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Alpacas
Resembling llamas in appearance, Alpaca is a species of South American camelid that has been domesticated.
419 Questions
How many alpacas can you keep?
One.
Gestation for an alpaca is about 11.5 months and they usually only have one baby at a time.
Alpacas are normally found in South America in the countries of Peru and Chile. They like to live in the mountains, or on hills.
An alpaca runs usually to get away from its predators or animals that will hurt it
When do alpacas have their babies?
Alpacas babies(Cria), Must stay with their moms(Dams) for about 6 months, or if they are striving or weigh about 60 pounds or more, possibly a month or so earlier, this can also sometimes depend on the temperaments of the animal and how well the Dam, and Cria are doing. Cria should gain about a half pound a day after birth.
What are the two kinds of alpacas?
There is the suri, which has longer, stringier fleece and the huacaya (pronounced wu-kiya) which has puffy fleece that sticks out in all directions.
Are llamas and alpacas related?
There are six camelids - Old World camelids are the dromedary (one-humped camel) and the Bactrian (two-humped camel). New World camelids are the llama, alpaca, guanaco, and vicuna. So yes, they are related.
Alpacas were never known to be wild animals. They are a domesticated form of a South American camelid. While herds of them are kept all over South America, the most commonly referred to alpacas are the ones in Peru. Now, alpacas have been exported to many countries around the world.
The 7 levels of classification for a alpaca?
Domain: Eukaria
Kingdom: Animalia
Phylum: Chordata
Order: Artioactyla
Family: Camelidae
Genus: Vicugna
Species: Vicugna pacos
Yes, people can eat alpacas. But why would you want to? It's cruel enough to whip them, so why eat them?
Eat as much Aplaca as you can. My question is , can you make Alpaca cheese? I'm in for that, gotta be high dollar. I will buy some Alpaca's today! Drive the price down though, they are way too expensive, should be much cheaper. They are not a rare commodity.
An alpaca is from South America. They were/are mainly used for fur. They are about 150 pounds. They are from the Camelid family. They are more docile/nicer than llamas. They spit, and gestation is about 12 months.
Who could believe that the natural alpaca habitat is a harsh, unforgiving land? Alpacas come from the Altiplano region of the Andes Mountain in South America. Altiplano means high plain. Alpacas live at the 12,000 to 14,000 ft level.
It is a very hard life for humans and animals alike. Vegetation is scarce, the air is thin, and the temperature can change by as much as forty degrees in one day. The vegetation that exists is mostly tough clumps of grass, Thola bushes, and occasionally clumps of Quenua trees. There are volcanos that have left volcanic flows. It rains, snows, has freezing temperatures, intense sunlight, and powerful winds. Pumas prey on altiplano livestock.
Surviving in this harsh alpaca habitat meant an animal had to be hardy. After seven years of owning alpaca we have discovered how hardy these animals can be. They are stoic and they hardly ever get ill.
Knowing the alpacas background of its original environment helps us to understand the alpaca and give better care for this wonderful animal.
The alpacas padded feet are environmentally friendly. This adaptation was probably needed so they didn't destroy the scarce vegetable matter. Same is probably true for why they don't pull the grass out by its roots.
If alpacas didn't have their dense fleece, they probably would not have survived the harsh winters on the altiplano. Alpacas can go days without water and food.
Since there were times when food wasn't available, alpacas adapted to going without for awhile. With food scarcity, an alpacas fleece will grow less. An alpaca will borrow nutrients from other parts of its body to continue life. Keeping alpacas at their optimal weight means your fleece will be denser and grow better.
Alpacas actually need less feed than most other animals. It only takes 1.5 to 2% of an alpacas body weight of feed to sustain a healthy alpaca. The alpacas three-compartment stomach converts grass and hay to energy with extreme efficiency so they eat less. The harsh conditions they live in on the altiplano makes this survival adaptation a necessity.
Alpacas don't drink a lot of water. This is another adaptation of the unforgiving altiplano. Clean water should always be available for your alpacas, though.
Alpacas go without food and water in their natural alpaca habitat, but doing so stresses an alpaca. When alpacas fear for their survival they will abort babies. Keep your alpacas free of stress by making sure that each alpaca is able to feed freely and have plenty of water and you will have less cria losses.
An alpaca is really a very fast animal. Probably developed to survive escape of the Puma. Not giving an alpaca enough room to exercise keeps them from doing what comes natural to an alpaca and could be another source of stress. Keep them in large enough pastures where they can run.
Knowing the natural alpaca habitat can help you understand your alpaca and provide for their needs. A lot is still not known about alpacas, but the industry has made huge steps in learning about caring for alpacas.
an alpaca is a smaller version of a llama. Llamas are used for packing and you can ride them while alpacas do not have the strength to do either of those things. They are mainly used for the fur or as we call it fleece or fiber.
~EDIT~
An alpaca is an animal from the Camelid group. They are closely related to the llama, which they seem like a smaller version of, but they are also close relatives of camels. Alpacas are mainly bred for money from selling both animals and their valuable fleece. Alpacas come in two different breeds, the suri and the huacaya, the suri having longer, stringier fleece and the huacaya having more puffy fleece. (Edit found by 11 year old Megan Varney)
An alpaca is a member of ther camelid family, a cousin to the llama.
alpaca's are breed for their fibre,which is used to make knitted item's just like sheeps wool.
Yes. They eat no meat but the do eat hay, nuts, bread, apples, carrots etc.
Not normally - llamas and alpacas are different species so they do not generally interbreed.
Where are alpaca raised in India?
Alpacas have been historically raised in herds between 11,000 and 16,000 feet above sea level in South America's Andes mountains. The International Alpaca Association lists no members in the country of India.
How many breeds of alpaca are there?
There are suri alpacas, which have what I call dreadlocks, that hang down in little ringlets, and there are huakaya (I think it's said like wakaya), which have fleece (alpaca hair) like a teddy bear, all fluffed out and everything.
What does a baby alpaca look like when it's first born?
Baby alpacas, known as crias, look like smaller versions of adult alpacas. They also tend to have lighter coats and spindlier legs than their adult counterparts.
What is the name for a male alpaca?
Young alpacas are called crias. A young male would be a male cria.
How much manure does an alpaca produce in one year?
depends if it is fine the cost is between 3 to 10 dollars an oz,if regular maybe between 2 and 8 dollars an oz.
