A little bit of history …

• Alpacas are herd animals from the Andes Mountains in South America

• Alpacas are in the camelid family which consists of 3 groups: African Dromedary (1 hump); Asian Bactrian (2 humps); and South American alpaca, llama, vicuna, and guanaco

• Ancestors of camelids originated in North America 50 million years ago

• Camelids are twice as old as the cattle family and have been domesticated for more than 7000 years

• Camelids are the oldest domesticated livestock in the World!

• Alpacas and llamas are bred in South American for fiber and meat; their dung is used for fertilizer and fuel

• Llama fiber is more work to process and is used predominantly for outerwear, rugs and rope

• Llamas are about two-thirds larger than alpacas and are bred and used as pack animals

• Alpacas derive from the wild vicuna, a finer-fibered, 2-coated camelid

• It takes the vicuna 2 years to grow fiber long enough to process with various shades of fawn being their only color

• It is said “alpacas are a gift to mankind from Pachu Mama (Mother Earth)”

• The import of alpacas to the United States began in 1984

• The Alpaca Registry, Inc. was developed in 1988, and was closed to imported animals in 1993

• There are nearly 89,000 huacaya and nearly 17,000 suri registered by ARI in the United States (2005)

Why are they so popular?

• Other than being so darn cute, they are economical to raise and easy on the environment

• Alpaca fiber rivals cashmere, is known for its softness, drape and sheen, and comes in 22 different colors

• Alpacas are shorn once each year in the spring with an annual clip of 3 to 14 lbs.

• Alpacas are gentle and easy to work with making them well-suited for families with children

• Because you can raise 8 to 10 alpacas per acre, they are ideal for a small farm

• Alpaca ownership offers generous tax advantages including the purchase of livestock, fencing, barns, pastures and equipment

 And just one more little benefit …

Alpaca "beans" (poo) is great fertilizer – it’s not hot so can be put around your plants right from the bean pile.
	Lee is incredibly proud of his garden! He has grown 40 and 50 lb. watermelons using beans as fertilizer!! And they were delicious ... Lee stands 6'1 but will definitely need a ladder to harvest this year's corn crop! Believe it or not ...

Alpacas offer the “back to basics” lifestyle many people are yearning for. We have never looked back and neither will you!

Liz & Lee Clark - northern Indiana - contact us at turkeycreek@maplenet.net