There are 6 animals in the Camelid family:
Alpacas are the smallest domesticated Camelid and come in two styles, the Huacaya and the Suri. They are kept for their fine fleece. (see types of Alpaca)
Llamas are kept as beasts of burden and also come in fluffy and Suri styles.
. They produce a fine fleece.
Vicunas are the wild cousins of the alpacas and are found in Northern Chile and Peru and produce the finest fleece of all the Camelids.
Bactrian camels are related to alpacas and llamas but come from the Gobi Desert. They can be ridden and also produce a fine fleece.
Dromedary camels are the Arabian cousins of the Bactrian. They are ridden and are now used for milk production as well. They do not produce an abundant fleece.
Types of alpacas
There are two very distinct types of alpaca: the Huacaya and the Suri.
< -- The Huacaya
The huacaya is by far the most common type of alpaca in the UK, forming the majority of the national herd. The Huacaya fleece is soft to handle but dense and woolly, growing to about 3 to 3½ inches in length over a year.
The Suri -->
The suri on the other hand has a lustrous, tasselled fleece that hangs down in dreadlocks from the body, creating an amazing curtain of tightly spiralled ringlets - similar to the old style kitchen mops! Although not rare in the world, the Suri is still relatively uncommon in the UK.
The fleece of both the Huacaya and the Suri comes in any one of the five main colours: black, white, brown, grey and fawn. Within these core colours, there are a multitude of individual shades.
The Huacaya fleece is more suited to the production of woollen goods, such as jumpers, throws, blankets and socks; while the suri produces a world-class cloth, suitable for suits, overcoats and ladies' jackets.
The Huacaya and the Suri are treated in the same way, as they are essentially the same animal.
Temperament
Alpacas are lovable and endearing creatures with a calm, quiet nature. Inquisitive and intelligent, they adapt to almost any environment. They easily grow accustomed to other domesticated stock and get on well with children. Alpacas can be handled quite safely and are easily halter trained like their cousin, the llama. They are known to spit but this is only when provoked or threatened. As with all animals they will defend their young when necessary.
Why own alpacas?
There are many reasons why you might want to keep alpacas. Maybe you simply want a fun new hobby and, like us, love being around these beguiling creatures. Perhaps you are already in farming and want to diversify your business or you have a smallholding that you'd like to use to bring in additional income.
Hardy and relatively low maintenance, alpacas are an ideal alternative enterprise. They are generally bred to sell on as genetic or breeding stock, or for their fine fleece. Alpaca owners can get good prices for the fleece by selling direct to local spinners and weavers for handmade products, or to the British alpaca Fibre Co-operative. Particularly sought after by the fashion industry, good quality alpaca fibre is extremely versatile and the return to farmers can be high.
The running costs of alpacas are minimal and they eat a lot less than most other farm animals as they are extremely efficient grazers. They can be kept on small acreages with little impact on the ground, as they have a soft padded foot. Alpacas are tidy animals and generally foul on the same dung heap, which provides wonderful fertilizer for the vegetable garden and flower beds!
Alpacas are currently viewed as 'domesticated animals' by the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs (DEFRA), and so owners are not burdened with endless forms and licence applications.