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What are Alpacas anyway?   Alpacas belong to the Camelid family which also includes camels and llamas as well as the wild South American Vicuna and Guanaco.  They were domesticated long ago by the Incans and prized for their luxurious fleece- the clothing of kings.  Ancestors of American alpacas came from Peru, Chile and Bolivia.

Alpacas are about 1/3 the size of llamas.  Female alpacas typically weigh between 125 and 175 lbs.  Males often reach 200 lbs.  Their size makes them easy to handle, even for children.  For midwesterners, they are about the size of a whitetailed deer.  They can live to be 20+ years old. 

There are two types of alpacas, the Huacaya (wuh-ky-uh) which have fluffy fleece that stands out from the skin, and suri (sir-ee) which have fiber that hangs in twisted ropes resembling a string mop.  Both have large expressive eyes, are extremely curious, and have a shock of hair called a topknot. 

Alpacas are gentle, shy animals.  They are quiet, typically producing only soft hums, unless something alarms them.  They have soft, padded feet and are easy on the pasture.  They do not challenge fences.  Tick Ridge Alpaca Farm breeds Huacaya alpacas. 

What do they eat?   Alpacas are grazers.  They eat grass and hay.  Many breeders supplement their forage with a pellet or crumble feed specially mixed for alpacas that contains vitamins and minerals.

What do you do with them?    Alpacas are raised for their fiber.  They produce a wool (usually called fleece or fiber) that is softer than nearly every other fiber.  It is as soft as cashmere, yet stronger than wool.  It has no lanolin, so can be worn by people who are sensitive to wool.  Alpacas are shorn once a year in spring to harvest their fleece.  They produce 4 to 10 lbs of fleece a year.  It sells for $2 to $5 an ounce depending on the fineness and color.  The fleece comes in every natural color and can be dyed to make bright colors. 

Alpaca fleece can be sold raw, right off the animal, or processed into yarn, or processed into finished products such as sweaters, hats and gloves.  Alpaca cloth can be made for suits, and alpaca felt can be made for hats, coats, vests and slippers.  All are luxuriously soft.  Even the less fine fiber from the alpacas belly and legs can be used for pillow stuffing, coat lining and quilt batting. 

Breeding alpacas can also produce significant income. 

Do I have to have a farm?  No, Many people raise alpacas but do not live with them.  They agist (board) their animals at a nearby farm and pay a fee for their daily care. 

With even a small plot of land, you can raise alpacas on your own farm.  Up to 8 alpacas can be housed on each acre, although the more you have, the more hay you'll have to give in place of pasture grass.  Their barn needs are minimal, as they are bred to withstand the harsh climates of the South American Andes mountains.  Most people invest in a barn, but many keep alpacas well with only three sided run ins, especially in the warmer parts of the US.  Fencing alpacas is critical, not to keep the alpacas in, (well, that too) but to keep the predators out.  Most farms use a combination of no-climb fencing, electric fencing, and/or Livestock Guardian Dogs to protect their alpacas.  Click here to go to "Getting Started" for more info on Livestock Guardian Dogs.

Do alpacas spit?   They can, but usually not unless provoked.  Remember, alpacas are very shy, so if given a chance, they will move away and avoid a confrontation rather than fight it. 

Curiously, alpacas usually give 2 warnings before they spit.  First they lay back their ears and raise their chin, sometimes giving a soft grunt or squeak.  Your second warning would be a puff of air blown at you - a fake-out spit.  If you are still doing something the alpaca doesn't like, you may at this point get some green watery spit tossed your way.  Duck fast, because alpacas have remarkable good aim once you have ticked them off enough to make them want to spit at you! 

Alpacas spit at each other occasionally to say "Hey, get out of my food bowl!"  or "Get lost kid, you're a pest" or "Get away from me, Romeo, I'm already pregnant"

Is it hard to care for them?  No, most of their care is very easy.  You do need to learn the specifics and take care of them properly, but none of it is very hard.  Alpacas are fed here at Tick Ridge Farm twice a day.  We give hay and fresh water and a crumbled vitamin/mineral supplement.  We give them a vaccination shot once a year, and a wormer shot once a month because we happen to live in an area where white tailed deer carry a worm parasite that is fatal to alpacas.  We spend time in the barn keeping their buckets and feeders clean and raking up the alpaca dung (AKA beans)  Alpacas use a communal poo-pile, so cleanup is easy. (This job is referred to as Doody-duty, poo-patrol, the bean brigade, and other various names here at Tick Ridge Farm!)  The beans make great fertilizer and don't have much smell. 

