Background to NZ Alpacas ………..

Alpacas have now been farmed in New Zealand for nearly 25 years, but for those outside our industry, there is still very little known about them.

Even for those who have been farming alpacas for a long time, we continue to learn more about these animals every day.

It is every breeder’s dream to select and breed beautiful, productive Alpacas. If you close your eyes and pictured your paddocks filled with beautiful alpacas, what would they look like?
Each of you will have a different picture in your mind, some will see Suri’s and others Huacaya’s, some will be white while others will see coloured animals. The fleece of your animals will however be similar as we are all trying to create an animal with beautiful, lustrous fibre.

There are two different breeds of Alpaca and of course, their fleeces are also different.
The Huacaya Fleece is like that of a sheep in which the fleece stands at right angles to the body, while the Suri Fleece hangs down from the body in a spiral lock formation.

When breeding or farming for Fleece Production we are looking to breed animals that are well covered with a rounded appearance. Coverage should extend down the legs and up to the bonnet on the head with a clean muzzle and ears.