About Alpacas

Alpaca ownership can be for both pleasure and profit. If you are looking for alternative livestock that involves no slaughter, utilises small or uneconomic pasture acreage, is hardy, requires minimal daily attention and yet provides a valuable and luxurious fibre crop then the alpaca will surprise and delight.

History
Alpaca Breeds
Alpaca Fibre
Cost of Ownership
Husbandry/Care
Alpaca Future

History

The Alpaca along with the Llama, Guanaco and Vicuna are all members of the South American Camelid family, found mainly in the South American countries of Peru, Chile and Bolivia.

Both the Guanaco and Vicuna remain undomesticated to this day and it is now generally believed that the domesticated Llama evolved from the Guanaco and the domesticated Alpaca from the Vicuna.

Domestication of the Alpaca began some five thousand years ago and with the Llama became an important part of the economy of the Andean people providing clothing, food, transport, with the dried dung used as fuel. The Inca empire was remarkably successful in further refining the Alpaca through rigidly controlled breeding programmes such that even today, according to archaeologists, the Inca Alpacas had a fibre quality that is still not consistently achieved to this day.

The invasion by the Spanish in the 16th century saw the introduction of European livestock, mainly Merino sheep, and the once highly organised Alpaca herds were decimated and those remaining pushed to the higher elevations on the altiplano of the Andes (4000-5000m). Here the Alpaca was forced to adapt to the sparse vegetation, the extremes of temperature and was free to breed without human selection.

The following years of Agrarian Land Reform followed by the era of large herds run by the traditional pastoralists and then the terrorism in the 1980's, made the organisation of breeding stations difficult. Nevertheless in the Alpaca areas of southern Peru there remain a few large and well organised farms intent on reinstalling controlled husbandry. These breeding programmes coupled with government funded research mean that selective bloodlines are beginning to appear again.

During the mid 19th century the English textile merchant Sir Titus Salt discovered the qualities of Alpaca fibre. Queen Victoria wore dresses made of alpaca cloth and did much to promote the qualities of the fibre. An alpaca coat was a 'must have' for every gentleman and many of these were passed down to later generations and are in use today. His mill and Saltaire, the model village built for his workers, is a world heritage site.

Worldwide the Alpaca population is estimated to be 3 million, with the majority in the South American regions of Peru, Chile and Bolivia. Today the Alpaca is farmed not only in South America, but also in North America, Canada, Australia and New Zealand. The North American terrorities are estimated to have close to 60 000 animals with Australia having a similar number. In the UK current estimates are around 10,000.

Alpaca Breeds

There are two types of Alpaca being bred for fibre, the Huacaya and the Suri.

The Suri has a lustrous fine fibre with no crimp, that hangs down from the body in long pencil like locks. Although Suri numbers are rising due to the efforts of some breeders, they are in the minority.

The more common breed of alpaca is the hardy Huacaya whose soft and dense fibre has a crimp, lustre and insulating properties much sought after by the textile business.

Alpaca Fibre

Alpaca fibre is more akin to hair due to its cellular composition, however it is generally described as a speciality fibre and a wool. It has a medullated core made up from air-filled cells which may be interrupted or continuous and this contributes significantly to both its insulating properties as well as its strength. Alpaca wool is second only to silk for strength. The number of scales on individual fibres is considerably reduced compared to sheep's wool and this helps to explain why wool allergic people do not have the same reaction to Alpaca.

Alpacas have few guard hairs or secondary coat and careful selective breeding has ensured that this rarely exists within the prime fleece area. Overall the fibre has a soft and silky feel and exhibits a varying degree of crimp. Its fineness is measured in microns and on average falls within the range 20-35, with 20-22 being considered the finest.

Alpacas must be shorn annually as they will not naturally shed their fibre and on average will clip between 2.5 and 5 kg per year. The fibre commands a premium price on the world market where the relatively small worldwide population compared to sheep, helps to maintain consistently higher prices.

Alpaca wool is the only natural fibre that comes in such a range of colour. The mills of Peru recognise 22 natural shades from seven basic colours. These range from a true jet black, through the browns and fawns into white. In addition there is a blue or charcoal grey and a rose grey. If desired, it readily takes to dying and can be blended with other fibres offering textile designers endless possibilities.

