Does anyone know anything about Alpaca?

[xpaeanx]

I think I might like to get into Alpacas. I was considering buying 1-2 females and keeping them at my Aunt's house(she has a barn/land behind her house and is only 20 minutes from where I live).

I want to do this as a hobby type thing... so I would be breeding & probably showing her and sheering her.

So just some basic questions for now(I'm trying to find a close farm to visit to get the whole DL).

1) There appear to be two types of Alpaca: Huacaya and Suri.
-What the major differences?
-Is one "better" to get into?... I'm leaning towards Suri right now, but that's just based on looks

2) Is there a better color to buy when your first starting out? (easier to sell the fabric). I was thinking about getting a white one.

3) How much do they norm eat?

4) What routine vax/vetcare are required for alpaca? How much of that can I do myself?

5) What do I look for in the breeding farm I buy them from?

6) They're expensive, but I hear you can finance them? and they're also 100% insurable. How does that work?

7) Any links?

8) Anything anyone would want to add?

*not sure what section this goes in... so I put it in the FH*

[iwantmypup]

They have really soft fur.

[Sweet72947]

All I know about Alpaca is that there is a bunch of them on a farm down the street from me, and they seem to be very placid creatures, and they don't seem to care about the existence of anyone or anything but the people that feed them, lol. Here's a good link for you though:
The Alpaca Owners and Breeders Association

[xpaeanx]

LOL, yes their fur is really soft!

sweet, I was actually browing that site this morning. it's about the most informative alpaca site I've found so far.

[Xandra]

I have llamas. If I remember the suri fiber is worth more, but so are the animals.
I don't know what you're expecting from them but as Squishy said they aren't real friendly. Unlike dogs, horses, goats, cats, etc, they don't seem to have a social niche people can fill... they aren't affectionate with each other* and they aren't with people. OK OK I'm sure there are some
are some exceptions but a goat for instance, when they're bottle raised they are a lot of fun. For a fun animal I would get some fiber goats or something. Cheaper too.

* you won't believe this but a few times I have seen the female performing oral sex on the (castrated) male. I am a skeptic. I do not jump to these conclusions easily but the only other explanation I could come up with was that she was trying to "nurse" from him (we only saw them at 100 ft away or so). But the action was all wrong for nursing. There was no udder butting or anything, just rhythmic movement. I googled it and apparently oral sex has been recorded in some other species as well. Well I swore to put it on Youtube next time they did it but they seem to have had a falling out; I haven't seen them at it since.

[eddieq]

These folks are 5 minutes from my house. The kids always yell, "Alpaca!" when we drive past.

Kraussdale Alpacas

[xpaeanx]

Xandra, they are going to be farm animals not pets, so they don't need to be my friend, they just need to not try and kill me and walk nicely on a lead... lol.

eddie, I would yell "alpaca!" too! LOL.

[FoxyWench]

1) There appear to be two types of Alpaca: Huacaya and Suri.
-What the major differences?
-Is one "better" to get into?... I'm leaning towards Suri right now, but that's just based on looks
The Huacaya tends to be a hardier animal, their coat is "wooly" and they tend to have a fluffier look, huacaya wool can be spun alone and is very warm.
the Suri has a longer silky coat, they tend to have a weaker imune system, and their wool is generally spun with other wools as its so "slippy" in terms fo temperment there the same beast :P, your not gonna make much money on wool with a small heard due to cost of equiptment so get whichever one YOU like and learn to use the wool yourself

2) Is there a better color to buy when your first starting out? (easier to sell the fabric). I was thinking about getting a white one.
White is the easiest fiber color to sell as it can be dyed, however again, your not gonna cover your costs by selling so get whichever you personally like, i personally LOVE spotted alpaca! but wool from solids does sell better, whit also tends to sell for the cheapest but you have the largest market in the color, the reds tend to sell for more per ounce but less buyers.

