Alpaca Farming

An alpaca (Lama pacos) is an animal in the camel and llama family. They live naturally in the Andes Mountains in South America in such countries as Bolivia,Chile,Peru and Ecuador. The alpaca has a quiet, friendly, sociable personality. They enjoy the companionship of people and other animals. The noble alpaca has a long neck and legs and have rounded faces. The alpaca lives for 15-20 years and weighs in at 120 to 185 pounds.  Because of this lighter weight the alpaca is not bred for being a pack animal.  Instead they are primarily bred for their wool otherwise known as fiber.
Domesticated alpaca farming is in business due to the plentiful need and uses for alpaca fiber.  Alpaca fleece is truly dominant to sheep wool. In fact is belongs to a category known as "specialty fibers" which means that the fiber is rare and extremely fine. The fiber of the Suri breed of alpaca can be very glossy and fine to the touch. It mostly lacks the prickle and itch of other similar wools. The fiber of the Huacaya alpaca is shorter and more coarse in comparison. But both are immensely strong and the alpaca fiber is nearly
indestructible. Indestructible may seem like a strong world but an alpaca garment was found in a Peruvian ruin dating back almost 2,500 years! Alpaca fiber is naturally resistant to rain and snow, remember they live in the harsh environment of the Andes Mountains. There it can be freezing cold or searing hot. The alpaca coat can come in 22 natural colors which reduces the need for dying. Colors can include black, brown, a variety of grey, pale yellow and white. Not dyeing the fiber protects and enhances the resilience, softness and flexibility qualities of the wool. 

Alpaca fiber grows up to 12 inches and when sheared supplies upwards to10 pounds. Though more conservative estimates are 6 pounds a year. Depending on whom you listen to and your conditions the fiber needs to be harvested two times a year. As an alpaca farmer can sell your supply of fiber to the local private hand spinners or the national alpaca fiber coop.  If you can produce high clean fiber and sell it then you can get an average price of $3.00 to $5.00 an ounce. Thats a fantastic yield! An average alpaca fleece can make up to $500 every sheering.
For more information on alpaca farming please see my article at:http://secondthoughtfarming.com/alpaca-farming/ and my Hub Pages at: http://seanfliehman.hubpages.com.