Alpaca are fiber-producing members of the South American camelid family, closely related to the more familiar Asian and African camels.

Amery and Paco inspect a new cria

South American camelids include the llama, vicuna, guanaco and the alpaca. (Check out our page on the Camelid family tree)

Alpaca have been called the world's finest livestock investment. There are many advantages to investing in quality breeding stock.

Chart showing 16 of the 22 natural colors of alpaca

Alpaca are very lovable and fun to be around. You'll soon find out why we say 'I love alpaca!'. Alpaca wool is as soft as cashmere and warmer, lighter and stronger than wool. Alpaca fiber can be used to make sweaters, dresses, outerwear, rugs, wall hangings, and yarn. Spinners and weavers around the world now enjoy this cashmere-like fleece, once reserved for Incan royalty. Unlike sheep's wool, alpaca contains no lanolin, therefore it is ready to spin right off the animal. Alpaca fiber can also be readily combined with other fibers like fine sheep's wool, cashmere, mohair, silk and angora to attain interesting blends. Because of the unique manner in which the scales of alpaca fiber lie own against the shaft of each hair follicle, alpaca fiber is considered to be hypo-allergenic. There are two types of alpaca; huacaya ("wah-KI-ah") and suri ("surrey"). The huacaya (our alpaca) has a thick, crimpy fiber, while the suri has penciled locks with a wonderful luster. Typical alpaca weight can range from 90 to 200 pounds and they measure 30-36 inches tall at the withers (point where the neck and shoulder meet). Female alpaca generally have one offspring per year, called a cria ("kree-ya"). Their gestation period is approximately 11 months.