What's an alpaca you ask?
There are 2 types of alpacas. They are the Suri that is smaller and has ringlets of fleece and the Huacaya that is slightly bigger but smaller than a llama and has fluffy, crimpy fleece. The alpaca, llama and the camel are all a part of the Camelid farmily. The Vicuna and the Guanaco are also a part of this family. They are all ruminants,and chew their cud in a figure 8. They only have lower teeth and are safe around any age children. The female's gestation period is 11 1/2 months. Can you imagine? They generally have 1 baby at a time. However if they do carry twins to term usually 1 of them doesn't make it. The females are also basically 'breed upon demand' as opposed to being 'in heat;' They originated in South America in the Andes mountains. They're very adaptable to most parts of the country. Up here in New England we shear them in May so that by the time the summer heat comes they can stay relatively cool. They have no problem with the cold weather. After all, they're wearing their own alpaca sweater!
Some fun facts:
- They take naps
- They pronk, a beautiful, graceful hop/run.
- They have toe nails
- They only breathe thru their noses.
- They're not demanding at all.
- 1 alpaca can nosh on 1 bale of hay for the week!
- Their necks are really skinny under all that fleece.
- They cool themselves thru their bellies and love to be hosed down in the summer.
- They hum.
- Their lower lip goes numb after they spit
