10270 East Gregory Road Albany, Indiana 47320
Phone 765-789-8133 email stravismc@aol.com
Country Living at it's Best in America's Heartland
10270 East
Gregory Road Albany, Indiana 47320
Phone 765-789-8133 email
stravismc@aol.com
Country Living
at it's Best in America's
Heartland
If I only had a dime for every time someone asked that
question or called the Alpaca a baby llama. Many people throughout the United
States have never met an alpaca or even know they exist. It is fun to
introduce Alpacas to somebody new.
The Alpaca is a member of the Camelid family. This includes Camels,
Llamas, Guanacos, and Vicunas. All members of the this family can produce very
desirable fibers for people. The Vicuna, Alpaca and Camel are the most notable fiber
producers of the family. The Vicuna and Guanco are the wild members of the
family. The Camel, Llama and Alpaca have been domesticated for thousands of
years. The Vicuna, Guanco, Llama and Alpaca are native to South America.
The wild vicuna was close to extinction, but now has numbers in the 100,000 range. They
provide the world’s rarest fine animal fiber. The Peruvians round up the wild
Vicunas once a year to shear their valuable fiber. This event is certainly a big
deal. Only a portion of the fiber can be taken from the Vicuna. If too much is
removed the Vicuna will not live. There are strict government rules protecting the
Vicuna. It is difficult to obtain Vincuna fiber and export it from South America.
The vicuna and guanaco have only one color. The Vicuna is the closest wild relative of the Alpaca. The Guanco is the closest
wild relative of the Llama. The Alpaca is about 1/3 to 1/2 the size of a
Llama. The Alpaca was domesticated for fiber production. The llama was
domesticated as a beast of burden, packing. The Llama population is higher in the
United States than in South America. Modern methods of transportation have taken the
place of Llamas in South America in many locations. In North America, like horses,
we enjoy collecting these grand animals and showing them off. They make great
companion animals.
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Only if you resemble a carrot or cherrio.
The alpaca and llama were domesticated from the wild Vicuna and Guanaco
starting about 6,000 years ago by the peoples living in South America. The larger llama
was domesticated as a pack animal. The smaller alpaca was breed for its fine fiber.
The Inca cultures used the fiber exclusively for royalty and the upper
classes. The husbandry practices were deeply intertwined with their religious beliefs.
With the belief that anything outside of European Christianity was bad, the Spanish began
destroying the Andean cultures in the 1500s. The pre-conquest population of llama and
alpacas was estimated up to 50 million. Within 100 years of the Conquest 90 percent of the
llamas and alpacas disappeared from Spanish tax rolls along with 80 percent of the human
population.
Alpaca fiber, one of the greatest natural fiber resources in the world,
has remained an underdeveloped resource for the last four and one half centuries due to
neglect and mismanagement. South American governments have helped or encouraged little to
development an expanding alpaca fiber market. The Europeans did not recognized the value
of Alpaca fiber until the mid-1860s. The alpaca fiber industry has suffered greatly in the
20th century due to economic forces in South America, mismanagement, drought and
terrorism. With shifting government controls records were difficult to maintain. Terrorist
killed animals in large numbers as symbolic gestures to the government. Breeding and
management remains a subsistence existence among most traditional pastorialists.
Inbreeding is not avoided. Conception and birth rates are only about 50 percent. There are
an estimated 3 million alpacas worldwide.
Alpacas were first introduced into the United States in 1984. Alpacas
were introduced to Australia in 1988. Today the Australian population is similar to the
U.S. Peru began exporting their alpacas including the rare Suri alpaca in 1991. Peru has
closed their exports as of this year. The U.S. quarantine station in Florida has been
closed. As of this year the United States Alpaca Registry has closed registration to any
animal which does not have registered parents.
Alpacas are fiber producing animals. Alpaca fiber is one of the finest animal fibers in the world. It is
comparable to mohair, cashmere and other rare fibers. The fiber is very soft, light and
warm without the prickle of sheep’s wool. The fibers are semi-hollow, giving Alpaca
fiber added insulating value.
Alpacas have one of the finest hands of any natural fleece.
Alpacas are shorn annually in the spring and produce on average 4 lbs of fiber. The fiber
sells retail in the U.S. Cottage Industry between $2.00 & $3.00 per ounce. The
first fleece or baby fleece is the finest, softest fleece the animal will produce and the
mostly highly prized and expensive.
