Question 1

What is the difference between Alpacas and Llamas?

Accepted Answer

Llamas (Lama glama) and alpacas (Vicugna pacos) are the domestic cousins of the Guanaco (Lama guanacoe) and Vicuna (Vicugna vicugna), respectively.

Llamas were developed to be the workhorses of the Andean people, intended to provide transport, meat, and fibre. As such, they are much larger than alpacas, often weighing in excess of 250lbs, all the way up to 450lbs. They have long, fibre free faces, banana-shaped ears and heavily boned legs, with straight toplines ending in a high-set tail. Llamas are quite stately in their appearance, and come in a variety of fibre types and colours.
 
Alpacas, on the other hand, were bred for their fibre. Domesticated from the vicuna, which is arguably one of the best fibre producing species in the world, the Andean people valued alpaca fibre immensely, with some types of fibre being reserved for royalty. Alpacas are also used for their meat in South America— though this practice has not caught the same level of traction elsewhere.
 
As non-pack animals, alpacas are much smaller and more heavily fleeced than their llama cousins. Alpacas weigh anywhere from 100lbs to 200lbs, and are often fleeced from head to toes, with a slightly convex topline and low tail set. They are more compact in their build, come in 22 recognized colours, and two fibre types: Huacaya and Suri. They display both fibre free, and fluffy “ewok” faces with shorter noses than their llama counterparts, have straight, spear-shaped ears, and slightly rounded towlines with a lower tail set.

Question 2

What can you do with alpacas?

Accepted Answer

Alpacas are a versatile animal, and what you can do with them is virtually at the limit of your imagination, experience, and free-time. Some of the things alpacas can, and have been used for include:
Fibre Production for textile garments, art and products.
4H
Light Packing
Hiking
Cart Pulling
Therapy work
Agri-tourism (alpaca treks, education events, yoga, etc.)
Manure Production
Meat

Question 3

How long do they live for?

Accepted Answer

Alpacas on average can live anywhere from 15 to 20 years, though there are some animals who have lived into their 20's.

Question 4

Do they spit?

Accepted Answer

Yes, alpacas do spit. Spitting is a way for them to communicate with one another that they are displeased with what the other alpaca is doing-- perhaps it is in their personal space, is being too pushy or aggressive, or is just downright annoying. As such, alpacas often only spit at one another-- not at people, as is popularly believed. Most instances of alpacas spitting on humans come from humans just being caught "in the crossfire". That said, a frightened or threatened alpaca is much more likely to spit on a human who is upsetting them, as it is also a form of self defense.

Question 5

What do you call them?

Accepted Answer

The terminology surrounding alpacas varies by area. Generally, male alpacas are either called “Machos”, “Males”, “Studs” or “Herdsires” if they are intact, and “Wethers” or “Geldings” if castrated.
 
Female alpacas are often just called “Females”, though that are also called “Hembras”, and if they have not yet been bred, “Maidens”.
 
Baby alpacas are called “Cria”, and weanlings and in-betweener’s are called “Tui” or “Yearlings”.
 
"Proven" in relation to males, may either mean that the male has successfully bred and produced offspring; that his offspring have grown to adulthood; or that his offspring have won in shows. For females, "proven" may mean she had maintained a pregnancy and had offspring; or that her offspring have won shows.

Question 6

What sounds do they make?

Accepted Answer

Alpacas make a variety of noises, most of them are fairly quiet. Day-to-day, alpacas will often softly hum to themselves or one another-- especially females with babies. Hums come with a variety of inflections, from worried hums, to questioning hums, to angry hums, and just general, conversational hums.
 
Cria will often times make a clicking/clucking noise when wanting to nurse from their dam, or when trying to appease older, bigger animals they're afraid of. 
 
All alpacas, upon seeing something they are mildly alarmed by, will produce an "alarm call" or affectionately called, their "battle cry". It is a sound that is a cross between the noise a dog squeaky toy will make, and the sound barbed wire fences make when the wire rubs against metal and other wires. Similarly, the sound of an alpaca bringing up rumen to either chew their cud, or to spit on each other, is a very distinctive, almost wet-burping noise.
 
Alpacas will make several angry noises, usually squeals, growls, and squawks when they are wrestling or fighting with one another.

Question 7

What do they eat?

