About Alpaca

The Alpaca is a domesticated species of South American camelids. It resembles a small llama in superficial appearance.

Alpacas are kept in herds that graze on the level heights of the Andes mountains of Ecuador, southern Peru, northern Bolivia, and northern Chile at an altitude of 3500 to 5000 meters above sea-level, throughout the year. Alpacas are considerably smaller than llamas, and unlike them are not used as beasts of burden but are valued only for their fiber.

Alpaca fiber is silky, soft, supple and smooth to the touch. It is prized for its unique silky feel and luxurious handle. It has unique thermal properties due to the microscopic air pockets found in the fiber. These pockets allows the user to breathe through it on warm days, and likewise trap body heat in cold weather. It is also elastic and non-flammable. Alpaca fiber is softer than cashmere or angora, and warmer and lighter weight than wool, without the prickle-factor that some wool has. Since alpaca fleece has no lanolin, it is easier to process and is hypoallergenic.

Alpacas are carefully sheared like sheep, but often using a table and only once a year in the spring. The relatively small numbers compared to other fleece bearing livestock contributes to alpaca fiber’s high value and exclusivity. The weight of an alpaca fleece is 2 to 12 lbs.

ECO-FRIENDLY ALPACAS

The alpaca's two-toed feet are soft pads protected on the top and sides by toe nails. Unlike hard hooves, they leave the terrain undamaged. And as they graze, they only nibble the top of the pasture grass rather than uprooting it. By rotating between two or three pastures, there is always a fresh supply of orchard grass. Alpacas use a common waste pile, so clean up is easy and quick. Their waste products are less odorous than other livestock.

Alpacas can thrive on small acreages, providing forage to 5 to 10 Alpacas per acre is perfectly adequate. Alpaca ranching is naturally sustainable. The product Alpacas provide is their extremely fine fiber which is shom once a year. The Alpacas are not harmed in this process, and live in excess of 20 years. Alpacas bear one cria (Baby Alpaca) per year, thereby preserving their habitat by avoiding overpopulation.