Alpacas lack the natural body oils produced by most animals. For
processing these oils are often washed out with chemicals or harsh soaps. This washing
process and the natural oils can make it unbearable for some people to wear traditional
sheep’s wool. Alpacas have a single coat which lacks guard hairs. Guard hairs are
more coarse than the soft undercoat which they are designed to protect. Alpaca fiber is
very soft and can be worn next to the skin without irritation.
Alpaca’s board range of natural colors eliminate the need to dye. These colors
come in different shades of white, fawn, brown, grey, black and many in-between colors.
These attributes make Alpaca fiber a highly sought after product.
In the breeding market some colors are more rare than others. For
generations the South American culture has been drawn to bright colors which are not found
in livestock naturally. This requires dyeing, thus a white fleece producing animal has
been the standard. Today in the U.S. Alpacas of a rare color bring higher prices.
There are many outlets for Alpaca Fiber. The highest price is
brought in the Handspinners market. Some of the U.S. Alpaca fiber is sent through
the North American Alpaca Fiber Co-op to South American for processing and sent back to
the U.S. in yarn and finished goods. There are several small regional co-ops being
created to deal with the growing amount of North American Fiber. They are beginning
to produce some fine Alpaca products from fiber grown in the U.S. and products produced
here in the U.S. There are some small processors in the U.S. working with Alpaca fiber and
the number grows annually.
The U.S., Italy, and Japan are the largest consumers of Alpaca fiber.
Italy has long used the fiber is it’s fine clothing which it sells to the upper
class. Tipper Gore wore an alpaca suit to the 1997 inauguration. In 1999 the associated
press of Australia published an internet post stating that the economic crisis in Asia has
not hurt the alpaca fiber market in Japan.
People have also referred to the volatile llama prices at their
introduction to the U.S. in the 1970's. At that time investors were only interested in
high fast returns. Some animals actually sold for up to half a million dollars. The llama
market crashed, but has since stabilized. Today the market for llamas is as farm pets,
show animals or pack animals. There is a small growing market for llama pack animals in
the U.S. Several National and State Parks will allow llamas in as pack animals where they
do not allow horses because of hoof compaction by horses. Alpacas are much better sized
for pets and have easily harvested fiber for wool.
There are two distinct types of alpacas. The Huacaya accounts for 99 percent of all alpacas. It is noted for having crimp in its fiber. This crimp causes the fiber to stand out from the body giving a poodle like look to the animal. The Huacaya was first introduced to the U.S. in 1984.
The Suri alpaca lacks crimp. Its fiber hangs on the body in locks. It has a more graceful appearance, like that of an Afghan hound. The Suri was introduced into the U.S. in 1991. Each having different properties which make it valuable.
The average productive life span of an alpaca is 15 to 20 years. The average alpaca weighs between 120 and 175 lbs. They stand about 36" at the withers (shoulders). Alpacas come in 22 natural colors. Colors include; various shades of fawn, black, brown, grey, white, red, rosegrey, and multi color pintos. They get along well with other animals. My alpacas enjoy our other farm animals. They enjoy the company of their barn cats, sheep, pigs, chickens, etc.... Alpacas do not need to be groomed, a blower to clean off leaves and debre is sufficient. Keeping them perfectly clean can be difficult since they love to roll around on the ground.
Alpacas are very low maintenance when it comes to vet care compared with other livestock and horses. Frequently used vaccines include enterotoximia, tetanus, malignant Edema, blackleg, rabies and leptospirosis. Well ventilated housing, ample pasture and proper diet are the keys to a healthy alpaca.
Reproduction of the alpaca is
slow. The female alpaca can be first bred around the age of 14 months. Gestation is about
11 months, at which time she gives birth to only one cria (baby alpaca). She has
sufficiently recovered and will receive a male 10 to 14 days after birthing. The female
remains pregnant most of her life. Birthing is a simple process and troubles are not often
encountered. In their native South America, the female usually gives birth in the morning
so the cria has time to dry before the cold night air settles in. Sadly the mortality rate
for crias in South America is 50%. With technology and excellent care alpacas experience
very low mortality rates in the U.S. The male alpaca is sexually mature at about the age
of 2 ½ years.
