Alpacas are not wild; they are a South American camelid that has been

domesticated for over 6000 years. They originate from the high

Altiplano of Peru, Chile and Bolivia but adapt readily to our lower

altitudes. They are closely related to the llama and fall into two breed standards..





Huacaya Who you calling a Teddy

Bear!





The Huacaya has fibre growing vertically from its skin in small bundles

with a tight crimped wave making the fleece sit off the skin like sheep,

sometimes referred to as the "Teddy Bear" look.





Suri Seen my dreadlocks?





The Suri has a different appearance its fibre grows out of the skin in

bundles/locks without any crimped wave; producing locks that twist and

hang down along the back line of the alpaca. This gives an appearance

much like a Wensleydale sheep. Also the ears are about 2 cm longer

than the Huacaya.





Breeding pairs?





Alpacas are a herd animal and cannot be kept singly but are normally

sold in pairs, either as a pair of non-breeding males or a pair of

breeding females.

It is not normal practice to sell alpacas as breeding pairs as this will

l imit the genetic capability in the coming years.

As herd animals the more you can have the happier they are.





Offspring "Hello Mum"





Alpacas have only one offspring called cria per annum and the

gestation period is 11.5 months, twins do occur but with a frequency of

one in 50,000 births it is rare for both or even one to survive. We have

been lucky enough to have one set of surviving twins. Giving birth is

called 'unpacking'. Alpacas instinctively give birth during the morning to

early afternoon, this enables the cria to dry, stand and suckle before the

temperature drops, they are normally up and about within half an hour

and suckling after an hour, the mothers do not lick the babies when

they are born they leave them to clean themselves on the grass, the

need to survive is strong. Cria are weaned at about six months.





The twins and mum about 1 hour old.





Stocking density





Too many for 1 acre!!!





Alpacas can be kept at a stocking density of approximately 5-6 per acre

depending on the quality of grazing and one must bear in mind that if

breeding alpacas, additional paddocks will need to be made available

at weaning and to separate the growing males from the females.





Shelter





Field shelters should be made available, although they probably won't

use them you feel better when it is raining and you know they can get

into the dry. If you make a pen off the shelter and feed in it every day it

makes it very easy if you need to contain them for routine tasks.





Fencing

Think I better start digging!





Alpacas can jump but rarely want to escape from the herd; normal

stock fencing and bullock hurdles of about 4 ft are sufficient, please do

not use barbed wire.





Feed





we have between 5 and 7 tonnes per month





Alpacas eat grass and hay which should be made available all year

although not much is eaten in the summer. Grass is supplemented with

Alpaca Nuts and a coarse mix (readily available from Alpaca Care Ltd.)

to make sure that they are getting all of the minerals and vitamins

needed with protein, but be warned alpacas are lean and very efficient

grazers which will get fat on to much concentrate.





Husbandry Pregnancy scanning





Alpaca's feet consist of a double soft pad and two toe nails that need to

be kept trimmed as our pastures do not wear them down, this is done

on an ad-hoc basis. Their teeth grow and need grinding down so that

they are able to graze properly the males also grow fighting teeth at

approx. 2 years and these need to be removed, both of these tasks can

be carried out at shearing when the animal is restrained. Alpacas are

vaccinated for clostridial diseases; we do this once a year. Alpacas are

wormed regularly on a six-month basis. They should be given a mineral

paste through the winter months and cria need to be given and

additional ADE supplement to compensate for lack of sunlight. You

should body score (feeling the frame to make sure it is not getting too

fat or losing weight) regularly, their thick fleece hides what is going on

underneath.





Shearing missed a bit





Alpacas are sheared annually and produce an average of about 3.5kg

of fine saddle fibre , although genetically the alpaca has the potential of

up to 6kg. They are normally sheared between May and June and at

this time routine husbandry tasks are also carried out i.e., teeth,

injections, toe trimming etc,a bit like a full service.





Colours





There are 22 officially recognised colours of alpacas and every shade

in between. In the UK we have been working towards breeding

consistently solid one-colour alpacas.





Fibre / Fleece





Alpacas produce a luxury fibre akin to cashmere but harder wearing.

The alpaca fibre industry in the UK is in its infancy, however we are

now seeing numerous private and cooperative initiatives as breeders

work together to add value to this unique product. Crafts such as felt

making, spinning and weaving are starting to see the advantages of

alpaca fleeces, larger mills are setting up to deal in quantities as low as

20kg and as a result quality UK alpaca products are coming onto

market.





Transport





Alpacas travel well in a horsebox or livestock trailer as long as they

have the ability to stand, although they will normally sit whilst the

vehicle is in motion. During a long journey we would recommend a stop

every 2 hours to allow them to stand to relieve themselves or to feed

their offspring.





How do I find out more?





If you want to visit our farm, see our herd and generally find out more

about these lovely creatures give Graham a ring on 07802-263589,

there is no obligation, we need to know that you are sure about your

commitment, but be warned these animals are seriously addictive.