Alpaca are thought to have evolved from the wild vicuna and are generally smaller than the llama standing at just under a metre at the shoulder.  They produce a wonderful, heavy fleece of fine strong fibre that comes in 22 basic colours including whites, fawns, browns, blacks and greys.  A fully fleeced alpaca with good coverage around the face and legs is an extremely beautiful and captivating animal and a good reason why so many farmers and lifestyle block holders have entered the industry.

Alpaca are easy to handle and make delightful companions.  Alpaca fibre is world renowned for its soft handle and lustre and is often compared to fine merino and cashmere.

Did you know?

• Alpacas are one of the few animals that remain the same colour throughout their lives
• Cria are usually between 6 and 10 kg at birth. Full grown animals can range from 65 to 95 kg and about 1m – 1.2m tall at the shoulder
• In NZ the lifespan of an Alpaca is between 20 to 30 years, while successfully breeding for most of that time
• There are two types of Alpaca; Huacaya pronounced wai – kai – ya and Suri; pronounced   sur –ree
• They are cute, loveable, friendly

What is a Huacaya Alpaca The Huacaya has a thick dense fleece; good Huacaya fibre has a soft handle and luster.  The fleece has a defined crimp. Huacaya Breed standard definition The ideal Huacaya alpaca has a squared-off appearance with four strong legs.  It is a graceful, well-proportioned animal with the neck being two-thirds of the length of the back and the legs matching the length of the neck.  It is well covered with fibre from the top of the head to the toes.

About the fibre – Breed Standards: Fineness – this is the thickness of the fibre, which is measured in microns.  The finest fibre on the alpaca is found in the blanket area; however it is desirable to have fine fibre on the neck, belly, legs and topknot. Fineness is important for both commercial processor and the fibre grower since premium prices are paid for fine fibre and fine fibre translates into fine end products. Crimp is also related to fineness and it is desirable too to have a high number of waves per cm. or inch.

1. Density – is the number of fibres per square measurement of skin. Density is associated with fleece weight since the more fibres per square unit measurement, the more fleece will be grown and the heavier the fleece. A dense crimped fleece also acts as a barrier to dirt and weather.
2. Character –defined as strong crimp definition and staple formation.
3. Length of staple – is a very important factor in the amount of fleece shorn from the Huacaya alpaca. The more rapidly the length of staple that is grown the more weight of fleece there will be.
4. Brightness – is the amount of light that reflects from the fibre and is seen in the Huacaya. A brilliant appearance of the fleece is desirable.
5. Medulated fibre – is the coarse-micron fibre that grows in the lesser quality areas of the alpaca. Lack of medulated fibre in the prime or blanket area is desirable.
6. Uniformity of micron – processors require fleece of minimum variation in fibre diameter, therefore uniformity in fibre diameter is desirable across the blanket area of the alpaca. This also helps to eliminate fleece tenderness (fleece breakage) and prickle effect in the end product.

About the fibre – Breed Standards:

1. Fineness – this is the thickness of the fibre, which is measured in microns.  The finest fibre on the alpaca is found in the blanket area; however it is desirable to have fine fibre on the neck, belly, legs and topknot. Fineness is important for both commercial processor and the fibre grower since premium prices are paid for fine fibre and fine fibre translates into fine end products. Crimp is also related to fineness and it is desirable too to have a high number of waves per cm. or inch.
2. Density – is the number of fibres per square measurement of skin. Density is associated with fleece weight since the more fibres per square unit measurement, the more fleece will be grown and the heavier the fleece. A dense crimped fleece also acts as a barrier to dirt and weather.
3. Character –defined as strong crimp definition and staple formation.
4. Length of staple – is a very important factor in the amount of fleece shorn from the Huacaya alpaca. The more rapidly the length of staple that is grown the more weight of fleece there will be.
5. Brightness – is the amount of light that reflects from the fibre and is seen in the Huacaya. A brilliant appearance of the fleece is desirable.
6. Medulated fibre – is the coarse-micron fibre that grows in the lesser quality areas of the alpaca. Lack of medulated fibre in the prime or blanket area is desirable.
7. Uniformity of micron – processors require fleece of minimum variation in fibre diameter, therefore uniformity in fibre diameter is desirable across the blanket area of the alpaca. This also helps to eliminate fleece tenderness (fleece breakage) and prickle effect in the end product.

What is a Suri Alpaca

The Suri has long silky fibre that grows parallel to the body and hangs in long, separate, distinctive pencil locks.

Suri Breed standard definition

The ideal Suri alpaca has a squared off elegant appearance with four strong legs.  It is a graceful, well-proportioned animal with the neck being two-thirds of the length of the back and the legs matching the length of the neck.  It is well covered with fibre from the top of the head to the toes.  It has fibre characteristics that differ distinctly to the Huacaya alpaca. About the fibre – Breed Standards: Fineness - this is the thickness of the fibre, which is measured in microns. The finest fibre on the alpaca is found in the blanket area; however it is desirable to have fine fibre on the neck, belly, legs and topknot.  Fineness is important for both commercial processor and the fibre grower since premium prices are paid for fine fibre and fine fibre translated into fine end-products. Density - is the number of fibres per square measurement of skin. Density is associated with fleece weight since the more fibres per square unit measurement, the more fleece will be grown and the heavier the fleece. Lock Structure – in the Suri lock structure is very important. The fibres group together to form ringlet type locks that turn to the right or to the left. Ideally the lock should form a ringlet from the skin. However it is common to find a lock structure that starts at the skin as a flat wave formation then continues out down the side of the alpaca in a ringlet. Lustre - is the sheen or shine that reflects from the fleece. This is a highly desirable trait in the Suri fleece and translates in the end product. The smooth flat structure of the outside cuticular layer of the individual fibres is responsible for this trait. Length of staple – is a very important factor in the amount of fleece shorn from the Suri alpaca. The more length of staple that is grown the more weight of fleece there will be. A Suri will grow 60% longer fleece than Huacaya in one year growth. Medulation – there should be little or no evidence of medulated fibres in the fleece.