What about babies?  Female alpacas can start breeding at around 2 years old.   They produce a single baby, called a cria, after an 11 1/2 month gestation.  Crias are on their feet and nursing a short time after birth, and usually by that very evening, they are racing around the pasture trying out their long legs.  They have the remarkable ability at a few hours old to run at full speed toward a fence and make a sudden u-turn without missing a stride.  As the curious animals they are, each alpaca in the herd comes to greet a new baby with a kiss as soon as it is born.  They bond with the newcomer and accept it as a member of the herd. 

Are their Tax advantages?  Farm expenses can be written off against ordinary forms of income and their ownership usually results in a significant tax savings for most families.  The alpacas themselves are depreciable and under current tax laws that favor small business, that alone can be substantial. More info in our financial/tax section in Living with Alpacas.  Click here to go now

Why are they so expensive?  Simply for the reason that more people want them than have them...supply and demand.  Alpacas are relatively new to the US, only arriving in the mid 80's.  There are only about 60,000 alpacas living in the US now.  They have a very slow reproductive rate, with each breeding female only producing one cria a year.  .  Right now, the demand far exceeds the supply, so alpacas are selling at very high prices.  As more and more people learn about alpacas, they are actually becoming more in demand.  But will the market crash like ostriches and other exotic animals?  Mike Safley, owner of Northwest alpacas and one of the original importers of alpacas into the US, says that he used to answer that question by saying that he saw the market growing for another 5 years or so and then moving to more of a fiber market than a breeding market.  That was 20 years ago, and the market is stronger than ever.  We recently saw a superior stud male sell at Auction for $580,000.  (yes, you saw that right!) 

The main difference between raising alpacas and animals like ostriches and emus are that alpacas reproduce slowly.  Ostriches can lay 50 eggs at once!  That market also failed because the American market was not receptive to Ostriches as meat animals.  Alpacas differ in that they are not harmed and their fiber is in hot demand, commanding high prices around the world. 

What do we do to get started?  Learn, learn, learn, and when you are done with that, learn some more!   You'll want to visit many farms before purchasing your first alpacas.  Alpacas come in every color, different ages, different lineages, pregnant or not?  You need to do lots of visiting and see what's out there.  Start a list of how people do things.  Is the farm clean?  Ask to see the medical records.  Are they thorough? You'll meet breeders you immediately trust, and you'll meet others.  You need to purchase from someone you trust and who will be willing to support you for those first couple years as you are doing most of your learning.  The people you purchase your first animals from will become your mentors. 

At Tick Ridge, we think we have just the right qualities to help you succeed.  We are new enough to remember the million questions that are running through your head, yet we have been around long enough to have learned most of the answers.  Our philosophy is that if we don't have the answer, we will help you find someone who does.  Then we both learn something new. 

Shelley is no longer working outside the home, so is available to care for our animals and be here for baby watch as well as be a full time support to our customers.  With her background in Dentistry and her extensive research into breeding and birthing, she can also provide some farm manager services such as teeth trimming, blood draws for new crias, microchipping, and birthing boarding.  We are also lucky enough to have The Ohio State University Veterinary teaching hospital, one of the few camelid research centers in the country and their staff of knowledgeable vets. 

We will say, that you should consider why you are interested in alpacas before choosing to purchase them.  You are taking on a huge responsibility in owning these animals, as with any animal-even a dog.  If you love the animals and the outdoors, and don't mind getting a little dirty once in a while, then alpaca ownership just may be for you.  If you are considering owning alpacas just for their earning potential alone, you may be disappointed when you learn that it really does require some work.  You really may make money raising alpacas, but you also may not.  If you are doing it for the love of these very magical animals, then it won't matter.      More information on our Getting Started page.  Click here