Alpaca Farming Facts Alpacas are curious and friendly animals and relatively easy to raise on a farm. They will usually approach handlers and sniff at them but tend to shy away if a hand is reached out to touch or pet them. We have found that gentle handling and frequent interaction makes the alpacas more trusting and less resistant to being touched. Obviously in taking care of alpacas it is important that they be comfortable with being handled. Early and regular halter training encourages the alpaca to learn to trust its handlers. Female alpacas grow to be around 150-175 pounds when full grown and males grow to between 180-198 pounds. The cria are born at between 14-19 pounds and should reach almost 90 pounds before their first birthday. Many breeders of alpacas breed for smaller animals within the normal range as size can be inversely correlated with the fineness of the fiber produced by the alpaca. In other words, a larger alpaca may have less fine fleece which may in part be explained by its genetic heritage. In South America alpacas are bred for volume rather than fineness and it is not unheard of for them to breed alpacas with llamas to produce larger alpacas with more fleece. The American alpaca industry is striving towards dense fiber with a low micron count. Alpacas are for the most part non-aggressive. Their natural defense is a reflex kick to the rear and spitting. Most spitting behavior is reserved for pecking order tussles within the herd, or to keep cria in line. A loud repetitve "barking cough" acts as a warning call to others. This is a sound that the mockingbirds in our area have picked up and we often have to double check to make sure there is no real threat to our alpacas when we hear it. A soft humming is another sound they make, usually when stressed and to keep in touch with the other alpacas in the herd. Depending on the individual personality of the alpaca, some may resist some care-taking chores more strenuously than others. One of our alpacas routinely screams at every inoculation, toe nail trimming and throughout the shearing process. She's always the first in line at feeding time though. Alpacas are herd animals and need to have at least one other alpaca for company. Males and females are kept in separate pastures. Males will usually pace along the fence line of their pasture in the area that gives them the best possible view of "their" girls. Any disturbance in the girls' pasture is sure to result in a response from the males! Farm conditions Alpacas are kept in normal farm pastures, usually with six foot fencing with 2x4 holes. The purpose of the fences are largely to keep potentially harmful animals out rather than to keep the alpacas in. Dogs are usually the biggest threat to alpacas. Alpacas are at home on rough hilly ground as well as flat pasture. Alpacas are more comfortable in cooler climates. High heat and humidity can put a stress on them. We happen to live in a hot, humid area and must watch out for heat stress. Late spring shearing, plenty of fresh water, a small wading pool with a couple of inches of water and frequent hosing helps our alpacas weather the heat. We also provide them with fans in the stalls and a mineral supplement designed to combat heat stress. Feed Alpacas are foragers and feed on the grass in the pasture. In the winter months we provide them with hay. Every day the alpacas also eat about a cup of feed mix that provides needed nutrients not available in the grass or hay. Since alpacas are not terribly discriminating about what they eat, it is important to be aware of potentially harmful or poisonous plants in your area. Clover, for example, can be harmful as it has a high protein content that is not good for alpacas. Mustering Alpacas are moved by walking behind them with outstretched arms. They prefer not to be mustered by dogs, but they do get used to dogs on the farm. Our alpacas move towards the stalls every time they see us as they just assume it is feeding time. This actually makes our job easier when we need to perform necessary chores. We often time such chores to coincide with feeding to reinforce the alpacas behaviour so we don't have to shoo them very often from one field to another. Alpacas can be trained to walk on a halter and a lead. I would recommend such training as it aids in the bonding process between alpacas and handler.
