How to Raise Alpacas

Like the llama, the alpaca is a South American animal that has recently seen a strong increase in interest in the United States. Raising alpacas has given new life to family farms and has also given some families an exotic and docile pet. Raising alpacas allows owners to sell their elegant fleece, called fiber or to raise breeding stock to sell. Read on to learn more.

Instructions

1. Breed female llamas beginning at 18 months of age.

2. Raise alpacas in much the same was as the more populous llama. Watch the cria births to make sure the mother and child are healthy. Watch the pair during the first day and see that nursing is successful and that the baby is attempting to stand and walk.

3. Supplement the baby's milk with colostrums or milk from a goat, cow or llama if the mother is refusing to nurse. Bottle feed the cria if the mother is sick or in distress after the birth.

4. Supplement with milk if the nursing continues for less than four to six months. Allow the mother alpaca to do the raising of the crias with as little intervention as possible.

5. Breed the mother again within a couple of months if you want another cria in the next year. The gestation period for a cria is 11 months.

6. Sheer every alpaca in the herd during the spring to keep them cool and comfortable in the summer heat.

7. Keep hay and alpaca food supplements on hand, so that each animal can eat two to three pounds of food each day.