Alpacas

The first male at Rivermist Alpacas is Banksia Park Balmoral. Born in 2000 he was Senior Male Reserve Champion at the Perth Royal Show in 2001. We have two other boys from different blood lines who will start their working life in 2007.

Although the farm has been breeding mainly brown and fawn alpaca, we have decided to move the emphasis of the stud towards breeding greys. Given that the gestation period is long, this will be a slow process, and you can never guarantee the colour of the young cria.

Alpacas are very social animals and communicate with each other by humming and using various other noises and body language. If they have an argument, they may spit at each other. This usually occurs when one alpaca is trying to eat another’s food. Many farmers who run sheep, goats and chickens are reaping the rewards of reducing livestock losses by using alpacas to deter foxes. We have found that rabbits and kangaroos also dislike alpacas.

Alpaca are superb lifestyle animals. They are gentle, clean animals, inquisitive and very addictive. They make wonderful field pets and if you are visiting at the time when new cria are being born it a wonderful experience.

The alpaca and its fleece is not a new product. It is recognised internationally and is traded successfully on the world markets. Commercial trade in fibre, yarns, cloth and finished products is well established. With selective breeding producing a healthier alpaca with improved fibre, the future looks bright for alpaca.

The alpaca used to be kept by the Incas, mainly for their fibre, and the finest was reserved for the Incan royal family. Because the royal family were regarded as Gods, the fibre became known as the ‘Fibre of the Gods”. In the 17th century, the Spanish invaders killed a large part of the Incan and alpaca populations and the breeding program of the Incas was lost. Since then we have been trying to breed the fine fibre that the Incas produced.

Our farm is developing into an exciting rural enterprise, a cottage industry linking alpacas with tourism. We can offer advice on all aspects of the alpaca, and we can tell you about harvesting the valuable fibre crop and what you can make from it.

Please contact Rivermist Alpacas if you would like more information.