Pinjarra Alpacas - Alpaca Facts

Alpaca Facts

Why Alpacas?
Problems with foxes?
Suris and Huacayas: What are crias?; Do alpacas spit, kick or bite?
How many can I run on my property?: Running alpacas with other stock
What sort of diseases do alpacas get?
Alpaca Fleece: Shearing
Markets for Alpacas

Why Alpacas?

The alpaca industry in Australia has gone from strength to strength and is definitely here to stay. It is probably one of the last of the world’s great fibre industries yet to be fully developed. With the largest coloured herd outside South America, Australia is in a unique position to lead the world in realising the full potential of the alpaca. Current world trend toward using natural fibres mean that there has never been a better time to be part of this exciting industry.

Alpacas are extremely easy to care for, do not require special fencing or pasture, are gentle, inquisitive and easy to handle. They are a manageable size, growing to about 1 metre at the shoulder and weighing up to 70kg at full size. They can be handled by people of all ages, from grannies to grandchildren! Alpacas are ideally positioned for organic farming, as they are naturally hardy, suffering from few diseases and already possessing an amazing array of natural colours in their fleece.

Alpacas are ideal for small acreages, as they optimise available feed, and are gentle on the terrain. Large farms can use them by value adding, or for dingo and fox control. Investors, with no access to grazing land of their own, can still be part of the industry by agisting their alpacas at reasonable rates. The return from alpacas can be quickly gained, as alpacas live for up to 20 years, with a breeding life of over 15 years. There is significant potential for making a good return on invested capital over a relatively short time.

Problems with foxes?

It is hard to believe that such gorgeous, inquisitive and gentle creatures can keep foxes away from your lambs! However, it has been proven that alpacas can improve lambing percentages by 15 - 20 %. While tolerating the family dogs, alpacas will chase and stomp on foxes and dingos. After initial attempts, foxes and dingos will not come near paddocks containing alpacas. Alpacas are easy to care for. They do not require special feed, crutching or tail docking, and are not prone to fly strike or foot rot. Male or wethered alpacas for use against foxes can be purchased from $330 GST incl. Generous discounts apply for bulk purchases. They certainly pay for themselves quickly with the increase in lambing percentages. Usually three to four alpacas per 100 acres for flat country are required and slightly more for rough country.

Suris and Huacayas

Alpacas come in two types, the more common huacaya (pronounced wua’ki’ya) and the rarer suri (pronounced soo’ree). The suri has a completely different fleece structure to the more common huacaya. The huacaya’s fleece grows out from the body and has crimp, like a merino, giving the alpaca an appealing “teddy bear” appearance. In contrast, the suri’s fleece is made up of defined pencil thin staples or locking, with little or no crimp, and which parts along the backline, falling downwards. It has been described as “curtains of silk” and a suri running in full fleece is a wonderful thing to see.

What are crias?

You may notice the word cria mentioned. Cria are baby alpacas! They gestate for approximately 335 days, or 11½ months, and are normally born in the morning weighing 6 – 8 kg, (that’s right, no midnight dramas!). They stay on their mother for about 5 – 6 months.

They then grow into turis (weanlings or adolescents).

Sexual maturity is reached at approximately 15 – 18 months (for females) and 18 - 36 months for males. The adult female is called a hembra. The adult male is called a MACHO!

Females are normally remated about 3 weeks after giving birth. Alpacas can be mated at any time of the year, as the act of mating initiates ovulation. However it is a good idea not to mate them where the cria’s due date falls in extremely hot or cold weather, (i.e., summer in northern parts of Australia and winter in southern parts).

Do alpacas spit, kick or bite?

Alpacas do kick and spit, but rarely bite. Generally, they only kick or spit if irritated or nervous, and mostly at each other! A few animals are more prone to these habits and these are the ones you avoid in the paddock! Some females will spit if you approach their cria after birth. Also spitting is the initial method used to confirm pregnancy, as a pregnant female will spit at a male if he approaches her!

