Alpaca Care

Alpaca care is important to review before you purchase your first animal. Land and resources will make an impact on which type and how many Alpacas you choose. Choosing an Alpaca may be limited where you live. Resources will vary based on your location.

Alpacas adapt well to a small area as long as there are other animals to socialize with. An Alpaca is a herd animal and needs to be with at least one other Alpaca. You will need more than one pen or paddock if you choose to have breeding animals.

Feeding an Alpaca is easy. They require a good supply of water and do well with grass hay. No lawn grass please. It is important to also supplement your animals with a vitamin and nutrient rich pellet. Check with your local Farmers Coop for assistance.

Essential to Alpaca care is to have a Veterinarian close by for emergencies and general care questions. We found that our local Vet had a very basic knowledge about Camelids. However, they were very anxious to work with us and had plenty of resources to guide us. We see them for health checkups, ultrasound, vaccinations, teeth care and blood draws.

Alpacas are very intelligent and can be trained easily. Halter training is a must to care for your animal. An Alpaca is typically shy of strangers but will warm up nicely to their owners depending on how much time you spend working with them.

It is important to keep a close eye on your Alpacas' skin, teeth and toenails. Toenails need to be trimmed on a regular basis. It is a must to monitor teeth on all your Alpacas especially stud males. Skin needs to be examined for bare patches, cuts and/or abscess.

If you decide to breed your Alpacas you need to monitor your breeding animals closely. If you register your animals the breeding of each must be observed and documented.

Alpacas are mostly independent with delivering their cria or babies. They do need to be watched for problems. See the Cria section for more information.

Most Alpacas will need to be shorn each spring. We did have one Alpaca whose fleece grew very slowly and required shearing only every other year. For this reason we had the animal gelded and sold him as a pet.

Be sure to check out the links below for more specifics on caring for your Alpaca. Choosing an Alpaca provides you with information you need to know before you make that first purchasae. Land will help you with a pasture plan.

Feeding looks closer at what to feed your Alpaca. The Veterinarian link discusses the medical needs of your animal. Hands on reviews the care you provide your animal. Halter training is included in this section.

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