Breeding programmes in the UK are aimed at increasing the number of animals in the national herd and more importantly increasing the fineness and density of the fleece by the use of carefully selected stud males.

The market for the fibre in Britain is relatively undeveloped as the number of animals is not large enough at the moment to support a commercial processing industry similar to the wool industry. However hand spinners are keen to buy alpaca fleece and are enthusiastic about its fineness and natural colours.

There are a number of mini-mills in the country where UK bred fleeces can be processed into yarn and many breeders are taking this route so that they can produce end products made out of their own fleeces for sale to the general public. There is a Cumbrian group of growers who have recently got together to process their fleeces and the Alpaca Fibre Forum, run by Su Lenk of AzSu Alpacas, which turns its members fleeces into products. These routes to market are on a cottage industry scale.

See our page on UK Alpaca, a new company that has been set up to buy huacaya alpaca fibre from British growers and resell it as high quality yarn.

The commercial UK fibre processors need a minimum of 1000kg of each colour to run their machinery efficiently. They have long been used to irregular or inadequate supplies of all colours of imported fibre and a classing of some 900kg of mixed UK grown fibre in 1997 by Peter Gilbert, an experienced wool classifier, said it represented some of the best alpaca ever seen in Bradford.

The opportunity now exists in the UK to start breeding programs aimed at not only increasing the number of animals in the national herd but also to increase the fineness and density of the fleece by the use of carefully selected stud males.

Cost of Ownership

Alpacas are expensive to purchase but economic to 'run'. Breeding females cost in the range of £2000 - £7000 dependent on age and absolute quality. This price includes a confirmed pregnancy, veterinary health certificate and delivery. Geldings will cost in the range of £300 - £750. The exact number of animals and the mix of male to female will depend entirely on your aims and requirements.

The costs associated with each animal are typically:

• Winter hay at £1.50 a bale. One bale per head per month.
• Supplementary feeds. Typical ration is 250-500gms per day. Current cost of a 25kg bag is £8.00.
• Veterinary provision and prophylactic treatment twice yearly, £25.00
• Shearing, feet and teeth trimming £12.00
• Some provision must be charged for grass care and maintenance.
• Re-mating of females from £350 to £850 per service including all keep and veterinary provision.
• Mortality and theft Insurance is recommended for the breeding females at 3.5% of value.

The commercial gains result from the sale of the annual fibre crop plus income from the sale of male and female progeny. For those wishing only to keep geldings as field pets the fibre income should offset the running costs. For those looking at a return on the investment in breeding stock whilst herd numbers are increasing, the sale of animals can produce good returns.

Husbandry/Care

Alpacas are lovable and endearing animals that are a pleasure to be around and to work with. Their docile nature and natural curiosity makes for easy handling and yet they are hardy and adapt well to our climate.

They are equally at home in a small paddock or as part of a larger herd in a field. They will happily graze with other livestock although they might not compete at the feed troughs. They are instinctively herd orientated preferring to rest, graze and move together. Individual animals cannot be kept on their own.

Stocking rates of 5-6 an acre are comfortable on average pasture, with examples of 10 to the acre being achievable with proper rotation management. They will grow to about 1 metre at the shoulder and weigh 60-80 kg when mature.

They communicate amongst by body posture, tail and ear positions and a variety of soft humming noises. They warn each other if they feel crowded and spit at each other if necessary. They are rarely aggressive to humans and spit only when mishandled. The absence of horns and hooves makes them safe to be around young children.

There is no special requirement for fencing as they do not challenge it and are reluctant jumpers. For perimeter fencing standard medium stock fencing and top plain wire to a height of four feet is adequate to contain them. Barbed wire should not be used and electric lines have limited effect because of the overall fibre coverage. Alpacas cope well with foxes seeing them off with a combination of screeching and advancing as a herd. Consideration will need to be given to creating catch pen areas, and if breeding, to a separate weaning paddock, as well as one for entire males. Access to some form of stabling or stall is also essential should an animal become sick or injured.