Accepted Answer

Alpacas are a browser designed to eat the grasses and plants available on the altiplano. This makes them especially efficient in their digestion, and means they can live on a variety of grasses and grass qualities. 
 
Most alpacas are fine eating native grasses provided they have access to the minerals neccesary to make up for any gaps in their nutrition. As such, free choice minerals should be available at all times, in conjunction with clean water. As far as hay goes, many alpaca owners opt to offer their alpacas hay with some combination of orchard grass, as well as alfalfa for any animals needing the extra protein (especially older or compromised animals). Pasture quality and hay quality should be monitored and of good quality overall, as alpacas are production animals and need the energy to maintain their physical wellbeing alongside their fleece growth. 
 
There are many companies that make alpaca and llama specific treats which can be used to supplement minerals, and of course bribe your animals into loving you. Alpacas arevery food motivated, so while treats are not neccesary when good feed is offered otherwise, the treats do go a long way towards training and building trust.

Question 8

How do you transport alpacas?

Accepted Answer

Alpacas are extremely easy to transport. They are more or less collabsible, which means you can transport them just as easily in a car, SUV, or truck, as you can in a livestock trailer. They just lay down once the vehicle starts moving, and settle in for a comfy ride.
 
When transporting alpacas, it is a good idea to have a halter and lead available (though not securing the animal to anything like you would a horse) in case of emergency, and to take frequent stops on multi-hour trips so that they can stand up and relieve themselves (if in a trailer) or be taken for a short walk to relieve themselves (if in a vehicle). 
 
You can usually fit up to 2 adult animals in the back of the average SUV.

Question 9

Can you train them?

Accepted Answer

YES. You can 100% train alpacas, and what you can train them to do is entirely up to the limits of your imagination and your experience (and the individual animal you're working with, of course).
 
They are a very curious animal who is often extremely food motivated. This makes them in some ways as trainable as any dog.
 
Do you want to train your alpaca to walk on a halter and lead? They can do that. Do you want to trailer train them? They are up for that. Pick up your socks and bring them to you? Unlike your cat, they won't shred them on the way back to you.
 
Alpacas are popular 4H training projects for children because they are easy to handle and easy to train. Obstacle course, carting, hiking, even just random tricks are entirely doable. 
 
If you ever want to see examples of some of the cool things llamas (and alpacas) can be trained to do, check out Terry Crowfoot's Llama training website. She is an excellent example of how to make clicker training work with your lama.

If you or your organization would ever like to attend a workshop outlining the basics of behaviour modification and training as it is applied to alpacas, I do offer a low cost workshop on alpaca behaviour and behaviour modification as well.

Question 10

Can I have just one?

Accepted Answer

Emphatically, my answer is and always will be, no.

Alpacas are an extremely herd reliant animal that depend on other alpacas for much of their social interaction, and basic security needs. A general example of why you need more than one alpaca that is often cited is their sleep schedules-- an alpaca on its own will often struggle with sleeping. This is because when in a herd, they will often rotate between one another on "watches" to ensure everyone gets a chance at some much needed rest. As a prey animal, they are already hardwired to be on high alert and fearful of changes in their environment. One can ony imagine how exhausting it would be to live in a constant state of anxiety in this manner if they could never take a break and rely on others in their herd to keep watch for them.
 
Similarly, alpacas, like many other species, form close social bonds with one another. It is not uncommon for certain members of the herd to form "friendships" with one another, often animals of the same age cohort, who they will choose to spend much of their time with. When separated, they will often cry and become quite stressed until reunited.
 
Furthermore, single alpacas are at a much higher risk of not only developing debilitating and expensive health problems (such as stomach ulcers from stress), but also bad, sometimes outright dangerous behaviours which can put their humans and other animals at risk. 
 
Currently, there is a highly concerning trend of "house alpacas", where people raise a single alpaca (often a gelded male) as if it is a dog in the suburbs. Although this is "cute" and has garnered an almost viral internet culture, this is something that is done entirely without consideration for the health and welbeing of the animal. Many of these "viral" alpacas are already showing concerning signs of dangerous behaviours, including mounting, wrestling, and breeding behaviours directed towards other humans, with some popular animals featured on social media displaying symptoms consistent with abherrent behaviour syndrome (also called berzerk male syndrome). 
 
Alpacas should at a minimum be housed in same-sex groups no smaller than 3.

Commonly Asked Alpaca Questions