We have two breeds of alpaca on the farm, their main difference is their fleece texture. Our alpacas are very friendly animals - you can ask our farm staff about walking or feeding them if you want to meet them more closely!

Huacaya Alpaca

• Have smoother, softer fur.

• Recessive gene.

• We have more huacaya.

Suri Alpaca

• Curlier fur that has crinkles in it.

• Dominant gene.

• We have fewer suri.

Alpacas mostly eat grass and hay in their fields. Low quality grass which has fewer nutrients is best as alpacas evolved in the Andes mountains so rich food can be hard for them to digest. Similar to cows and sheep they take a long time to digest their food, using multiple stomach compartments - although alpacas have three not four! Their evolution in mountain ranges means they digest very efficiently, requiring little food and water to survive.

Alpaca fleeces are different to sheeps wool in that they contain no lanolin. This means alpaca wool is softer and easier to work with. Furthermore, lanolin is the cause of wool allergies or sensitivities. As alpacas do not produce lanolin, their wool is hypoallergenic so can be worn by people who typically have wool allergies.

Want to learn more?

To continue learning about our different farm animals please continue with the links below: