The resident Alpaca at Farmer Parrs is the beautiful COSMO. Cosmo is very well-natured and gentle but can be a little nervous at times. He spends his days out in the paddocks with the Llamas and has his own indoor pen at night and in bad weather. Cosmo likes to have company at all times.

The Alpaca is a domesticated mammal from South America, closely related to the Llama, prized for it's fabulous coat.

Alpacas are kept in herds that graze on the level heights of the Andes of southern Peru, northern Bolivia, Ecuador, and northern Chile at an altitude of 3,500 m (11,500 ft) to 5,000 m (16,000 ft) above sea-level, throughout the year.

Alpacas are considerably smaller than llamas, and unlike llamas, alpacas were not bred to be beasts of burden but were bred specifically for their fiber. Alpaca fiber is used for making knitted and woven items, much as wool is. These items include blankets, sweaters, hats, gloves, scarves, a wide variety of textiles and ponchos in South America, and sweaters, socks, coats and bedding in other parts of the world. The fiber comes in more than 52 natural colors as classified in Peru, 12 as classified in Australia and 16 as classified in the United States.

Background

Alpacas have been domesticated for thousands of years. The Moche people of Northern Peru often used alpaca images in their art. There are no wild alpacas. The closest living species is the wild vicuña, also native to South America, which is believed to be the wild ancestor of the alpaca. Along with camels and llamas, the alpaca are classified as camelids. The alpaca is larger than the vicuña but smaller than the other camelid species.

Of the various camelid species, the alpaca and vicuña are the most valuable fiber-bearing animals: the alpaca because of the quality and quantity of its fiber, and the vicuña because of the softness, fineness and quality of its coat. Alpacas are too small to be used as pack animals. Instead, they are bred exclusively for their fiber and meat.

Alpaca meat was once considered a delicacy by Andean inhabitants. A recent resurgence in alpaca meat was curtailed by a recent change to Peruvian law granting the alpaca protected status. Today, it is illegal to slaughter or trade in alpaca meat. Because of the high price commanded by alpaca on the growing North American alpaca market, illegal alpaca smuggling has become a growing problem.

Alpacas and llamas can successfully cross-breed. The resulting offspring are called huarizo, which are valued for their unique fleece and gentle dispositions.

Behaviour

Alpacas are social herd animals that live in family groups consisting of a territorial alpha male, females and their young. Alpacas warn the herd about intruders by making sharp, noisy inhalations that sound like a high pitched bray. The herd may attack smaller predators with their front feet, and can spit and kick.

Spitting

Not all alpacas spit, but all are capable of doing so. "Spit" is somewhat euphemistic; occasionally the projectile contains only air and a little saliva, although alpacas commonly bring up acidic stomach contents (generally a green grassy mix) and project it onto their chosen target. Spitting is mostly reserved for other alpacas, but an alpaca will occasionally spit at a human.

For alpacas, spitting results in what is called "sour mouth". Sour mouth is characterized by a loose-hanging lower lip and a gaping mouth. This is caused by the stomach acids and unpleasant taste of the contents as they pass out of the mouth.

Physical Contact

Most alpacas do not like being grabbed. Some alpacas tolerate being stroked or petted anywhere on their bodies, although many do not like their feet, lower legs, and especially their abdomen touched or handled.

Hygiene

To help alpacas control their internal parasites they have a communal dung pile, where they do not graze. Generally, males have much tidier, and fewer dung piles than females who tend to stand in a line and all go at once. One female approaches the dung pile and begins to urinate and/or defecate, and the rest of the herd often follows. Because of their preference for using a dung pile, some alpacas have been successfully house-trained.

Reproduction

Females are "induced ovulators"; the act of mating and the presence of semen causes them to ovulate. Occasionally, females conceive after just one breeding, but occasionally do have troubles conceiving. Artificial insemination is technically difficult, but it can be accomplished. Alpacas conceived from artificial insemination are not registerable with the Alpaca Registry.

A male is usually ready to mate for the first time between one and three years of age. A female alpaca may fully mature (physically and mentally) between 12−24 months. It is not advisable to allow a young female to be bred until she is mature, as over breeding a young female before conception is possible is a common cause of uterine infections. As the age of maturation varies greatly between individuals, it is usually recommended that novice breeders wait until females are 18 months of age or older before initiating breeding.

Pregnancies last 11.5 months ± 2 weeks, and usually result in a single offspring, or cria. Twins are rare, approximately ¹⁄₁₀₀₀. After a female gives birth, she is generally receptive to breeding again after approximately two weeks. Crias may be weaned through human intervention at approximately 6 months and 60 pounds. However, many breeders prefer to allow the female to decide when to wean her offspring. Offspring can be weaned earlier or later depending on their size and emotional maturity.

Alpacas generally live for up to 20 years.

Diet

Alpacas generally eat hay or grasses, but can eat some other plants (eg. some leaves). Alpacas will normally try to chew on almost anything. Alpacas have a four chamber stomach. Because of this they have to chew their cud. Depending on which stomach they currently have most of their food in will determine how digested their spit is, as it comes from the stomach.