Source: http://perfecttimingalpacas.com/selling-alpacas-and-saying-good-bye/
Today we said good-bye to two of our beloved boys – Daddio and Pocket Watch. Their new owners are very excited about them and got all their supplies ordered and everything ready for them within…… Read More
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Alpacas are domesticated livestock that are raised for their prized coats. These animals are South American camelids and are part of vicunas, llamas plus guanacos. Alpacas’ coats, that are sheared once a single year, may be sold at high cost for use in designing cloths and household items. Alpaca fibers are more powerful and hotter than wool, and they’re hypoallergenic as well.
These animals are from South America, and were formerly found in Peru, Ecuador, Bolivia and northern Chile. They are generally compared to llamas, and for several years, alpacas were thought to have descended from llamas, reason being their appearances is the same. Some people believe alpacas are the offspring of llamas and vicunas. However, in the year 2001, using DNA analysis, analysts proved that alpacas are more related to the Vicuna. To reveal that similarity, the species name for the alpaca was changed from suram pacos to vicugna pacos.
Today, there are about 70, 000 alpaca in the United States. At first, the United States population was brought in from South America. Today, alpaca shall no longer be imported, and the US alpaca population grows strictly from local births.
A full-grown alpaca has a life expectancy of fifteen years, weighs between 100 and 180 pounds, and stands around three foot tall. The alpaca diet involves grass, hay and oats. Alpaca are ruminants, that means that like cattle and deer, alpacas are cud-chewers.
Alpacas are gentle animals, however they may shriek or spit if they are anxious, frightened or angry. Alpacas usually reserve this action for other alpacas, but from time to time, they will aim this behavior at people. In the event you pay attention to an alpaca, you can have a clue how the animal feels, and can certainly avoid a confrontation! Alpacas do not like to be held, but most can tolerate pampering from people they know and are comfortable with. Alpacas are naturally interested animals. They do not jump fencing and they can be halter-trained and led.
In a herd, these animals use a common dung stack. This can help reduce the occurrence of disease among a herd. Reason being they’re particular about their bathroom practices, some alpacas have recently been house broken!
In the earlier several years, a lot of people have been thinking about keeping alpacas for their wool, for showing and breeding. The gestation period for an alpaca is about eleven months on average. Twin alpacas are extremely rare, occurring in only one of about every 10, 000 births. Most alpacas give birth to their newborns, called cria, around the morning time.
