Worming and Parasites

If you don't know anything about livestock, (and a large number of successful alpaca breeders knew NOTHING about livestock before they got into the business), you might not know that herd livestock must be wormed and treated for other parasites, primarily because herd animals spread disease through their droppings. (So you'll need to connect with a veterinarian, or learn how to give your own shots ... which is not as big a deal as it seems - more in a later newsletter).

The Right Amount of Land

Animals kept in close quarters have to be cleaned up after often to prevent disease.

Ranchers also have to manage their land properly. Herd animals not only leave lots of droppings, but they tear up the ground with their hooves when it is muddy.

Therefore, most livestock is usually moved periodically to allow the pasture to grow back. This can require a LOT of land.

But because they have no hooves, alpacas don't tear up pasture and can live on a smaller amount of land than other livestock.

Two to six alpacas can live comfortably on just one acre! (Some of the experts we interviewed suggested that you could stretch this to eight alpacas, but it seems safer to limit it to six).

In parts of the country where subdivisions are replacing farms, alpacas are a good choice because of the scarcity of suitable acreage for other herd livestock.

The Alpaca Diet

Alpacas evolved in the highlands of Peru, where food was scarce. Because of this, they developed very efficient metabolisms, and actually eat only a fraction of their body weight – just 2 percent.

So the alpaca daily diet consists of only a few ounces of hay, a cup or less of grain, plus grazing pasture.

This is much less than the diet required for other livestock. (A horse, for example, eats as much in a day as 10 to 12 alpacas).

A 60-pound bale of hay is enough food for a day for about 20 alpacas. They have three stomachs, and produce cud like cattle and goats.

Alpaca diets can also be modified to help produce higher-quality fleece if that is a goal of the ranch.

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