How many alpacas can I run on my property?

Depending on the carrying capacity of your farm, alpacas would normally be stocked at the same rate as sheep (i.e., 1 DSE or Dry Sheep Equivalent). The exception to this is if you have pregnant (= 1.5 DSE) or lactating females (= 2 DSE). The DSE for your property can be determined by speaking to an agricultural consultant, or perhaps your neighbour if they are experienced farmers.

Running alpacas with other stock

Individual alpacas have been very successfully run with sheep, goats and poultry to act as fox guards. The alpacas tend to bond with the foster herd and they are naturally aggressive towards foxes. If running with different livestock, alpacas will pick up the internal parasites associated with the other animals and should be put on the same drenching regime. Because of the risk of the alpacas being kicked, caution should be used if running them with cattle or horses. As they are naturally wary of foxes and dogs, it is best to avoid having them near large aggressive dogs, however they do get used to smaller family dogs.

What sort of diseases do alpacas get?

Compared with other livestock, alpacas are relatively disease free. Because of their dry fleece and naturally clean breech, fly strike is not an issue with alpacas. They do not require mulesing or crutching.

A vaccination program of “6 in 1” (as for sheep and goats), is recommended. Drenching for liver fluke, if grazing in wet areas is also important. As they originate on the altiplano of Peru, they are used to long periods of sunlight. Therefore a vitamin D supplement, given twice during winter, is strongly recommended to reduce the incidence of Rickets.

Many breeders take part in the National JD M.A.P. (Market Assurance Program), and/or the industry instigated Q Alpaca program, which will provide assurance of an animals health status. There have been no confirmed cases of JD in alpaca for 13 years. Note that restrictions of animal movements from state to state may apply. It is best to enquire with the breeder you are purchasing from, the Australian Alpaca Association, or the DPI in your state, for current regulations.

Alpaca Fleece

Alpaca fibre is highly prized for its very soft feel (or handle), its high thermal properties, its durability and its variety of natural colours. Fleece from both types are in high demand, with demand outstripping supply. Huacaya fleece is used in traditional processing such as yarn and fabric production, it is also used as a continental quilt filling. Coarser fibre is used to make luxury carpet and car seat covers.

Suri fleece is in demand from processors requiring beautiful drape and lustre and a gorgeous fine soft feel to their garments. Suits, capes and coats made from suri fleece are exquisite and command very high prices.

Jumpers knitted from alpaca fleece are soft, light and warm.

Shearing

Alpacas are shorn once a year, usually in spring. Shearing is the biggest maintenance required and normally requires an alpaca shearer to come and do the job. A very small percentage of alpacas are shorn standing up, but the preferred method of shearing is to lay the animals on their side and restrain their legs with a tether at each end. This protects both the shearer and the alpaca from being accidentally cut. Depending on the density of the fleece, alpacas can cut anywhere between 1½ and 4 kg of fleece. Some of the high quality stud males will cut more.

Markets for Alpacas

Alpacas bred in Australia are ideally placed in the world market. We have the largest coloured herd outside South America. The quality and “healthy” image of Australian stock means that there is high demand from overseas. Exports to Europe, New Zealand and Asia are frequent.

Domestically, breeders often sell privately to regular customers, or list their animals with web based sales sites. There are also industry magazines that feature sales sections, as well as traditional advertising in newspaper classifieds.

Membership with the Australian Alpaca Association gives breeders access to breeder networks. These can also be helpful if you wish to show your animals. Showing increases exposure and is a great way to meet other breeders with similar goals.

Currently Australian Alpaca Fleece Limited accepts fleece and will pay growers according to the colour, quality and quantity of the fleece. Other private manufacturers and processors also purchase fleece. Craftspeople, such as spinners and weavers, love alpaca fleece! Contact your local farmers market, or Spinners and Weavers group, to explore opportunities for fleece sales.