Alpacas gain reputation as fun, profitable livestock

By Dan MacArthur
North Forty News

Owners of alpacas can't help singing their praises. Among them, Pat Alger is totally smitten with the smart, gentle and absolutely adorable producers of a valuable fleece as soft as cashmere but stronger, lighter and warmer than wool.

"They're wonderful," she explains with unabashed enthusiasm. "They're just a lot of fun."

She and fellow members of the Alpaca Breeders Alliance of Northern Colorado will share their passion Nov. 5 and 6 at The Ranch fairgrounds and events center. All are invited to learn more about alpacas at the free event from 9 a.m. to 5 p.m. Saturday and 10 a.m. to 4 p.m. Sunday. The show will be in the west indoor arena.

After five years ago moving to a 40-acre farm outside Timnath that had been in her family since 1898, Alger started looking into livestock that would generate revenue while providing an opportunity for her children to participate in projects through their Timnath Goal Diggers 4-H Club.

"When I got into it I had no clue as to what alpacas were," she said. But the more she learned about them, the more impressed she became. Now she has 21 of them on five acres of the property

"Alpacas are very low-maintenance animals," said Alger, with all expenses totaling about $150 a year each.

At the same time, they produce a premium fleece spun into a yarn highly valued by weavers. Alpaca fleece has real advantages over wool. It offers greater insulation as a hollow fiber, is lighter and doesn't itch.

Alpacas can be sheared once a year in the late spring or early summer. The fleece then is typically spun into yarn, although Alger prefers to use it making hand-felted hats she sells directly.

"I need to see a finished product," she explained. "Yarn is not a finished product."

Timnath area neighbor Marjean Bender said the fiber from her 10 alpacas is spun into yarn either by her husband or a mill in Loveland. She dyes it with Kool-Aid and either knits it into scarves or sells it at the annual Estes Park Wool Market.

Members of the camelid family, which includes camels and llamas, vicunas and guanacos, alpacas are native to the Andes Plateau of South America. They were prized by the Incas and played an important role in their culture. They are relatively recent arrivals to the United States with importation starting in 1984.

Alpacas chew their cud like a cow but are considered a modified ruminant with only three stomachs rather than the cow's four. Alger said they primarily eat small modest amounts of hay and grain, although they will graze on pasture grasses.

There are two distinct types of alpacas. The suri sports long, silky Rastafarian-like locks while the huacaya has a shorter, denser and more wool-like fleece.

Alpacas stand about 3 feet tall at the shoulder and typically weigh about 150 pounds. They can live 15 to 20 years.

Alpacas can annually produce one baby, called a cria, weighing 15 to 20 pounds. Because of their breeding potential, females are much more valuable, priced at $10,000 or more.

Bender said good-quality sires can bring that amount although the top studs have brought as much as $400,000. But basic fiber-quality males can be purchased for around $500.

Both Alger and Bender urge would-be llama breeders to do their homework.

"Really do your research. Talk to different farms. Be comfortable with who you're dealing with," said Alger.

"Visit as many farms as you can," Bender concurred. "Most alpaca breeders love to have you look at their animals."

Most buy alpacas for their fleece, some for investment, and some as light pack animals. But Bender cautions that while alpacas are personable, "they're not a pet." Still she admits, however, "Every time I sell one, there's lots of tears."

Alger said alpacas also make great 4-H projects for city and country kids alike. She was instrumental in establishing a 4-H alpaca-llama project in Larimer County and has made her animals available to youth who want to participate but are unable to own alpacas.