Why Alpacas

Sensitive to their environment in every respect, alpacas have soft padded feet instead of hooves and can leave even the most delicate terrain undamaged. Damage to topsoil decreases long-term soil fertility and in the process, the soil is eroded and weed invasion is encouraged.

Alpacas prefer to eat tender grasses, which they do not pull up by the roots. Lacking upper teeth, alpacas “cut” the grass with their bottom teeth and upper palate. This vegetation cutting encourages the plant’s growth. Because they are modified ruminants with a three-compartment stomach, alpacas convert grass and hay to energy very efficiently, and stop eating when they are full, further preserving the landscape on which they live.

Now, all of that sounds great, but I asked Sharon Milligan, who's the owner of Red Granite Ranch in Livermore, Colorado. If you're a rancher, why pick alpacas over perhaps cows or pigs or horses? Well, there's several reasons. And I think primarily for most people, it's they're easy to handle livestock. They qualify also for some of the smaller farms, which we are not one of them, but qualify for ag status. They're easy to interact with, I think, is what a lot of people like as well. Their fleeces are absolutely to die for and can be made into lots of products. So there are just a number of different reasons. You know, it's a choice. It's just like making a choice between having cows or horses or pigs or anything else is basically a preference and what you want to do with them. Sharon says she raises alpacas to sell in pairs to any interested people. She sells in pairs because they are very social animals and will get very lonely if they're left by themselves. If you want one, red granite ranch.com.