All About Alpacas
Alpacas are rare and precious animals. They were a cherished treasure of the ancient Inca civilization located on the high Andean plateau and mountains of South America. The ancient Incas of South America domesticated alpacas over 5000 years ago and their popularity is only now becoming internationally recognized. 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 natural colors than any fiber producing animal.
In Canada, alpacas are raised for their exquisite fibre, and for the enjoyment of their delightful personalities. They are sheared yearly in the spring, this gives them enough time to grow back a nice new coat for the cold winter months.
Alpacas make good investments as well as practical pets. They are clean, safe, quiet, intelligent and disease-resistant. Alpacas have soft padded feet, are gentle on the land and can be easily transported in the family van.
The financial returns of owning a small herd of alpacas are generous. Returns made from raising alpacas come from the sales of alpaca offspring and alpaca bi-products ie. raw fibre, processed and spun fibre, and finished Alpaca garments. Alpacas are an investment you can hug.
Alpacas (cousins to the Llama) are small endearing animals with a life span of approximately 20 to 25 years. Adults weigh 100 to 175 lbs. and stand 32-36" at the withers. Their gestation period is around 11 ½ months. A single baby called a "cria" is normally delivered without assistance during the daylight hours. Twins are rare, and a cria generally weighs 14 to 20 lbs. at birth and can stand to nurse within an hour. Alpacas communicate through soft humming sounds.
They are popular because they are the easiest to care for of all livestock. They are clean (they share a communal dung pile), quiet, odour free, and possess gorgeous highly desired fibre. These hardy animals require good fencing, adequate shade, low protein hay or pasture, and fresh water. They are ideal small acreage livestock, and a pleasure to raise. Alpacas are intelligent and are easy to train, in just a few repetitious sessions they will pick up and retain many behaviors such as accepting a halter, being led, lifting a foot for toe-nail trimming and loading in or out of a vehicle.
Female alpacas are first bred from 12 to 18 months, and are capable of producing one offspring a year. The new mothers are often rebred 2-3 weeks after giving birth. Males reach breeding age at about 3 years.