Wintering out is quite normal with free access to simple three sided field shelters to protect them from the extremes of weather and to provide dry areas for winter feed. Alpacas are ruminants who are exceptionally efficient converters of fodder, grazing happily on pasture grass , preferring the shorter moist grasses, with hay and small amounts of low protein supplement recommended in winter and during lactation and the final stages of pregnancy and for young stock. Hay consumption is around one small bale per head per month and should be available all year. (1.8%of body weight DM per day). Mineral supplementation will depend on naturally available concentrations within the grass and hay feed. Alpacas are browsers as well as grazers and will enjoy stripping young trees if allowed. The common toxic plants such as Ragwort, Laurel, Laburnum and Yew should be avoided within grazing areas. Access to clean drinking water is essential at all times at around a couple of litres per head per day. They will dehydrate rather than take sour water. With their soft padded feet they do little if any damage to wet pasture ground during grazing.

Alpacas have the habit of defecating at a small number of fixed dung piles and avoid grazing around these sites, making the spread of parasite infestation low and cleaning of pastures much easier. The firm and dry pellet makes an excellent fertiliser.

We recommend a worming and vaccination routine on a six monthly basis with the trimming of toenails as and when needed, this generally amounts to 2 or 3 times a year. Teeth trimming is only necessary on an annual basis and is usually done when the Alpaca is restrained for the annual fleece shearing. Alpacas do not suffer from foot rot nor do they require dipping, dagging, crutching or tail docking as they are free of fibre under the tail. With attentive husbandry, fly strike is rare. They are remarkably disease resistant helping to keep vet bills low.

The female Alpaca can be ready for mating at around 14 to 18 months of age or when she has reached about 65% of her final body weight. She is an induced ovulator and can be bred all year round. Ovulation occurs up to 26 hours after mating and she will be covered by the same male on a repeat basis until she refuses him. Pregnancy confirmation is usually made by ultrasound or progesterone testing. The gestation period is typically 11 1/2 months and will produce one baby or 'cria', with twins being rare, recently estimated at around one in every 2000 births. Remating usually occurs 14 days post partum and with a productive life expectancy of 15 years, she spends most of this time pregnant. Since the foetus remains small for much of the pregnancy this is not an excessive burden on the animal. Alpacas are devoted mothers and the cria will suckle until weaning at six months of age. Males will be mature from about 2 1/2 years of age. We run a strict assessment of young males as regards their suitability for breeding, with the majority being castrated. A sensible management plan will ensure spring or early summer birthings with shearing programmes from late spring through to mid summer.

Alpaca Future

Alpaca numbers in the UK are currently small at around nine to ten thousand. There is no doubt that Alpaca farming will remain a breeding based industry for many years to come while animal numbers increase, bringing profit to careful breeders. Fibre sales will make a contribution to the profit as fibre volumes rise with the £/kg return to the growers, reflecting the added value attributed to the raw fibre by commercial processing into finished goods by the UK fibre co-op.

We would emphasise the following in support of the future:

• The Alpaca and its fibre crop is not a new product. It has been the mainstay of the South American economy for many years, is recognised internationally and is traded successfully on the world markets. Commercial trade in both fibre, yarns, cloth and finished goods is well established.
• The product is not food. There are no DEFRA movement restrictions, passports or other licenses required.
• Australia and North America have had breeding based Alpaca industries running for over ten years. Quality animal prices have held or risen and their breed societies have an enviable reputation.
• The slow breeding rate ensures a controlled population growth that will not depreciate existing stock values overnight.
• The future imports of stock are strictly controlled by DEFRA and entry on to the British Alpaca Society and British Llama and Alpaca Association pedigree registries is conditional on passing tight physical and phenotype examinations. These are designed to protect the integrity of the registries as far as is possible by preventing alpacas with congenital defects from weakening the alpaca breed. We welcome the availability of new genetics to offer improvement in fibre quality and quantity and have ourselves invested heavily in this manner.
• Life expectancy is 20 years, throughout most of which offspring and commercial quality fibre is produced.
• Professional bodies - the Breed Societies and the Fibre Co-operative - are committed to the investment needed to create the best possible conditions for the well being of the alpaca in the UK and commercial returns for the growers of UK fleeces.

Classical MileEnd Alpacas - enquiries@alpaca-uk.co.uk - 01884 243 579