3) How much do they norm eat?
This realy depends on how much pasture you have acess too, they do best on a low protein grasses so if you have good pasture with a realy good low protein grass youll feed alot less, and of course more land the better. ive been told up to 5 alpaca can survive with little to no suplimentation on a good 1 acre pasture, up to 20 can survive on an acre with some suplimentation

4) What routine vax/vetcare are required for alpaca? How much of that can I do myself?
Rabies and dewormings are generally the only normal vet stuff, wormings you can do yourself, rabies must be done by a lisenced vet.

5) What do I look for in the breeding farm I buy them from?
check out backyardherds.com, its much the same as finding a dog breeder lol. theres also ALOT of alpacas down south going for cheap!!!

6) They're expensive, but I hear you can finance them? and they're also 100% insurable. How does that work?
some farms will finance, some of the bigger famrs accept credit cards...some will do a thing similar to co-ownership in which they get so many crias (babys) back before you legally own the aplaca...
you may also want to look into "rescue" theres alot of alpaca down south and in states like misourie that are literally being given away due to the economy, most of these are young adults, "thinning of the heard" ect, you can get some realy good deals out there for unproven females particularly, look around...
your money is in the crias not the wool so females are your best bet for making some cash back off them, and these owner placed unlike dogs do not come with spay/neuter.

8) Anything anyone would want to add?
DO NOT get petting zoo animals or bottle babies!!!
unlike many animals where bottle feeding makes them easier to handle in alpaca and llama this just removes all fear (and respect) for humans, even a small alpaca can be dangerous and most of the issues come from bottle babies or petting zoo animals that have learnt humans mean hand feeding, humans mean i get pushy and in your face i get food, and with an alpaca in your face means dominance...
too many people think a snuggly llama or alpaca as a bay is CUTE so encorage it, this teached this animal that there is no boundry and can turn into a major issue. they are stubborn tempermental animals and RESPECT is a huge key to keeping them and being happy with your flock, when you walk into their paddock they shoudl give you room, this isnt fear of you or dislike its respect, if an alpaca gets in another alpacas face its to challenge them. this also goes for an alpaca that stands in yoru way and makes you walk around them, THEY are in charge in that situation, instead you need to make them move out of your way.
crias raised in a heard with other alpacas, and correct human interaction, halter training, comming when YOU want them to ect make WONDERFULL "pets" however and they are awesome animals!!!

i personally want 3 alpaca when i get my farm,so be warned, if you get alpaca i might just have to come visit you!!!

[Fran101]

We have alpacas here at school, they started out as donations to the school as babies (bottle babies) and they are simply the 2 most annoying animals on the face of this earth. its not that they are mean, but from years of tours, students groups, etc.. feeding and petting them you cannot walk into their area without them being ALL OVER YOU and they are darn pushy!!

they are like really annoying huge untrained dogs lol and they are a PAIN!


On the plus side.. they are very soft, I know they sell scarves or something from them on campus

as long as your arent in their paddock, they are very quiet and docile. they interact with eachother, look at people that walk by, and dont really cause a fuss.

they have a indoor shed thing that opens out into their feild.. they never destroy the fences or mess with anything like the horses do.

One of them goes to schools and nursing homes, they are VERY social with people...
just when they are together and in "their" area. they are a PAIN!

Hope it helps

[Romy]

The largest herd of alpacas in America is just down the road from our house.

Alpacas of America - Alpaca farm in Washington State and breeder of exceptional Huacayas and Suris

They do financing, and their animals are gorgeous.

If I was going to start out with any kind of large stock, I'd start with two bred females. Preferably younger/middle aged ones that have successfully given birth without any complications. From the babies, you can keep them and continue growing your herd or you can sell them and make back some of your initial investment.

Pick colors you like and the fiber type you like. There will be a market for whatever you produce. It's most important you go with something you want. If you have any preferences for doing fiber work yourself, I'd go with that.

You might look into their color genetics and pick a female that has the potential to produce a variety of different colored babies.