Caring for alpacas
Whether you are interested in owning alpacas for pleasure or as part of a business, they are tremendous fun and provide hours of enjoyment.
The British Alpaca Society provides great support to alpaca owners and we strongly recommend joining if you own, or are seriously considering owning, alpacas. Their information sheets cover the most important health and husbandry requirements, and we have reproduced them below for your convenience.
Reproduction
Male and female anatomy, and how ovulation is induced in alpacas.
Read guide →Mating
Mating behaviour, pregnancy and the main methods of pregnancy diagnosis.
Read guide →Birthing
The stages of labour, difficult births and caring for the newborn cria.
Read guide →Body Condition
How to body condition score your alpacas by hand, on a scale of 1 to 5.
Read guide →Nutrition
How the camelid gut works, grazing behaviour, paddock feed and supplements.
Read guide →Herd Protectors
Using alpacas as guardians for sheep and poultry, and how to care for them.
Read guide →Injections
Preparing and giving injections safely, routes and technique.
Read guide →Ticks
Spotting and controlling the sheep tick, and the problems it can cause.
Read guide →Vitamins
Vitamin D, selenium and copper: deficiency, toxicity and supplementation.
Read guide →Toe Nails
How often to trim, and a step-by-step trimming technique.
Read guide →Before you buy alpacas
We have focused on breeding Huacaya alpaca, which look like enormous teddy bears when in full fleece – and rather slender and comical when newly shorn!
Alpacas are herd animals and need to be kept in groups of 3 or more. They will happily live with other animals (sheep, chickens, horses) but need the company of their own kind to feel safe and secure. Very sociable, and with very individual characters, they have clear friendships and hierarchies, with some animals being the leaders of the bunch and others who hang back.
They are relatively hardy animals but do need regular care and attention. They need annual vaccinations, worming and routine health checks which you can carry out yourself with a little training, and toenail trims every two to three months. You will soon get to know what is normal behaviour for your animal and any changes that need investigation. Once a year they need to be shorn. We will be happy to support you with all this, especially if you are new to alpaca ownership.
Alpacas are grazers and browsers – those long necks are very useful for taking a tasty snack from your hedging or low-hanging tree branches! As well as grass they need access to hay all year round and a daily feed supplement to ensure they get all the minerals and vitamins they need. A really good feed makes all the difference to their general health and the quality of their fleece.
Feeding time is also a good opportunity to check your alpacas are OK and to get them used to being handled. We feed in small pens, with two alpacas per pen, to ensure everyone gets their fair share, and we can adjust feed levels for animals who are a bit over or underweight. Getting the animals used to coming into the pens for food helps to round them up when you need to undertake any husbandry tasks.
You will need a field shelter so your alpacas have somewhere to shelter in the rain or shade on hot days – a good place to keep the hay dry, too – and a supply of clean fresh water. If you can find a water trough that an alpaca can’t take a bath in, please let us know! Alpacas are generally calm and intelligent animals. We have found them to be great with children, and they can be trained to walk on a halter and lead.