should allow about 18" per alpaca to eat. This means that 12 alpacas need about 18 feet of feed troughs. I like to see about 16 feet of roof over their heads from the back wall to the eaves. The most important thing about fencing for alpacas is safety against predators. Any fence will confine alpacas since they do not challenge fences. The important thing is to keep dogs, foxes and coyotes out of the pasture. Standard 2" x 4" farm fence, four feet high is adequate. You may want to add a barbed or hot wire at the top. "New Zealand " deer fence is good fencing for alpacas. It can be purchased in heights of 5 or 6 feet and is woven wire with smaller squares at the bottom. Nine to eleven wire electric fencing works well, but is hard on the neighbor's kids. The terrain is a consideration. The woven wire fences work better on flat ground and the electric wire does better on steep or uneven terrain. One tip that works well on all fences: lay a strand of barbed wire on the ground, attached to the posts, on the outside perimeter of the fence. This keeps dogs from digging their way under the fence. Females become sexually mature at around 12 to 18 months of age and once they reach 90 - 100 pounds in weight. Males can display sexual interest from a few weeks of age but are not sexually active or fertile until 18 months to 3 years of age. (There will be individuals that fall outside this age range.) Alpacas do not have a breeding season and provided they are receptive, females can be mated at any time of the year. Like rabbits and cats, female alpacas are "induced ovulators" which means it is the act of mating that causes them to ovulate. Alpacas mate in the "cush" (prone) position and if a female is not receptive (already pregnant) she will refuse to sit down and probably spit at the male. This rejection response, known as a "spit-off," is used in the management of the female to regularly monitor the progress of her pregnancy. The average gestation period is 11.5 months, but pregnancies that go for over a year are not uncommon. Births are generally trouble-free and most occur before the middle of the day. Cria should be 12 - 20 pounds at birth and most will be on their feet and nursing within 2 to 3 hours. The mothers are often very protective and the cria will stay with its mother until weaning at 5 to 6 months of age. Females are usually re-mated 2 to 6 weeks after giving birth. Twinning in alpacas is extremely rare (approximately 0.0001% of births) and should not form any part of a breeding plan. There are a number of things to consider before launching into the breeding industry. It is best to talk to as many experienced breeders as possible. You will gain lots of useful information from people who have already done the legwork. If you are serious it is advisable to develop a business plan (see How to Buy, Breed,and Succeed in the Alpaca Business.) To be able to register your offspring you will need to become a member of the Alpaca Registry, Inc and apply for herd registration. The registry office can send you the appropriate forms. Join the Alpaca Owners and Breeders Association (AOBA). Some people buy a couple of geldings to begin with and once they feel confident that alpacas really are extremely easy to manage, they take the next step to start a breeding herd. For most breeders, they simply want to get going as soon as possible and enjoy the experience as they learn along the way. Alpacas are shorn once a year, usually in spring. Shearing is the biggest maintenance required and usually takes around five to ten minutes per animal for an experienced alpaca shearer. If you are purchasing your first alpacas, ask the vendors for the name of a recommended shearer, or ask if you can bring the alpacas back to the property on their shearing day. A very small percentage of alpacas are shorn standing up, the preferred method of shearing is to lay the animals on their side and restrain their legs with a tether at each end. This protects the shearer and the alpaca from being accidentally cut. One side of the animal is shorn and it is then rolled over and shorn on the other side. Depending on the density of the fleece, alpacas cut anywhere between 3 and 10 pounds of fleece. Some of the high quality stud males will cut higher weights. Alpaca fiber is highly prized for it very soft feel (handle), its high thermal properties, its durability and its variety of natural colors. It is processed into high quality fashion garments such as suits, jackets, skirts, and coats. Sweaters knitted from alpaca fleece are soft, light and warm. Because of its natural warmth, it is also used as a continental quilt filling. Coarser fiber can be used to make car seat covers. The international market for alpaca product is enormous with demand always exceeding supply. You can join the Alpaca Owners and Breeders Association's (AOBA) fiber co-op, Alpaca Fiber Cooperative of North America (AFCNA). The co-op is made up of shareholders that are alpaca breeders. A few alpaca owners prefer to hand spin their fiber. Commercial prices depend on quality with a premium paid for finer micron fiber. Sales to home spinners can be considerably higher. |
