Info.
Alpaca Questions
The alpaca questions on this page were asked by Ms. Arlene Hunkin's 4th grade class, Dr. Thomas L. Higdon Elementary School, Newburg, MD.
I gave a presentation to this class, and they had such good questions, I thought it would be a wonderful way to inform anyone about alpacas, so here are their questions, arranged by question words, and my responses.
In addition, you can find more information about alpacas on the Alpaca Breeders and Owners Association (AOBA) Web Site.
Who Questions
Q: WHO RAISES THEM? Jake and Albert
A: That's a good question, guys! Alpaca farmers come from all walks of life. I personally know doctors, millionaires, stock brokers, teachers, farmers who have changed livestock, retired people - just about anyone and everyone can and does raise them. They're easy, require little space, and are relatively inexpensive to care for. My husband and I raise them because we fell in love with them, first of all, and then we raise them to sell to other breeders and to sell their fleece.
Q: WHO MOSTLY FEEDS THEM?Austin
A: Ahh, that's a dangerous question, Austin, because now all the world will get to see that I mostly feed them. My husband, like many other alpaca owners, is still working a regular job, so I stay home and alpaca watch, which means feeding them every morning. On the weekends, though, he helps out a lot!
Q: WHO DISCOVERED ALPACAS?Samantha and Ashtin
A: Samantha, alpacas weren't discovered like America was. They were more "invented." Two South American peoples, the Quechua and the Aymara, experimented in breeding the wild ancestors of the alpacas and the llamas until they arrived at two new members of the camelid family, the domesticated alpacas and the llamas, who are their cousins.
What Questions
Q: WHAT DO ALPACAS LOOK LIKE?Jacob and Deanna
A: Jacob, alpacas come in two distinct types, huacayas and suris. At our farm we raise the huacayas. They look like fluffy teddy bears most of the time. They have fleece that is crimpy and soft. Suris have long, shiny locks of silky fleece that sway from side to side as they move.
Q: WHAT IS AN ALPACA'S TOP SPEED? Jeremy
A: Jeremy, you stumped me. Alpacas aren't really known for their speed. They don't run a lot, except when they are running for play or when they are older males and are challenging one another to a fight. Let me just say, they can outrun me, even the smallest ones, because when I am trying to catch them to give them a shot, I can't beat them in a race! I have to outsmart them!
Q: WHAT DO ALPACAS EAT? no name
A: Alpacas eat grass most of the time. Their favorite is orchard grass. We also give them orchard grass hay. Additionally, we feed them Dr. Norm Evans' grain and mineral supplements to keep their fiber healthy and growing.
Q: WHAT DO ALPACAS DO? Tyler
A: I hope I got your question right, Tyler. Alpacas don't do much on this farm but they do on some others. They eat, play, drink, sleep, and learn here. We are constantly working with the young ones to teach them to accept the halter, load into the trailer, walk with us, stand quietly while the vet works on them, etc. Many farms also train the alpacas in obstacles courses for the alpaca shows.
Q: WHAT ARE THEIR ENEMIES? Cameron
A: Good question, Cameron. It depends where you are raising the alpacas, I guess. Most natural predators like wolves, coyotes and bears could be dangerous to the alpacas as well. But these animals rarely attack a herd, and the alpacas are herd animals. At the first sign of danger, one male alpaca usually gives the alarm call and the entire herd rushes to form one tight band of alpacas. This looks rather awesome to the attackers and they usually rethink their attack. However, the most common and dangerous enemy to the alpaca is the dog. That's right. Neighborhood dogs dig their way into the pastures to chase the alpacas. The alpacas run and possibly get hurt, or the dog suddenly decides the alpacas are food and he goes after them. They aren't very aggressive and the dog CAN win. Many people keep guard llamas for just this reason. A guard llama won't let anything into the field. He'll pound it to death!
Where Questions
Q: WHERE ARE YOU? CJ
A: CJ, as you probably know by now, I am about 20 minutes away from your school, across the bridge into King George, Virginia. I am 8 minutes off on Route 301S, so you don't have far to go. Directions are on my website.
Q: WHERE DID THEY COME FROM? Kendra, Cameron, Erin, and Allison
A: Alpacas came from South America. They originated there and have been domesticated for over 6,000 years. They largely inhabited Chile, Peru and Bolivia.
When Questions
Q: WHEN DO THEY SHED THEIR HAIR AND WHY? Stephen and Darren
A: I wish they did shed, Stephen! Then we wouldn't have to go through annual shearing. But they don't shed, so we do shear. Once a year in the early spring we shave off their fleece. We do this for two reasons. One, the health of the animal. They would get way too hot and suffer from heat stress and even die if we left the fleece on them during our hot summers. Second, we raise alpacas partially for their valuable fleece, which we have made into yarn and clothing to sell at our farm store or to spinners.
