The Alpaca
Doing Business
About Us
Our Herd
Contact Us
Directions
FAQ
Web Site Development
Sales List

Agist:

Agistment is when a person owns an alpaca and chooses, for whatever reason, to have another person care for the alpaca. In general terms, the owner pays an experienced alpaca breeder fees for the breeder’s expertise in managing the alpaca. Fees vary greatly from breeder to breeder. Some breeder’s fees are as low as $2.00 per day + all expenses (e.g. veterinary visit fees, shot fees, etc.) and may range to as much as $5.00 per day or more.  We charge $3.00 per day.

Animal Sex:  The sex of the animal is one of the most important characteristics of the alpaca and the value of the animal.  In addition to the normal "male" or "female" characterizations, alpacas come with several additional adjectives or in several categories

  • Cria- a baby alpaca, not yet weaned
  • Weanling- a male or female alpaca that has recently been weaned from it’s mother. This generally occurs between four and seven month age.
  • Yearling- a male or female alpaca that is approximately one year old
  • Maiden- a female alpaca that is now ready to breed
  • Junior Herd sire- a male alpaca that is part of the breeding stock of the owner but has not yet settled a female alpaca
  • Herds Sire- a male alpaca that is part of the breeding stock of the owner and has settled a female (s). Crias may or may not have been born.
  • Pet Quality- an alpaca, most often a male, that is not part of the breeding stock of the owner for various reasons.  These animals might also be called fiber quality.
  • Gelding- a male alpaca that has been sterilized

Age of the Alpaca

Alpaca’s life expectancy is between 15 and 20 years. A male alpaca will be reproductive from age 3 or so throughout his entire life. A female is usually mated when she reaches 70% of her fully grown weight (about 105 pounds or so). This usually occurs at age 15 months or so. Varying schools of thought occur regarding when to first breed a female. Some say as soon as she is 15 months or is 105 pounds—get her pregnant as soon as she is physically capable. Others believe that delaying the onset of pregnancy till the animal is 18 months or older reaps many rewards in the mom’s ability to care for the cria when it is born, as emotional maturity will most certainly have taken place.  We are waiting till the maiden is 18 months old.

Camelid:

The camelid family is a family of animals that includes the alpaca,  llama, vicuna, gunaco and camel. The animals in the family are grazing animals, have multiple stomachs, chew a cud, are preyed upon by all sorts of predators.

Cria: A baby, not yet weaned, alpaca

Settled:  A term that describes a  male alpaca's ability to breed a female and thus "settled" her.

 

• Our Herd.htm • Contact Us.htm • Directions.htm • care_of_alpacas.htm •