Alpacas originate from the alti-plano of South America. They are part of the South American Camelid family and are related to llamas, guanacos and vicuna. There are two types of alpaca - huacaya and suri. We have both huacaya and suri. The fibre of the huacaya grows perpendicular to the skin giving them a teddy bear appearance whilst suris have long lustrous fibre which hangs down in dreadlocks.
Alpacas are very hardy animals and remain outside all year although greater protection may be needed for young cria. Alpacas do not generally challenge fences despite being very agile jumpers. They can be grazed at around 5 to an acre and are very gentle on the ground. Routine husbandry consists of worming and vaccination twice a year, shearing once a year for huacaya and once every two years for suri (although we shear our suris each year). They also need their toenails trimmed several times a year. They live for about 20 years. Females can be served at around 14 months and have a cria (baby) each year with gestation taking 11 to 12 months. Of course, there are exceptions and we have had cria born at 10 months and one at over a year!
Alpacas communicate with a variety of sounds. Most commonly by humming but they can also cluck, screech and cry like a baby!
They range in colour from black through to grey, brown, fawn and white.
Spitting is a defence mechanism and they do spit at each other if they are annoyed but they rarely spit at humans – although you can get caught in the cross fire!
They are gentle inquisitive animals who are chiefly bred for their fibre. Some also make great guard animals – keeping foxes at bay from sheep and chickens. They are gentle on the ground making them good paddock munchers. Many are kept simply for enjoyment – once they have learnt to trust you, they will eat from your hand and watching their antics provides hours of enjoyment.
Alpacas are herd animals and cannot be kept on their own.