Q: WHEN DO ALPACAS GET THEIR FUR? Kayla
A: Alpacas are born with their fleece, though it might only be 1/2"to 1" long. But they definitely have it. You can tell their color as soon as they are born because of their fleece. Alpacas come in 22 natural colors and over 250 shades of those colors!
Q: WHEN DO THEY GET TEETH? Tyler
A: Tyler, the baby alpacas, which are called cria, are born with their teeth ready to erupt, and in just a few days they have their front lower teeth. By the way, alpacas don't have teeth on the top. They have a hard gum ridge on top, so alpacas aren't capable of totally ripping out an entire field of grass by its roots. Another good reason for raising them! However, the males do get two sets of fighting teeth somewhere around two years of age. These teeth are very sharp and are curved, making them extremely dangerous to other alpacas. They can use these teeth to rip open throats of other males! For that reason we are careful to have these fighting teeth cut down after they emerge to protect all members of the herd.
Q: WHEN DO ALPACAS BECOME ADULTS? no name
A: Alpaca females are considered adults, I guess, when they are old enough to have babies. Many people say that is at about 18 months of age, but we believe in waiting until a female is at least two years old to breed her. Males, however, cannot usually breed until they are about 3 years old, or at least until their fighting teeth have started to erupt.
Why Questions
Q: WHY DO ALPACAS LIVE ON A FARM? Lenny
A: Not all alpacas do live on a farm, Lenny. Some people own two or three and keep them in their backyards, depending on the area's particular zoning laws. 7 to 10 alpacas can easily exist on an acre of grass!
Q: WHY ARE THEY CALLED ALPACAS? William
A: Alpaca is a Spanish word derived from the Aymara name allpacu or the Quechua name pacos or pacoshas. These people are the traditional owners of the alpacas.
Q: WHY DID THEY COME HERE? Phillip
A: Some people in the United States began seeing the value of the alpaca's fleece and thought it would be a good industry to bring to our country so we could start producing our own fleece instead of relying on other countries to send us alpaca products. Once we have a national herd big enough, it would probably draw large mills and designers to this country to manufacture and produce alpaca clothing and other products made from alpaca fleece. It would take at least 300,000 animals to make that a worthwhile venture. Currently we have just over 60,000 in this country.
How Questions
Q: HOW LONG DO THEY LIVE FOR? Lexi
A: Alpacas generally live anywhere from 14 to 20 years of age.
Q: HOW DO THEY LEARN TO WALK? Brandon
A: Just like you did! You try it and you fall, and you try again and you fall again. But eventually, you succeed! The difference is, cria succeed about 15 minutes after birth most of the time!
Q: HOW DO ALPACAS GROW STRONG? I KNOW THEY EAT FOOD FOR NUTRIENTS, BUT DO THEY GET VITAMINS? Gerald
A: Yes, they do. In the feed supplement we give them, the grain is vitamin enriched. The mineral supplement also has any vitamins common soils might be deficient in.
Q: HOW DID THE PEOPLE WHO BRED THE ALPACAS THINK OF MAKING THEM? Haley
A: There was a need, Haley. They lived on the puna in the Andes Mountains, 14,000 feet above the plains people. Not many food crops could be grown there. So they developed the llamas to be the pack animals, and they bred the alpacas to provide them with food, clothing, shelter, fuel and something with which they could trade at lower elevations, allowing them to purchase crops they couldn't grow on the puna. They traded the raw fleece, handwoven products they had made from the fleece, alpaca hides, and even alpaca poop, which was used as fuel!
Q: HOW DO PEOPLE SHED AND TURN THE WOOL INTO SHIRTS, PANTS, COATS, SOCKS, AND SOME SHOES? Christiana
A: I'm not sure about the shoes part, but I know we use either a shearing table or we shear with the alpacas spread out on the ground. We take the raw fleece and skirt it, getting rid of any large dirt, hay particles before bagging the fleece. We then send it to a small mill, where they wash the fleece, let it dry naturally for several days, and then they turn it into roving by carding it, much like I did in class for you. The roving is then turned into skeins of spun yarn, which may come in several weights, like lace weight for your baby blankets sweaters, etc. and sports weight for your larger sweaters, etc.
Thank you students, for all your questions. They were wonderful, and I'm sure anyone who reads this page will learn a lot! I hope to see you all at the farm!