Alpacas are a very intelligent animal and can be easily and quickly trained. Contrary to popular myth, alpacas do not spit at their human care takers. Some breeders mimic spitting by the use a grunt noise and a water gun to get the attention of an alpaca in a stubborn mood. Spitting on humans usually occur when humans get caught in the cross fire between two feeding alpacas. Alpacas are not noisy animals. They make a quiet peaceful humming noise. Alpacas are not capable of chewing on wood fences or biting. They have bottom teeth and a top gum plate making a good chomp impossible. These traits make them excellent animals for disabled people, children and 4-H projects.
One acre of pasture can support up to ten alpacas. In comparison, a single horse requires one acre. The alpaca’s feet are padded and have toe nails, which do not compact the soil. They do not usually eat or destroy trees. They prefer tender grasses which they cut off, not pull up. Alpacas are ruminants. They are very efficient at converting food to energy, eating less that most other farm animals. The pelleted feces a very good natural fertilizer. The herd will choose one or two spots in the pasture to defecate. This makes clean-up easy and controls the spread of parasites. One of the first things I noticed visiting an alpaca farm was a lack of animal or fecal odor (a real benefit since the farm was located in very close proximity to an exclusive neighborhood).
Grazing and browsing account for most of their diet. Most U.S. pastures are much richer than the animal’s traditional, rocky pastures at high altitudes in South America. Alpacas in the U.S. are also fed ½ to one cup of a sweet feed or a mixed grain daily. The traditional low protein diet in South America is detrimental for alpaca reproduction, but keeps micron counts of the fiber desirable low. Only future research will be able to determine the U.S. diet’s effect on fiber micron counts.
In most regions of the
United States a three sided shelter is adequate shelter for alpacas. They need
shelter from summer sun, winter winds and extreme temperatures. Their South
American high altitude home has high daytime temperatures and freezing night
time temperatures. Most breeders have reported their animals would rather stay
outside throughout the year than come into the shelter of the barn. With the
high selling price for alpacas, most breeders have very nice barns for their
alpacas.
Alpacas travel very well. When they travel the "cush." Put simply, they tuck under their legs and sit down. Often times alpaca owners travel with their animals in the backs of mini vans, trucks with cabs or small trailers. We rented a utility van to bring home our first two alpacas. They peacefully sat down and hummed the entire 2 hour ride home. We now have a wonderful 16' stock trailer to transport the alpacas. Flying is also not a problem for the gentle natured alpaca, but our nature has kept us from flying with our alpacas.
The alpaca prices like everything else is subject to the laws if supply and
demand. As per the Alpaca registry there are around 100,000 Alpacas in the
Registry (end of 2006). The U.S. Suri alpaca
population is just about 15% of that. The
alpaca’s size, ease of care, attractiveness, and investment potential make it a
very desirable animal. The Suri will remain a stronger investment longer due to
its scarcity in comparison to the Huacaya.
Male alpacas command the highest individual prices, some over $50,000.
The latest world record for an Alpaca is over 1/2 million.
Reproductive females command the highest average price, $12,000
to $40,000 (and up). Prices vary widely depending upon the color, age, and breeding
status. Most active selling breeders market to some extent on the Internet,
public appearances, auctions and shows.
The primary income source of today’s alpaca industry is in breeding stock. Suri
alpacas are very rare and in much demand. Top quality Alpacas are often sold
before they reach weaning age. Long term and
throughout history the alpaca market is a fiber market. This is the long term
goal of U.S. breeders to establish a substantial premium U.S. alpaca fiber
market.
Studs fees are a main income source of male alpacas. Depending the on male’s
color and the offspring he has produced, stud fees can run between $1000 - $10,000.
Research the males you buy breedings for, just because he is expensive does not
make him great. Many farms limit the number of breeding they sell in
year. Males are often used in shows and can win dollar awards. Their production
also qualifies the males income potential and dollar value.
Breeding alpacas as a business has numerous tax benefits which many find
attractive. All expenses attributable to your alpaca operation can be written
off as expense. The alpaca is a depreciating asset. They have a depreciable life
of 5 years. You can depreciate the animal in five short years and still have
another 15 years of productive life in the animal. Most depreciable assets are
fully spent and have no value after they have been depreciated out.