BREEDING ALPACAS: WHAT TO KNOW!

If you are thinking about breeding alpacas and have never looked into it before, you might be sticker shocked.  Alpacas are more expensive than one might think, especially for a nice looking breeding pair. Do your homework and be sure that you know everything you need to know about breeding alpacas before you jump right in.  Remember, these are the amazing animals that have given us this entire business so we have some love for them. With their wool, we are able to produce beautiful garments like this one.   This is a great alpaca pair of socks that are warm and fuzzy, but if you don't like this particular pair, you can find the entire collection of our sock product line in the main menu under "alpaca clothing" or click here.

Getting started with breeding alpacas

Alpacas are bred for all kinds of reasons.  One is to get unique colors other wool, however, another is to get show animals and prestige.  First, you need to decide at what level you are going to be going for. If you are breeding for the wool and only the wool, then you might get away with less expensive pair.  When buying a breeding pair you will need to find a female that is over 24 months in age. They are not mature or ready to have babies until this time. However, like human teenagers, their bodies might show signs that they are ready, ignore these signs.  It is not something that you want to push too soon or you could harm the mom and baby. Another issue would be that the mom would reject the baby due to immaturity. The female must weigh at least 80 lbs before she is safe to breed as well.  

Male alpacas take a little longer in order to be old enough to breed.  They will not even attempt until they are mature enough. You will know when they are mature enough as their penis separates from the prepuce.  When his genitals are freely hanging from his body, this is a sign that he is ready.  

When looking for a breeding pair expect to spend at least $10k on them.  This is a low number, they can go as much as $90K for a breeding pair, depending on what you plan to do with them. 

Rent a male when needed to save money

Some people, to save money, will just get females and pay for a stud male when needed.  This helps keep costs down for the initial investment as you can then look at maybe getting another baby or younger female to keep the other one company.  They need to be in pairs, at least, as they are herd animals.  

Always make sure that your breeding animals are kept healthy.  The female will need extra nutrition and food during her pregnancy as well as when she is nursing so that her body can fully recover.  You may want to have the alpacas looked at by a vet to ensure they are mature enough and healthy enough to breed.  

Alpacas are not ovulating animals and will not ovulate until sperm is present so this may take a few times before you are successful.  Be sure that you keep the mating couple away from the herd so that there isn't any fighting is harm done.