Raising alpacas is indeed eco-friendly, environmentally sound, socially conscious, and offers real potential in pursuit of agricultural sustainability.
So how do alpacas think and act green? They don't. For alpacas it is easy being green. It just comes naturally. Let us take a look at just how softly the alpaca itself treads on the earth:
Alpacas are designed according to the environment in which they originated. Just as the bird species of the Galapagos Islands evolved over time to meet the challenges of their environment, so alpacas evolved to meet the requirements of the Andes Mountains in South America.
Alpaca feet: Unlike horses, cattle, sheep and goats, alpacas have two toes with toe nails and a thick fleshy pad. The pads are more sensitive and make better contact with the ground resulting in their sure-footedness-they don't tear up the soil. The pads are softer than the hooves of the other barnyard animals, thus minimizing soil and pasture damage, especially in pastures with steep slopes. The soft pads cause less soil compaction, and this in turn results in reduced runoff and soil erosion.
It would take a much longer time for a herd of alpacas to wear a path in a pasture when compared with the same number of hooved animals.
Alpaca eating habits: A major difference between alpacas and most farm animals is their eating habits. Alpacas can thrive in deserts and mountain plains, by doing something most other domesticated animals (and many humans) haven't been able to master: They stop eating when they are full.
Alpacas graze 5 to 6 hours a day. That is approximately 60 percent less than typical ruminants. In addition alpacas do not damage forage by pulling it up from the roots like some other grazing animals but clip their food off above the ground. This reduces pressure on pastures, the need for re-vegetation, and the use of chemical fertilizers. Many of these fertilizers contain phosphorus that is a known pollutant for streams and lakes. Less phosphorus leads to less plant growth in lakes and streams and that means better water quality and habitat.
Highly Efficient Digestive System: What is it about alpaca digestive systems that allow them to reduce their food to small waste packets or "beans" and minimize their requirement for large quantities of rich food?
Alpacas have high-efficiency digestive systems and simple food requirements including low protein forage. Alpacas are adapted to and designed for living on poor quality food sources since their native forage in South America is sparse, rough, and low in protein.
Like ruminants (e.g., cows and goats) alpacas have a complex digestive system, but alpacas are not true ruminants that have multiple stomachs. Alpacas have one stomach with three chambers for the progressive digestion of food.
Compartment 1 (C-1) is where the fermentation process begins. Alpacas secrete a greater amount of saliva into this compartment when compared with sheep. This enhances the initial stage of the digestive process and water and nutrients are also absorbed in C-1. This is the source of the food that is regurgitated and re-chewed (up to 75 times) to enhance digestion.
A unique thing about the C-1 chamber is that it is actively massaged by muscles that thoroughly mix the contents. This active mixing substantially increases the efficiency of fermentation and the process of digestion.
From C-1 the partially digested food is passed into the second chamber (C-2) where fermentation continues. The relatively long retention time in C-1 and C-2 allows a greater exposure for microbial attack on food particles. The pH in chambers 1 and 2 is close to neutral (pH of 7) which favors bacteria capable of breaking down their food (hay and forage). From C-2 the partially digested food material passes into C-3 where it is acidified for final digestion. It is here that additional water and nutrient uptake occurs. The undigested waste is then compressed into small dense packets (alpaca beans). The beans are easily managed and make excellent fertilizer.
Communal Manure Piles: Not only is the amount of waste material reduced in the production of these beans but alpacas do not spread them all over the pasture. They use communal manure piles where multiple animals go to deposit their beans and urinate.
If you have ever seen an alpaca pasture you might have noticed bald spots where the manure piles are located. The grass in these areas has been killed off by the high ammonia content of the urine - but the damage is localized. Pastured animals that disperse their waste cause more damage to forage over the entire field.
An additional benefit to communal manure piles is the minimal dispersal of parasites that are released from the animal. Many parasites are passed between animals as they graze grass near manure from an infected animal. Communal manure piles minimize the size of the total infected area in a pasture and the risk of transmission to other animals.
Another environmental benefit of communal "poop piles" is that it makes it really easy to recycle or compost their manure for garden fertilizer or even biofuel. Alpacas make wonderful organic fertilizer, while cotton growers use massive amounts of chemical fertilizer.
The overall process is highly efficient; food requirements are small and simple with no special additives required; and waste is minimal, easy to handle and usable.
Unique Alpaca Fiber: Alpacas produce dense, hypo-allergenic fiber that sheds water and has some of the greatest insulating properties of all animal fibers. It is easily processed without the use of chemicals and does not have any grease or lanolin like sheep.
Its hypo-allergenic properties make it easy to wear, even for people who are allergic to fiber from other animals like sheep.
Although alpaca mills do dye the fiber for special uses, alpacas come in over 20 natural colors (but not green) and much of the fiber is used untreated, thus minimizing the use of mechanical processing, chemical dyes and other processing chemicals. This reduces resource and energy requirements and the release of hazardous chemicals into the environment.
Alpaca fiber requires less energy and detergent to process than sheep's wool as it does not contain the grease present in raw wool
Because alpacas have adapted to survive in harsh weather, their fleece is resistant to sun and water, qualities it retains when it's woven into a sweater. Why spend fossil fuels manufacturing synthetic fibers for outdoor adventures when the real deal already exists?