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The Ideal Alpaca Community is a collective effort that is intended to create the maximum opportunity for profitable farms and herds for individual members.
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IAC Home > Alpaca Resource Center > Breeder's Tips
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You can comfortably stock between five and ten animals per acre. This makes the alpaca perfect for people who have only a few acres and who want the pleasure of a small herd and a valuable asset.
Alpacas are a ruminant which means they chew cud like a cow or deer.
They survive well on different kinds of low protein hay or pasture grass, providing it has a balanced mineral content.
Because alpacas evolved in harsh conditions, they utilize their food more efficiently than other ruminants.
They cost about as much per month to feed as a dog.
Alpacas have traditionally been tended in open pastures with few fences, no barns and natural water resources.
Alpacas eat about 2% of their body weight in feed per day.
Their diet should include 20 - 25% fiber and 10 to 12% protein.
Although they can survive very harsh conditions, alpacas do best on good quality pasture and benefit from having access to hay.
There are a number of commercial alpaca pellets available, but these are best thought of as supplying vitamins and minerals rather than the bulk feed which is best obtained through grazing.
Care should be taken to eliminate poisonous plants from your pasture.
Gardens can contain a number of plants that are toxic to most livestock (oleander, rhododendron, laburnum, etc.).
You should fence your pastures so that harmful plants do not overhang into the alpaca areas.
Be careful not to feed prunings from your garden or yard that contains clippings from toxic plants.
Local nurseries can provide good advice on poisonous plants or you can check with your county extension agent and get a list of hazardous plants.
One important rule to remember is that any change in your alpacas diet should be gradual over a period of a couple of weeks. This allows the microbes in the gut to have time to adjust to the change.
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