We have been farming alpacas for over 20 years, and had a reasonably large herd of over 150 alpacas.
There are many things you need to know about alpacas before you commit to keeping them as livestock, pets or livestock guardians.
Yes
- they are intelligent
- usually friendly
- are reasonably easy to handle
- are great to watch and you will spend a lot of time just watching their antics
- eat grass - good grass not weeds
BUT
- they are difficult to keep alive in the Australian environment
- knowledgeable good alpaca vets are few and far between
- they need a huge amount of husbandry
- they need a huge amount of supplement minerals to stay healthy
- they are resilient to the point of looking healthy until they are an hour or 2 away from death
OUR ADVICE IS TO FIND OTHER LIVESTOCK TO KEEP and ENJOY
ALPACAS ARE NOT SUITED TO LIVING IN AUSTRALIA
PS Do Not eat them - contrary to what certain animal associations will tell you Alpaca meat is almost toxically high in Cholesterol
