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In a nutshell: they are beautiful, peaceful, curious, friendly, and luxurious. Alpacas are very low maintenance; extremely easy to take care of. It costs very little to care for Alpacas. Alpacas do no harm to the land. And, Alpacas have luxurious fiber that is hypoallergenic, highly sought after, and comes in a large variety of colors!

Alpacas are part of the Camelid species, just like Llamas. Alpacas come from South America; Chile, Peru, and Bolivia. They are different from Llamas though in that alpacas are smaller than Llamas, and they are not pack animals. And, alpacas have smaller, straighter, spear shaped ears; Llama ears are banana shaped.

Alpacas are extremely easy on pastures, as they do not have hooves. Their feet are padded, and they have toenails! And, when alpacas graze, they nibble on the grasses; they do not pull out grasses by the roots.

Alpacas are very clean animals, and will choose just one or two spots to use for a bathroom. All the alpacas in the herd will use these same spots. And the their dung is easy to clean up. It's just small bean like pellets that scoop up easily. The South American Indians use the alpaca dung for fuel, and gardeners love the rich fertilizer that alpaca dung produces.

Our first 2 alpacas: Frankie and Johnny!

Even though alpacas are small and easy to handle, they are not pets. They are prey animals; animals that predators (stray dogs, mountain lions, bears) hunt to kill. Because they are prey animals, alpacas have a natural flight instinct, and the more of them there are in a herd, the safer they feel. When treated with patience, calmness, and respect, alpacas do learn to trust us. Because alpacas are intelligent, they are easy to train. And they are gentle enough for children to lead, and make wonderful 4-H projects.

The costs for taking care of alpacas are very low compared to other livestock. One bale of hay will last two alpacas two weeks. They don't require grain, but it can be given as a filler to alpacas who have a tougher time keeping weight on. We chose to supplement with a nutritional pellet to ensure that they get all of the nutrients that they require. Of course, like any livestock, fresh water needs to be available at all times. Maintenance costs are low too. We test for worms twice a year and treat as necessary (haven't had to treat yet!). Nail trims are done every 3 months or so, some of them need occassional teeth trimmings, and yearly vaccines are all that is needed.

Alpacas don't require much in terms of shelter, as they love to be outdoors, and are used to a very harsh climate. They do need at least a 3-sided shelter so they have the option to come in out of the rain! The females with newly born cria (baby) will need more adequate shelter during harsher temperatures. And alpacas don't require much land. Four to six alpacas can be comfortably kept on one acre of land.

Alpaca babies are called crias. Alpacas generally have one cria, twins are rare. Their gestation period is about 335 days. And females are ready to breed around 2 years old, but some start earlier, as early as 18 months. The males mature around 3 years old, but they too can have early "bloomers"!

Alpacas are sheared once per year, usually in the springtime. Their fleece is a beautiful, luxurious fiber, that is comparable to cashmere. Alpaca fleece is used for such things as: high fashion fabric for designer clothing, luxury apparel, coats, sweaters, hats and mittens, unique decorator items, and specialty interior fabrics and textiles.