hand shorn or sheared with electric clippers or shears. Some farms hire professional shearers. We are still small enough to attempt this ourselves, often with comical results, but the fleece is still terrific! We use special block restraints that are attached to the legs of the alpacas by straps, who are then laid down. When one side of the alpaca is sheared, we roll it over and do the other side. Fleece types are sheared in order, with the blanket fleece taken off first and cleaned, weighed and stored separately from neck and leg fleece. We are able to do two alpacas a day, restricted not by time, but by energy. Professional shearers can do 30 alpacas in a day! As stressful as shearing seems to be, it actually is a relief to the alpacas to have the heavy fleece off them. Fiber Alpacas come in 22 different colors and produce between 4.5-8 pounds of fiber annually. The fiber is generally described in terms of density, crimp, handle and micron count. The intended purpose of the alpaca breeders farm is what guides the direction the individual breeding program takes. Our farm is breeding for color and low micron count because we value the fiber for its use in crafting and by fiber artists who spin, weave, knit or felt. Others breed for white because that is the color that will be useful for large scale processing. The only mills currently available for processing the alpaca fiber in this country are cottage industry, small scale mills. Body Scoring Body scoring should be conducted monthly. A good time to check is during the monthly worming regimen. This hands-on check of the alpaca can detect problems before they become too serious. During the winter months it is difficult to accurately gauge an alpaca's nutritional health simply by looking since the fleece is so dense. Breeding Males are able to be studs from the age of three years and females are mated at eighteen months and can breed until they are 14 or 15 years old. Young males practice breeding behavior from a very young age. An open female will cush while the male mounts her from behind. When breeding, it is a good idea to wrap the tails of both the male and female with flex-wrap. This keeps the male cooler and makes for an easier entry to the female. Alpaca Pregnancy
mated as soon as two weeks after birth. Alpacas are induced ovulators. This means that they do not have a cycle, and can be mated at any time they are not pregnant as the female is receptive to the male then. The female is induced to ovulate by the action of mating. Different forms of breeding practices are used on different farms. Some control the breeding by introducing the male to the female at specific times over the course of several days. Others put the female and male together in a separate pasture for a variable amount of time and let nature take its course. Artificial insemination is possible too. Within two to three weeks of the initial breeding, if the female is pregnant she will not respond to the male by cushing. Her progesterone level at that point will be higher and she will spit off the male. This early indicator of pregnancy is commonly referred to as the 'spit test'. If the female is not pregnant, her progesterone level will be low, and she will sit down for the male and the mating process is repeated. Progesterone is what helps to maintain pregnancy. Thus pregnancy can be tested by a blood test, which measures the progesterone in the alpaca. A pregtone is a machine that can be used to confirm that a pregnancy continues and that the fetus has not been reabsorbed by the mother. Rather than a picture, the pregtone emits beeping sounds that bounce off fluid that detect whether the alpaca is pregnant or not. Ultrasound scans of an alpaca can be done at 60-90 days to see the fetus. As the pregnancy nears term, the progesterone level drops in preparation for birthing. Signs that your alpaca is in the late part of her pregnancy are moving away from the herd, sitting off alone, and sitting up on their hips, looking uncomfortable. This behaviour may start as much as 2 weeks prior to birthing. Adding fenugreek to your pregnant alpaca's feed may help her at this stage in her pregnancy. Alpaca Birthing
in the wild the baby cria has to be up and walking with the dam by the time the herd moves away to a safe place for the night. Normal alpaca labour can be divided into 3 stages – preparation, cria birth, placenta passing. Contractions begin – the cervix relaxes, and the cria begins to head into the birthing canal. This stage can take from 1 to 6 hours and some alpacas may not show signs of discomfort. Most alpacas deliver standing up, and usually the head and front feet come first. The cria will appear to be diving out and heading for the ground. The female may have short rest periods, sitting, lying, or even eating, during this process. The cria drops to the ground and the placental cord breaks. The female may sniff her cria, but does not lick it clean. The herd will come and meet the new arrival. The third stage of birthing is the passing of the placenta, usually within 1 hour of birth. It should be checked for completeness, collected and taken away from the pasture and buried. Cria Care Usually an experienced mother is able to take care of a new-born cria without interference from anyone. There are some things to take care of though for the first few weeks of a cria's life. Upon birth, take the temperature, weigh and observe the cria. Warm with a towel if too cold. Put iodine on the belly button and check for hernia. Once the cria has stood up, taken some steps and successfully nursed, taking in the colostrum, the proud breeder can then relax. This is the very minimal of informational tidbits on cria care. Please be sure to read up on this and to consult your vet. |
Score 1: Backbone very prominent. Ribs are clearly felt. Brisket
shows no fat.
Severely undernourished, get on good pasture and supplemental
feed rapidly. Do fecal egg count. If eggs, or if no improvement, get
the vet.
Score 2: Can feel backbone, ribs are prominent, firm brisket. Thin
animal. Check pastures, supplement feed, may consider fecal egg
count dependent on age, pasture, and season.
Score 3: This animal is fine. Can feel the backbone, but does not
stand out. Can just feel ribs. Brisket has some movement when
handled.
Score 4: Described as "somewhat overweight". Difficult feeling
backbone, cannot feel ribs. Nothing to worry about, but cut out
supplemental feed.
Score 5: Obese! Cannot feel backbone or ribs, brisket wobbles
when touched. This animal is a problem and may have difficulty with
reproduction.
Difficult to deal with – isolate (or rotate companion), limited rations,
lots of exercise. Try putting water at one end of a very long fully
grazed yard, and hay at the other.
Score 1
Score 2
Score 3
Score 4
Score 5