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Alpaca Facts
- Alpacas come in two types - the Huacaya and the Suri
- Alpacas come in colors - 22 natural colors, plus many variations and blends
- Alpacas are easy to raise - they require minimal feed, shelter, fencing, or veterinary care.
- Alpacas are earth friendly - they are ruminant like, browsing on natural grasses and walking on padded feet without harming trees or terrain; they can be pastured 5 to 10 per acre
- Alpacas are easy to clean up after - they deposit droppings in a communal spot
- Alpacas are safe - they are easy to handle, they do not butt or bite, they have no incisors, horns, hoofs or claws.
- Alpacas live 15 to 20 years
- Average height: 36" at the withers.
- Average weight: 15 to 20 pounds at birth, 100 to 200 pounds at maturity
- Breeding: Alpacas do not come into heat. Ovulation is induced during the mating process.
- Average Gestation: 335 - 350 days (11½ months), twinning is rare
- Birth: Birth almost always occurs in the daytime and is often so quick the actual event goes unseen. Babies are up within 30 minutes and nurse within an hour.
- Alpacas are not eaten in North America - they are not killed for food like other farm animals in this country.
- Alpacas produce a cash crop - one of the world’s finest and most luxurious natural fibers. It is shorn from the animal yearly for Huacayas and every other year for Suris. Soft as cashmere; warmer, lighter and stronger than wool; used by spinners, weavers, knitters, fiber artists and high end clothing designers
- Alpacas are fully insurable against loss and come with reproductive guarantees.
- Alpacas have tax advantages
- Alpacas have their own Alpaca Registry Virtually every alpaca in the U.S. is registered (100,000) using DNA from blood samples.
- Alpaca owners have strong, active organizations nationally and locally
Alpacas were a central part in the Incan culture that was located on the high Andean plateau and mountains of South America. They, and their cousins, the Llama, have been domesticated for thousands of years. They were first imported to the United States in 1984 and are now being successfully raised and enjoyed throughout North America and abroad. Click on the links below to learn more about these wonderful animals:
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