Alpaca Q and A

Several people have asked questions... I will attempt to answer them.

A few months ago I was asked and I answered these questions:

Jane asked:Cocoa Powder is so perdeee! to bad she can't give cocoa flavored milk;) If she is giving birth in June, can they bread her and have her ready for shipping by July? Poor girl...nothing but prego for her!

Answer- Yes Jane that is the life of an alpaca. Breed, give birth, re breed in 14-17 days. They don't seem to suffer at all with it. :)

She won't be shipped. We will bring her home in our van. :) Seriously. All the alpaca owners do that. :)


Veronica asked:
OK,
A. How long, or how many times can they breed, give birth, re breed in a lifetime? Still seems tough :)

B. Will she sit in the front seat like dogs do? Or are alpacas too dignified for that?

Answer:
A. They can start having babies at 1 1/2 years old. They can continue having babies all the way up to old age (15-20 years). If a vet recommends you retire them, then you do. Other than that, they are very stoic animals.

B. Haha! Not on the front seat. They are WAY too dignified for that. :)

Jane asked:
how long is their gestation period?
how long do they nurse their babies?
why don't they shave their legs too?

Answer: (3 months later- SORRY Jane)
Gestation period= 11- 11 1/2 months

Alpacas nurse for approx 6 months

I have no idea why they don't shave the legs. Probably because it's too short to spin it and some of the owners might do it for show purposes. ????

A few days ago I was asked these questions:

Jane asked:
why the need for the working dogs???? to keep wild animals away?

and Lea asked: I was also wondering why you need the guard dogs for protection. What is the threat to the alpacas?

Answer:
One of the biggest threats here is the coyote. We also have bears here and bobcats. A bobcat wouldn't take down an adult alpaca but they might a baby. A coyote would try for any of the herd. We also have a rogue dog pack that runs this area.
Our dogs would be able to defend the animals. Alpacas cannot take care of themselves like llamas can.

Lea asked:
Also, why do the alpacas need to have on the covers when they are covered with their own fleece. One would think that their own fleece would keep them very warm but I think you mentioned they can get hypothermia very easily?

Answer:
Healthy adult alpacas don't need coats. They can be out in the snow and be just fine.
In the picture you saw Destiny, who was a few days old, wearing a coat because little crias don't have the fiber length that the older ones do. They need the warmth, so, you use cria coats and you can also use warming lamps.
Rico was underweight a bit and that's why he was susceptible to the hypothermia. Also, he was very ill and we didn't know it. That was probably why he couldn't get his body temp back up on his own. :(

Lea asked:
Are you planning to use the fleece yourselves to make things or will you sell it? It is hard to imagine that the fleece alone would make enough money to cover a return on your investment, but I'm sure it must be or you (and others) would not have gotten into the business.

Answer:
Yes we are planning to use the fleece to make things to sell. We will take it to the fiber mill (located somewhere near here- can't remember the exact location) , get it spun into yarn, and have FUN!
The fleece does NOT cover the investment. The money is in the breeding and selling of the alpacas. The fleece is just a side business/hobby that HOPEFULLY will become more popular in America. It's VERY VERY warm and repels water. It's also hypoallergenic and comes in a WIDE variety of colors.

Kidcraze asked:
When will the new cria be due, assuming her re-breed went well?

Answer:
Sometime in January

Andie asked:
Hey, how is Cygwyn's leg?

Answer:
I had mentioned a few days ago that he developed a pretty serious limp. I also mentioned that we were praying for a divine healing. He limps less every day! Today he was using it almost full weight! We're still praying. :)