Alpacas originate from South America, mainly Peru, Chile and Bolivia. Some of the world’s finest breeding programmes are based in Australia, and this is where our core herd originates from.

We breed alpacas for their fibre, they are not bred for eating. The fibre was revered by the Incas over 5000 years ago as the fibre of the gods, only the nobility were allowed to wear this luxurious fibre which is softer than cashmere, lighter weight and much stronger than wool, warmer than goose down and is hypoallergenic making the wool ideal for anyone who suffers from allergies, you can wear Alpaca next to the skin as it has a very low prickle factor.

They are shorn once a year by specialist Alpaca shearers, we prefer to have our shearing done in May, so that the alpacas are comfortable for the summer.

Alpacas do spit, but they are usually spitting at each other, to defend their territory, food or young, unless it’s Adelaide Inspiration, she’s a crack shot  of all our Alpacas when it comes to spitting and spits just because she can, she’s still one of our favourites and is a real character!

They are foraging animals that need grass and hay, we also feed a specialist pelletised supplement to help balance their nutrition. A clean supply of fresh water is essential.

Alpacas need checking at least twice daily. The pregnant females need checking more regularly and are constantly monitored during the last weeks of pregnancy, a number of our garden centre customers have been fortunate to witness live births on our Alpaca CCTV.

Our Alpacas have pedicures every 10-12 weeks, at the same time they have their top knots styled by Vidal Derek!

They are very gentle animals and have a very endearing quality with an inquisitive nature, they each have their own personality and prefer to be with their own kind, however they do become accustomed to their handler’s voice. Although they look very cuddly the majority do not like to be petted or touched, some are friendlier towards humans than others.

The gestation period is between 11 and 11□(1/2) months, they are induced ovulators, therefore mating can take place at anytime of the year, we try and arrange the matings so that the young are born from spring to midsummer, this ensures that the cria are well developed prior to the onset of winter. Twins are very rare.

The young are called cria, the weight of a new born can be anything from 6kg – 11kg

They have a long life span of anything from 15 to 25 years

You can comfortably keep five alpacas on one acre, however we prefer a lower number, we also keep our paddocks clean of poo, keeping the pasture clean of faeces is important to us, this means we are less likely to have large amounts of worms and parasites, we do however regularly worm the whole herd.  Shelter for them to get in out of inclement weather is necessary, most of our paddocks have field shelters, but Alpacas will seek shelter under trees and in the lea of hedges and buildings.

They have two-toed, padded feet, so they don't tear up the ground as cloven hoofed animals do.

Alpacas are often used by farmers to protect lambs and chickens from predators, Alpacas are capable of killing foxes and small dogs and will emit a high pitched warning screech at the sign of a predator, you will often hear our Alpacas warning each other when they see a dog or the farm cat.