Meet our Alpacas - Soft and Stylish Ladies
Tesla (on left) and Francesca (on right) “The Ladies”
Today I would like to introduce you to Tesla and Francesca the two alpacas we have here on the farm. People are almost always surprised when I tell them that alpacas are members of the camelid family which is a group of mammals that includes camels and llamas. I find alpacas to be the cutest of the camelid family. They have slender necks, kind eyes, and long legs. They also only have teeth on the lower portion of the front of their mouths so they always look to have an underbite.
They are raised mostly for their fiber (fur) which is said to be stronger than mohair, warmer than goose down, and waterproof like wool but warmer and less itchy. Interesting enough Alpaca fiber is also non-flammable. Alpacas are shorn annually to harvest the fiber and provide them with relief from the summer heat.
Our girls were shorn this week and you can see in the before and after photos how drastically different they look.
Llamas and alpacas are said to have been domesticated by the Incas in the Peruvian Andes over 6,000 years ago and raised for their fiber. They are still widely found throughout the Andes and have a lifespan of 15 to 20 years.
One of the things about these girls that I find most interesting is that they “do their business” in a communal poo pile. They are only a couple of places on the farm where they potty in tidy mounds away from where they eat. Because alpacas poop in the same area they have been known to even be house-trained as inside pets.
The other very unique thing about them is the sounds they make. People always ask me if they spit and yes they do spit at each other 99% of the time it is over food. But they don’t ever spit at me. I have been caught in the crossfire a few times but spitting is not something they generally do at people that treat them kindly. They do make adorable throaty humming sounds and they are great alarms. When they see a coyote or deer or wandering black bear they make a very distinct and high-pitched alarm sound and won’t stop until they think the threat passed. It almost sounds like a Toucan in the rainforest. This Spring I let the mini cows have an additional pasture that was a bit closer to where the alpacas are and this was really the first time the girls could see the cows. Oh boy did they sound the alarm. Took them a few days to understand that the cows were part of the family and not a threat.
Alpacas are very easy to keep and don’t eat much. A full-grown adult only eats 1.5% of their body weight per day in forage (grass/hay, leaves/stems). We supplement them with some pelleted feed as they require Copper and Vitamin D in their diet.
Alpacas are very gentle and quiet animals and because they have a soft pad on the bottom of their feet with their nails on top (like a dog) they are easy on the land and pasture. They don’t require a ton of space and eat remarkably little, so they are very easy animals to have around the farm. Their curious nature and adorable looks make them a very well-rounded package.
