Without a doubt, alpacas are beautiful to look at, especially before their annual haircut; so they look like huge balls of fluff on all fours. But are they easy to maintain?
Alpacas belong to the camelid family and come in different sizes and colors. While there are six different types of camelids, the two we are used to seeing at Alpaca Farming are the Huacaya with its dense, wavy alpaca fleece, and the rarer Suri with its elegant, silky fleece.
While some alpacas owners keep them purely as pets, they make excellent watchdog animals for sheep and chickens, as Mr. Fox is sure to stay away as long as an alpaca is in sight. However, most alpaca owners see their herd as an investment in their future and become alpaca breeders, have alpacas for sale, spin the fine alpaca fleece and make luxurious clothing or sell the alpaca yarn.
Like all other animals, alpacas need food, shelter, fencing, deworming, injections, and also annual shearing. The only difference in their requirements is, of course, that alpacas are much larger than many other farm animals, and it often takes two people to administer an injection to a member of the herd.
Another thing to keep in mind is that the alpacas have a communal bathroom, that is, one of the herd will decide the place to be used and the others will follow. However, the chosen location will change throughout the day! Of course, this makes cleaning the field very easy, but it is also very necessary because alpaca waste is a very good source of fertilizer. The chosen areas quickly turn into long, lush green pastures, but the alpacas do not feed there. It is important that these areas have the grass cut so that the alpacas can return to feed in that area.
The alpacas will undoubtedly give you many hours of pleasure. Like sheep, they will follow you in search of food and quickly become your friends. They are the most fascinating of all animals to observe and time can go by very quickly without you realizing it. They have been pregnant for almost a year now and their pups (crias) are a delight.
So are they difficult to maintain? Its needs are the same as any other animal, but keep in mind that you’ll probably need two people any time you need to administer medication or perform routine tasks like cutting overgrown bangs. And don’t forget to clean the field and mow the grass!