If you have been reading this blog long enough you'll know I like the odd guest post, and seem to have a soft spot for 4 legged guests in particular...well, here's a first, Alpacas. Those odd looking but apparently lovable sheep with giraffe styled necks. Alan Parks is the author, read on and discover more about these wonderful creatures...oh, and there's a great offer too!
Why Alpacas?
by Alan Parks
People always ask us ‘Why alpacas?’
Well, the answer is pretty simple really. We fell in love with them.
One day, we were on a short break in Prague, and we decided to visit
the local zoo. There, we met the strange animal that was to shape our
destiny. He was a brown, goofy looking, long necked sheep. He was
very friendly, and he came up to us for attention, and we stayed with
him for ages.
Over time, I must have googled
alpacas, and found out that they were a lucrative business, both in
the UK, and around the world, and one day, when Lorna and I were
discussing her health problems I suggested moving to Spain, and
breeding alpacas for income. We made some enquiries, visited a few
farms, and fell in love with the animals.
A coat of many colours!
Alpacas come in a range of 22 natural
colours, from white, through fawn, to brown, and also grey and black
colours. The ancient Incan societies used to breed alpacas, and
referred to the fleece as ‘Fibre of the Gods!’ The recent
worldwide population of alpacas originates from the altiplano in the
Andes, and in the early 1990’s people started to import the animals
into the UK, the US and Australia.
Breeding Alpacas
Throughout Europe alpaca breeding
is still relatively unknown, however there is an industry built up
around it that includes clothing (alpaca fleece has no lanolin, and
is therefore hypo-allergenic, and is considered to be of equivalent
quality to cashmere), bedding, selling the animals as pets and
chicken guards, and selling show quality animals to be used to
compete in competitions and win prizes. Obviously the better animals
you have to breed with, the better quality the offspring, and
therefore the price you can command for sale. The real reason alpacas
exist is because of the quality of the fleece, but most farms make
money by producing the best animals they can, and selling them on to
new breeders. In 2010, there was one stud male, in the US, that sold
for $675,000. One animal!
Buying into the industry
We looked into buying alpacas in
Spain, and found a farm that could supply us with animals, and the
industry was still very much in its infancy in Spain, and we hoped
that if it took off as it had done in other countries around the
world, we would be getting in at the start of something very big.
Sadly, it is taking a lot longer to emerge in Spain as a real
alternative for farmers, as here they are very traditional, and would
much rather keep a goat, that will cost a fraction of the price yet
provide the family with milk, and meat to eat.
Spaniards struggle to
understand how you can justify high prices for an animal that stands
around looking pretty and only gives you a ‘harvest’ of fleece
once a year. With only three hundred or so alpacas in Spain, the
fleece market is yet to take off as well. We are forever hopeful that
one day, when the world is in slightly better shape, maybe, just
maybe alpacas will take off in Spain. In Spain you can get alpacas
ranging from pet quality males starting at a few hundred Euros all
the way up to show quality animals available at a much higher price.
Local interest
The locals around here were fascinated
when we first had the animals delivered. We would have people outside
taking pictures on phones and even fully armed Guardia Civil out the
smiling at the girls. Nowadays people are used to seeing them here,
but occasionally a family will stop and we let the children meet the
alpacas, and of course feed them.
Special offer
This spring we have started offering
alpaca trekking in the olive groves, and I have also published my
book, ‘Seriously Mum, What’s an Alpaca?’ which is available to
download on Amazon in April for only 77p.
http://www.amazon.co.uk/Bloody-Hell-Whats-Alpaca-ebook/dp/B009X9VE1I%3FSubscriptionId%3D0V4JT1H35KWYMF0SKQR2%26tag%3Dnovelrank-21%26linkCode%3Dxm2%26camp%3D2025%26creative%3D165953%26creativeASIN%3DB009X9VE1I
We have also had
lots of enquiries for alpaca fleece, from spinners and felters who
want to work with this amazing material. Please get in touch if you
are interested.
More information and contact details
If you live in Spain and would like
information on owning these amazing animals please get in touch with
us. You can email us on lornaalpacaselsol@gmail.com
To keep up to date with the book and the farm please check out the
website www.whats-an-alpaca.com
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