About
Alpacas
Alpacas are
wonderful mild-tempered animals that make for
great pets and a lucrative investment. These
inquisitive animals are easy to care for. They
don’t eat a lot and require only one acre of
land per 7 animals.
Alpacas eat 1 ½ to 2% of their body weight in hay per day in winter but freely graze in summer. Most farmers supplement them with ½ cup of grain twice daily, plus powdered vitamins and minerals.
Alpacas are herd animals and never feel comfortable alone. They are only about 36 inches tall at the withers and weigh between 100 and 200 pounds. They have toenails and soft padded feet and they only have bottom teeth. Their defense lies in numbers.
These sweet animals rarely spit at their human caretakers but do spit at their pasture mates to establish and maintain pecking order. Many are shy with humans and need their humans to create a trusting relationship before they will let you hug them. They are intelligent and easily trained.
Alpacas are raised for their amazingly soft fleece. They are bred to improve their fleece. They are sheared once each year and give 5-10 pounds of fleece per animal. This fleece is then spun into yarn for knitting, weaving and crocheting, or it is used to make felt.
Alpacas eat 1 ½ to 2% of their body weight in hay per day in winter but freely graze in summer. Most farmers supplement them with ½ cup of grain twice daily, plus powdered vitamins and minerals.
Alpacas are herd animals and never feel comfortable alone. They are only about 36 inches tall at the withers and weigh between 100 and 200 pounds. They have toenails and soft padded feet and they only have bottom teeth. Their defense lies in numbers.
These sweet animals rarely spit at their human caretakers but do spit at their pasture mates to establish and maintain pecking order. Many are shy with humans and need their humans to create a trusting relationship before they will let you hug them. They are intelligent and easily trained.
Alpacas are raised for their amazingly soft fleece. They are bred to improve their fleece. They are sheared once each year and give 5-10 pounds of fleece per animal. This fleece is then spun into yarn for knitting, weaving and crocheting, or it is used to make felt.
Presently there
are approximately 100,000 alpacas in North
America and for at least the next 10-20 years,
the focus and financial interest will be on
breeding and selling quality animals. Farmers
are breeding for soft, dense, abundant fleece,
good confirmation and good disposition. When
the North American herd reaches a point where
fleece can be mass marketed, the focus will be
on the fleece itself.
The sale price of an alpaca depends on its quality: proven positive heritable traits in its forbearers and its offspring, sex, age, color and ability to breed successfully. Animals that will not be used to breed but that will make good pets or companion animals for other alpacas may sell for as little as $1,000, whereas a quality breeding animal could sell for anywhere between $10,000 and $70,000.
There are many tax advantages to raising alpacas and a prospective buyer should consult with other alpaca farmers or accountants to realize the possible advantages in this area.
If you are interested in more information about alpacas check out the following links:
The sale price of an alpaca depends on its quality: proven positive heritable traits in its forbearers and its offspring, sex, age, color and ability to breed successfully. Animals that will not be used to breed but that will make good pets or companion animals for other alpacas may sell for as little as $1,000, whereas a quality breeding animal could sell for anywhere between $10,000 and $70,000.
There are many tax advantages to raising alpacas and a prospective buyer should consult with other alpaca farmers or accountants to realize the possible advantages in this area.
If you are interested in more information about alpacas check out the following links:
Visit Our AlpacaNation Site to See Our Alpacas For Sale
Click
here for a short movie about the benefits of
owning Alpacas!
